Hound Dogs Win Opener in Shoot-out, 40-30

[This is a fictional sport article]

Denver, CO - The offenses were way ahead of the defenses in the USA Football League season opener for both teams.   Tennessee's kicker, David Coutee booted a long field goal from 55 yards with 57 seconds left to secure the Hound Dogs' 40-30 win over the Colorado Cougars.

The teams combined for 871 yards of offense.  Colorado's Corky Bridgewater threw for 396 yards with 171 yards to wide receiver Andrew Cobb.  Richard Lewis held up his end for Tennessee going 24-for-31 with 265 yards and four touchdown passes.

"It was definitely not the game for defense," added Tennessee Head Coach Colton Preston.  "It was just one of those games.  Were we expecting this kind of game?  No but we will take the win and work on our defense this week."

The Hound Dogs struck first on their opening drive going 87 yards in 10 plays.  Lewis' 47-yard pass to Jonathan Byrd to the Colorado 2 set up a short pass to Darnell McCoy to give Tennessee an early 7-0 lead.

Colorado responded on their first drive with a 49-yard field goal from Hondo Wisniewski to cut the lead to 7-3.  

The Hound Dogs pulled away mid-way through the second quarter after a Colorado fumble gave Tennessee the ball at the Colorado 32.  Lewis faked a handoff and dropped back to unleash a laser to Dasher Vaccaro to increase the lead to 20-6.  The Hound Dogs ended the first half with an 8-play, 75-yard drive which ended with a two-yard pass from Lewis to Byrd.  The Hound Dogs added a field goal to start the third quarter to build their lead to 30-6.

The Cougars rallied in the fourth quarter to trim the lead to 37-30.  The Hound Dogs played keep away from the Colorado offense the rest of the game and added some insurance with Coutee's 55-yard kick with less than a minute remaining.

"They were coming at us," Preston said.  "You can't build a big lead and then sit on it expecting a team like Colorado to roll over.  With Bridgewater over there you knew they were never out of the game."

The Hound Dogs will host the Wyoming Mustangs (1-0) next Monday in their home opener in Knoxville.

Top Dogs

• Running back Jonathan Byrd had 122 yards on 18 carries.
• Wide Receiver Dasher Vaccaro had 5 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Score by Quarters

Team            1st        2nd        3rd        4th        F

Tennessee    10        17            3            10        40

Colorado       3         3             10           14        30

Scoring Summary:

1st Quarter

TN - Darnell McCoy 2-yard pass from Rich Lewis (David Coutee kick good)

(Tennessee 7, Colorado 0)

CO - Hondo Wisniewski 49-yard FG

(Tennessee 7, Colorado 3)

TN - Coutee 59-yard FG

(Tennessee 10, Colorado 3)

2nd Quarter

CO - Wisniewski 47-yard FG

(Tennessee 10, Colorado 6)

TN - Coutee 58-yard FG

(Tennessee 13, Colorado 6)

TN - Dasher Vaccaro 32-yards pass from Lewis (Coutee kick)

(Tennessee 20, Colorado 6)

TN - Jonathan Byrd 2-yard pass from Lewis (Coutee kick)

(Tennessee 27, Colorado 6)

3rd Quarter

TN - Coutee 37-yard FG

(Tennessee 30, Colorado 6)

CO - Al Golladay 2-yard pass from Corky Bridgewater (Wisniewski kick)

(Tennessee 30, Colorado 13)

CO - Wisniewski 55-yard FG

(Tennessee 30, Colorado 16)

4th Quarter

TN - McCoy 15-yard pass from Lewis (Coutee kick)

(Tennessee 37, Colorado 16)

CO - Terry Perry 3-yard pass from Bridgewater (Wisniewski kick)

(Tennessee 37, Colorado 23)

CO - Jerry Gallman 22-yard pass from Bridgewater (Wisniewski kick)

(Tennessee 37, Colorado 30)

TN - Coutee 55-yard FG

(Tennessee 40, Colorado 30)