Year Two Gets off to a Great Start
Alliance League Kicks off Year 2 with OT Thriller
February 12, 2017
Baltimore, MD - The two Monumental Sports and Entertainment LLC expansion properties proved they could move the football up and down the field in this league, but neither showed much desire to play defense as the Washington Valor outpaced the Baltimore Brigade, 37-34 in Overtime, in Week 1 of season #2 of the Alliance League.
After a huge kick return from RB Stepfan Taylor, it took Brigade QB Kellen Moore exactly 12 seconds to get his first AAF TD pass as he hit TE Gerald Christian for a 27 yard touchdown pass. McGloin and the Valor wouldn't be as explosive but would be just as effective on their first drive as they took eight minutes off the clock and finished it off with a 7-7 tie from a McGloin to WR Victor Cruz on a 4 yard slant. After a Brigade K Dan Carpenter FG, McGloin and the Valor would get right back to work grinding the clock and finishing their second drive with a RB Zac Stacy eight yard TD plunge. Moore wasn't done with the first half as he answered with a 41 yard TD pass to WR Aaron Dobson and gave the Brigade the 17-14 halftime lead.
After the teams traded field goals, Moore would again go to the air to find Eddie Royal for a 21 yard score to put Baltimore on top 27-17. However, give all the credit to Valor Head Coach Les Miles, as he never panicked and stuck with the dominant three speared rushing attack and rode that rushing attack down the field and made the game, 27-24, with a 9 yard McGloin to WR Keshawn Martin touchdown score. The fourth quarter was all Valor until Moore tied the game at 34, with a last second TD pass to WR Marlon Brown.
But in OT, the Brigade defense once again failed the team as the Valor ran the ball right down the field to setup a 20 yard chip shot Field Goal by K Travis Coons that took the game.
Valor - 37 Brigade - 34
(0-0)DC: QB Matt McGloin - 14/24 205 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, RB Rashad Jennings - 20 carries, 90 yards, RB Silas Redd - 17 carries, 90 yards, RB Zac Stacy - 11 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD, WR Keshawn Martin - 6 catches, 72 yards, 2 TDs, WR Victor Cruz - 3 catches, 55 yards, 1 TD
(0-0)BAL: QB Kellen Moore - 15/25 271 yards, 4 TDs, RB Denard Robinson - 7 carries, 64 yards, RB Ronnie Hillman - 24 carries, 52 yards, WR Aaron Dobson - 5 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD, WR Marlon Brown - 4 catches, 72 yards, 1 TD, WR Eddie Royal - 4 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD
Commanders - 7 Express - 31
(0-0)SA: QB TJ Yates - 7/19 99 yards 1 TD, RB Karlos Williams - 12 carries, 50 yards, RB Montee Ball - 9 carries, 38 yards, WR Devier Posey - 3 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD
(0-0)MEM: QB Johnny Manziel - 25/33 296 yards, 2 TDs, RB Johnathon Dwyer - 19 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD, RB Lache Seastrunk - 17 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD, WR Brandon Gibson - 7 catches, 109 yards, 1 TD, WR Jon Baldwin - 9 catches, 94 yards, 1 TD, TE Demetrius Harris - 4 catches, 45 yards
Blues - 30 Predators - 27
(0-0)MIA: QB Stephen Morris - 20/31 287 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, RB Delone Carter - 11 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD, RB Toby Gerhart - 23 carries, 32 yards, 1 TD, WR Leonard Hankerson - 7 catches, 113 yards, 1 TD, WR Juron Criner - 6 catches, 103 yards
(0-0)ORL: QB Christian Ponder - 15/26 263 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, RB Khiry Robinson - 11 carries, 93 yards, RB Antonio Andrews - 13 carries, 48 yards, WR Dorial Green-Beckham - 7 catches, 145 yards, 1 TD, WR MeKale McKay - 5 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD, WR Josh Boyce - 3 catches, 38 yards, TD
Alphas - 28 Guardians - 41
(0-0)CHI: QB Aaron Murray - 9/21 165 yards, 2 TDs, RB Ryan Mathews - 27 carries, 129 yards, 2 TDs, WR Marquess Wilson - 3 catches, 88 yards, 1 TD, WR Shaq Evans - 5 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD
(0-0)NY: QB Josh Freeman - 15/24 220 yards, 3 TDs, RB Ahmad Bradshaw - 17 carries, 150 yards, RB Tashard Choice - 16 carries, 79 yards, 2 TDs, WR Hakeem Nicks - 4 catches, 87 yards, 2 TDs, WR Jarrett Boykin - 3 catches, 50 yards, WR Vincent Brown - 4 catches, 33 yards, 1 TD
Iron - 9 Dragons - 13
(0-0)BIRM: QB Tahj Boyd - 15/26 170 yards, RB Trent Richardson - 24 carries, 138 yards, WR Kaelin Clay - 5 catches, 65 yards
(0-0)SEA: QB Jake Locker - 16/21 231 yards, 1 TD, RB Phillip Tanner - 19 carries, 41 yards, RB Vick Ballard - 16 carries, 40 yards, WR TJ Graham - 4 catches, 79 yards, WR Ricardo Lockette - 5 catches, 61 yards, WR Derek Hagan - 4 catches, 54 yards, 1 TD
Wildcats - 20 Roughnecks - 17
(0-0)LA: QB Jimmy Clausen - 11/20 184 yards, 2 TDs, RB Kendall Hunter - 19 carries, 85 yards, WR DaVaris Daniels - 5 catches, 107 yards, 1 TD, WR AJ Jenkins - 4 catches, 61 yards, 1 TD
(0-0)HOU: QB Vince Young - 9/19 98 yards, 1 INT, RB Bryce Brown - 19 carries, 106 yards, 1 TD, RB Cyrus Gray - 17 carries, 47 yards, WR Greg Little - 3 catches, 33 yards
AAF Still Looking to Expand for 2018
February 15, 2017
Stamford, CT - While on ESPN's Sportscenter, AAF Commissioner Oliver Luck announced to the public that the league was very pleased with the current state of affairs in the league and that the administration was looking to expand to 16 teams by 2018 and 20 teams by 2020. Luck also announced that the league was currently taking bids for the four 2018 expansion teams, while looking for strong owners for the Houston Roughnecks, San Antonio Commanders, Los Angeles Wildcats, Seattle Dragons, and New York Guardians.
He believes once the league moves fully to the franchise model from the dual entity model, the league will be set financially and that it'll be even more appealing to football talent. Luck can't wait to see what the future holds for the young league.
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