Outlaws Play Well in Houston but Lose to the Cyclones

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Outlaws' quarterback Julie Wilke (Photo courtesy of MaryLou Spence)

Despite some of the worst timekeeping since game four of the 1994 Rockets-Jazz playoff series and some of the strangest and most inaccurate announcing since Harry Caray’s passing, the Outlaws played well against the Houston Cyclones in their season opener this past Saturday. Linebacker, tight end, and defensive lineman Tracey Suire scored the Outlaws’ first touchdown off an 11-yard pass from quarterback Julie Wilke. Shadana Hurd ran for 202 yards on just 22 carries and scored a touchdown off a 17-yard run. Monica Gauck totaled nine tackles on the game, ran for 85 yards on just 13 carries, caught two passes for a total of 30 yards, and recovered a fumble in the end zone for the Outlaws’ second touchdown. And with the game tied at 14-14 late in the third quarter, defensive back Emily Green stifled a Houston drive with a timely interception.

Unfortunately, the team also missed some important passing opportunities, and Houston’s running back and wide receiver Raasin McIntosh capitalized on the few opportunities provided to her by an otherwise strong Outlaw defense. In the end Houston won 27-20 in a down-to-the-wire game, which for some reason felt almost exactly 13 seconds too short.

The Outlaw defense went into their first game of the season confident from a favorable scrimmage against Dallas the week before. Eight-year veteran and defensive end Lorin Smith commented on how well the largely new defense performed in Dallas: “The scrimmage went really well. Our defense really came together. For the rookies, it looked like the eight weeks of practice leading up to the scrimmage finally made sense.” Symone Darlington, the team’s new defensive tackle, agreed. Darlington said she went into the game against Houston with a new appreciation for “the sweat, the aggression, and the desire to compete and win” that a real game carries.

The 27 points the defense gave up to Houston should not lessen the positive sentiments shared by the team going into the game. The Outlaw defense held a consistently tight line that easily competed with Houston’s more tenured offense. Houston simply capitalized on a few key Outlaw misses. McIntosh scored her first touchdown about 10 minutes into the game, and she scored her second touchdown off a 58-yard carry early in the second quarter. In both cases, she cut left and found a hole on the right side of the Outlaws' defense.

Following those two plays, the Outlaws effectively contained Houston’s offense until late in the fourth quarter when Cyclone fullback and tight end Kim Smallwood scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass. Shortly following the two-minute warning Smallwood completed a 30-yard pass play for Houston’s final touchdown. The officials then failed to stop the clock after the play, and the Outlaws lost 13 seconds of valuable game time.

As the team looks to their upcoming game in Dallas this Saturday against the North Texas Fury, they should feel confident in their ability to assert themselves on the field. Prior to the Houston game, the Outlaws’ Defensive Coordinator Narlen Baker stated that he hoped to “force [Houston] to adjust to [the Outlaws'] strategy and whittle down their offensive playbook to the few pages that work for them.” Considering 18 of Houston’s 27 points felt more like Outlaw oversight than Cyclone planning, it’s fair to say that the Outlaws at least partially accomplished their main objective: both teams played most of Saturday’s game on the Outlaws’ terms.