INDOOR FOOTBALL
Chupacabras drop season opener to Orlando
Sunday's game was the franchise's first under new ownership
Published
The Chupacabras came oh-so-close to making a statement in their season debut.
Despite a four-touchdown day from quarterback Ja’rome Johnson, New Mexico’s rebranded Indoor Football League team opened its season with a narrow 41-38 loss to the Orlando Pirates on Sunday at Tingley Coliseum.
The Chupacabras led 38-34 in the fourth quarter after Johnson (11-for-20, 158 yards) flipped a short pass to wide receiver C.J. Jefferson for their final score of the day. But the Pirates – most recently ranked fourth overall in the IFL’s weekly coaches poll – pulled back ahead off running back Pooka Williams’ short touchdown run with 3:18 remaining.
Chupacabras kicker Ben Derby's game-tying field goal attempt in the final minute hit one of Tingley’s decks and veered right of the goal posts, effectively sealing Orlando’s closer-than-expected win.
The Pirates were listed as a 5.5-point favorite entering Sunday's game.
“They showed that they had heart,” first-year Chupacabras head coach Kyle Moore-Brown said. “And that’s what I wanted. We can clean up the little things – I know I have a great football team … I’m proud of their fight, I’m proud of the effort that they gave out there.”
The Chupacabras were led on the ground by La’james White’s 53 yards, the bulk of which came on his 45-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Chupacabras receiver Damon Street caught five passes for a game-high 104 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Johnson on multiple deep passes.
Street’s final catch set up the Chupacabras’ go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.
“He’s a dynamic player,” Moore-Brown said. “And that’s one of the things that we got to do as an offense – get the ball in his hands a little more.”
Pirates quarterback Paxton DeLaurent completed 17 of 20 passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns, adding 26 yards on the ground. The former Southeast Missouri State quarterback was a late addition to Orlando’s starting lineup after Taulia Tagovailoa – the Pirates’ preseason starter and brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – was signed by the United Football League’s Houston Gamblers early Sunday.
Moore-Brown said news of DeLaurent’s spot start didn’t change anything for the Chupacabras.
“The quarterback, he’s a professional,” he added. “My assessment of it all is (it’s) always the next man up. It’s the same thing with my guys.”
Sunday marked the Chupacabras’ first game since the team was purchased by local businessmen Mike Fietz and Bob Pitre last summer. Formerly known as the Duke City Gladiators, the franchise did not participate in the IFL’s 2025 season as Fietz and Pitre rebranded the team and hired coaches.
While an attendance estimate was not available, Fietz said the crowd was “thinner” than they hoped after distributing just under 3,500 tickets before Sunday.
“The crowd that we did have, they were into it,” Fietz said. “They were loud and excitable. They showed what New Mexicans are about.”
Sunday’s game also did not have a working clock on Tingley’s two video boards, leading to some confusion among fans in attendance.
“There’s just glitches, you know?” Fietz said. “Until you get in a gameday situation, you don’t see it.”
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
