The Renegades lost 29-18 to Gold in World Bowl XLVI on Sunday, falling behind by 18 points before scoring twice in the fourth quarter. Gold built its advantage with four touchdowns, including two rushing scores by John Riggins III, and held on after Orlando’s late push.

Renegades safety Paul Giles intercepted Gold quarterback Hale Merrie in the first quarter, and Gregg Zavala put Orlando ahead 3-0 with a 33-yard field goal. The teams traded interceptions before Gold took the lead on a 28-yard touchdown run by Riggins to open the second quarter.

Gold added a two-yard touchdown pass from Merrie to Evan Stokes with 17 seconds left in the first half, making it 14-3. Merrie finished with 348 passing yards and two touchdown passes, while Gold was held to 2-for-11 on third down.

Gold extended its lead early in the third quarter. After a 40-yard touchdown pass to Marshall Bernardi was nullified by a holding penalty, Merrie connected with William Patton for a 50-yard score on the next play. Gold led 21-3 after the extra point.

Zavala’s 30-yard field goal cut the margin, and Renegades defender Stephen Oberlin intercepted Merrie later in the quarter. Orlando opened the fourth with another Zavala field goal, but Riggins scored on a five-yard run and Gold added a successful two-point conversion to make it 29-9.

The Renegades continued to score, but could not close the gap. Zavala made a 49-yard field goal with 8:30 remaining, his fourth successful kick on four attempts. John Rice threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Charles Button with 1:04 left to set the final score.

Rice completed 42 of 60 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted twice, while Orlando’s defense recorded two interceptions overall. The Renegades also rushed for 104 yards on 24 carries, but finished 6-for-19 on third down and scored one touchdown in four red-zone visits. Button had 60 receiving yards, and tight end Joshua Towe led Orlando with 75.