By Zane Miller

The regular season for the Kentucky Barrels ended on a sour note Saturday night, falling 50-20 against the Beaumont Renegades in the Lone Star State.

With the loss, the Barrels conclude the regular season at a 7-5 record, albeit on a three-game losing streak. Adding insult to injury, while the team had clinched home-field advantage for the opening round of the playoffs, scheduling conflicts at Truist Arena will force Kentucky to begin the postseason either on the road or at a neutral site regardless.

The turmoil from last week’s major roster shakeup carried over into Saturday’s game as well, as the starters that the Barrels had been fielding for much of the year remained inactive. According to the team in comments provided to the Northern Kentucky Tribune, this stemmed from a dispute in which several players sought additional pay following an unexpectedly long west coast road trip. However, there was still good news for the Barrels coming from this game as they welcomed head coach Cedric Walker back to the sidelines. Walker was unable to coach in last week’s contest against the Minnesota Monsters due to a medical emergency.

Despite using a completely different set of replacements than the roster they had in Minnesota, the Barrels were able to keep pace with Beaumont early on in the contest. After the Renegades broke the ice with a defensive touchdown, quarterback Dominick Hobdy got the Barrels on the board with the strangest TD of the evening. While his throw was initially wide of receiver Anthony McGrew, the ball took a perfect bounce off the top of the corner dasher board and into the arms of McGrew for the score.

While the fortunate carom seemed that it may bode well for the Barrels, the game instead began to unravel soon after. Renegades signal caller Cameron Peters connected with wide receiver Zuri Davis for a 19-yard score to open the second quarter, then a turnover on downs eventually set up a short touchdown rush from Aleki Tapa. Backed up near their own end zone on the next Kentucky possession, a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage led to another Beaumont defensive score as Trey Taylor grabbed the interception and ran it in for a three-possession lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Renegades kicker Evan Byrd got his second of what would be three deuces on the evening, making it a 32-7 game at halftime.

The Barrels came out strong to start the second half, as Hobdy delivered an impressive 24-yd strike under pressure to wide receiver Jordus Smith, who coincidentally played for the Renegades earlier in the season. However, Beaumont would keep a comfortable lead the rest of the way, ultimately wrapping it up with a 50-20 win. The Renegades improved to 4-7 in the AF1 standings with one game remaining, though they’ve already been eliminated from postseason contention.

Peters picked up three passing touchdowns along with 81 passing yards and three interceptions, while Hobdy nabbed four touchdowns with 120 passing yards and one interception. Jaydyn Barral was the Renegades’ top receiver with a pair of touchdowns and 45 receiving yards, as McGrew led the way for the Barrels with four catches for 52 yards and a score.

Defensive back TJ Samuel, picked up from the Odessa Drillers of American Indoor Football, was the standout on the Kentucky defense with two interceptions as fellow DB Johnathan Taylor secured four tackles. Beaumont linebacker Kewan Alfred earned five tackles in the victory.

The Barrels are set to face the Michigan Arsenal in two weeks as their first-round opponent, the same team they took their inaugural win against back in week one. However, the venue for the contest has yet to officially be determined.

Scoring summary

1Q 10:27 BEA #66 S. Jones 29-yard fumble return TD (PAT no good)- Renegades 6-0

1Q 9:49 BEA #12 E. Byrd deuce- Renegades 8-0

1Q 5:12 KEN #10 A. McGrew 9-yd TD pass from #7 D. Hobdy (PAT good)- Renegades 8-7

2Q 14:46 BEA #11 Z. Davis 19-yd TD pass from #13 C. Peters (PAT no good)- Renegades 14-7

2Q 7:07 BEA #67 A. Tapa 1-yd TD run (2-pt conv. good)- Renegades 22-7

2Q 2:28 BEA #5 T. Taylor 5-yd interception return TD (2-pt conv. good)- Renegades 30-7

2Q 1:20 BEA #12 E. Byrd deuce- Renegades 32-7

3Q 11:55 KEN #31 J. Smith 24-yd TD pass from #7 D. Hobdy (PAT good)- Renegades 32-14

3Q 8:46 BEA #69 M. Faoliu SAF- Renegades 34-14

3Q 2:41 BEA #14 D. Morrison 15-yd TD pass from #13 C. Peters (2-pt conv. good)- Renegades 42-14

4Q 5:15 KEN #4 J. Neal 28-yd TD pass from #7 D. Hobdy (2-pt conv. no good)- Renegades 42-20

4Q 3:15 BEA #14 D. Morrison 30-yd TD pass from #13 C. Peters (2-pt conv. no good)- Renegades 48-20

4Q 1:58 BEA #12 E. Byrd deuce- Renegades 50-20

Final Score: Renegades 50, Barrels 20