Houston Roughnecks: Panthers spoil final at home

The Houston Roughnecks held a fourth-quarter lead for the second straight home game. But the result was the same.

Two weeks after San Antonio beat Houston with a last-second field goal, the Michigan Panthers used two fourth-quarter touchdowns to hand the Roughnecks a 26-22 loss in their home finale on a hot Sunday at Rice Stadium.

Quarterback Bryce Perkins’ 5-yard touchdown run with 3:36 remaining and a one-point conversion by tight end Cole Hikutini produced the final margin.

Houston (1-8) converted on third down three times on the ensuing drive, but a sack on which Nolan Henderson slid deep into the backfield produced a 3rd-and-27 that the Roughnecks could not overcome.

Nate Brooks’ pass broke up two plays later, but all but ended the game as Michigan (7-2) closed out a Birmingham game to take the USFL conference lead.

“I thought Nolan and Justin (Hall) played outstanding today, with a few mistakes here and there,” Houston coach CJ Johnson said. “Our defense didn’t do as well as we were used to. But Mike (Nolan) has a playoff team, a very good team. … Today we showed why they are a playoff team. They can come back from adversity and we seem to not have been able to do that this year.

The Roughnecks trailed 6-3 at halftime, with JJ Molson’s 39-yard field goal in the second quarter reducing the lead created by Nate McCrary’s 3-yard touchdown run. Michigan converted a fumble recovery by Kenny Willekes into points.

Hall provided the spark the Roughnecks needed on their second play of the second half, completing a pass over the middle and going over the safety’s corner for a 63-yard touchdown.

“It’s an option for Shorty and he usually makes the best decision he can,” Henderson said. “Once he has the ball in his hands, it’s quite difficult to catch it. It just makes my job easier. Find Shorty, give him space to work and he will do the rest.

Hall, who led the Roughnecks with 42 catches for 425 yards before the game, led all receivers with 109 yards on six receptions. He was targeted 11 times.

“I appreciate Nolan staying patient in that pocket, knowing I’m going to take my time trying to win crossface,” Hall said. “He did a good job putting the ball where I had it down the stretch.”

Safety Markel Roby, who nearly had two interceptions in the first half, threw one while charging the quarterback to set up another Hall touchdown.

Roby came into the game with a team-high 48 tackles and five breakups, earning his second pick of the season.

“It really shook us up and almost got us to victory,” Johnson said. “He’s a kid, we watched him on film, we found him too small. We kind of brought him to the competition and all of a sudden he turned out to be one of the players we can really count on. There are games this year where he had 10 tackles, always making big plays. I think he plays remarkably well. Very good player and we are lucky to have him.

Hall took a screen pass after the play and scored from 7 yards out behind blocks from Cyril Grayson and Keke Chism. Hall added the one-point conversion for a 16-6 lead.

In what would become a troubling theme for the Roughnecks, Perkins restarted a Michigan drive with a 31-yard run into the red zone. He found Trey Quinn for a 4-yard touchdown moments later.

As expected, Danny Etling started for the Panthers and completed 12 of 18 for 110 yards in the first half, including an interception by former Dekaney star D’Juan Hines.

Perkins was intercepted by Roby on the first drive of the second half, but settled in, completing 12 of 15 for 121 yards and a touchdown. He carried six times for 76 yards and two scores.

“(Offensive coordinator) Marcel (Bellefeuille), he did a great job calling plays that use my legs and different things, the defense points out,” Perkins said. “Anytime you have another piece running the ball, there are vacancies everywhere. These guys did a great job getting open. We came out with the firm belief that we were not going to lose this game. The guys up front, I couldn’t be more proud of the way we played and the way we fought, especially in those conditions.

The Roughnecks responded, led by Henderson’s third-down run and pass to Emmanuel Butler for a 33-yard gain. Henderson completed 7 of 18 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, adding 66 yards on nine carries.

Mark Thompson scampered his way for a 2-yard touchdown, producing a 22-12 lead that Houston took into the fourth quarter.

Perkins was the difference down the stretch, starting with an 11-yard touchdown run with 11:45 left. Hikutini was wide open in the end zone on the conversion, bringing Michigan within 22-19.

The Panthers took over with 7:51 remaining after a Houston punt and drove 71 yards in seven plays. Perkins converted a key third with another scrum, adding the go-ahead moments later.

Houston visits the Memphis Showboats in the regular season finale on June 2. Memphis won the first meeting 18-12 on opening day.

Michigan finishes its regular season June 1 in Birmingham and will return to Birmingham the following week for the USFL Conference Championship.

Even though the Panthers were unable to change their position in the final weeks of the season, Nolan said the team maintained its advantage.

“If you’re a champion, every game means something to you, not just the ones in the playoffs once you get in there,” Nolan said. “The best teams continue to play well heading into the playoffs. You don’t want to fall or apologize for bad plays. In my experience, and I’ve had several in this area, if you start to think that certain games don’t matter because you’re already in the playoffs, you generally don’t last long in the playoffs .