Showboats Blown Out by Renegades

The Arlington Renegades soundly defeated the Memphis Showboats 30-12 on Saturday, May 25. The Renegades came into town to steal the joy from the Showboats, and definitely rained on their parade. This is a short summary of game events and 4 quick takeaways from the contest.  

When the game started, finally, the Renegades took the field in the starched white road uniforms, with powder blue legging and matching blue helmets. The home Showboats were in the navy blue pants, and the navy jerseys with distinctive yellow trim around the shoulder pads, and the matching navy helmets with the Showboats’ logo. The quarterback starters were E.J. Perry for the Showboats, who hadn’t seen real action since Week 4, and Holton Ahlers for the Renegades, who has been a frequent starter since the injury of Luis Perez.

First half back and forth:

Seth Green had the first touchdown for the Renegades. After building up a quick 9-0 lead, the Renegades let the Showboats back in. Jalen Jackson for the Showboats had a 3-yard touchdown to cut it to 9-6. A field goal for each side made it 12-9 at half.

The second half saw the multiple mistakes cause problems for the Showboats. A pass touchdown to the right (#99) was a beautiful 41-yard play. Yet another missed conversion made it 18-12 Arlington. The interception of a pass left Arlington at their own 45. They finished off the short drive with a 15-yard scramble left by #15 for the TD.  This made it 24-12 and seemed to let the air out of the balloon as Memphis had been close all day. Plus it seemed even the players for the Showboats looked dejected.

Takeaways

1. The Showboat’s offense is backsliding. The last two weeks the Memphis team has been a running threat, and occasionally a passing threat. This week had an interception early on, and a fumble on a sack late in the game.  The midseason turnovers blues from Memphis returned to doom the Showboats. The trade of Dee Anderson, plus the injury to their best receiver Jonathan Adams has really hurt the passing game.
2. Holton Ahlers likes Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. As a Tulane QB he had several good games in Memphis and this was definitely another one.  Plus the rushing of the Renegades led to a potent Renegades offensive onslaught.
3. Memphis punting woes continue. The last several games have led to several partially blocked punts.  This week it resulted in Mengel’s injury on a punt block attempt. After the injury, placekicker Matt Coghlin took over as the emergency punter. He was serviceable but had one short punt late in the game to give the Renegades great field position.
4. Both of the teams looked subdued after a long rain delay. Sluggish starts (0-0 first quarter, anyone) and a low attendance because of torrential rain led to little crowd participation. Plus it seemed even the players for the Showboats looked dejected as another close one slipped away.

The final game of the season for the Showboats is June 1st, in Memphis against the Birmingham Stallions. Though Birmingham has a superior record, they are confirmed for the playoffs. In Week 10 we’ll see if they’re motivated highly to play an always scrappy Showboats team. Plus, Birmingham is out for revenge since it’s first loss was to Memphis.