Columbus Aviators soar to first franchise win against Dallas
Head coach Ted Ginn Jr. and his squad down the previously unbeaten Renegades
Five days removed from a 28-23 loss at the hands of the Dallas Renegades deep in the heart of Texas, the Columbus Aviators exacted revenge Friday night with a 28-14 victory inside the friendly confines of Historic Crew Stadium.
Quarterback Jalan McClendon was 10-of-15 for 126 yards and one touchdown and received assistance from numerous Aviators including the running back tandem of John Lovett and Zaquandre White. As well as wideout Keke Chism, who made an early candidate for catch of the year in the UFL.
Dallas struck fast in the first quarter as quarterback Austin Reed marched his men down the field with a seven play, 68 yard scoring drive to give the visitors a 7-0 advantage.
Columbus attempted to answer back and were doing a nice job until they were grounded by an 11-yard loss on a sack from Renegades defenders Darrius Moragne and Tashawn Bower which forced a turnover on downs.
The Aviators enjoyed some defensive success forcing a three-and-out from the visitors and utilized special teams to its fullest advantage. Columbus return man Antwane Wells flipped the field with a 40-yard return that led to White finishing off a short run into the end zone and giving the Aviators their first score.
It didn’t take long for Dallas to respond as quarterback Austin Reed continued his strong play early on. He led the Renegades back down the field and back in front by a 14-7 scoreline.
On the next drive, Columbus continued to hit the running game hard. Their efforts began to yield results as Dallas was showing signs of fatigue. So much so that it appeared that the visitors committed a pass interference call which was missed by the official. Head coach Ted Ginn Jr. utilized what is called a “super challenge” in the UFL to see if the Renegades defender had committed pass interference. Following the review, it was deemed the defender was guilty of the infraction and the Aviators continued on with their drive.
This opened the door for Keke Chism to complete a ridiculous catch to tie the game at 14-14 for the Aviators.
Columbus began the second half with momentum as quarterback Jalan McClendon jump started the drive with a 27-yard strike to Alize Mack who added another 19 yards to the gain with a hefty scamper setting the home team up with a goal-to-go situation.
McClendon ran a quarterback keeper, fumbled the ball on the one yard line before Mack recovered the loose rock to give the hosts the 21-14 advantage.
The Aviators delivered a knockout blow, orchestrating a Jim Tressel-esque 18-play, 97-yard touchdown drive. With running back John Lovett accounting for 62 of his 80 yards on the drive. Columbus ran the ball 17 times, breaking the UFL single-game rushing attempts record in the process.
Toa Taua punched it in from three yards out, capping a 9:59 drive and extending the lead to two possessions with 6:33 remaining.
Defensive back Smoke Monday sealed the game with an interception to deliver the Aviators the win in front of a passionate 8,729 fans in attendance.