Going into the game against their Divisional Rival, the Memphis Showboats, a 14 point underdog, Houston's once again played well in the first half.
Even though they were considered the underdog, they played like they were the BIG DAWG. Led by
QB Chester Dougherty who was 7/19 for 125 yards with 1 INT in the first half, and
RB Robert Carroll , who had 112 yards on 15 carries, the Gambler's put up 206 offensive yards on 44 plays with 13 first downs. They also visited Memphis's Red Zone 3 times, once even being 1st and goal on the Showboats' 1 yard line, but unfortuneatly only coming away with 3 FG's by
James Peeler More on that later.
Also stepping up was the Houston defense. Led by
Rookie LB David Burt , who had 4 tackles and an interception in the half, the Gambler's defense held the Showboats to 135 yards offensive yards, 6 first downs, while creating 4 turnovers. The D held one of the league's premier RB, who the previous week rushed for 190 yards, to 14 yards and 1 first down. Also creating headaches for Memphis's QB, was the secondary, led by
Rookie FS Thomas Erwin who caught his 2nd INT and returned it for 14 yards in the second quarter the play after Houston lost the ball on their only mistake of the half, the Showboats were clearly getting frustrated.
However, the overall inexperience of the team again reared it ugly head as the Gambler's were greatly out played by their rival. The Showboats gain 204 offensive yards and their defense only allowed 100 yards. Even the second half "Showboating" of
Rookie DE Morris Sterling who had 5 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 pressures, and forced a fumble in the second half, could turn things around.
Head Coach Steve Sargent was clearly upset about the loss. "First of all, let me say I am extremely proud of the way the team played the game. Everyone expected us to just roll over and die, but we didn't go down with a fight. And even when we were knocked down, we got back up and wanted to know if that was the best they had.
HOWEVER........THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED ASAP IF WE WANT TO WIN!!!!" as he raised his Sargent Voice.
"First and foremost, I will have a
DEEP conversation with my O-Coord on *** was he thinking when on 1st and goal on your opponent's 1 with the lead and with a back that is getting 7 yards a pop and he calls a 5 WR set and throws it. Our offensive game plan was heavily favored on running the ball in that situation. I remember a championship game that happened in and it wasn't pretty.
Second, I will have another conversation with our high draft choice
RT Richard Mosely as to how much money should I fine him for allowing our QB to get sacked so much. I swear, if he allows one more sack, I am going to move him to end, guard, and tackle where he can sit at the end of the bench, guard the water, and tackle anyone who comes near it. In fact, I extremely upset with our entire line. Thanks to Dougherty, who was sacked 9 times this game, I know that Memphis has 951 lights out in their stadium. But let's be fair to an extent. The Showboats defense blitzed, blitzed, and blitzed again. And when they weren't blitzing, they blitzed again.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go get this team ready for our third Divisional game in three games against the Oklahoma Outlaws."
