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Wolfpack Fall in Home Opener to Oregon Lightning 33-16
In their first action of the Arena Football One season, the Washington Wolfpack fell to the rival Oregon Lightning 33-16. Defense was the name of the game as this one featured three defensive touchdowns between the squads, five turnovers, and multiple blocked kicks as well.
Angel of the Winds Arena was rocking for the Wolfpack’s home and season opener, and fans were ready to support their hometown Professional Arena Football Team. The Wolfpack looked ready to answer the bell in the first quarter, but a promising offensive drive was cut short by an offensive penalty. While the Wolfpack offense sputtered, the defense came out firing. The revamped defensive line was as good as advertised, as Javier Edwards and Mike Fields both made an early impact, Fields especially. He forced an early fumble while pressuring Dalton Cole, which Donte Reed scooped for a score to put Washington up 7-0 early.
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From there, Oregon’s offense went on the attack, scoring multiple times to close out the first quarter up 12-7. Dalton Cole responded to the mistake by throwing two quick touchdowns and putting the Wolfpack back on their heels. The Washington offense struggled throughout the game, and by midway through the second half, Coach JR Wells made a switch at quarterback and brought in Adam Kruse to take over for Vincent Espinoza. Kruse and the offense had a few sparks, but still struggled to make anything happen offensively.
Defensively, the Wolfpack kept the pressure up throughout the game. Their relentless pressure from their line pushed Cole and the Lightning offense off schedule repeatedly and allowed the coverage to intercept Cole twice as they sacked him multiple times as well. At halftime, Washington trailed the Lightning by a score of 31-7.
Coming out in the second half, the Wolfpack tried to find a spark offensively, but Kruse was unable to provide a jolt. Outside of one deep, 40-yard completion to Aakiel Greer, Kruse only completed seven passes for 33 yards in three quarters of work. He was also unable to make any plays with his legs, as the Oregon defense contained him.
On the other side of the ball, Washington was spectacular, holding Oregon to only two points in the entire second half. This included a late goalline stand where Washington stopped Oregon cold on three consecutive plays from inside the five-yard line. Washington was able to turn Oregon over one more time as time expired. Byron Edwards broke on an errant Cole pass and took the interception into the end zone for six points to close out the game.
WOLFPACK OFFENSE STRUGGLES
The revamped Washington offensive line stood up against a tough Oregon defensive line at times, and several sloppy center-quarterback exchanges led to the ball hitting the turf and momentum being disrupted. There were several instances where the offensive line struggled with the Lightning line, and it put the offense in difficult situations. However, even when the line gave the quarterback time, there were miscommunications and errant throws that prevented the offense from getting in gear.
With a pair of explosive receivers in Quintavius Workman and Aakiel Greer, the Wolfpack were optimistic that their offense would stretch defenses and put them on their back foot. Both Kruse and Espinoza struggled to find a rhythm and struggled to put the ball in places where their receivers could make a play on the ball. The few times they were able to get their hands on the ball, Workman and Greer were forced into quick routes that did not develop into bigger chunks.
Moving forward, both Greer and Workman should remain heavily involved in the Wolfpack offense, but they need to figure out a way to make their targets more impactful. Greer was targeted 11 times and caught four, while Workman was targeted nine times and also caught four. Together, they turned those eight catches into 78 yards, 40 of which came on a single deep shot to Greer. That has to improve moving forward.
WOLFPACK DEFENSE CLAMPS DOWN IN SECOND HALF
Washington saw an injection of defensive talent during the offseason, and it showed on Sunday. Their revamped defense under the direction of Defensive Coordinator Delvin Myles allowed zero offensive points in the second half. Oregon’s only second-half points came on a safety.
Fields and Edwards both made regular appearances in the backfield and routinely disrupted rushing and passing plays. Fields had several hits on his former teammate, Dalton Cole, and his early forced fumble looked like it could spark Washington early.
After some early miscues, the defensive secondary stepped up and limited the boom-bust Lightning passing attack to bust only. They managed to intercept Cole twice. Returning member of the Pack, Jadarius Byrd made a good read and broke on a deep shot that would have resulted in points if he had misplayed it. And newcomer Byron Edwards had a few key breakups, including during the goalline stand to prevent Oregon from expanding their lead.
There’s a lot to build on defensively in Washington, and if the Wolfpack can clean up the early big plays, then this defense will keep the team in games. Especially if they continue to force turnovers.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR WASHINGTON
After dropping the home opener, Washington is off in Week 2 of the AF1 season. That gives the players and coaches time to hit training hard and prepare for their April 25 showdown with the Nashville Kats. Making an early-season trip to Clarksville to take on the Kats will be a big test for Washington, and it does not get any easier in Week 4 as they play host to the defending champion Albany Firebirds.
There were some bright spots defensively, but the offensive performance left a lot to be desired for Washington. Taking advantage of an open week before the Week 3 road trip will be key for Coach Wells and the Wolfpack. They have the weapons to hang with teams, and with a few tweaks, they should be able to spark some offensive excitement in the weeks to come.