ARLINGTON, Texas - San Antonio Brahmas quarterback Kellen Mond made his UFL debut for his home town team, but it was the Arlington Renegades and former Brahmas running back Kalen Ballage who stole the show in leading the Renegades to a 33-9 win over San Antonio in the season opener for both teams at Choctaw Stadium. Ballage ran for 110 yards on nine carries including a 77 yard TD run.
Arlington outgained San Antonio 347-240 in total yards. Mond completed 17-of-31 passes for 159 yards. He also ran the ball three times for 19 yards. Arlington’s Luis Perez finished 20-of-25 passing for 164 yards and one interception.
Jashaun Corbin was the Brahma’s leading rusher with 36 yards on six attempts. Jacob Harris had four catches for 63 yards to lead all receivers in the game. Jontre Kirklin added four catches for 24 yards for San Antonio.
San Antonio kicker Donald De La Haye scored the first points for the Brahmas in his return. His 39-yard field goal in the second quarter was his first made field goal since high school.
San Antonio went down early, as Arlington marched down the field for a touchdown on their first possession of the game. Deveon Smith scored the first of his three touchdowns when he pushed forward for a one yard touchdown run, and Perez connected with Sal Cannella for the two-point conversion to lead 8-0.
The first big play on offense for the Brahmas came from Mond with a 17-yard pass to Harris to move the chains.
On the first play of the second quarter, Corey Mayfield Jr. intercepted Perez to give the ball right back to San Antonio. Running back Anthony McFarland Jr. then created a big play of his own for the offense with a 31-yard run.
Facing third-and-long, Mond found Marquez Stevenson for a catch-and-run 15-yard gain to the Arlington 1-yard line, but an offensive facemask erased the big play. San Antonio later settled for a De La Haye 39-yard field goal to pull within, 8-3.
Arlington extended their lead on their very next offensive play with a 77-yard touchdown run by Ballage. The Renegades then converted another two-point attempt to make the score 16-3.
Arlington extended its lead in the second half to 24-3 in the third quarter. Smith found the endzone once again with another rushing score. The Renegades converted a third two-point attempt with a Perez pass to Deontay Burnett.
Down 30-3 late in the fourth quarter, San Antonio found the endzone with 4:09 remaining in the game with a John Lovett 12-yard rushing touchdown. The three-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
Arlington tacked on a late field goal to make it 33-9.
Jordan Williams led the Brahmas defense with 10 tackles while Greedy Williams added six tackles. Mayfield Jr. had five tackles, an interception and one pass breakup.
The Brahmas (0-1) will be on the road again in Week 2 as they face the St. Louis Battlehawks (1-0) next Sunday at the Dome at America’s Center. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CT on FS1. The Renegades (1-0) will host the Houston Roughnecks (0-1) at 11 a.m. CT.