Pulse Jackals 31, Spark Kestrels 26
Week 5 · Regular season · round 10 · Tuesday 27 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPK Spark Kestrels | 7 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 26 |
| PLS Pulse Jackals | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
Game recap
The Pulse Jackals held off the Spark Kestrels 31-26 in round 10 of Week 5. The lead changed hands 2 times.
The Kestrels opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run by Malachi Reed with 3:02 left in the first quarter. The Jackals led 14-10 at halftime. The fourth quarter brought a 17-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Tavi Nkemelu for the Jackals (3:31 left, 28-17); a 44-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic for the Kestrels (2:58 left, 28-20); a 28-yard field goal by Roman Zamora for the Jackals (1:52 left, 31-20); a 2-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Lazlo Zamora for the Kestrels (1:14 left, 31-26).
The biggest swing of the game came with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter: a failed two-point conversion attempt. It moved the Jackals' chance of winning from 63% to 93%.
The standout was Rio Castellanos (QB, Jackals), with 23 of 33 passing for 258 yards, 3 TD; 6 carries for 28 yards. Elsewhere, Jace Albright (Jackals) had 12 carries for 99 yards; 1 catch for 1 yard; Tavi Nkemelu (Jackals) had 7 catches for 80 yards and 1 TD; Eli Varga-Stone (Kestrels) had 25 of 42 passing for 266 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 3 carries for 12 yards; Malachi Reed (Kestrels) had 13 carries for 124 yards and 1 TD; 4 catches for 34 yards and 1 TD.
Before kickoff, the Jackals' game plan was on offense: quick game vs the blitz, attack the zones, target Adrien Esposito; on defense: bracket Jaylen Osei (Adrien Esposito finished with 3 carries for 33 yards; 4 catches for 62 yards). Meanwhile, the Kestrels' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, lean on the run, target Bastien Radcliffe; on defense: bracket Tavi Nkemelu (Bastien Radcliffe finished with 4 catches for 39 yards).
The Jackals move to 5-5 and the Kestrels to 2-7-1 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down once, and it worked.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | SPK-PLS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 3:02 | Kestrels | A 4-yard touchdown run by Malachi Reed (extra point) | 7-0 |
| Q2 1:37 | Jackals | An 8-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Anders Quarles (extra point) | 7-7 |
| Q2 0:25 | Jackals | A 10-yard touchdown run by Fabian Lachance (extra point) | 7-14 |
| Q2 0:00 | Kestrels | A 50-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic | 10-14 |
| Q3 2:22 | Kestrels | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Malachi Reed (extra point) | 17-14 |
| Q3 1:24 | Jackals | A 3-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Fabian Lachance (extra point) | 17-21 |
| Q4 3:31 | Jackals | A 17-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Tavi Nkemelu (extra point) | 17-28 |
| Q4 2:58 | Kestrels | A 44-yard field goal by Orson Jovanovic | 20-28 |
| Q4 1:52 | Jackals | A 28-yard field goal by Roman Zamora | 20-31 |
| Q4 1:14 | Kestrels | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Eli Varga-Stone to Lazlo Zamora (2-pt try failed) | 26-31 |
Team stats
| SPK | PLS | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 456 | 484 |
| Passing yards | 266 | 258 |
| Rushing yards | 190 | 226 |
| Completions | 25 of 42 | 23 of 33 |
| Offensive plays | 69 | 68 |
| Third downs | 1 of 8 | 5 of 10 |
| Fourth downs | 1 of 1 | — |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 8:20 | 7:40 |
Spark Kestrels box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Varga-Stone | 25/42 | 266 | 2 | 1 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malachi Reed | 13 | 124 | 1 | 18 |
| Yannick Delacroix | 7 | 44 | 0 | 20 |
| Eli Varga-Stone | 3 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| Lazlo Zamora | 1 | 10 | 0 | 19 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Osei | 5 | 72 | 0 | 9 |
| Lazlo Zamora | 6 | 58 | 1 | 8 |
| Ulric Hargrove | 5 | 43 | 0 | 7 |
| Bastien Radcliffe | 4 | 39 | 0 | 8 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasimir Castellan | 25 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cyrus Quarles | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Tariq Brennan | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Pellegrini | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Soren Eriksen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Oyelaran | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Jovanovic | 2/2 | 50 | 2/2 |
Pulse Jackals box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Castellanos | 23/33 | 258 | 3 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Albright | 12 | 99 | 0 | 17 |
| Fabian Lachance | 10 | 66 | 1 | 17 |
| Adrien Esposito | 3 | 33 | 0 | 30 |
| Rio Castellanos | 6 | 28 | 0 | 10 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavi Nkemelu | 7 | 80 | 1 | 12 |
| Cassius Achebe | 6 | 79 | 0 | 6 |
| Adrien Esposito | 4 | 62 | 0 | 6 |
| Anders Quarles | 3 | 31 | 1 | 5 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elio Oyelaran | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Quentin Delacroix | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Tariq Coventry | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Darius Draven | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Norcross | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Soren Sandoval | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 1/1 | 28 | 4/4 |
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 Pulse Jackals 31, Spark Kestrels 26 on Snapline. More about the teams: Pulse Jackals · Spark Kestrels.