The Memphis Showboats came up with a huge play on Friday night against the Birmingham Stallions. As their former coach Ken Whisenhunt once said, “This team is one play away” from potentially turning the season around. Whisenhunt could be right.
In one of the most exciting and explosive plays of the UFL season, receiver and return specialist Isiah Hennie caught a missed 63-yard field goal by Stallions kicker, Harrison Mevis and returned it 108 yards for the touchdown. It was the UFL’s longest kick return, and for that sensational play, Hennie is the “UFL News Hub Player of the Week.”
Entering the game on Friday night, Mevis had a perfect 9 / 9 record, but he missed wide right on the field goal attempt. Hennie was there to catch the ball and run it back. His score gave the Showboats a two-possession 17-3 lead at halftime.
Hennie’s play was enough to (almost) eclipse the terrific debut of rookie quarterback Dresser Winn. Appearing in his first-ever professional football game, Winn launched a stunning 78-yard touchdown to Dee Anderson and completed 17 of 29 attempts for 235 yards.
While Case Cookus and the Stallions fought back hard to tie the score in the fourth quarter, this game felt different. The Showboats had the momentum; they could taste victory and weren’t about to relinquish it. When the game went into overtime, Memphis dug deep to emerge with the 24-20 win.
Hennie, a 5’7” 171 lb. UDFA from Sacramento State who majored in kinesiology, finished his collegiate career with 139 receptions for 1,523 yards with 11 touchdowns. Fulfilling a dual role as kickoff and punt return specialist, Hennie had a combined 97 returns for 1,655 yards with three touchdowns.
Although he is new to the Showboats this season, Hennie played four games for the Houston Roughnecks a year ago. Before that, he was with the Pittsburgh Maulers Championship team, where he starred as a utility player. Hennie had 46 receptions for 474 yards with three touchdowns, 95 kick return yards, 297 punt return yards, and 50 rushing yards. All together, he earned an impressive 916 all-purpose yards and contributed 26 points.
With Noel Mazzone’s offense and HC Jim Turner’s team showing overall improvement in all facets of the game, the Showboats have a real chance to turn their season around. At the mid-point of the season, there are no clear-cut winners. After a topsy-turvy high-performance weekend that saw the scoreboard constantly changing and several team upsets, only one team is ahead of the pack with a 4-1 record: the D.C. Defenders. Four other teams remain bottled up with an identical 3-2 record.
Honorable Mention:
Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu completed 23/46 for 308 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception to lead the DC Defenders to a 37-33 victory over the Arlington Renegades. Ta’amu leads the league with 1,213 yards and nine touchdowns. Making his push for an MVP season, Ta’amu added another 125 rushing yards with two touchdowns. Sunday’s game against the Renegades was his first 300-yard spring football game, but during Ta’amu’s college career at Ole Miss, he posted nine 300-yard and three 400-yard games.
This weekend, the 1-4 Showboats could gain traction in the divisional standings with a victory over the 2-3 Houston Roughnecks. The game will be played Saturday, May 3rd at Houston’s TDECU Stadium and broadcast on ESPN2 at 11:00 am CDT. Tickets are available.
On Sunday, May 4th at noon EDT, the DC Defenders travel to Ford Field to take on the 3-2 Michigan Panthers. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 2, and tickets are still available.
