Spark Kestrels 42, Monolith Rhinos 24
Week 3 · Regular season · round 1 · Monday 12 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK Spark Kestrels | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
| MNL Monolith Rhinos | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Spark Kestrels rallied past the Monolith Rhinos for a 42-24 win in round 1 of Week 3. They trailed by as many as 10 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 13%. Few expected it: the pregame odds gave the Kestrels a 26% chance.
The Kestrels opened the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run by Malachi Reed with 1:33 left in the first quarter. The Rhinos led 17-14 at halftime. The fourth quarter brought a 3-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe for the Kestrels (2:55 left, 28-24); a 13-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe for the Kestrels (0:43 left, 35-24); a 25-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe for the Kestrels (0:00 left, 42-24).
The play that tilted the game came with 1:51 left in the fourth quarter: an interception by Gideon Norcross off Brandt Kessler. It moved the Kestrels' chance of winning from 39% to 58%.
Player of the game: Bastien Radcliffe (WR, Kestrels), with 10 catches for 119 yards and 4 TD. Elsewhere, Titus Okafor (Rhinos) had 24 carries for 180 yards; 2 catches for 15 yards; Eli Varga-Stone (Kestrels) had 26 of 41 passing for 336 yards, 5 TD; 3 carries for 6 yards; Malachi Reed (Kestrels) had 13 carries for 113 yards and 1 TD; 2 catches for 15 yards; Jaylen Osei (Kestrels) had 8 catches for 118 yards and 1 TD.
Before kickoff, the Rhinos' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, lean on the run, target Hector Quarles; on defense: bracket Jaylen Osei (Hector Quarles finished with 4 catches for 19 yards and 1 TD). Meanwhile, the Kestrels' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, take shots deep, throw it more, target Bastien Radcliffe; on defense: bracket Hector Quarles (Bastien Radcliffe finished with 10 catches for 119 yards and 4 TD).
The Rhinos move to 0-1 and the Kestrels to 1-0 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | SPK-MNL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 1:33 | Kestrels | A 13-yard touchdown run by Malachi Reed | 7-0 |
| Q1 0:41 | Rhinos | A 48-yard field goal by Tariq Underwood | 7-3 |
| Q2 2:43 | Rhinos | An 11-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner | 7-10 |
| Q2 1:52 | Kestrels | A 26-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe | 14-10 |
| Q2 0:07 | Rhinos | A 7-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner | 14-17 |
| Q3 1:36 | Rhinos | A 5-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Hector Quarles | 14-24 |
| Q3 0:44 | Kestrels | An 11-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei | 21-24 |
| Q4 2:55 | Kestrels | A 3-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe | 28-24 |
| Q4 0:43 | Kestrels | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe | 35-24 |
| Q4 0:00 | Kestrels | A 25-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe | 42-24 |
Team stats
| SPK | MNL | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 494 | 401 |
| Passing yards | 336 | 98 |
| Rushing yards | 158 | 303 |
| Completions | 26 of 41 | 13 of 26 |
| Offensive plays | 62 | 63 |
| Third downs | 7 of 10 | 3 of 8 |
| Fourth downs | 0 of 1 | 1 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Sacks allowed | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 5:36 | 6:24 |
Spark Kestrels box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Varga-Stone | 26/41 | 336 | 5 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachi Reed | 13 | 113 | 1 | 14 |
| Yannick Delacroix | 4 | 39 | 0 | 24 |
| Eli Varga-Stone | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bastien Radcliffe | 10 | 119 | 4 | 13 |
| Jaylen Osei | 8 | 118 | 1 | 14 |
| Ulric Hargrove | 4 | 58 | 0 | 5 |
| Lazlo Zamora | 2 | 26 | 0 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Brennan | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Soren Eriksen | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gideon Norcross | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Ulric Ashford | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Pellegrini | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darius Coventry | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Monolith Rhinos box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandt Kessler | 13/26 | 98 | 1 | 1 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titus Okafor | 24 | 180 | 0 | 19 |
| Valen Falkner | 12 | 123 | 2 | 20 |
| Brandt Kessler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rory Blackwood | 3 | 33 | 0 | 5 |
| Ivo Underwood | 3 | 25 | 0 | 9 |
| Hector Quarles | 4 | 19 | 1 | 6 |
| Titus Okafor | 2 | 15 | 0 | 2 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyrus Varga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nils Sandoval | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roman Underwood | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrien Pellegrini | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Hargrove | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emeric Varga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Underwood | 1/1 | 48 | 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 Spark Kestrels 42, Monolith Rhinos 24 on Snapline. More about the teams: Monolith Rhinos · Spark Kestrels.