Vonora Lewis 
On the biggest night in film, thousands traveled to Audi Field to see the Defenders back in action. It was a cold and rainy night in SW DC, however, Sunday Night Football was red hot. The Defenders had another action-pack game that kept all in attendance, entertained. The Defenders beat the Vipers 32-18.
The first half of the game was lopsided. The Defenders’ were in complete control. The Vipers quarterback Brett Hundley fumbled on the game’s first possession, because of the Defenders’ edge Davin Bellamy. Bellamy recovered the fumble, putting the Defenders in a great field position. It wasn’t long before quarterback, D’Eriq King rushed it in and put the Defenders on the board early.Â
The Vipers struggled to get into the endzone the entire first half. However, within the last two minutes of the half, quarterback Luis Perez activated some life in the offense. The Vipers marched down the field with an opportunity to make the game more competitive. Perez attempted to run in a touchdown to get the Vipers back into the game, unfortunately for Vegas, the Defenders’ defense was able to shut down Perez. At the end of the second quarter, the score was 14-6, DC.
The second half of the game got interesting. The Defenders fumbled on the kickoff to start the second half. The Vipers’ offense could not capitalize on that opportunity, which resulted in a turnover on downs. Quarterback Jordan Ta’Amu had an explosive 49-yard run which put the Defenders in great field position which resulted in a field goal. In the 4th quarter, the Vipers got attractive. They got to the endzone because of Perez’s 26-yard past to Cinque Sweeting.
This brought a little life back to the Vipers. Then D’Eriq King threw a 32-yard pass to Jequez Ezzard which resulted in a touchdown. The possibility of a late comeback for the Vipes was becoming less and less possible. However, Perez was able to connect with Sweeting for a 25-yard pass which resulted in a touchdown, making it 18-29. The Vipers went for three and it was no good. The Defenders ended the game with a 23-yard field goal making the final score 32-18.
The Defenders will be on the road this weekend to take on the Battlehawks in St. Louis. The Vipers will be hosting the Orlando Guardians. The Defenders have a difficult game ahead of them. The Battlehawks want their number-one seed in the North spot back. The Defenders need to improve on Special Teams if they want to remain undefeated.
