Brigade Beat Valor, 61-56, in Season Opener
Friday April 13, 2018
Hippeard named MVP for seven-touchdown game
BALTIMORE, MD — The Baltimore Brigade (1-0) opened their 2018 season with a win, topping the Washington Valor (0-1), 61-56, Friday night at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Md. Brigade quarterback Randy Hippeard threw for five touchdowns and ran for another two on his way to winning the game’s Most Valuable Player award.
“We came out and we found a way to win,” Brigade Head Coach Omarr Smith said after the game. “I’m proud of the way we played offensively…to be able to go out and win the first game is important for us. We’re all about trying to improve from last year. It feels good to be 1-0, but we have to enjoy it for 24 hours and then get back to work.”
Baltimore got on the board first when quarterback Randy Hippeard, the AFL MVP in 2017, connected with wide receiver Kendrick Ings for the game’s first score, giving the Brigade a 7-0 advantage. Minutes later, Hippeard notched his first rushing touchdown of the season and gave the Brigade a two-score lead early in the first quarter. Davila found wide receiver Chris Duvalt for Washington’s first score of the season late in the opening quarter. Another Hippeard passing touchdown, this time to Brandon Thompkins, who is playing in his second season with the Brigade, gave Baltimore a 20-7 lead after the first quarter. Davila tossed his second score of the game to Rod Windsor to bring the game back within one score. Baltimore and Washington traded scores throughout the remainder of second quarter, which ended with another Hippeard rushing touchdown as time expired on the first half, giving the Brigade a 40-28 lead.
Davila started off the second half scoring with a 17-yard rushing touchdown, cutting the Baltimore lead to 40-35. Wide receiver Brandon Collins answered for the Brigade, hauling in another Hippeard touchdown to make the score 47-35. Davila and Hippeard traded passing touchdowns, keeping the game within two scores for the entirety of the fourth quarter. With under one minute remaining, Davila found Windsor for their third scoring connection of the game, setting the final score at 61-56.
MVP: BAL QB Randy Hippeard
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: WAS QB Nick Davila
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: BAL DB Joe Powell
ABOUT THE BALTIMORE BRIGADE
The AFL’s Baltimore Brigade is owned and operated by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which is one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies in the country with one of the most diverse partnership groups in all of sports. The company also owns and operates the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL’s Washington Capitals, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go, the AFL’s Washington Valor, NBA 2K League’s Wizards District Gaming, as well as Capital One Arena, the premier sports and entertainment venue in Washington, D.C. Monumental Sports & Entertainment is also co-owner of aXiomatic, which has controlling interest in global esports franchise Team Liquid, and oversees the management of Kettler Capitals Iceplex--the training facility for the Washington Capitals--and the Eagle Bank Arena at George Mason University.