2020 New York Guardians season

2020 New York Guardians season
Owner	Alpha Entertainment, LLC
General manager	Kevin Gilbride
Head coach	Kevin Gilbride
Home field	MetLife Stadium
Results
Record	3–2
League place	Tie 1st XFL East
Uniform
New York Guardians 2023  →

The 2020 New York Guardians season was the only season for the New York Guardians as a professional American football franchise. They played as charter members of the XFL, one of eight teams to compete in the league for the 2020 season. The Guardians played their home games at MetLife Stadium and were led by head coach Kevin Gilbride.

Their inaugural season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the XFL officially suspended operations for the remainder of the season on March 20, 2020. ^[1]

Standings

New York in action against Dallas

2020 XFL standings v t e
East Division [2]
Team	W–L	PCT	TD+/-	TD+	TD-	DIV	PF	PA	DIFF	STK
DC Defenders	3–2	.600	-3	9	12	2–1	82	89	-7	W1
St. Louis Battlehawks	3–2	.600	3	11	8	1–1	97	77	20	L1
New York Guardians	3–2	.600	-1	8	9	1–2	79	85	-6	W2
Tampa Bay Vipers	1–4	.200	-4	11	15	1–1	98	115	-17	L1
West Division [2]
Team	W–L	PCT	TD+/-	TD+	TD-	DIV	PF	PA	DIFF	STK
Houston Roughnecks	5–0	1.000	7	21	14	3–0	158	111	47	W5
Dallas Renegades	2–3	.400	-3	9	12	2–1	90	102	-12	L2
Los Angeles Wildcats	2–3	.400	4	18	14	0–2	129	122	7	W1
Seattle Dragons	1–4	.200	-3	12	15	0–2	87	119	-32	L3
(x)–clinched playoff berth; (y)–clinched conference; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention

Schedule

All times Eastern

Week	Day	Date	Kickoff	TV	Opponent	Results		Location
						Score	Record
1	Sunday	February 9	2:00 p.m.	Fox	Tampa Bay Vipers	W 23–3	1–0	MetLife Stadium
2	Saturday	February 15	2:00 p.m.	ABC	at DC Defenders	L 0–27	1–1	Audi Field
3	Sunday	February 23	3:00 p.m.	ESPN	at St. Louis BattleHawks	L 9–29	1–2	The Dome at America's Center
4	Saturday	February 29	2:00 p.m.	ABC	Los Angeles Wildcats	W 17–14	2–2	MetLife Stadium
5	Saturday	March 7	5:00 p.m.	Fox	at Dallas Renegades	W 30–12	3–2	Globe Life Park in Arlington
6	Saturday	March 14	2:00 p.m.	Fox	Houston Roughnecks	Not played		MetLife Stadium
7	Sunday	March 22	3:00 p.m.	ABC	at Seattle Dragons			CenturyLink Field
8	Saturday	March 28	5:00 p.m.	Fox	St. Louis BattleHawks			MetLife Stadium
9	Saturday	April 4	2:00 p.m.	ABC	DC Defenders			MetLife Stadium
10	Sunday	April 12	6:00 p.m.	FS1	at Tampa Bay Vipers			Raymond James Stadium

^[3]

Final roster

2020 New York Guardians final roster

	Quarterbacks  4 Garrett Fugate 14 Matt McGloin  7 Luis Perez 12 Marquise Williams Running backs 34 Matt Colburn 20 Tim Cook III 23 Justin Stockton 27 Darius Victor Wide receivers 10 Austin Duke 19 Tanner Gentry  2 Joe Horn Jr.  1 Mekale McKay  3 Colby Pearson 18 Dalton Ponchillia  9 Teo Redding Tight ends 88 E. J. Bibbs 85 Keenen Brown 87 Jake Powell 83 Jake Sutherland		Offensive linemen 64 Tony Adams G 78 Anthony Coyle G 63 Derek Dennis T 74 Jarron Jones T 70 John Kling IV T 77 Damien Mama C 69 Ian Silberman C 75 Maea Teuhema G 71 Brant Weiss T 73 Avery Young G Defensive linemen 93 T. J. Barnes DT 95 Toby Johnson DT 94 Joey Mbu DT 44 Ryan Mueller DE 91 Jarrell Owens DE 58 Bunmi Rotimi DE 99 Cavon Walker DE 55 Charles Wright DE		Linebackers 59 Garret Dooley OLB 47 Frank Ginda MLB 56 Ben Heeney MLB 45 D'Juan Hines OLB 48 Jawuan Johnson OLB 51 Darnell Leslie Defensive backs 31 Terrence Alexander CB 22 Dravon Askew-Henry CB 36 Demetrious Cox SS 33 A. J. Hendy SS 29 Bryce Jones CB 25 Jeremiah McKinnon CB 26 DeJuan Neal CB 30 Andrew Soroh FS 21 Jamar Summers CB 28 Wesley Sutton FS 24 Ranthony Texada CB Special teams 42 Scott Daly LS 16 Matt McCrane K  8 Justin Vogel P		Reserve lists 68 Garrett Brumfield G (IR) 49 Nick DeLuca OLB (Left Squad)  5 J-Shun Harris WR (IR) 81 Garrett Hudson TE (IR) 67 Zac Kerin G (IR) 11 DeAngelo Yancey WR (IR) 92 Rykeem Yates DE (IR) 57 active, 7 inactive

Staff

2020 New York Guardians staff

Front office President – Janet Duch Director of Player Personal – Alan "Trip" MacCracken Director of Football Operations – John Peterson Manager of Football Operations – Chris Thompson Head coaches Head coach/general manager – Kevin Gilbride Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – G. A. Mangus Running backs – Jerald Ingram Receivers – Mike Miller Offensive line – Ronnie Vinklarik

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Jim Herrmann Defensive line – C. J. Ah You Linebackers – Kevin Kelly Defensive backs – Chris Dishman Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator/quality control – Ray Rychleski/Jeff McInerney

Season summary

The Guardians destroyed the Tampa Bay Vipers in the first game of the season, winning 23–3. The next week, however, they were shut out by the DC Defenders 27–0. They stumbled again in week 3, losing to the St. Louis BattleHawks 29–9. They stole a win from the Los Angeles Wildcats at home by 3 points, winning 17–14 with a change at the quarterback position, starting Luis Perez over Matt McGloin. This success continued into week 5, where the Guardians were able to defeat the Dallas Renegades on the road 30-12 before the season's abrupt end.

Game summaries

Week 1: Tampa Bay Vipers

Week 1 — Tampa Bay at New York

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Vipers	0	0	3	0	3
Guardians	7	10	0	6	23

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: Sunday, February 9
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 42 °F (6 °C) • Wind: E 6 mph
• Game attendance: 17,634
• Referee: Jeff Heaser ^[4]
• TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Jenny Taft (sideline)

Game information

First quarter NY – Matt McGloin 1-yard rush (1-pt. good), 9:55. Guardians 7–0. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 5:08. Second quarter NY – Matt McGloin 12-yard pass to Colby Pearson (1-pt good), 13:38. Guardians 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 57 yards, 1:21. NY – Matt McCrane 49-yard field goal, 0:05. Guardians 17–0. Drive: 3 plays, 37 yards, 0:31. Third quarter TB – Andrew Franks 23-yard field goal, 1:05. Guardians 17–3. Drive: 16 plays, 77 yards, 7:42. Fourth quarter NY – Jamar Summers 27-yard fumble return (1-pt. failed), 12:09. Guardians 23–3. Top passers TB – Aaron Murray – 16/34, 231 yards, TD, 2 INT NY – Matt McGloin – 15/29, 182 yards, TD Top rushers TB – De'Veon Smith – 16 carries, 79 yards NY – Darius Victor – 9 carries, 32 yards Top receivers TB – Daniel Williams – 6 receptions, 123 yards NY – Mekale McKay – 3 receptions, 58 yards

The Guardians started their inaugural season at home for Round 1 against the Vipers. Heading into halftime, the Guardians led 17–0. Though, the Vipers were able to get on the board in the third quarter, in the fourth quarter, the Guardians wrapped up the scoring of the game with a late touchdown (with a failed 1-point attempt) to make it 23–3. This would be the final score of the game.

With the win, the Guardians started their season 1–0.

Week 2: at DC Defenders

Week 2 — New York at DC

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Guardians	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders	6	6	6	9	27

at Audi Field, Washington, D.C.

• Date: Saturday, February 15
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Partly cloudy • Temperature: 36 °F (2 °C) • Wind: S 9 mph
• Game attendance: 15,031
• Referee: John O'Neill ^[5]
• TV announcers (ABC): Steve Levy (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), Tom Luginbill and Dianna Russini (sideline)

Game information

First quarter DC – DeAndre Thompkins 13-yard pass from Cardale Jones (1-pt. failed), 7:09. Defenders 6–0. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 6:09. Second quarter DC – Tyler Rausa 27-yard field goal, 11:19. Defenders 9–0. Drive: 13 plays, 51 yards, 7:31. DC – Tyler Rausa 36-yard field goal, 0:30. Defenders 12–0. Drive: 5 plays, 43 yards, 0:49. Third quarter DC – Jameer Thurman 46-yard interception return (1-pt. failed), 10:07. Defenders 18–0. Fourth quarter DC – Tyler Rausa 26-yard field goal, 7:22. Defenders 21–0. Drive: 13 plays, 54 yards, 7:28. DC – Derrick Hayward 6-yard pass from Cardale Jones, 1:29. Defenders 27–0. Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 1:57. Top passers NY – Marquise Williams – 4/8, 51 yards DC – Cardale Jones – 23/37, 276 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers NY – Tim Cook III – 10 rushes, 39 yards DC – Donnell Pumphrey – 12 rushes, 53 yards Top receivers NY – Mekale McKay – 3 receptions, 30 yards DC – Rashad Ross – 4 receptions, 95 yards

In their first road game ever, the Guardians were shut out in Round 1 against the Defenders 27–0.

With the loss, the Guardians fell to 1–1.

Week 3: at St. Louis Battlehawks

Week 3 — New York at St. Louis

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Guardians	0	3	0	6	9
BattleHawks	6	17	3	3	29

at The Dome at America's Center, St. Louis, Missouri

• Date: Saturday, February 15
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Partly sunny • Temperature: 61 °F (16 °C) • Wind: 9 mph
• Game attendance: 29,554
• Referee: Brandon Cruse ^[6]
• TV announcers (ESPN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Joey Galloway (analyst), Pat McAfee (field analyst)

Game information

First quarter STL – Christine Michael 14-yard rush (2-pt. failed), 13:17. BattleHawks 6–0. Drive: 4 plays, 72 yards, 1:49. Second quarter NY – Matt McCrane 53-yard field goal, 12:31. BattleHawks 6–3. Drive: 7 plays, 30 yards, 3:51. STL – Joe Powell 84-yard kickoff return (2-pt. failed), 12:24. BattleHawks 12–3. STL – Taylor Russolino 39-yard field goal, 4:29. BattleHawks 15–3. Drive: 11 plays, 37 yards, 5:10. STL – Matt Jones 1-yard rush (2-pt. good), 1:12. BattleHawks 23–3. Drive: 5 plays, 17 yards, 0:57. Third quarter STL – Taylor Russolino 58-yard field goal, 10:03. BattleHawks 26–3. Drive: 7 plays, 36 yards, 3:04. Fourth quarter NY – Austin Duke 8-yard pass from Luis Perez (3-pt. failed), 6:19. BattleHawks 26–9. Drive: 5 plays, 40 yards, 2:17. STL – Taylor Russolino 36-yard field goal, 0:51. BattleHawks 29–9. Drive: 13 plays, 54 yards, 5:26. Top passers NY – Marquise Williams – 7/15, 94 yards STL – Jordan Ta'amu – 12/18, 119 yards Top rushers NY – Tim Cook III – 9 carries, 50 yards STL – Matt Jones – 15 carries, 95 yards, TD Top receivers NY – Austin Duke – 4 receptions, 43 yards, 1 TD STL – Alonzo Russell – 3 receptions, 36 yards

After being shut out on the road, the Guardians traveled again this time for Round 1 against the Battlehawks. The Battlehawks scored the only points of the first quarter when Christine Michael ran for a 14-yard touchdown (with a failed point attempt) to make it 6–0. The Guardians got on the board in the second quarter when Matt McCrane kicked a 53-yard field goal to make it 6–3. The Battlehawks would go on a 17–0 run to take a 23–3 lead at halftime. They added to their run by scoring the only points of the third quarter when Taylor Russolino kicked a 58-yard field goal for a 26–3 lead. The Guardians scored again in the fourth quarter when Luis Perez found Austin Duke on an 8-yard touchdown pass (with a failed point attempt) to make it 26–9. Russolino closed out the scoring of the game with a 36-yard field goal as the Battlehawks won 29–9.

With the loss, the Guardians fell to 1–2.

Week 4: Los Angeles Wildcats

Week 4 — Los Angeles at New York

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	6	0	8	0	14
Guardians	3	11	0	3	17

at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

• Date: Saturday, February 29
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 41 °F (5 °C) • Wind: SE 13 mph
• Game attendance: 12,211
• Referee: James Carter ^[7]
• TV announcers (ABC): Steve Levy (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), Tom Luginbill and Dianna Russini (sideline)

Game information

First quarter NY – Matt McCrane 51-yard field goal, 5:51. Guardians 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 37 yards, 5:15. LA – Tre McBride 4-yard pass from Josh Johnson (2-pt. failed), 0:07. 'Wildcats 6–3. Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 5:43. Second quarter NY – Matt McCrane 23-yard field goal, 8:15. Tied 6–6. Drive: 12 plays, 60 yards, 6:51. NY – Mekale McKay 3-yard pass from Luis Perez (2-pt. good), 1:31. Guardians 14–6. Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards, 4:32. Third quarter LA – Saeed Blacknall 42-yard pass from Josh Johnson (2-pt. good), 4:45. Tied 14–14. Drive: 4 plays, 81 yards, 1:47. Fourth quarter NY – Matt McCrane 47-yard field goal, 10:57. Guardians 17–14. Drive: 9 plays, 26 yards, 4:18. Top passers LA – Josh Johnson – 25/40, 330 yards, 2 TD, INT NY – Luis Perez – 18/26, 150 yards, TD Top rushers LA – DuJuan Harris – 5 carries, 25 yards NY – Darius Victor – 18 carries, 82 yards Top receivers LA – Tre McBride – 8 receptions, 127 yards, 1 TD NY – Colby Pearson – 5 receptions, 34 yards

After another tough road loss, the Guardians went home to take on the Wildcats. The Guardians scored first in the first quarter when Matt McCrane kicked a 51-yard field goal to make it 3–0. Though, the Wildcats would take the lead when Josh Johnson found Tre McBride on a 4-yard pass (with a failed 2-point play) to make it 6–3. In the second quarter, it was all Guardians when they made it 14–6 at halftime. After the break, the Wildcats tied the game up at 14-14 when Josh Johnson found Saeed Blacknall on a 42-yard pass. However, in the fourth, quarter the Guardians would wrap the scoring up when McCrane kicked a 47-yard field goal to make the final score 17–14.

With the win, the Guardians improved to 2-2.

Week 5: at Dallas Renegades

Week 5 — New York at Dallas

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Guardians	3	3	21	3	30
Renegades	3	3	6	0	12

at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Arlington, Texas

• Date: Saturday, March 7
• Game time: 5:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 15,950
• Referee: Jeff Heaser ^[8]
• TV announcers (Fox): Curt Menefee (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), Cam Jordan (sideline)

Game information

First quarter DAL – Austin MacGinnis 23-yard field goal, 9:32. Renegades 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 62 yards, 5:32. NY – Matt McCrane 46-yard field goal, 6:43. Tied 3–3. Drive: 5 plays, 12 yards, 2:51. Second quarter NY – Matt McCrane 39-yard field goal, 8:37. Guardians 6–3. Drive: 12 plays, 49 yards, 6:19. Third quarter NY – Marquise Williams 1-yard rush (2-pt. failed), 10:57. Guardians 12-6. Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards, 4:07. NY – Colby Pearson 80-yard pass from Luis Perez (2-pt. good), 3:31. Guardians 20-6. Drive: 1 play, 80 yards, 0:14. NY – Ryan Mueller 33-yard interception return (1-pt. good), 02:48. Guardians 27-6. DAL – Austin Walter 97-yard kickoff return (3-pt. failed), 02:38. Guardians 27-12. Fourth quarter NY – Matt McCrane 26-yard field goal, 8:51. Guardians 30–12. Drive: 9 plays, 27 yards, 5:18. Top passers NY – Luis Perez – 16/30, 229 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT DAL – Philip Nelson – 28/49, 210, 2 INT Top rushers NY – Darius Victor – 15 carries, 58 yards DAL – Cameron Artis-Payne – 6 carries, 25 yards Top receivers NY – Colby Pearson – 5 receptions, 95 yards, 1 TD DAL – Flynn Nagel – 7 receptions, 46 yards

After a tough home win, the Guardians traveled to take on the Renegades. In the first quarter, the Renegades scored first when Austin MacGinnis kicked a 23-yard field goal to make it 3–0. The Guardians tied it up later on in the quarter when Matt McCrane kicked a 46-yard field goal to make it 3-3. In the second quarter, McCrane kicked a 39-yard field goal to make it 6–3. However, the Renegades tied it up before halftime when MacGinnis kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 6-6. In the third quarter, the Guardians retook the lead when Marvin Williams ran for a 1-yard touchdown (with a failed point play) to make it 12–6. They would make it 20-6 when Luis Perez found Carl Pearson on an 80-yard touchdown pass. Philip Nelson was then intercepted by Ryan Mueller and it was returned 33 yards for a touchdown to make it 27–6. The Renegades then made it 27-12 after Austin Walter ran a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown (with a failed point play) to close out the quarter. In a highly defensive fourth quarter, the Guardians scored the only points in what would be MacGinnis's fourth field goal from 26 yards out to make the final score 30–12.

With the win, the Guardians improved to 3–2.

After a huge win on the road, the Guardians were to return home for a game against the Roughnecks. However, this game, along with the remainder of their games were canceled due to the sudden rise of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, the Guardians managed to finish their first season with a winning record.

References

1. "A THANK YOU TO OUR FANS" . Retrieved March 23, 2020.
2. "XFL Standings". XFL.com. February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
3. "XFL 2020 Schedule Released, First Game Dragons @ Defenders" . Retrieved October 22, 2019.
4. Filipe, Cameron (6 February 2020). "XFL Week 1 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
5. Filipe, Cameron (13 February 2020). "XFL Week 2 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
6. Filipe, Cameron (20 February 2020). "XFL Week 3 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
7. Filipe, Cameron (27 February 2020). "XFL Week 4 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
8. Filipe, Cameron (5 March 2020). "XFL Week 5 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 7, 2020.