New York Guardians whip Dallas Renegades for 2nd straight win

It looks like the New York Guardians have found their quarterback.

Luis Perez threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Colby Pearson in the third quarter to help lead the Guardians to a 30-12 blowout win over the Dallas Renegades on Saturday night at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.

It was the first road win of the season for the Guardians (3-2), who have won two straight.

Perez finished 16-for-30 for 229 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Perez, who replaced the injured Matt McGloin (rib) last week, is now 2-0 as a starter, and it appears he has locked up the job.

“I think Luis is a guy that the rest of the team both offensively and defensively actually look to him as kind of a a calming force,” coach Kevin Gilbride said. “[They see him] as a guy who is dependable, and if things aren’t going as we hoped, that he’s not going to get rattled or frustrated … and that he will give our team a chance to win.”

Pearson was the top receiver for the Guardians, hauling in five catches for 95 yards.

“I thought we had some big plays in the passing game,” Gilbride said. “We did some nice things. That stutter-and-go we did with Colby was a huge play and a huge lift for us following the opening touchdown in the second half.”

The Guardians also received a lift from their defense.

Linebacker Ryan Mueller had a pick-six in the third quarter that gave the Guardians a 27-6 lead, and they never looked back.

“I think our defense has played well most of the games,” Gilbride said. “They had fallen upon some slack times in terms of our red-zone defense over the previous few weeks. But they were outstanding today in that area.”

The Renegades, who struggled offensively, fell to 2-3.