ARLINGTON, TEXAS — It was a cold afternoon in Arlington, but the offenses were even colder as the Arlington Renegades held off the Houston Roughnecks 11-9 in a gritty defensive showdown on Sunday.
Arlington’s defense set the tone early, limiting the Roughnecks to just 225 total yards of offense. Quarterback Anthony Brown was under pressure throughout the game, disrupted by a relentless Renegades front seven. Linebacker Donald Payne led the charge with a game-high in tackles, while the unit held Houston to a mere 63 rushing yards.
Despite their offensive struggles, Houston had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. With under two minutes remaining, Anthony Brown scrambled on a crucial 2-point attempt, lunging toward the goal line—only to be stopped a yard short by linebacker Myles Dorn.
Offensively, the Renegades never found a consistent rhythm. Still, they delivered when it mattered most, engineering a 15-play, 92-yard drive spanning the late third and early fourth quarters. Luis Perez capped the series with a touchdown and a successful 2-point conversion to Deontay Burnett. Perez finished with 211 passing yards and came through with the game’s most critical plays in the clutch.
While Arlington managed to control most of the game, the outcome remained closer than expected. After the win, head coach Bob Stoops addressed the offense’s inconsistencies, saying, “We had a lot of miscues that were, for the most part, self-inflicted.” The Renegades were penalized seven times and will look to clean up those mistakes moving forward.
Still, the Renegades held strong and secured the win to move to 2-0. They’ll now hit the road to face the Birmingham Stallions next week in a key early-season matchup.
