After suffering their first loss of the season last week against the reigning back-to back USFL champion Birmingham Stallions, the Michigan Panthers welcomed the Houston Roughnecks to Ford Field for the last of three straight home games to open their 2024 campaign.
And while things started out hairy for the home side, the Panthers found their stride when faced with adversity, and ultimately put together a true signature victory to stay in the winning half of the table in the USFL division.
Game start
Houston received the ball to start the game, with the drive starting at their own 48. For the first time this season, the Panthers defense gave up a touchdown on the away side’s opening possession.
The Roughnecks run game found success early, with the offensive line creating a lane for lead back T.J. Pledger IV just inside the tackles for 12 yards. Later in the drive, it’s receiver Emmanuel Butler winning after contact from corner Keith Gipson, converting a third-and-5 on the Panthers’ 25-yard line into first-and-goal from the one. Pledger ran it into the endzone on the next play, with Houston quarterback Reid Sinnett again finding Butler for the 2-point conversion. 8-0 Roughnecks.
Facing third-and-8 on their first possession of the game, Panthers’ quarterback EJ Perry delivered a laser to the deftly nimble Trey Quinn for a 24-yard reception along the sidelines.
Perry rolled out of the pocket to run on third-and-5 from the 31, but was brought down just a couple yards shy of the line to gain. The Panthers brought out their star kicker, Jake Bates, to get them on the scoreboard with a 46-yard field goal to make it 8-3.
Houston again received strong field position from their special teams unit, starting the second drive from their 40. But on the first play of the drive, Panthers defensive tackle Garrett Marino goes full bully. Lined up over the center, he quickly beats his man to get into the backfield and bring down Pledger for a loss of five.
Facing third-and-12, the Roughnecks commit back-to-back false start penalties, forcing them into a conservative quarterback run on fourth-and- 22. However, the Panthers woes on special teams continued, leaving them starting their second drive from the 17-yard line.
Flipping the script
EJ Perry is a vastly different quarterback when this offense can get him into play action.
After faking a hand-off to Wes Hills on first-and-10 from their own 40, Perry found Devin Gray working the middle of the field – shedding the safety and rolling outside hash marks to give his QB an open look. The catch went for 25 yards, setting the Michigan offense up at Houston’s 35.
After overthrowing his tight end, Hikutini, on first down to end the quarter, Perry connected with Quinn for 4 yards to set up a fourth-and-1, which the signal caller converted with a QB run.
On a second-and-7 from the Roughnecks 20, Perry rolled to his right, finding his leading man, Marcus Simms, hitting him just below the chest for a first down at the 11-yard line. After holding the Panthers to no gain on first and second downs, the Roughnecks overplayed their coverage, giving Perry daylight to run out of the pocket and into the endzone for the touchdown. Despite a penalty that gave them the ball at the 2-yard line for the 2-point conversion, Wes Hills was brought down just shy of the goal line.
Panthers quarterback EJ Perry dives into the endzone against the Houston Roughnecks. (Tony Patroske/The Pit Media)
The Panthers took the lead, 9-8.
On their next drive, the Roughnecks worked their way quickly inside the Michigan 25-yard line — including a pass on fourth-and-1 from just outside the 40 that goes for 19. The following play, Panthers corner Lavonta Taylor goes airborne but fails to wrangle a would-be pick from the Panthers’ 5-yard line. On the very next play, safety Kedrick Whitehead Jr gets physical with Roughnecks tight end Braedon Bowman, forcing a pop ball that floats just long enough for Kai Nacua to swoop in for the pick to make it Panthers ball at their own 22-yard line.
Backup play
Michigan brought out their backup QB Danny Etling on the ensuing drive, which he opens with back-to-back QB runs; though the first, a fake handoff before rolling out right towards the sideline, proves more effective than the next. Ultimately, Etling’s awareness in the pocket ends the drive on a third-and-2, when he’s forced to simply chuck it away after failing to escape pressure in the pocket.
At the 2-minute warning of the first half, Houston facing a third-and-9, Sinnett dropped back and TJ Pledger did a clean shake n’ bake on linebacker Noah Dawkins, cutting outside for a 19-yard catch and run. The Panthers forced another third-and-long look, and the Roughnecks brought out their placekicker J.J. Molson for a 25-yard attempt on fourth-and-6.
Houston took back the lead with 50 seconds left in the half, 11-9.
It wasn’t a great first half for De’Gabriel Floyd, who bobbled the return on back-to-back punts, which resulted in the Panthers starting their drives from the Michigan 17 & 25, respectively. This time, Floyd came off the field with a notable gimp in his step after taking contact from Marvin Moody and Carlo Kemp on the return.
Despite having a fairly solid outing in the first half, the Roughnecks defense seemed to have limited answers for the Panthers’ two-minute drill game plan. Perry went a perfect 6 for 6 on the drive, connecting largely on fade and out routes toward the sideline. This set up, you guessed it, the Panthers offense just inside the Houston 40-yard line with four seconds left before halftime– enter Jake the Great.
After hitting a measly 46-yarder to get Michigan their first points of the day, Bates’ got his second look – this one from 55 yards out. Houston, similar to St. Louis at the end of the Week 1 matchup, attempted to ice Bates on the attempt. It just doesn’t matter as he hits when they count, and he hits when they don’t. Panthers go into the half up, 12-11.
High-scoring half
Panthers received to start the second half, and once again it’s Floyd. This time he handles the kickoff well, moving the ball another five yards after getting sandwiched on the initial contact. Michigan starts the drive at their own 34.
So what would the Panthers do to open the second half?
Perry finds his favorite target, Marcus Simms, on a shallow outlet pass. And when I say shallow, I mean Simms reads the coverage, takes all of four steps off the line, and comes back on the hitch route – literally sitting on an island and wide open for his QB to find after buying time and escaping the pocket.
From catching the low-thrown ball along the sideline of the Michigan 36, Simms left five missed tackles on the turf in his wake on the 66-yard touchdown. Perry rolled to his right and finds his newest target in the receiver room, Siaosi Mariner, for the 2-point conversion. Panthers up 20-11 — and they would never look back.
Michigan found the endzone again on their next two possesions. The first was a methodical drive from Perry and the offense, capped off by another touchdown run from EJ. The second, set up deep in Roughnecks territory by a blocked punt attempt by Whitehead Jr. and finished by the tandem of Etling and Colburn, with the latter running into the endzone to give the Panthers a 34-14 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Far and away their best quarter of the season, the Michigan offense recorded 22 points in the singular frame — they had put up just 31 points in the previous two games combined.
Unsung hero of the game: While guys like Simms, Bates, Nacua, and Whitehead made arguably bigger plays to give their team the win, the first half performance of Bryce Torneden proved crucial in moments that could have led to this afternoon’s outing going in a very different direction. The product of Lawrence, KS, who played safety for the Jayhawks and the Pittsburgh Maulers, recorded a team-leading eight solo tackles and made plays on both defense and special teams where he served as the last line of protection between a ‘minor’ and ‘massive’ gain for the visiting squad.
Speaking postgame about the versatility and football IQ of his nickel safety, Panthers head coach Mike Nolan shared, “Bryce is a really, really good player, and I’m excited that we got him in the supplemental draft. He’s a complete football player. He does everything you could ask for in the special teams. He’s on every unit. He plays nickel, which is probably the most fun, but also an instrumental position in playing good defense because he’s kind of a linebacker/DB. He’s gotta cover little fast guys, yet he blitzes a lot. He wears a lot of hats, and I can’t think of a better guy to do that job because he’s such a smart player. Takes coaching extremely well. Of all the people – I’ve been around a long time. You tell him once, and I’ll be doggone if he doesn’t do it.”
Final: Panther 34, Roughnecks 20
