Terrell Buckley received a barrage of congratulatory text messages following the Orlando Guardians’ first win of the season, a 37-36 upset of the D.C. Defenders Saturday night at Camping World Stadium. It was a moment the first-year coach wouldn’t likely forget anytime soon, and if he needed a reminder, he only had to touch the bump on the left side of his head.
“I have a knot on the side of my head from them [the players] hitting me with the bucket of water,” Buckley said, describing the postgame celebration. “They hit me so hard I came out of my shoe. I’ll never forget it.”
For Buckley, whose accomplishments include a successful college career at Florida State that led to a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame and an NFL career capped with a Super Bowl win with the 2001 New England Patriots, Saturday’s performance ranks among the best.
“Besides the Super Bowl, it’s in the top 5,” he said. “The Super Bowl is No. 1 but this is the top four and it’s special.”
Not only was it the first franchise win for the Guardians (1-6), but it came against the best team in the XFL, with the Defenders sitting atop the North Division ahead of the St. Louis Battlehawks (5-2) and the Seattle Sea Dragons (5-2).
“Our rule is we celebrate for 24 hours, but this being such a historic victory, we extended it another 24 hours,” Buckley said jokingly. “Naw, it’s back to status quo. We’ve had our time and we’ve enjoyed it. We mapped out how we got to this point and now we don’t want to be a one-hit wonder.”
Quarterback Quinten Dormady set an XFL record by accounting for six total touchdowns in the win after completing 27 of 34 passes for a season-high 328 yards with three touchdowns while adding three touchdowns on the ground. In the three games since being reinstated by the league after being cleared in a cheating probe, Dormady has thrown for 827 yards with 8 total touchdowns.
“What winners do and what professionals do is you acknowledge your performance and then you dive into how I can even be better. That’s what we’re talking about with him; he believes he can be even better,” Buckley said about Dormady’s performance. “That resonates throughout the team. It was nice and good, but let’s get back to work and be even better.
“Because our goals from the beginning of the year are still in front of us, so let’s take advantage of it.”
During that three-game stretch, Orlando averaged 29.3 points per game, more than double the 12.25 points the Guardians averaged during the first four games. It’s a good sign for a team that remains mathematically alive in the XFL playoff race.
“We have three games left,” said Buckley. “We’re going to take it one day at a time, one practice at a time and all those cliches but we’re aware of our situation and it’s our job — my job — to make sure we play to win.”
Orlando hosts the Arlington Renegades (3-4) at Camping World Stadium Saturday (4 p.m., ESPN).
“We want to pack the stadium and show fans how we appreciate them even during these trying times,” he said. “We appreciate them coming out and supporting us, and we would reward them by coming out, playing hard, and taking care of business.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.
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