LAS VEGAS — The Seattle Sea Dragons earned their first victory of the season after erasing an 11-point, third-quarter deficit and defeating the Vegas Vipers 30-26 Saturday night at Cashman Field.
On fourth-and-two with one minute left in the game, Ben DiNucci found former Seahawks receiver Josh Gordon down the left sideline for a beautifully executed catch-and-run that went for 65 yards and gave the Sea Dragons (1-2) their first lead of the game.
Vegas dropped to 0-3 after suffering their third consecutive second-half collapse. The Vipers have outscored their opponents 29-12 in the first half this season but have been outscored 58-23 in the second half.
DiNucci, who came into the game as the XFL’s No. 1 quarterback, finished 29 of 37 for 377 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He leads the league with 855 yards.
Gordon finished with six receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Morgan Ellison balanced the offense with 103 yards on 17 carries.
After a relatively even first half that ended in a 9-9 tie, the Vipers opened the second half by driving 75 yards in six plays and took a 17-9 lead. They extended the lead to 20-9 moments later after cornerback Adam Sparks intercepted DiNucci.
The Sea Dragons responded with a nine-play drive, methodically moving the ball downfield with a balanced attack culminating with DiNucci finding Gordon for a tiptoe grab in the corner of the end zone, making the score 20-15 after an attempt at a three-point conversion failed with 1:17 left in the third quarter.
After a defensive stop, the Sea Dragons closed the gap to two when Dominik Eberle booted a 32-yard field goal to make it 20-18 with 7:06 left in the game.
The Vipers answered when quarterback Brett Hundley connected with John Lovett for a 50-yard touchdown strike on their first play of the next drive, pushing the lead to eight, 26-18, after the two-point conversion attempt failed.
Seattle got within reach after using a six-play drive culminating with DiNucci delivering a dart to Juwan Green to make it 26-24 after the 3-point conversion failed.
The Sea Dragons’ defense stood its ground and got the ball in the offense’s hands with 1:37 left in the game to set up the winning drive.
The Sea Dragons host San Antonio at 7 p.m. Saturday.