TudorTimesSEv1n2

(Houston, TX) The HSEFL was treated to a nice thriller Sunday, as the Dallas Cowboys pulled off a tight one in beating the home team New Orleans Saints 15-13 before a sellout crowd. The Saints prodly displayed their new giant Ricky Williams bobble- head mascot at midfield before the game in anticipation of their superstar runner making an impressive debut in his first season in a Saints uniform. There were other reasons the fans were celebrating before the game started as well, since the Saints had two stars from their past come out of retirement, thanks to league owner Glenn Hardaway "spending the big bucks" to add some excitement to the season. Hardaway bought a brand new stadium for league play, and purchased new uniforms from Miggle Toys for both the Dallas and New Orleans. One of the comeback stars, Tom Dempsey, thundered the opening kickoff completely out of the stadium. But in just three plays, the Cowboys had six points on the board.

On the first play from scrimmage, Roger Staubach, also out of retirement, scrambled 28 yards up the middle to near midfield. He then connected to Drew Pearson on a 16-yard pass.Once again, a wide hole opened up down the middle and Staubach pranced 36 yards for the Dallas touchdown. "You know, after all these years without playing, I wasn't sure how I would perform as a plastic man," Staubach said after the game. "It felt great to be able to move like that! But, I was shocked that so much real estate was opened up down the middle throughout the game."

Dallas gambled early and went for two after their quick strike, but the Saints' Jerry Fontenot nailed Staubach behind the line with a hard shot to the ribcage. "All I can say, is it's great being plastic!" Staubach chimed with a grin on his face after the failed attempt.

The Cowboys came on just as strong on defense too. LeRoy Jordan blasted Ricky Williams behind the line for a two yard loss on his opening carry. In fact, Doomsday so dominated the Saints running game that Williams was held to that negative two yards rushing for the entire game!

The Saints set an all-time punting record in the HSEFL with an amazing 103-yard boomer to start the second quarter. Dallas controlled the ball the entire second quarter and kicked a 24-yard field goal to go into halftime, leading 9-0.

Some serious plastic was gnawed on in the locker room at the half, however. "There is still a lot of pride in this club even though we haven't suited up since 1971," said Archie Manning, the other highly paid vet brough out of retirement by Hardaway. Manning took the second half kick to the Dallas 45 to give the Saints great field position. On his first play from scrimmage, rookie QB Aaron Brooks rifled a pass to Joe Horn who scooted 45 yards for a Saints touchdown. Suddenly, at 9 to 7, it was a game again.

As agreed before the game, both teams would alternate quarterbacks at halftime. So, Troy Aikman stepped in for Dallas. Aikman connected to Novacek and Emmitt Smith with 32- and 8-yard strikes. New Orleans dropped Smith for a five yard loss on the next play. Then Aikman lost his grip on his next pass attempt and the ball graciously landed in the open arms of Fontenot who was already in full stride on the pass rush. Fontenot never looked back and buzzed 42 yards for the go-ahead touchdown for the Saints. Then New Orleans inexplicably missed the extra point kick and the score was Saints-13, Cowboys-9.

Aikman couldn't wait to redeem himself. At first, Staubach was headed out onto the field as Dallas looked like it wanted the original domination back that characterized the first half. "I just saw the fire in Troy's eyes," Coach Hardaway said, "so I called Roger back and told him Troy was confident and determined, so I'm giving him a chance." Right away, the Saint defense covered every receiver, forcing Aikman to eat the ball. He just did get back to the line of scrimmage, but came up fighting mad. The very next play, Aikman smoked a porkskin to Moose Johnson, who bolted 43 yards for a Cowboy touchdown. Dallas went up 15-13. They tried for two again, but Aikman was intercepted for the second time.

With time running out, Brooks was in to mount the Saints final drive to win the game. But Roger Staubach showed he could play some "d" as well and intercepted Brooks at the Saints 22 yard line. Moose Johson bulled his way down to the Saints 4 yard line on consecutive runs and time ran out.

"Hey, we needed this," Moose added after the game. "Beating the Saints at home like this will give us great confidence throughout the season. I was just a kid in 1971, but I remember watching the Staubach and the Cowboys lose a close one to the Saints in the playoffs the year the Saints won it all (1971 Tudor HK hog leg teams). I never thought Roger would still be playing after this much time off. It's an honor and a thrill to be on the same team!"

"This was the kind of thriller I was hoping to see," Hardaway said. "After 30 years I expected to be a little rusty, but coaching both teams and running the league had turned me into a kid all over again. I can't wait for the next one!"

Should be good too! The next game has been dubbed "The Tudor Bowl" since it features the first two original EFL teams owned by Hardaway, the Green Bay Packers and the Baltimore Colts. Yes, you guessed it. The checkbook was not held back and the names you know will be playing in that game. Bart Starr will share the QB spot with Bret Favre, and Johnny Unitas is back in uniform to work with Peyton Manning! Tickets are selling fast for next Sunday's game so contact the HSEFL ticket office quickly before it sells out.