Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Locomotives keep rolling in Sacramento

The Las Vegas Locomotives forced a league-record six turnovers in a 26-3 road victory over the Mountain Lions in front of an estimated Sacramento crowd of 19,000 fans.

Locomotives running back Marcel Shipp scored the game’s only offensive touchdown on a five-yard run up the middle of the fourth quarter. A 38-yard pass from Tim Rattay to tight end George Wrighster set up the touchdown.

But the win came at a price as Locos quarterback Rattay left the game in the fourth quarter on crutches with a reported Achilles injury.

Sacramento quarterback Daunte Culpepper was responsible for five of Sacramento’s turnovers, throwing a league-record four interceptions and losing the ball on a fumble.

Culpepper threw his third and fourth interceptions late in the fourth quarter. Locomotives safety Lewis Baker, who also recovered a fumble earlier in the night, claimed the third interception. Moments later, safety Jamal Lewis made his second pick of the game — this time taking it back 58-yards for a touchdown.

Culpepper got off to a rough start, fumbling the ball after being hit outside the pocket by defensive end Eric Henderson in the team’s first series of the game. The ball was recovered by Baker and Las Vegas moved the ball 31 yards and scored the first points of the game on Steve Hauschka’s 47-yard field goal.

Culpepper turned it over again in Sacramento’s second series, this time being intercepted by Locomotives safety Jamal Lewis on a pass across the middle. That set up a second field goal from Hauschka, this time from 44 yards out, on his way to tying a league record of four field goals in a single game.

Disaster nearly struck again for Culpepper in the Mountain Lions’ third possession when the quarterback fumbled again. However, this time, the would-be turnover was called back due to a Las Vegas offside penalty. Sacramento took that possession and drove toward its only points of the game, coming on Fabrizio Scaccia’s 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

Culpepper scrambled and broke a tackle on a 24-yard run on the team’s first possession of the second half. But triumph was quickly trumped by blunder when on the next play Culpepper under-threw Sacramento receiver Otis Amey down the left sideline. Las Vegas cornerback Isaiah Trufant intercepted the pass, resulting in Sacramento fourth turnover of the game. The interception was Trufant’s third interception of the season, a UFL league record.

Sacramento charged down field late in the first half, making its first trip to the red zone before the team committed its third turnover of the half when Ross fumbled the ball on a run through the middle from the six-yard-line.

Dontarrious Thomas recorded nine tackles for Sacramento. Sacramento cornerback Robert Bourne broke his left leg in the first quarter defending a deep pass play towards the end zone.

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