Locomotives face one final test before championship game

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

The Las Vegas Locomotives won their last game in dramatic fashion.

Trailing 7-6 headed into the fourth quarter, the Locomotives scored 10 points against the California Redwoods in the final 12 minutes to clinch a spot in the UFL Championship Game.

“It feels great,” Las Vegas quarterback J.P. Losman said after the game. “It’s a big relief.”

The Locomotives will face the Florida Tuskers on Nov. 20 at Sam Boyd Stadium for the title. But before the players can become too excited about a chance to become the league’s inaugural champions, Las Vegas (3-2) takes on the New York Sentinels (0-5) at 6 p.m. Friday at Sam Boyd.

As far as the standings go, the game is pointless. New York will finish last regardless. Las Vegas will finish second.

Las Vegas coach Jim Fassel, however, is adamant that he will treat the game like any other one.

“We want to play this game to win it,” Fassel said. “We don’t want any letdowns. We don’t want to do anything differently. “

The Locomotives routed the Sentinels 41-10 when the two teams met in New York earlier in the month. The Sentinels have lost their five games by an average of 19 points.

New York has alternated between quarterbacks Quinn Gray and Ingle Martin with neither finding much success.

“Overall, I think they’ve gotten better in every area I’ve seen,” Fassel said. “They are good enough to beat anyone on any given day, so we’ve got to be careful about that.”

Despite the game’s limited significance in terms of the UFL, the players have extra motivation to perform well.

After the season ends in two weeks, all of the UFL players are free to sign with an NFL team. If an NFL team loses a player to injury or needs help at a certain position, it’s likely that they would turn to a top performer in the UFL.

Fassel said he hoped some of the Locomotives had that opportunity.

“The matchup is you could have one of your better players and he doesn’t get a chance in the NFL because of how teams match up with injuries and all that stuff,” Fassel said.

Based on statistics, the Locomotives' top players this year have been running back DeDe Dorsey and linebacker Teddy Lehman.

Dorsey averages more than seven yards per carry and is also a threat in the passing game. Lehman leads the UFL in tackles with seven per game.

Still, Fassel said, the Locomotives have plenty of areas to improve on before meeting the Tuskers — a team they have lost to twice in the regular season — in the championship game.

That will be the focus of Friday’s game against the Sentinels.

“I want to see us improve every week,” Fassel said. “The one thing is, there is no natural progression upwards. You can play better and better, but sometimes you don’t play well enough to win. I’ve been happy with steady improvements the last few weeks.”