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		Mountain Lions give away win By Greg Lee and Tony Renteria October 30, 2010

	Dennis Green and the Mountain Lions were outwitted and out-played by the Hartford Colonials 27-26. The Colonials had come into Hornet Stadium 1-4, having lost a handful of close games, including an overtime defeat last week against the UFL’s best Las Vegas Locos. The Colonials controlled the ball for much of the game, even if they didn’t take a lead until early in the fourth quarter. The game came down to a last second Taylor Melhaff 23 yard field goal, as time expired. This only came after Melhaff shanked a 42 yard attempt, but was given a second chance when Sacramento’s Terrelle Maze was flagged for running into the kicker. Of course, the last second field goal would only have tied the game, if not for some clever strategy from Coach Green that backfired as time wound down. Hartford’s rookie QB Ryan Perrilloux , who splits time with former NFL-veteran, Josh McCown, hit Markee White for a 69-yard touchdown strike to cap an 80 yard scoring drive and put the Colonials up 21-20. But it looked like the Mountain Lions were going to take over the driver’s seat when Free Safety Andrew Sendejo picked off a deflected pass from McCown near mid-field and returned the ball to the goal line. Cory Ross, who has finally found his place in the Culpepper-led offense, rambled into the end zone to put Sacramento back on top. Surprisingly, Coach Green called a time out and then sent the offense back on the field instead of kicking the extra point. Presumably banking on the recent troubles of Taylor Melhaff, Green most likely figured that the Colonials would be more likely to go for the end zone than attempt field goals the rest of the way. On paper, it may have been a sound, if not reckless decision. Melhaff had missed three field goal attempts in a row, including two in this game and a potential game-winner against the Las Vegas Locos last week. In fact, the Colonials had appeared so reluctant to use Melhaff, on the previous drive, they turned the ball over on downs, going for the first down on fourth and eight from the Sacramento 18. The decision to go for two seemed particularly odd, as the Colonials had dominated the ball, even if they hadn’t gotten into the end zone, for over 11 minutes in the third quarter. Despite jumping out to a quick 14 point lead in the first quarter, the Sacramento offense was unspectacular for most of the game. On the other hand UFL offensive records were falling all night. The first half saw the most total points (34) scored in a half all season. Hartford’s Lorenzo Booker rushed for a new UFL record 147 yards, surpassing the previous record (139 yards) set exactly a year ago by DeDe Dorsey. Hartford’s Markee White also broke the UFL record for receiving yards with 152 yards a record set by Taye Biddle last season against the all-too familiar California Redwoods. The tandem of QBs for the Colonials had a nice night, with McCown notching 219 yards on 19-34 passing, with one interception. While Perrilloux was 4 for 5 for 98 yards with the 69-yard TD strike. Culpepper captained the Sacramento offense with 240 yards for 18-20 passing with a touchdown and an interception. Cory Ross was involved in both the ground game, rushing for 53 yards and a score and hauling in three passes for 37 yards. Joe West led the team with four catches for 96 yards. The crushing defeat drops the Mountain Lions into a last-place tie with the Colonials, with both teams at 2-4. As the season moves into its “rush towards the Championship”, the outlook for the post-season is still wide-open for just about all teams. Only the Las Vegas Locos (5-1), who will host the Mountain Lions next Saturday, have a clear advantage.