Sacramento's Cory Ross runs with the ball during the Mountain Lions game against Las Vegas. Ross had 15 carries for 71 yards on the night. (Click HERE for more game photos).  Photo by John Blenkle

LAS VEGAS LOCOS

CRUSH SACRAMENTO

MOUNTAIN LIONS 26-3

Click HERE for more game photos

Special to Sacramento Sports News

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2010) - The words were profound in their simplicity. “Losing sucks – period.”
    Running back Cory Ross stood in a quiet hallway, the last Mountain Lions player to leave the locker room following a 26-3 loss to the Las Vegas Locomotives in front of Sacramento’s estimated home crowd of 19,000 fans on Friday night.
    “The way we lost is just upsetting,” Ross said. “You can lose a football game when you lose the turnover battle. And we turned the ball over too much.”
    Las Vegas forced six turnovers in its road victory, one of which came when Ross fumbled inside the five-yard-line.
    “I fumbled and that’s just something that I take personally,” Ross said. “They delivered a great blow on me but usually I hold on to the ball pretty well. That happens but you can’t win a football game when you lose the turnover battle.”
    The rest of the turnovers belonged to Culpepper. The veteran quarterback was responsible for five of Sacramento’s turnovers, throwing four interceptions and losing the ball on a fumble. Culpepper was not available for postgame comment.
    “Daunte did not have a good day at all obviously,” Mountain Lions head coach Dennis Green said. “We ran the ball okay. Protection was okay. The run blocking was the best it’s been so far this year. There are a lot of things going on. … It was interceptions and fumbles.”
    Culpepper threw his third and fourth interceptions late in the fourth quarter. Locomotives safety Lewis Baker, who also recovered a fumble earlier in the night, was responsible for the third interception. Moments later, safety Jamal Lewis made his second interception of the game – this time taking it back 58-yards for a touchdown.

   Culpepper became the first quarterback in the UFL to throw four interceptions in one game. Las Vegas cornerback Isaiah Trufant claimed one of those interceptions, and in doing so set a new UFL single-season record with three interceptions.
    “I am proud of this team and we’re growing,” Locomotives head coach Jim Fassel said. “The defense played outstanding tonight – six turnovers.
    “That’s a good [Sacramento] offense. They ran the ball very successfully at times but we seemed to make plays. We got a lot of pressure on the quarterback. I have a lot of respect for Culpepper.”
    Locomotives running back Marcel Shipp scored the game’s only offensive touchdown on a five-yard run up the middle in the fourth quarter. A 38-yard pass from Tim Rattay to tight end George Wrighster set up the touchdown.
    Las Vegas kicker Steve Hauschka tied a league record with four field goals in a game. The record was set by Nick Novak of the Florida Tuskers last week.
    “Offensively, we did what we’ve been doing,” Fassel said. “That’s kind of a standard game for us. We’re physical and a pretty tough running team, we throw the ball alright but we’re not scoring touchdowns in the red zone – that’s pretty much what we are.”
    Rattay left the field facing somber uncertainty, after injuring his Achilles on Las Vegas’ last offensive play of the game.
    “It doesn’t look good,” Fassel said. “But we’ll have to have a doctor look at it. Nobody hit him, nothing. Nobody touched him, he just stepped wrong and popped it.”
    Sacramento cornerback Robert Bourne broke his left leg in the first quarter defending a deep pass play towards the end zone.

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