UFL Postseason Tee-Up - Destroyers Bucking The Home Trend
The Virginia Destroyers qualified for Friday’s 2011 United Football League Championship Game by doing something very few UFL teams have been able to do - be successful at home.
Virginia won both of its 2011 regular-season games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex - 34-17 vs. the Las Vegas Locomotives (the Destroyers’ title game opponent Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern) in Week 2, and 28-6 over the Sacramento Mountain Lions in Week 4.
That goes against the three-year trend of the UFL, in which home teams have gone 20-20 in the regular season (4-4 in 2011, 10-10 in 2010 and 6-6 in 2009). In fact, just three other teams besides the 2011 Destroyers have had a winning regular-season home record (2009 Florida 3-0, 2009 Las Vegas 2-1 and 2011 Las Vegas 1-0).
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that a Marty Schottenheimer-led team would succeed at home. The 2006 San Diego Chargers went 8-0 at home during the regular season, meaning Schottenheimer has won his last 10 regular-season home games. Schottenheimer’s last home win in the postseason, however, came on January 8, 1994 - a 27-24 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers while coaching the Kansas City Chiefs.
League-wide roster moves
Three of the four UFL teams made roster moves on Tuesday.
The Omaha Nighthawks brought back 2010 punter Justin Brantly after placing punter Tom Mante on injured reserve. Brantly was tied for second in the UFL last fall with a 41.4-yard average, and his net average of 35.7 was second-best.
The Destroyers inked 2009-10 Florida Tusker offensive tackle Seth Wand, a two-year UFL starter, after placing veteran tailback Adrian Peterson on IR. And the Mountain Lions re-signed safety Zachary Schroeder, a Sacramento State product, after waiving defensive end Josh Savage.
