Outlaws Keep Their Hopes Alive: Billings 51- Nashville 34

Monday night, the Nashville Kats headed out West to take on the Billings Outlaws. Due to the implications of standings, seeding, and making the postseason, this is almost a pseudo-playoff game. Coming in, the Kats sit third in the standings at 5-3 while the Outlaws are in sixth at 4-6. Darren Arbet and Nashville will look to hold onto that third seed with a win, with Chuck Jones and the Outlaws trying to navigate back into the playoff picture.
Nashville is coming off a bye and should be well-rested for the road game. The Outlaws exploded for a 58-7 win over the Oregon Lightning last week. This game will feature two of the best coaches in the league, in their only matchup of the season. The Kats boast one of the stoutest defenses in the league. The Outlaws are deploying one of the most potent offenses. A shield against a sword, which team bends first?

Both these teams looked evenly matched early in the game, but Billings did not take their foot off the gas. Every time Nashville was within striking distance, the Outlaws held firm and found a way to flip the momentum. With a win, Billings keeps their hopes alive. Find out how the Outlaws maintain control below.

Game Recap

The Billings Outlaws received the kick to start the game. Finding Daruis Prince twice, Malik Henry connected with his favorite weapon to move the ball down to the 15-yard line. Wide open in the endzone, Prince and Henry got on the board first. Dean Faithful ripped his first kickoff for a deuce, giving the Outlaws a nine-point lead. On the second play for the Kats, Tyler Kulka had the ball knocked out of his hands by his lineman, Jamell Winn II, dove on the ball to give the ball back to the Outlaws. Unable to move the ball, Faithful attempted a field goal and missed to the right. The Kats' line crumbled again, and Sydney Houston Jr plowed Kulka into the endzone board for a safety sack. With passes to Prince and Swoboda, the Outlaws moved into scoring position. With a draw play from Henry, Billings entered the five-yard line, but a facemask moved them back ten yards. Trying to find Prince in the endzone, Shaun Lewis picked off Henry. Kulka quickly fired to Jordan Gandy twice. On the second pass, Gandy was left wide open to trot into the endzone. As time expired in the first quarter, the Outlaws held an 11-6 lead.

Firing into the endzone, Darius Prince battled with Shaun Lewis for the ball. Lewis stripped the ball after the touchdown call was made and was called for a penalty. Scoring on the play, Prince brought in his second touchdown. Kulka quickly dumped off the ball to Milton Williams III, who dodged a defender and dove in for a touchdown. Gunner Raborn, wanting his own deuce of the game, connected to keep the Kats within four. With three penalties by the Kats, Billings moved inside the ten-yard line. Trying to soak up some of the clock, Billings handed the ball off to Hunter Swoboda four times, pushing his way into the endzone. Ibrahim Sesay attempted to jump a pass from Kulka, but dropped the ball with a wide open lane to the endzone, saving Nashville from a disastrous play. On fourth down, Kulka threw way over his receiver's head, however, flags were thrown on the play, giving the Kats another set of downs inside the ten. Calvin Fance took the handoff and ran his way into the endzone. Nashville opted to go for two, but the ball was tipped, and the conversion failed. Raborn again hit a deuce to put the Kats within three. With less than a minute left in the half, Malik Henry delivered a strike to Kenneth Brewer III for a touchdown. A last attempt on the half, Kulka found Gandy, who was just short of the endzone, and a penalty came in on Nashville, negating the pickup. Through two quarters, Outlaws lead 31-22.

The Nashville Kats began the half with the ball. Wide open, Gandy streaked down the field, getting tackled inside the ten. Making a great defensive play, Dwayne Hollis breaks up the fourth-down attempt, giving the Outlaws the ball back. Deep in their own territory, Malik Henry put some air on the ball, and Kenneth Brewer III ran under the ball for a score. Gandy split two defenders for a touchdown in his hands, but bobbled it, and the play resulted in a drop. Nashville challenged the catch, but failed the attempt. On the next play, Billings was flagged for roughing the passer, moving the ball to the nine. Hollis undercut the receiver, picked off Tyler Kulka, turning them away from a scoring chance. Malik Henry, on the next play, delivered a strike to his favorite weapon, Prince, for a touchdown. Ending the third quarter, Billings led 45-22

Penalties helped Nashville advance the ball down the field. However, with a bad snap, Kulka fumbled the ball, and Jamell Winn again dove on the ball. Malik Herny lofted a ball to Darius Prince on fourth down, Shaun Lewis went up and nabbed his second interception of the game. Dakari Thrope sprinted into the endzone, giving the Kats their first points of the half. Nashville attempted a two-point conversion that failed. Trying to get back in the game, the Kats tried for an onside, and Billings recovered with a tacted on penalty, giving the Outlaws great field position. Hunter Swoboda, with a head of steam, muscled his way in for a touchdown. Needing to find an answer, Kulka threw a touchdown to Nih-Jer Jackson. Failing another two-point attempt, the Kats continued to fight. With a minute left, Billings gave the ball to Hunter Swoboda to run out the clock. As time expired, Kulka threw a deep pass but fell to the ground off the rebound net. Final 51-34.

Impact PerformaNces

Nashville's offensive weapons were a problem when they got the ball. Jordan Gandy, Caliv Fance, Dakari Thorpe, Nih-Jer Jackson, and Milton Williams all added a touchdown each. The main contributor tonight for the Kat's defense was Shaun Lewis. He had 2 interceptions and was in on another play that was a 50:50 ball that could have been called an interception. Gunnar Raborn hit two deuces in the game.

Malik Henry played well tonight. Throwing for 5 touchdowns, Malik navigated the tough Kats' secondary with ease. Henry also used his legs to move the chains and keep the Kats' defense honest. Darius Prince and Kenneth Brewer III made things easy on Malik. Prince ended the game with 3 touchdowns, and Brewer added another 2. Hunter Swoboda ran in 2 touchdowns and had a handful of catches as well. Defensively, Jamell Winn was a force in the middle, scooping up 2 fumbles. Sydney Houston Jr. had multiple tackles, a key sack safety, and recovered an onside kick attempt by Nashville late in the game. Dwayne Hollis was all over the place and had a critical interception.

With the win, the Billings moves to 5-6 and Nashville falls to 5-4. This game may be one of the regular-season matchups that defined the season. This allowed Billings to stay in the playoff hunt. Nashville's seeding remains unchanged. The Nashville Kats will wrap up the season hosting the Corpus Christi Tritons. The Billings Outlaws will head to Oregon to take on the Lightning for their finale.