Spark Kestrels 35, Bastion Panthers 26
Week 3 · Regular season · round 18 · Thursday 15 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK Spark Kestrels | 14 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| BST Bastion Panthers | 6 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 26 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Spark Kestrels rallied past the Bastion Panthers for a 35-26 win in round 18 of Week 3. They trailed by as many as 5 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 14%. It was an upset: before kickoff the engine gave the Kestrels only a 34% chance of winning.
The Kestrels opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei with 2:23 left in the first quarter. At the break the Kestrels were up 14-9. The fourth quarter brought an 11-yard touchdown run by Marcus Thibodeaux for the Panthers (1:19 left, 26-21); a 12-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei for the Kestrels (0:47 left, 28-26); a 9-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe for the Kestrels (0:13 left, 35-26).
The biggest swing of the game came with 0:47 left in the fourth quarter: a 12-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei. It moved the Kestrels' chance of winning from 36% to 64%.
The standout was Jaylen Osei (WR, Kestrels), with 9 catches for 125 yards and 3 TD. Elsewhere, Owen Castillo (Panthers) had 23 of 35 passing for 267 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry for 4 yards; Marcus Thibodeaux (Panthers) had 24 carries for 157 yards and 1 TD; 3 catches for 26 yards; Elio Bellamy (Panthers) had 9 catches for 124 yards; Eli Varga-Stone (Kestrels) had 24 of 38 passing for 298 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT; 2 carries for 12 yards.
Before kickoff, the Panthers' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, target Elio Bellamy; on defense: bracket Jaylen Osei (Elio Bellamy finished with 9 catches for 124 yards). Meanwhile, the Kestrels' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, lean on the run, target Ulric Hargrove; on defense: bracket Julian Asher (Ulric Hargrove finished with 4 catches for 46 yards).
The Panthers move to 10-6-2 and the Kestrels to 9-7-2 this week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | SPK-BST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:23 | Kestrels | A 17-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei | 7-0 |
| Q1 1:33 | Panthers | A 33-yard field goal by Wendell Yardley | 7-3 |
| Q1 0:46 | Kestrels | A 5-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Malachi Reed | 14-3 |
| Q1 0:02 | Panthers | A 49-yard field goal by Wendell Yardley | 14-6 |
| Q2 0:04 | Panthers | A 50-yard field goal by Wendell Yardley | 14-9 |
| Q3 1:42 | Panthers | An 8-yard touchdown pass from Owen Castillo to Elio Zamora | 14-16 |
| Q3 0:55 | Kestrels | A 13-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei | 21-16 |
| Q3 0:00 | Panthers | A 23-yard field goal by Wendell Yardley | 21-19 |
| Q4 1:19 | Panthers | An 11-yard touchdown run by Marcus Thibodeaux | 21-26 |
| Q4 0:47 | Kestrels | A 12-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei | 28-26 |
| Q4 0:13 | Kestrels | A 9-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Bastien Radcliffe | 35-26 |
Team stats
| SPK | BST | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 437 | 444 |
| Passing yards | 298 | 267 |
| Rushing yards | 139 | 177 |
| Completions | 24 of 38 | 23 of 35 |
| Offensive plays | 58 | 68 |
| Third downs | 7 of 10 | 4 of 10 |
| Fourth downs | — | 0 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks allowed | 0 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 4:45 | 7:15 |
Spark Kestrels box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Varga-Stone | 24/38 | 298 | 5 | 1 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachi Reed | 14 | 85 | 0 | 18 |
| Yannick Delacroix | 3 | 23 | 0 | 11 |
| Lazlo Zamora | 1 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| Eli Varga-Stone | 2 | 12 | 0 | 9 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Osei | 9 | 125 | 3 | 12 |
| Bastien Radcliffe | 5 | 73 | 1 | 7 |
| Malachi Reed | 6 | 54 | 1 | 9 |
| Ulric Hargrove | 4 | 46 | 0 | 6 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soren Eriksen | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tariq Brennan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kasimir Castellan | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bastien Oyelaran | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Pellegrini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Darius Coventry | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bastion Panthers box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owen Castillo | 23/35 | 267 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Thibodeaux | 24 | 157 | 1 | 24 |
| Wendell Ashford | 4 | 16 | 0 | 7 |
| Owen Castillo | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elio Bellamy | 9 | 124 | 0 | 12 |
| Julian Asher | 5 | 52 | 0 | 7 |
| Emeric Esposito | 4 | 43 | 0 | 6 |
| Marcus Thibodeaux | 3 | 26 | 0 | 6 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasimir Varga | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Quentin Ashford | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cassius Kincaid | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Esposito | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hector Whitlock | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bram Zamora | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wendell Yardley | 4/4 | 50 | 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 35, Bastion Panthers 26 on Snapline. More about the teams: Bastion Panthers · Spark Kestrels.