Pulse Jackals 37, Cortex Foxes 27
Week 5 · Regular season · round 16 · Thursday 29 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTX Cortex Foxes | 3 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 27 |
| PLS Pulse Jackals | 10 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 37 |
Game recap
The Pulse Jackals won a shoot-out against the Cortex Foxes, 37-27, in round 16 of Week 5. The teams combined for 64 points and 2 lead changes.
The Foxes opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal by Wendell Montague with 2:01 left in the first quarter. At the break the Foxes were up 13-10. Then came the fourth quarter: a 28-yard field goal by Roman Zamora for the Jackals (3:07 left, 30-13); a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Fabian Hargrove for the Foxes (2:28 left, 30-20); a 4-yard touchdown run by Rio Castellanos for the Jackals (0:39 left, 37-20); a 3-yard touchdown pass from Valen Quarles to Emeric Bellamy for the Foxes (0:19 left, 37-27).
The key moment arrived with 3:01 left in the third quarter: an 11-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Tavi Nkemelu. It moved the Jackals' chance of winning from 52% to 71%.
The standout was Rio Castellanos (QB, Jackals), with 33 of 42 passing for 368 yards, 3 TD; 7 carries for 32 yards and 1 TD. Elsewhere, Fabian Lachance (Jackals) had 8 carries for 63 yards; 1 catch for 7 yards; Cassius Achebe (Jackals) had 11 catches for 136 yards; Ezra Vale (Foxes) had 19 of 28 passing for 134 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 2 carries for 19 yards; Fabian Esposito (Foxes) had 20 carries for 131 yards and 1 TD.
Before kickoff, the Jackals' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, take shots deep, target Adrien Esposito; on defense: bracket Rafe Ellison (Adrien Esposito finished with 1 carry for 9 yards; 5 catches for 59 yards). Meanwhile, the Foxes' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, target Zane Montague; on defense: bracket Tavi Nkemelu (Zane Montague finished with 3 catches for 23 yards).
The Jackals move to 8-8 and the Foxes to 7-8-1 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down once, and it worked. Injuries: Jace Albright (RB, Jackals) knee injury, out 1 week.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | CTX-PLS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2:01 | Foxes | A 32-yard field goal by Wendell Montague | 3-0 |
| Q1 1:17 | Jackals | A 44-yard field goal by Roman Zamora | 3-3 |
| Q1 0:05 | Jackals | A 22-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Tavi Nkemelu (extra point) | 3-10 |
| Q2 2:19 | Foxes | A 36-yard field goal by Wendell Montague | 6-10 |
| Q2 0:19 | Foxes | A 1-yard touchdown run by Fabian Esposito (extra point) | 13-10 |
| Q3 3:01 | Jackals | An 11-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Tavi Nkemelu (extra point) | 13-17 |
| Q3 1:51 | Jackals | A 30-yard field goal by Roman Zamora | 13-20 |
| Q3 0:27 | Jackals | An 11-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Anders Quarles (extra point) | 13-27 |
| Q4 3:07 | Jackals | A 28-yard field goal by Roman Zamora | 13-30 |
| Q4 2:28 | Foxes | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Ezra Vale to Fabian Hargrove (extra point) | 20-30 |
| Q4 0:39 | Jackals | A 4-yard touchdown run by Rio Castellanos (extra point) | 20-37 |
| Q4 0:19 | Foxes | A 3-yard touchdown pass from Valen Quarles to Emeric Bellamy (extra point) | 27-37 |
Team stats
| CTX | PLS | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 356 | 520 |
| Passing yards | 170 | 368 |
| Rushing yards | 186 | 152 |
| Completions | 24 of 34 | 33 of 42 |
| Offensive plays | 63 | 68 |
| Third downs | 6 of 11 | 5 of 11 |
| Fourth downs | — | — |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Sacks allowed | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 7:57 | 8:03 |
Cortex Foxes box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezra Vale | 19/28 | 134 | 1 | 1 |
| Valen Quarles | 5/6 | 36 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabian Esposito | 20 | 131 | 1 | 23 |
| Fabian Hargrove | 6 | 36 | 0 | 10 |
| Ezra Vale | 2 | 19 | 0 | 12 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tariq Coventry | 5 | 37 | 0 | 5 |
| Rafe Ellison | 6 | 33 | 0 | 11 |
| Cassius Ashford | 3 | 31 | 0 | 4 |
| Bram Quarles | 3 | 26 | 0 | 3 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elio Hargrove | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Draven | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Ingram | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jonas Pellegrini | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nils Lachance | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wendell Montague | 2/2 | 36 | 3/3 |
Pulse Jackals box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Castellanos | 33/42 | 368 | 3 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabian Lachance | 8 | 63 | 0 | 12 |
| Jonas Lachance | 6 | 35 | 0 | 11 |
| Rio Castellanos | 7 | 32 | 1 | 17 |
| Jace Albright | 2 | 13 | 0 | 11 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassius Achebe | 11 | 136 | 0 | 11 |
| Tavi Nkemelu | 10 | 99 | 2 | 11 |
| Anders Quarles | 6 | 67 | 1 | 9 |
| Adrien Esposito | 5 | 59 | 0 | 6 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elio Oyelaran | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Quentin Norcross | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Delacroix | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valen Ashford | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Achebe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Castellan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 3/3 | 44 | 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 37, Cortex Foxes 27 on Snapline. More about the teams: Pulse Jackals · Cortex Foxes.