Maulers clinch playoff spot with dominant defensive showing
Share this post:
When Ray Horton was hired as the second head coach in the history of the second edition of the Pittsburgh Maulers in January, the task ahead of him was daunting.
Take a Maulers team that finished with a 1-9 record last season, worst in the USFL, and turn it into something.
Horton, formerly a defensive coordinator for three NFL teams and the secondary coach of the Steelers for their last three Super Bowl teams, tried to affect that change by focusing on what he knows: defense.
On Saturday, the Maulers’ defense got the team into the playoffs.
Eli Walker’s 46-yard fumble return for a touchdown turned the tide in favor of the Maulers in a 26-6 victory over the New Jersey Generals in a winner-take-all matchup for a playoff spot in the USFL’s North Division.
The Maulers (4-6) clinched a playoff berth and knocked New Jersey (3-7) out of postseason contention. If the Michigan Panthers (3-6) can upset first-place Philadelphia Stars (4-5) on Sunday night, the Maulers will do more than just make the playoffs. They’ll win the division.
In the USFL, the top two teams in each division make the playoffs and face each other in the first round. No matter who is seeded first, the Maulers will play the Stars in the North Division championship game at 8 p.m. next Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
“Coming from last place, the worst team in the USFL last year, to have resilience, to work hard, they would do whatever I asked them to do,” Horton said in a postgame interview on USA Network. “They are unequivocally behind me, and I love these guys for that. They’ll do anything I ask. All we tried to do is do it the right way with hard work, professionalism and just go out and basically keep our mouth shut and go to work.”
The Maulers held New Jersey to 123 passing yards, intercepted two passes and recorded two sacks.
Maulers quarterback Troy Williams limited mistakes and was 17 for 25 passing for 154 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. Isiah Hennie caught six balls for 48 yards and a touchdown on the Maulers’ first drive of the game.Garrett Groschek ran 12 times for 53 yards.
The first-drive touchdown was important.
New Jersey took the opening kickoff, drove 56 yards and took a 3-0 lead on a 27-yard field goal by Nick Sciba.
The Maulers immediately answered with a seven-play, 50-yard scoring drive. A key play was 22-yard catch by Josh Simmons on a third-and-12. Hennie scored on an 11-yard slant. Kicker Chris Blewitt missed the extra point when his plant leg slipped on the turf.
The Generals took advantage of another Maulers special teams mistake to tie the score 6-6 in the second quarter. A bad snap on a 57-yard field-goal attempt by Blewitt set New Jersey up with good field position, and Sciba made a 35-yarder to make it 6-6 with 1:45 left in the first half.
The Maulers were able to retake the lead before the half ended. Taking advantage of an ineffective New Jersey squib kick, Blewitt drilled a 52-yard field goal with 28 seconds left to make it 9-6.
The decisive play came early in the third quarter. New Jersey quarterback De’Andre Johnson dropped back on a third-and-12 play, and Nasir Player knocked the ball from his hands as he threw. Walker picked up the bouncing ball and raced to the end zone to give the Maulers a 16-6 lead.
The Maulers dominated from there.
On their next two drives, the Generals gained a grand total of zero yards on nine plays.
Meanwhile, the Maulers made it 19-6 when Blewitt hit a 22-yard field goal and 26-6 when Madre London scored on a 4-yard touchdown run.
When Mark Gilbert intercepted a Johnson pass in the end zone with 5:10 to play, the game was essentially over and the Maulers’ rise from the ashes was complete.