The Game
In a tightly contested USFL game, the Houston Gamblers outlasted the New Jersey Generals 16-10 at their home field. The Gamblers’ early lead proved crucial as they weathered a late fourth-quarter surge from the Generals.
Houston came out strong in the first half with a 13-point lead courtesy of a touchdown and two field goals. In the third quarter, they managed to add another three points to their lead with a third successful field goal. The Generals, however, remained scoreless until the final quarter when they rallied to put 10 points on the board. But despite their late-game efforts, they fell short, allowing the Gamblers to seal the win.
With this result, the Houston Gamblers improved their season record to 4-2, while the New Jersey Generals fell to 2-4.
Key Performances
New Jersey Generals
Quarterback Kyle Lauletta led the Generals’ offense, completing 17 of 30 passes for 177 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Running back Darius Victor also had notable contributions, rushing for 38 yards on 10 attempts. Wide Receiver Alonzo Moore was a standout in the passing game, hauling in 5 receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown.
On the defense, Safety Paris Ford put in a strong performance with 5 tackles.
Houston Gamblers
For the Gamblers, the offense was spearheaded by Quarterback Kenji Bahar who completed 19 out of 29 passes for 130 yards. Running back Mark Thompson stood out with 22 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. The passing game was complemented by Wide Receiver Justin Hall, who recorded 6 receptions for 59 yards.
Defensively, Cornerback Trae Elston led the way with 5 tackles.
USFL Box Score
Ken Granito
May 22, 2023 at 1:50 pm
Hey Mark, You really did a great job of recapping what went down during the game. To be honest you did what you are supposed to do, you reported what happened. As a regular guy who has no ties, I get to drill down a little more. First off, good battle. I don’t believe Lauletta ever had the same rhythm and accuracy he had last week, but he did shake off whatever was holding him back and at least brought the game to Houston in the 2nd half. What Riley will need to choose goong forward what he has to do. I like that Riley tries to take the temperature of his team as he had a lot to do with signing them as he sees their strengths, but I also mentioned how the games you lost that you could have won could come back to haunt espcecially when injuries occur. Now the gentleman who was leading the USFL coming into Week 6 is out and All -USFL safety Shalom Luani became injured. Hopefully they will be healthy next week, but that is unlikely. So now, those injuries and this loss that was mostly due to Chris Orr us another injury. I have to trust that Mike Riley has seen enough from his team that his gut knows what his next step is. I do know that Kyle cannot afford to just give another half away, so hopefully if he is the QB Sunday he comes out battling like he did in the 2nd half and the week before when he put on a clinic. On the other side of this, when the USFL discussed rule changes saying the clock would run on every play until 5 minutes of each half, I counted about 14 plays each half that won’t happen over the course of the game. This rule took away plays from the game not commercial time. There were two games yeaterday higely affected by this. If the Gamblers vs Generals and Stars vs Breakers could jave played under the same rules it did last year when you onlu did this for the 1st and 3rd quarters these games might have some down to the very end. Plus Cookus and Behar played good games, but their numbers are dwarfed in comparison due to the time issue and lack of plays. Fantasy league owners roar, because their fantasy numbers looking more like an E.RA in baseball. All that and after the Generals vs Gamblers game their was about 15 minutes for commercials and interviews, when that could have been better attributed to extra game time. Just something to tweak for season 3
Ken Granito
May 22, 2023 at 1:56 pm
Sorry guys doing this at work. Rushing too much. It almost seems I was drunk. LOL! Come on Generals, just get back to playing football and hopefully those injuries are not too seroius.