Tuesday, March 28, 2017

CIFL: Knights Quiet Splash, 26-6

SACRAMENTO-The Sacramento Knights cruised to a 26-6 victory over the Anaheim Splash in a Week 8 CIFL game.

Sacramento punted to start the game, then Foster Bland returned the ensuing Anaheim punt 21 yards to the Splash 48-yard line. Two plays later, Derrick Todd would fire a 48-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Tibbs to give the Knights a 7-0 lead with 10:45 remaining in the first quarter. The Splash would go three-and-out, but Lou Cassidy would pick Todd off at the Sacramento 48-yard line. Unfortunately for Anaheim, Harlan Finnegan would be victimized by M L'Amour who picked off his pass at the Knights 25-yard line. After a 12-play, 70-yard drive, Shane Sandlin would kick a 22-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 2:18 to go in the first.

Not much of note happened in the second quarter, as the teams traded punts through much of the period. The only scoring threat came late in the second when Sandlin missed a 51-yard field goal attempt.

Early in the third, Finnegan would get picked off again, this time by Elrod Cupp who took it 16 yards to the Knights 45-yard line. Sacramento would punt, but got on the board again when Cleveland Newby stripped Finnegan of the ball on a scramble and Drew Bumpers raced 24 yards with the recovery to score a touchdown. Sandlin missed the extra point, and the score was 16-0 with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter. Finnegan was stripped of the ball again, this time by Vernon Tobias, and Nelson Task recovered at the Anaheim 47-yard line. Sandlin would miss a 44-yard field goal attempt, and the Splash finally had their first solid drive of the day, going 66 yards on 11 plays. Finnegan would throw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Brett Fusco, but Anaheim would miss the 2-point conversion, and trailed 16-6 with 14:49 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Alas, that was as close as the Splash would get. The Knights would go 63 yards on 9 plays. Todd threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Chet Quince to make it 23-6 with 11:36 remaining in the fourth. Anaheim would punt, and Sacramento drove 45 yards on 9 plays. Sandlin ended it with a 21-yard field goal to make it 26-6 with 4:23 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento (2-5) gained 328 yards of total offense. The Knights ran for 132 yards on 27 carries. Brett Gold led the team with 72 yards on 12 carries. Todd went 19-of-36 passing for 225 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. Gold (63 yards) and Herb Inman (36 yards) each caught 4 passes in the game. The Knights host the Houston Hotshots next week.

Anaheim (1-6) gained 234 yards of total offense. The Splash ran for 75 yards on 21 carries. Fusco led the team with 43 yards on 11 carries, and caught 7 passes for 71 yards and a TD. Finnegan went 23-of-41 passing for 195 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked five times, losing 36 yards. The Splash visit the Michigan Bombers next week.

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