Charlotte Outlasts Tampa Bay on Brall Safety
Riley Kade — JRSports One
Seth Brall's safety on a sack of Jose Vuoro with 6:00 left in the fourth quarter gave Charlotte a 19-10 lead it never surrendered in a 22-17 win over Tampa Bay. The result moves Charlotte to 5-4 and leaves Tampa Bay winless at 0-8.
The turning point came at 9:30 of the second quarter, when Lane Himwell's 26-yard field goal put Charlotte ahead 10-7. Ethan Cosridge's 30-yard field goal with 2:38 left in the half tied the game at 10, and neither team scored in the third quarter.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring at 9:13 of the first quarter, when Vuoro hit Alex Pidridge with an 18-yard touchdown pass. Ronny Pazoro's 1-yard touchdown run at 4:56 tied it at 7. Mack Mud intercepted Jake Braton on Charlotte's first possession, and Alejandro Lielana later forced a fumble that the Charlotte defense recovered in the second quarter. Alex Dannford intercepted Braton at 10:26 of the third quarter, and Chase Shaid picked off Vuoro at 0:48 of the period, but neither turnover produced points.
Charlotte moved ahead on Braton's 1-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Monley at 12:51 of the fourth quarter, making it 17-10. Brall's safety followed at 6:00 when he sacked Vuoro for a loss of 9 yards. Himwell's 38-yard field goal at 3:00 made it 22-10. Vuoro found Yuto Kyaoyama for a 34-yard touchdown at 0:38, but Tampa Bay ran out of time.
Braton finished 34 of 46 for 333 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, and Wyatt Fund caught 10 passes for 111 yards. Vuoro completed 22 of 39 for 242 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Mud led all defenders with 13 tackles and had an interception for Tampa Bay, while Lielana added eight tackles and a forced fumble for Charlotte.
Cromson, a Charlotte running back, was placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL and will miss nine weeks. Sock, a Charlotte middle linebacker, was ruled out with an ankle sprain. Mcauroa, a Tampa Bay right guard, was ruled out with a concussion.
Charlotte has now won back-to-back games, and Tampa Bay has lost its eighth game of the season without a victory.
