NEWS RELEASE
Oct. 27, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Austin, TX— The Austin Vipers three-game winning streak came to an end in week seven after the San Jose Bandits came back to win on Monday night by a narrow margin of 9.56 points, defeating the Vipers 154.04-144.48.
Vipers’ wide receiver Tyler Lockett had a breakout week smashing all projections. Lockett pulled in 15 of 19 intended targets for 200 yards and three touchdowns. He is the first receiver since Calvin Johnson to have over 500 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in their first seven games of the season. Many Vipers players failed to perform this week, including Aaron Jones, who scored zero points after being scratched from the game last minute. Bandits’ quarterback Russell Wilson led the team with 388 passing yards, 84 rushing yards, and three touchdowns scoring 47.92 points. Wilson has now been the team’s leading point-getter in four of the past six matches.
The biggest disappointment for the Vipers lied within their quarterbacks. Vipers’ QB Cam Newton had a poor performance only scoring 2.62 points. Newton, who has missed a few weeks of the season due to COVID-19, will need to turn his play around if the Vipers want to keep winning games.
In the post-game press conference, Head Coach Ryan Pelletier was disappointed in the team result, but very optimistic about the remainder of the season.
“A lot of individual problems really hurt us this week. Our QB’s couldn’t get going and last-minute injuries really came back to bite us. We played a strong game but needed some more drive if we were going to close it out. We are going to have look at alternate lineups if players cannot bring their best every week, everyone has to buy in if we are going to make the postseason. That game came down to who wanted it more, and clearly that team did. We have a tough road on the schedule coming up, but I know my guys will get to work in practice this week in order to prepare for next week.”
The loss brings the Vipers’ record to 4-3, currently sitting fifth in the SCOM Fantasy Classic League, and third in the Section 1 division.
The Austin Vipers will be at home again in week eight to face off against the 5-2 San Antonio Chaps at the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
About the Austin Vipers
The Austin Vipers are a professional football organization located in the heart of Austin, Texas. This is their inaugural season in the SCOM Fantasy Classic League. For more information visit www.austinvipers.com
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