Cipher Lynx 41, Pulse Jackals 31
Week 2 · Regular season · round 17 · Thursday 8 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPH Cipher Lynx | 14 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 41 |
| PLS Pulse Jackals | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
Game recap
The Cipher Lynx beat the Pulse Jackals 41-31 in round 17 of Week 2, and they needed every second to do it. The decisive score was a 27-yard field goal by Orson Thorne with 0:38 left in the fourth quarter.
The Lynx opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Pavel Thorne with 2:04 left in the first quarter. At the break the Jackals were up 21-17. In the fourth quarter: a 27-yard field goal by Roman Zamora for the Jackals (2:42 left, 31-24); a 2-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Hart for the Lynx (1:18 left, 31-31); a 27-yard field goal by Orson Thorne for the Lynx (0:38 left, 34-31); a 1-yard touchdown run by Kai Navarro for the Lynx (0:00 left, 41-31).
The play that tilted the game came with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter: a fumble by Rio Castellanos, recovered by the defense. It moved the Lynx' chance of winning from 47% to 68%.
Player of the game: Ezekiel Hart (RB, Lynx), with 26 carries for 135 yards and 2 TD; 4 catches for 54 yards. Elsewhere, Rio Castellanos (Jackals) had 29 of 41 passing for 351 yards, 2 TD; 2 carries for 21 yards; Jace Albright (Jackals) had 19 carries for 115 yards and 2 TD; 5 catches for 56 yards; Anders Quarles (Jackals) had 5 catches for 81 yards; Kai Navarro (Lynx) had 19 of 26 passing for 217 yards, 2 TD; 14 carries for 85 yards and 1 TD.
Before kickoff, the Jackals' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, target Cassius Achebe; on defense: bracket Luca Benedetti (Cassius Achebe finished with 6 catches for 74 yards). Meanwhile, the Lynx' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Bram Pellegrini; on defense: bracket Tavi Nkemelu (Bram Pellegrini finished with 6 catches for 74 yards).
The Jackals move to 6-10-1 and the Lynx to 10-6-1 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | CPH-PLS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:04 | Lynx | A 3-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Pavel Thorne | 7-0 |
| Q1 1:29 | Jackals | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Tavi Nkemelu | 7-7 |
| Q1 0:41 | Lynx | A 13-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Hart | 14-7 |
| Q2 2:56 | Jackals | A 2-yard touchdown run by Jace Albright | 14-14 |
| Q2 0:44 | Lynx | A 47-yard field goal by Orson Thorne | 17-14 |
| Q2 0:00 | Jackals | A 14-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Adrien Esposito | 17-21 |
| Q3 2:21 | Jackals | A 3-yard touchdown run by Jace Albright | 17-28 |
| Q3 1:30 | Lynx | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Luca Benedetti | 24-28 |
| Q4 2:42 | Jackals | A 27-yard field goal by Roman Zamora | 24-31 |
| Q4 1:18 | Lynx | A 2-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Hart | 31-31 |
| Q4 0:38 | Lynx | A 27-yard field goal by Orson Thorne | 34-31 |
| Q4 0:00 | Lynx | A 1-yard touchdown run by Kai Navarro | 41-31 |
Team stats
| CPH | PLS | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 484 | 514 |
| Passing yards | 217 | 351 |
| Rushing yards | 267 | 163 |
| Completions | 19 of 26 | 29 of 41 |
| Offensive plays | 76 | 72 |
| Third downs | 9 of 13 | 5 of 9 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 1 | 0 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 6 |
| Time of possession | 6:58 | 5:02 |
Cipher Lynx box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kai Navarro | 19/26 | 217 | 2 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel Hart | 26 | 135 | 2 | 28 |
| Kai Navarro | 14 | 85 | 1 | 23 |
| Orson Achebe | 6 | 36 | 0 | 14 |
| Zane Lachance | 1 | 11 | 0 | 14 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bram Pellegrini | 6 | 74 | 0 | 9 |
| Ezekiel Hart | 4 | 54 | 0 | 4 |
| Pavel Thorne | 4 | 35 | 1 | 5 |
| Zane Lachance | 3 | 33 | 0 | 3 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valen Garrow | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Hargrove | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonas Ingram | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Varga | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Gideon Jovanovic | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Coventry | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Thorne | 2/2 | 47 | 0/0 |
Pulse Jackals box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Castellanos | 29/41 | 351 | 2 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Albright | 19 | 115 | 2 | 22 |
| Rio Castellanos | 2 | 21 | 0 | 17 |
| Fabian Lachance | 3 | 15 | 0 | 9 |
| Adrien Esposito | 1 | 12 | 0 | 25 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anders Quarles | 5 | 81 | 0 | 9 |
| Adrien Esposito | 7 | 78 | 1 | 8 |
| Cassius Achebe | 6 | 74 | 0 | 8 |
| Tavi Nkemelu | 6 | 62 | 1 | 8 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quentin Norcross | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Norcross | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Oyelaran | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tariq Coventry | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Orson Castellan | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Darius Esposito | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 1/1 | 27 | 0/0 |
Watch the replay
Every play of this game can be replayed on the big screen, with the play calls, the win probability and the commentary: replay Cipher Lynx 41, Pulse Jackals 31 on Snapline. More about the teams: Pulse Jackals · Cipher Lynx.