Pittsburgh Cashes In on Four Cincinnati Turnovers to Beat Cluckers
Riley Kade — JRSports One
Ryota Mong's interception and fumble recovery were among four Cincinnati giveaways that Pittsburgh turned into a 34-17 win over the Cluckers. The Artillery led after every quarter, and Cincinnati never got closer than 10 points after the first quarter.
Pittsburgh's first lead came at 12:36 of the first quarter, when Viktor Wurdorf hit Adonis Nasoro with a 5-yard touchdown pass. Eli Shollrick's 3-yard touchdown run at 2:38 pushed the Artillery's lead to 14-0 before the quarter ended, and Cincinnati never recovered its early footing.
Amaury Muenena's 32-yard field goal at 13:07 of the second quarter cut the deficit to 14-3. Wurdorf answered at 0:43 with another 5-yard strike to Nasoro, making it 21-3 at the half. Mack Dollson's 45-yard field goal at 9:07 of the third quarter built the lead to 24-3, the largest of the game.
Wyatt Farkley found Quinn Dun for a 16-yard touchdown at 5:26 of the third quarter, and Cincinnati trailed 24-10. Dollson added a 20-yard field goal at 13:41 of the fourth quarter to make it 27-10. Mauricio Vuasado's 3-yard run at 10:12 brought the Cluckers within 27-17, but Shollrick ran 3 yards for a touchdown at 9:12 to finish the scoring at 34-17.
Wurdorf completed 20 of 32 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Shollrick carried 15 times for 87 yards and two scores, and he added six catches for 97 yards. Farkley went 22 of 31 for 255 yards and one touchdown, but he threw two interceptions, one of them to Joaquin Qurt. Hao Yun caught eight passes for 103 yards for Cincinnati.
Eli Loolman led Pittsburgh's defense with seven tackles and three sacks, and Ryan Tannby made 11 tackles. Dario Rind had 10 tackles and one sack for Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh lost Daiki Chonta, a cornerback, to a torn ACL, and he is out for the season. Austin Chard was placed on injured reserve with a fractured leg. Enmanuel Gantez, a Cincinnati running back, is out with an MCL sprain.
The Artillery moved to 1-6 with the win, while Cincinnati fell to 3-5.
