First shot at Glory ends in preseason rout vs. Riders

Six turnovers kept the Ohio Glory offense from making much headway in game which was second World League of American Football postseason tiebreaker.

The Ohio Glory’s first shot to make a good impression came on March 15, 1992, in a preseason game against the San Antonio Riders at Bobcat Stadium.

Not only was the exhibition weekend each World League of American Football team’s lone shot at getting some fine-tuning in before opening day, the league also made it so the result of the exhibition games would be the second tiebreaker for division championships and/or wild card playoff spots.

The first tiebreaker was head-to-head competition.

And, of course, like most everything involved with the Glory, this wasn’t your garden variety preseason game.

The result probably wasn’t unexpected, with the home-standing and more cohesive Riders winning, 33-7. But it was the game’s final touchdown which rubbed Glory Head Coach Larry Little the wrong way.

With the Riders ahead 26-7 late, San Antonio third-string quarterback Craig Kupp threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darrell Colbert with 38 seconds left in the contest.

Little, who talked to Riders Head Coach Mike Riley about the late score afterwards, said, “They were trying to send us a message. We’re the new kids on the block, and they might have been trying to show us something.”

Ohio was down just 10-7 early in the second quarter after a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Pat O’Hara to wide receiver Walter Wilson. But the Glory offense turned the ball over six times and ran for just 53 yards, and the Riders racked up seven sacks.

Defensively, free safety Darren Willis had two interceptions, and cornerback Jason Wallace added a pick.

“There were some good things that happened out there,” Little said. “But when you turn the ball over as much as we did, that has to come back to haunt you.”

The Glory and Riders were scheduled to play each other in Texas again during the regular season in Week 5.

“I have a long memory,” Little said.