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Rage on Orlando strikes back to subdue Birmingham
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Ticker) -- The Birmingham Thunderbolts will not be making any noise in the XFL playoffs. The Thunderbolts squandered an eight-point lead in the fourth and became the XFL's first team to be eliminated from playoff contention with a 29-24 loss to the Orlando Rage. In a matchup of the XFL's best team against the worst, Birmingham actually ouplayed the Rage for much of the night and had a 24-16 lead with 6:44 remaining after Eric Sloan returned his third interception of the contest 59 yards for a touchdown. But behind backup quarterback Brian Kuklick, the league-leading Rage were able to rally. Kuklick found Shannon Culver with a 49-yard touchdown pass, capping a seven-play, 73-yard drive that pulled the Rage within 24-23 with 2:54 to play. After forcing the Thunderbolts to go three-and-out, the Rage moved 56 yards in eight plays for the winning score. A 27-yard interference penalty on defensive back Toya Jones moved the ball to the Birmingham 7. Two plays after the penalty, Derrick Clark scored on a one-yard run to give Orlando a 29-24 lead with 26 seconds remaining. Birmingham (2-7), which needed to win its last two games to have any shot at garnering the Eastern Division's final playoff spot, suffered its sixth straight loss after a 2-1 start. The Rage (8-1), who already have wrapped up the Eastern Division title, have won two straight after sustaining their lone loss. Kuklick had touchdown passes of 52 yards to Dialleo Burks and 33 yards to Mario Bailey in the second quarter, giving Orlando a 13-12 advantage. Making his second straight start in place of Jeff Brohm, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury, Kuklick finished 17-of-33 for 257 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Jat Taylor kicked a 26-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to give Orlando a four-point lead before Birmingham used some trickery to move back in front. Off a lateral, tight end Joe Douglass found Quincy Jackson with a 22-yard TD pass to give the Thunderbolts an 18-16 lead with 8:26 left. Graham Leigh, the Thunderbolts' third-string quarterback, completed 16-of-32 passes for 209 yards and one touchdown. James Bostic rushed for 89 yards on 14 attempts for Birmingham, which suffered a 30-6 loss at Orlando earlier this season.
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