The Arlington Renegades scored on six of their first seven possessions and held on for a 35-26 victory over the DC Defenders to win the 2023 XFL Championship Saturday night at the Alamodome.
Arlington raced out to a 17-0 edge and led 20-6 at halftime, but D.C., coming in with an XFL-best 10-1 record, wouldn’t go down without a fight.
The Defenders pulled within one score three times in the second half, but could get no closer. Arlington led 26-12 late in the third quarter, but Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu hit wide receiver Josh Hammond with a 72-yard scoring strike. A two-point conversion run by Abram Smith made it 26-20 with 9 seconds remaining in the third.
The Renegades' offense was lead by QB Luis Perez who finished the night with 288 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. Perez was
named the 2023 XFL Championship Most Valuable Player following the game.
Luis Perez played college football at Texas A&M University-Commerce where he won the 2017 Division II National Championship and the Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the most valuable player in NCAA Division II.
The championship game score was the highest-scoring game of the season for Arlington, which impreoved greatly after getting Perez on a trade earlier in the season.
Arlington racked up 396 yards of total offense, including 285 yards through the air and 111 on the ground. Four different ball-carriers combined for the 111 rushing yards for the Renegades, led by Smith’s 54 yards on 15 carries. Vaugns finished with 83 yards receiving on eight receptions with one touchdown, while Cannella recorded 71 yards on four catches and a touchdown.
D.C. totaled 356 yards, with 241 yards passing and 115 rushing. Ta’amu finished 16-of-30 for 245 yards passing with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Abram Smith rushed for a game-high 90 yards rushing, including two scores. Hammond tallied a game-best 127 yards receiving and two touchdowns for D.C.