San Antonio Defenders Return to Form In Victory Over Orlando Orcas
San Antonio – The Defenders got back to their winning ways this weekend after a statement victory over the Orlando Orcas, 144.14-114. They improve to 3-1 on the season and move into a tie with the Austin City Limits for second place in the league.
Once again running back Austin Eckler led the way, this time with a 120-yard, two-touchdown performance worth 29.20 points. Rookie quarterback Kyler Murray filled in the flex position beautifully, accounting for 28.34 points while wide receiver Mike Evans put up 21.90 points, his second straight 20-point week.
When asked to assess his first four weeks of the season, Eckler responded “I definitely learned a lot being the starter, as far as playing smarter and I think that’s what’s really helped me being the starter–just learning the game of football”
With running back Saquon Barkley out for 4-6 weeks, the win did more than just improve the Defenders record. Throughout the organization there’s been an emotional upswing as a “next man up” mentality has taken hold. General Manager Kendall Trautz echoed these sentiments in his postgame presser.
“I won’t lie, after Saquon’s injury we were all pretty deflated,” said Trautz.” “He was our first overall pick, but I’m extremely proud how the team bounced back as a whole. We’re going to improve every day, and he’ll return to a better franchise than when he left.”
The Defenders take on the Harrisonburg Valley Bees next week at the AlamoDome at 1 p.m.
The San Antonio Defenders strive to bring awareness to immigration reform as it directly impacts our city. One in six Texas residents are immigrants. Our mission is to bring recognition to this problem and allow more people to call Texas their home. For more information go to www.SADEF.org/mission
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