Xtreme Takes the Title Rout

The Xtreme rules supreme.

Los Angeles has won its first professional football championship since the Raiders won the 1984 Super Bowl and its second since the Rams won the NFL title in 1951.

OK, it’s only the XFL.

Nevertheless, a well-behaved crowd of 24,153 enjoyed the Xtreme’s 38-6 championship victory over the San Francisco Demons Saturday night at the Coliseum.

“We couldn’t have scripted it any better,” said Coach Al Luginbill after his Xtreme thoroughly dominated the Demons.

Tommy Maddox completed 16 of 28 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns, Saladin McCullough rushed for 117 yards in 20 carries and Jose Cortez kicked four field goals, including a 50-yarder at the end of the first half that seemed to take the last bit of steam out of the Demons (6-6).

The Xtreme (9-3) led, 21-0, at halftime and 31-0 after three quarters. All that was in doubt was whether the Demons would score, which they did.

After their touchdown, the Demons, with fleet-footed third-string quarterback Otemann Sampson at the helm, tried a three-point conversion from the 10, as specified by a new rule adopted for the playoffs. Sampson scrambled before his pass was intercepted by Tinker Keck, who nearly returned it to give the Xtreme another three points.

The Xtreme’s Ron Carpenter then returned an onside kick 33 yards to the 10 before the game ended.

After a fireworks display and the playing of “We Love L.A.,” XFL founder Vince McMahon addressed the crowd. He thanked the fans, NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol and the coaches and players.

Luginbill accepted the XFL championship trophy from league executive Dick Butkus, then, addressing McMahon said, “Here stands a man’s man. He stands for what is good in this country.”

Luginbill said he expects the league next year to settle into what it should have been in the first place, an alternate football league with its own fan base.

“I think it was a good sign that we got our second-biggest crowd of the year when everyone was saying no one would come out,” he said.

Said Maddox: “We not only brought professional football back to Los Angeles, we brought a championship. I’m enjoying the heck out of this.

“To play in this league with a bunch of guys like we had, this is a dream come true for me. Give Vince McMahon a lot of credit for giving us a chance to play.”

By winning what was billed as the Million Dollar Game, the Xtreme players get a $1-million bonus, which equates to about $26,000 a player. The money earned by winning players on a Super Bowl team didn’t exceed that amount until Super Bowl XVII.

The Xtreme scored its first touchdown early in the second quarter from the one-yard line when Maddox faked to McCullough and then passed to Josh Wilcox, a backup tight end who is the son of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Dave Wilcox, the former San Francisco 49er.

Reggie Durden scored the Xtreme’s second touchdown on 71-yard punt return. Durden fielded a loose ball after two other Xtreme return men collided. What could have been a big break for the Demons instead worked in the Xtreme’s favor, and the rout was on.