Spark Kestrels 43, Monolith Rhinos 31
Week 5 · Regular season · round 1 · Monday 26 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK Spark Kestrels | 7 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 43 |
| MNL Monolith Rhinos | 20 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 31 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Spark Kestrels rallied past the Monolith Rhinos for a 43-31 win in round 1 of Week 5. They trailed by as many as 16 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 3%. It was an upset: before kickoff the engine gave the Kestrels only a 32% chance of winning.
The Rhinos opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner with 1:51 left in the first quarter. At the break the Rhinos were up 23-14. The fourth quarter brought a 16-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei for the Kestrels (3:54 left, 27-23); an 8-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei for the Kestrels (2:41 left, 34-23); a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Orson Jovanovic for the Rhinos (2:14 left, 34-31); a 22-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic for the Kestrels (0:56 left, 37-31); a 7-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei for the Kestrels (0:12 left, 43-31).
The key moment arrived with 3:54 left in the fourth quarter: a 16-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei. It moved the Kestrels' chance of winning from 45% to 79%.
The standout was Jaylen Osei (WR, Kestrels), with 11 catches for 124 yards and 3 TD. Elsewhere, Brandt Kessler (Rhinos) had 15 of 23 passing for 166 yards, 1 TD; Titus Okafor (Rhinos) had 13 carries for 111 yards; 1 catch for 17 yards; Hector Quarles (Rhinos) had 5 catches for 80 yards; Eli Varga-Stone (Kestrels) had 22 of 26 passing for 261 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT; 1 carry for 10 yards.
Before kickoff, the Rhinos' game plan was on offense: quick game vs the blitz, attack the zones, stay underneath, lean on the run, target Hector Quarles; on defense: bracket Jaylen Osei (Hector Quarles finished with 5 catches for 80 yards). Meanwhile, the Kestrels' game plan was on offense: quick game vs the blitz, attack the zones, take shots deep, throw it more, target Jaylen Osei; on defense: bracket Hector Quarles (Jaylen Osei finished with 11 catches for 124 yards and 3 TD).
The Rhinos move to 0-1 and the Kestrels to 1-0 this week. Injuries: Titus Okafor (RB, Rhinos) knee injury; Orson Bellamy (DT, Kestrels) knee injury, out 1 week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | SPK-MNL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 1:51 | Rhinos | A 4-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner (extra point missed) | 0-6 |
| Q1 1:51 | Kestrels | A 94-yard kickoff return touchdown by Yannick Delacroix (extra point) | 7-6 |
| Q1 0:54 | Rhinos | An 8-yard touchdown run by Valen Falkner (extra point) | 7-13 |
| Q1 0:14 | Rhinos | An 8-yard touchdown run by Bram Yardley (extra point) | 7-20 |
| Q2 2:10 | Rhinos | A 46-yard field goal by Tariq Underwood | 7-23 |
| Q2 1:24 | Kestrels | A 15-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Yannick Delacroix (extra point) | 14-23 |
| Q3 2:08 | Kestrels | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Ulric Hargrove (extra point) | 21-23 |
| Q4 3:54 | Kestrels | A 16-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei (2-pt try failed) | 27-23 |
| Q4 2:41 | Kestrels | An 8-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei (extra point) | 34-23 |
| Q4 2:14 | Rhinos | A 14-yard touchdown pass from Brandt Kessler to Orson Jovanovic (2-pt conversion) | 34-31 |
| Q4 0:56 | Kestrels | A 22-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic | 37-31 |
| Q4 0:12 | Kestrels | A 7-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Jaylen Osei (2-pt try failed) | 43-31 |
Team stats
| SPK | MNL | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 374 | 492 |
| Passing yards | 261 | 166 |
| Rushing yards | 113 | 326 |
| Completions | 22 of 26 | 15 of 23 |
| Offensive plays | 50 | 68 |
| Third downs | 2 of 6 | 4 of 10 |
| Fourth downs | — | 0 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 6:41 | 9:19 |
Spark Kestrels box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Varga-Stone | 22/26 | 261 | 5 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachi Reed | 11 | 58 | 0 | 17 |
| Yannick Delacroix | 5 | 28 | 0 | 15 |
| Valen Norcross | 2 | 16 | 0 | 13 |
| Eli Varga-Stone | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Osei | 11 | 124 | 3 | 11 |
| Bastien Radcliffe | 4 | 52 | 0 | 5 |
| Lazlo Zamora | 3 | 38 | 0 | 5 |
| Ulric Hargrove | 3 | 32 | 1 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasimir Castellan | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ulric Ashford | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tariq Brennan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyrus Quarles | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dorian Kincaid | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Soren Eriksen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Jovanovic | 1/1 | 22 | 4/4 |
Monolith Rhinos box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandt Kessler | 15/23 | 166 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titus Okafor | 13 | 111 | 0 | 19 |
| Valen Falkner | 15 | 108 | 2 | 15 |
| Bram Yardley | 14 | 107 | 1 | 16 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hector Quarles | 5 | 80 | 0 | 5 |
| Ivo Underwood | 2 | 18 | 0 | 3 |
| Titus Okafor | 1 | 17 | 0 | 1 |
| Orson Jovanovic | 2 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nils Sandoval | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wendell Bellamy | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrien Pellegrini | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Anders Kincaid | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Anders Oyelaran | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Sandoval | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Underwood | 1/4 | 46 | 2/3 |
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 43, Monolith Rhinos 31 on Snapline. More about the teams: Monolith Rhinos · Spark Kestrels.