2009 UFL Championship Game The 2009 UFL Championship Game was the concluding game of the United Football League ' s Premiere Season . The game was staged at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas on Friday , November 27 , 2009 ( one day after Thanksgiving ) , and was won by the Las Vegas Locomotives , who defeated the previously unbeaten Florida Tuskers 20 – 17 on a 33 - yard field goal in overtime . Background . The United Football League originally intended to begin play in 2008 , and in March of that year selected Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas , Nevada to host its championship game on the day after that year ' s Thanksgiving holiday . ( The league intended to bill the game as " The United Bowl , " but was unable to gain rights from the United Indoor Football or its successor , the Indoor Football League , to use the name ; the IFL continues to use the United Bowl name . ) When the UFL delayed its start until 2009 , the game was moved to the corresponding date in 2009 and kept in Las Vegas . The Tuskers were the top team in the UFL ' s premiere season , finishing the regular season with a perfect 6 – 0 record . Coached by Jim Haslett , the Tuskers led the league in scoring , putting up 217 points behind an offense featuring quarterback Brooks Bollinger ( the league leader in completion percentage , passing yards , and TD throws ) , running back Tatum Bell , and receiver Taye Biddle ( the league leader in receiving yards ) . The Tuskers ' defense included such players as Dexter Jackson , a former Super Bowl MVP with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The Tuskers secured a spot in the championship game with an October 30 win over the Locos at Tropicana Field in St . Petersburg , Florida . The Locomotives , victors of the first game in UFL history ( 30 – 17 over the California Redwoods on October 8 , 2009 ) , sported a roster including quarterback J . P . Losman , running back DeDe Dorsey ( the league ' s 2nd leading rusher ) , linebacker Teddy Lehman ( the league leader in tackles ) , and lineman Eric Henderson ( who shared the regular season lead in sacks with Tuskers lineman Patrick Chukwurah ) . Coached by Jim Fassel , the Locos finished with a 4 - 2 record after starting the season 1 - 2 ( both losses were to the Tuskers — a 29 - 15 home loss on October 14 and the above mentioned loss in St . Petersburg ) ; they secured their berth in the title game with a 16 – 10 win at California on November 14 . Game recap . First half . Florida ( the designated home team by virtue of their 1st place regular season finish ) took the ball first after winning the opening coin toss , but they and Las Vegas traded punts on their opening possessions . The Tuskers ' second possession saw Brooks Bollinger connect with long throws to Taye Biddle for 32 yards , and Jayson Foster for 15 yards , and ended with Bollinger connecting up the middle with Marcus Maxwell on an 8 - yard touchdown throw with 5 : 13 left in the first quarter . After scoring , Maxwell celebrated by slam dunking the ball over the crossbar , noticeably budging the goal post out of alignment and causing a minor delay for repairs before the extra point . Las Vegas moved the ball into Tuskers territory on the ensuing drive ; after changing ends during the quarter break , they moved the ball to the Florida 2 - yard line where , on 2nd and Goal , Tuskers linebacker Odell Thurman forced a fumble by Locos running back Marcel Shipp that was recovered by defensive end Patrick Chukwurah . After a 3 - and - out by the Tuskers ' offense , the ensuing Locos drive nearly ended with a Darius Vinnett interception , but the pick was called back due to an offsides penalty . On the next play , Losman connected with Samie Parker on a 16 - yard completion for a 1st down before having to depart with an injury . Tim Rattay finished the drive at QB , moving the Locos to the Florida 35 , where Graham Gano missed wide on a 53 - yard field goal attempt . The ensuing Tuskers drive also ended on a missed field goal , as Matt Bryant hooked a 51 - yard try to the left . Losman returned at QB for the Locos on the next drive , connecting with John Madsen on its second play . Madsen appeared to fumble the ball away to the Tuskers , but a replay challenge determined that Madsen fumbled while his foot was on the boundary line , making him out of bounds and ending the play . The Locos drive ended two plays later in a punt . In fact , the next two drives ended in punts , the second of which featured what appeared to be a serious injury to the Locos ' Josh Scobey , who leaned in with his head when tackling Tuskers return man Willie Andrews . Though Scobey left under his own power , he would not return due to back spasms . The Tuskers ' next drive ended in an interception , which the Locos turned into a 45 - yard field goal by Gano to end the half and make the score 7 – 3 in favor of the Tuskers . Second half . Ending a Locomotives ' drive that carried over from a scoreless 3rd quarter ( when both teams had 3 possessions that ended in punts ) , DeDe Dorsey sprinted down the right sideline for a 38 - yard TD run , giving the Locos their first lead at 10 – 7 with 12 : 53 left . Unbowed , the Tuskers responded in quick fashion ; starting from his own 20 , Bollinger connected with Taye Biddle on a 15 - yard pass play , immediately followed by a 10 - yard Tatum Bell run . On 2nd and 5 from the 50 - yard line , Bollinger went deep and connected with Marcus Maxwell on a 40 - yard throw , the longest offensive play of the game . The Tuskers regained the lead on the next play , as Bollinger threw up the middle to Frank Murphy on a 10 - yard TD catch . The five - play , 80 - yard drive gave Florida a 14 - 10 lead with 10 : 27 left . After a 3 - and - out drive by Las Vegas that featured the Tuskers ' fourth sack of the day on Losman , the Tuskers got the ball back on their 35 - yard line with 8 : 19 remaining . One play after Bollinger connected on a 14 - yard pass to Bobby Sippio , Locos defensive end Josh Mallard forced a Tatum Bell fumble that was quickly recovered by Bollinger . On the next play , Bollinger was hit just before the throw by Adrian Awasom and fumbled the ball , which was recovered and returned by Locos lineman Ross Kolodziej . The play was ruled a touchdown ( Kolodziej fumbled and another Locos player recovered in the end zone ) , but Florida immediately challenged the call . After a replay review , Bollinger ' s fumble remained as called , but the ball was ruled down at the Tuskers ' 2 - yard line , which was moved ahead to the 1 - yard line after the Tuskers ' Michael Pittman was penalized for a Horse - collar tackle that led to Kolodziej ' s fumble . Three plays later , Dorsey snuck into the end zone up the middle for his second touchdown of the quarter , giving Las Vegas a 17 - 14 lead with 5 : 58 left . Much in the same way as they responded after the first Locos ' touchdown , Florida quickly moved the ball down the field on the next drive . Bollinger started with 2 quick completions to Biddle ( 18 yards ) and Maxwell ( 15 yards ) . Two plays later , on 2nd and 6 from the Locos 41 , Bollinger found Jayson Foster , who broke a tackle and sprinted 41 - yards down the left sideline to the end zone . Fassel and the Locos immediately challenged the call , and after review it was determined that Foster was down by contact at the Las Vegas 35 - yard line . After the reversal , the Locos ' defense clamped down , despite allowing a 22 - yard throw to Pittman to the Las Vegas 11 - yard line . The Tuskers would settle for a 27 - yard field goal by Bryant , which tied the game at 17 . Florida regained possession after a Locos 3 - and - out . On the 3rd play of the drive ( after a Locos pass interference penalty gave the Tuskers a first down ) , Bollinger connected with Pittman for a 22 - yard play to the Vegas 49 ( Pittman was injured on the play ) . After three incomplete passes ( the first being a Marcus Maxwell attempt at a spectacular one - handed 30 - yard catch ) , Florida punted away to Las Vegas . Though he initially called a pass play in an attempt to drive up the field for a game - winning field goal , Las Vegas coach Jim Fassel decided on a kneel down play to run out the clock and send the Championship Game into overtime , the first OT game in UFL history . Overtime . Winning the coin toss , Florida elected to receive the ball . Michael Spurlock ' s kickoff return was pushed back to the Tuskers ' own 9 - yard line after a holding penalty . Two plays later , on 3rd and 7 , Bollinger escaped a sack but his pass was intercepted by Locos ' defensive back Isaiah Trufant . Trufant fumbled but the ball was immediately recovered by Locos ' cornerback Trey Young . After one running play to center the ball for a field goal attempt , Graham Gano hit a 33 - yard field goal , sneaking the ball just inside the right upright to give the Locomotives the first UFL title , and denying the Tuskers a perfect season , with a final score of 20 - 17 . Scoring summary . Attendance : 14 , 801 Most Valuable Player . Las Vegas running back DeDe Dorsey was awarded the game ' s Most Valuable Player award thanks to his 98 all - purpose yards ( 32 receiving , 66 rushing ) and two 4th quarter touchdowns that gave the Locomotives the lead on both occasions . The MVP award was chosen through a text message vote , the options of which were presented to fans in attendance and to viewers on Versus during the 4th quarter ; voting was then open until the conclusion of the game .