Virginia Destroyers beat Las Vegas Locos 34-17 - The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH
After an offseason full of false starts, the Virginia Destroyers enjoyed a fast one.
Playing their first home game in team history in front of a crowd of 12,167 at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex, the Destroyers beat the Las Vegas Locos 34-17. The reconfigured Sportsplex, which includes temporary bleachers on one side, has a capacity of 14,000.
The Destroyers (2-0) led Las Vegas (1-1), the two-time defending United Football League champions, 24-0 at halftime, scoring on their first three possessions.
"From the standpoint that it was going to rain all day, (it was a very good crowd)," Virginia quarterback Chris Greisen said. "Other teams are more established. I hope the fans saw an exciting game and you could feel it. They started to get loud with the defense."
Delbert Alvarado scored the first home points in franchise history on a 31-yard field goal with 2:38 gone in the first quarter. On Virginia's next possession, Adrian Peterson scored the first home touchdown on a 1-yard run with 7:46 gone.
The Destroyers dominated a team led by former Giants coach Jim Fassel, outgaining the Locos 254-58 in the first half and, in just the second week of the season, became the last unbeaten team left in the four-team league. The Destroyers previously played as the Florida Tuskers and met Las Vegas in last year's championship game.
For those craving football, this provided a reasonable facsimile.
Greisen completed 18 of 23 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns, while the running back tandem of former NFL players Peterson (Bears and Seahawks) and Rhodes (Colts) combined for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.
"I cannot for the life of me understand why (Greisen) is not in the NFL," Virginia coach Marty Schottenheimer said. "He's clearly an NFL-caliber player."
Virginia opened the game throwing, drawing a pass interference call, before Greisen flipped a pass to running back Ronnie Ghent. Three runs by Dominic Rhodes totaling 18 yards set up Alvarado's field goal on the first home possession in team history.
Success aside, simply taking the field was more than some expected after an offseason that included the loss of two coaches, a general manager and a lead investor for the Destroyers and one of the league's five teams, the Hartford Colonials. Anxiety grew during a 30-day delay in the league's scheduled training camp and the revelation that the UFL lost $100 million its first two years in existence.
"As Coach said when we left (camp due to the delay), we believed the owners were going to figure it out," Greisen said. "You just didn't know."
Questions about the league's future will be discussed far more than head coach Marty Schottenheimer's strategy as the season wears on. The opener, though, went off without major glitches and without major stresses for the Destroyers, who dominated throughout.
The crowd filled the majority of the Sportsplex for the opener, even lining up behind one end zone. A set of temporary bleachers was set up on one side, broken into 15 sections. Despite rain that tapered off just before kickoff, leaving fans filing into the stadium well after the game began, four sections were mostly full, five were half full and only one remained unused all game.
After a second-quarter fumble recovery by teammate Joe Clermond, linebacker Marcus Riley came off the field waving his arms, shouting, "This is our house."
For one night at least, the Sportsplex felt at least a little like home.
25 Sep, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNE_fEGJGKv6Sp_IrSKXBZ8aKjSCkA&url=http://hamptonroads.com/2011/09/virginia-destroyers-beat-las-vegas-locos-3417
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