Buckley sees loss as a learning experience

Terrell Buckley may not have gotten the result he wanted in his first game as a head coach, but that didn’t deter the 51-year-old from enjoying the overall experience.

“You never know what’s going to happen the first time. It’s a learning experience,” Buckley said nearly 48 hours removed from the Orlando Guardians’ 33-12 loss to the Houston Roughnecks Saturday night in the XFL season opener.

Buckley has spent 18 years as an assistant coach, so much of what he felt while taking the field at TDECU Stadium on the University of Houston campus wasn’t very different except for a few things.

“Where it changes is for the first time having a police officer walking with me,” Buckley said of his escort before the game. “That was a little weird. It was like, ‘Why are you following me?’ ”

A reported crowd of 12,784 fans was on hand to witness the return of the XFL, which played games for the first time in three years. The game was featured in primetime on ESPN and FX to add to the excitement. All in all, it made for an exciting night for Buckley.

“The excitement the fans brought and how the players played was unbelievable,” he said.

QB struggles: After jumping out to a 6-0 lead, Orlando was outscored 24-0, with the Guardians turning the ball over four times and allowing seven sacks.

“The first three drives offensively are what we’ve talked about in terms of different formations, the schematic part of it and we ran the ball well and did some very good things,” Buckley said. “And then, obviously, we didn’t finish that way.”

Quarterback Paxton Lynch completed 11 of his first 14 passes for 122 yards in the first half, highlighted by a 27-yard pass to receiver Cody Latimer for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession. It was a strong showing for the former Deltona Trinity Christian Academy product, who signed as a free agent on Jan. 30, midway through preseason camp.

“He did a fine job based on how long he’s been here,” Buckley said. “It was what we expected. He threw the ball well and he moved around the pocket a little bit and knocked out.”

The second half was a different story, with Lynch completing 4 of 7 passes for 19 yards with an interception. He was replaced by backup Quinten Dormady, who finished 12 of 18 for 142 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

“We’re still evaluating and the plan [all along] was to play two quarterbacks,” Buckley said. “I wish I could play all three of them, but we can’t do that until we figure out who best fits our team.”

ORLANDO SENTINEL Guardians coach Terrell Buckley said his squad was able to start out strong offensively, but couldn’t find a way to finish in their 33-12 loss to the Roughnecks late Saturday.