Rebels in the Pros: Jordan Ta’amu dazzles in losing effort to Demarquis Gates

As we turn the page from week two and reflect on the XFL season so far, things are going pretty well for the young league. Attendance was solid in week two and stayed relatively stable from one week to the next, and we seem to have found out who the favorites are for the rest of the season.

We also had some Reb-on-Reb violence in the BattleHawks vs. Roughnecks game. We here at the Cup do NOT condone Reb-on-Reb violence (or any violence for that matter), that said let’s take a look at Rebels in XFL during week two.

Houston Roughnecks 28, St. Louis BattleHawks 24

The final game of the weekend was also the best. Houston led 21-6 at the half before Jordan Ta’amu got cooking, but alas it wasn’t enough as the Roughnecks held off the BattleHawks, 28-24. St. Louis is blessed to not only feature our perfect Hawaii son, but also one of the best wide receivers in the league in former Nebraska Cornhusker De’Mornay Pierson-El.

Down two scores at the half, Ta’amu threw for 47 yards and rushed for 12 more as the Hawks marched down the field to start the second half. Following a defensive stand, the Throwin’ Samoan passed for another 20 yards and ran for 10 more including a four yard touchdown run that cut the lead to three. In all, Jordan was 30-for-37 for 284 yards through the air and chipped in 32 yards on eight carries on the ground. Channing Ward added a tackle for St. Louis as well.

On the season Ta’amu leads the XFL with 602 yards gained including 493 through the air (2nd in XFL) and 109 on the ground (3rd).

Don’t let Ta’amu’s performance overshadow Demarquis Gates and Houston getting the win, however. Gates was the best player on the field for the Roughnecks, amassing nine tackles, a tackle for loss, and one huge sack to force a St. Louis punt.

Seattle Dragons 17, Tampa Bay Vipers 9

The Vipers dropped their second game on the season, 17-9 to Seattle, but once again they out-gained their opponents in both total yards and yards per play. Daronte Bouldin earned his second start in a row for Tampa Bay, as he paced the way for 141 yards on 32 carries for Quinton Flowers and Co. Next week, Bouldin will face an outstanding Roughnecks defense led by Gates.

This week’s schedule:

Who: Houston at Tampa Bay
When: Saturday, 1:00pm CST
TV: ABC

Who: New York at St. Louis
When: Sunday, 2:00pm CST
TV: ESPN