Pulse Jackals 35, Nova Raptors 23
Week 5 · Regular season · round 5 · Monday 26 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLS Pulse Jackals | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| NVA Nova Raptors | 14 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
Game recap
The Pulse Jackals came back to beat the Nova Raptors 35-23 in round 5 of Week 5. They trailed by as many as 14 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 17%.
The Raptors opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Ivo Norcross with 3:14 left in the first quarter. It was 14-14 at halftime. In the fourth quarter: a 9-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Cassius Achebe for the Jackals (3:42 left, 28-14); a 51-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross for the Raptors (3:02 left, 28-17); a 2-yard touchdown run by Jace Albright for the Jackals (2:25 left, 35-17); a 2-yard touchdown pass from Darius Ashford to Bram Thorne for the Raptors (0:15 left, 35-23).
The key moment arrived with 1:15 left in the third quarter: a 4-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Anders Quarles. It moved the Jackals' chance of winning from 66% to 83%.
Top performer: Anders Quarles (TE, Jackals), with 9 catches for 113 yards and 2 TD. Elsewhere, Axel Stroud (Raptors) had 20 of 33 passing for 188 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; 1 carry for 7 yards; Nils Coventry (Raptors) had 10 carries for 73 yards; Bram Thorne (Raptors) had 8 catches for 83 yards and 2 TD; Rio Castellanos (Jackals) had 27 of 43 passing for 310 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT; 1 carry for 5 yards.
Before kickoff, the Raptors' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, target Bram Thorne; on defense: bracket Tavi Nkemelu (Bram Thorne finished with 8 catches for 83 yards and 2 TD). Meanwhile, the Jackals' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Cassius Achebe; on defense: bracket Zion Whitaker (Cassius Achebe finished with 6 catches for 82 yards and 2 TD).
The Raptors move to 2-3 and the Jackals to 2-3 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down 3 times, converting 1.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | PLS-NVA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 3:14 | Raptors | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Ivo Norcross (extra point) | 0-7 |
| Q1 0:23 | Raptors | A 3-yard touchdown pass from Axel Stroud to Bram Thorne (extra point) | 0-14 |
| Q2 3:29 | Jackals | A 21-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Cassius Achebe (extra point) | 7-14 |
| Q2 0:00 | Jackals | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Anders Quarles (extra point) | 14-14 |
| Q3 1:15 | Jackals | A 4-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Anders Quarles (extra point) | 21-14 |
| Q4 3:42 | Jackals | A 9-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Cassius Achebe (extra point) | 28-14 |
| Q4 3:02 | Raptors | A 51-yard field goal by Adrien Norcross | 28-17 |
| Q4 2:25 | Jackals | A 2-yard touchdown run by Jace Albright (extra point) | 35-17 |
| Q4 0:15 | Raptors | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Darius Ashford to Bram Thorne (2-pt try failed) | 35-23 |
Team stats
| PLS | NVA | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 505 | 431 |
| Passing yards | 317 | 267 |
| Rushing yards | 188 | 164 |
| Completions | 28 of 47 | 26 of 45 |
| Offensive plays | 77 | 76 |
| Third downs | 7 of 12 | 7 of 15 |
| Fourth downs | 0 of 1 | 1 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 5 |
| Time of possession | 7:39 | 8:21 |
Pulse Jackals box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Castellanos | 27/43 | 310 | 4 | 1 |
| Anders Ingram | 1/4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Albright | 15 | 106 | 1 | 16 |
| Fabian Lachance | 8 | 66 | 0 | 21 |
| Adrien Esposito | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Rio Castellanos | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anders Quarles | 9 | 113 | 2 | 11 |
| Cassius Achebe | 6 | 82 | 2 | 8 |
| Tavi Nkemelu | 8 | 69 | 0 | 12 |
| Adrien Esposito | 2 | 19 | 0 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elio Oyelaran | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tariq Coventry | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Valen Ashford | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Darius Draven | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orson Norcross | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Anders Eriksen | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 0/0 | 0 | 5/5 |
Nova Raptors box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axel Stroud | 20/33 | 188 | 2 | 2 |
| Darius Ashford | 6/12 | 79 | 1 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nils Coventry | 10 | 73 | 0 | 17 |
| Omari Fenn | 14 | 72 | 0 | 14 |
| Darius Ashford | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Axel Stroud | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bram Thorne | 8 | 83 | 2 | 12 |
| Ivo Norcross | 6 | 75 | 1 | 9 |
| Zion Whitaker | 5 | 50 | 0 | 7 |
| Darius Kincaid | 1 | 22 | 0 | 2 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anders Delacroix | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Norcross | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Adrien Brennan | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bastien Montague | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zane Eriksen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Valen Yardley | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adrien Norcross | 1/1 | 51 | 2/2 |
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 35, Nova Raptors 23 on Snapline. More about the teams: Nova Raptors · Pulse Jackals.