By Michael Hudson
EBC Seattle Bureau
SEATTLE, WA (Eagle News) — The first home game of an inaugural season is one of the most special days in the history of a professional sports team and this indeed was the case in Seattle as football enthusiasts and the curious alike came out to witness the XFL’s Seattle Dragons kickoff their first home game in their inaugural season with a 17-9 grind-it-out win against the newly anointed 0-2 Tampa Bay Vipers.
Before an XFL-record 29,172 in attendance, Seattle persevered, on both sides of the ball, to send the Vipers home with their second loss of the XFL season.
With CenturyLink Field being popularly known as the home stadium for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, the Dragons (1-1) pulled out all of the stops pregame as Seahawks legend Wide Receiver Steve Largent bore the Dragon torch and ignited the special cauldron that was announced to be a Dragons pregame ritual throughout the season.
The Dragons, however, needed all the offensive help they could get as they struggled to get anything going during their first handful of possessions. Dragons starting quarterback Brandon Silvers threw for just 12 yards in the first half, obviously affected by the typical Seattle-month-of-February weather conditions.
The defense, however, kept the game close. A first-quarter interception by Dragons cornerback Jeremy Clark at the 8:28 mark ignited the Dragons and later Seattle nickel cornerback Steve Williams delivered a punishing sack from behind to Vipers starting quarterback Taylor Cornelius.
With just 2:33 remaining in the first half, Vipers kicker Andrew Franks nailed a 48-yard field goal to put Tampa Bay up 3-0 going into halftime.
After Silver threw an interception that led to a 78-yard touchdown return for Vipers’ Tavarus McFadden, the Seattle QB bounced back with a 68-yard touchdown strike of his own as he hit wide receiver Keenan Reynolds who easily beat his defender. This brought the score to 9-6 and the Dragons within striking distance.
The play of the game was made late in the third quarter, as the Vipers second starting quarterback, Quinton Flowers, attempted a bubble screen pass that was swiftly intercepted by Dragons defensive lineman Marcell Frazier who took just two steps straight into the end zone to make it 12-9.
The Dragons successfully converted a 2-point conversion that extended their lead to 14-9.
Dragons Linebacker Kyle Queiro sealed the Seattle victory after he picked off another Taylor Cornelius interception with just seconds left.
Reynolds led the Dragons offensive charge with three receptions for 87 yards, while starting linebacker Steven Johnson spear-headed the defense with nine tackles.
The Tampa Bay Vipers take on the Houston Roughnecks in their home-opener on Saturday, February 22nd while Seattle remains at CenturyLink Field as they face the Dallas Roughnecks.
(Eagle News Service)