Sunday, January 7, 2018

Week 9 Roundup

Juan Bacote, CB, Memphis
This is normally the place where we would introduce a new coach to the league. But the new coach of the Memphis Showboats, jmvda, has already introduced himself to the league in a big way.

Memphis CB Juan Bacote intercepted a pass at the 3-yard line with 4 minutes to play, then intercepted another at the 15 with 1:42 to go as the Showboats stunned the defending World Bowl champion Oakland Invaders, 12-9. Memphis, which also recovered four Oakland fumbles, entered the game with a 3-5 record and was giving up an average of 32 points per game. Invaders QB Jacob Ellis, who started in place of league MVP Les Lacy, was sacked nine times.

Oakland fell to 6-3, one of five American Conference teams with that record. If the Invaders miss the playoffs, it won't set precedent. The Florida Blazers, 1974 World Bowl winners, missed out on the 1975 playoffs.

In other Week 9 games:
  • The Oklahoma Outlaws almost blew a 28-9 lead, but fended off the Baltimore Stars, 28-26, to vault past San Antonio into the Southwest Division lead.Oklahoma WR Dusty Heckman caught nine passes for 244 yards and three TDs and RDE Albert Cruz recorded four sacks and 12 hurries. Victor Gorman continues to be the only QB on the Baltimore roster despite playing on a 34-percent healthy ankle. He was 24-for-54 passing with three TDs and three INTs.
  • The Gunslingers fell a game behind Oklahoma by losing, 24-10, to the Pittsburgh Maulers. Pittsburgh WR Vito Moffat caught a pair of TDs. San Antonio was coming off a victory over Oakland.
  • John Langdon's 32-yard field goal as time expired gave the New Orleans VooDoo a 16-13 South Division win over the Shreveport Steamer. New Orleans QB Ty Fleming completed passes for 21 and 22 yards on the final drive. Shreveport, which finished 12-4 and made the playoffs last season, is 2-7 overall and has lost five of its last six.
  • The New Jersey Generals limited the New York Stars to 60 yards passing in a 6-3 Generals victory. New Jersey has won four in a row after an 0-5 start.
  • The Florida Blazers broke a 14-14 tie with a safety and field goal in the final 2:57 to beat the Washington Federals, 19-14. Florida has won three of its last five.
  • The Detroit Wheels defense shut down the Chicago Blitz offense during a 17-3 victory in a big Midwest Division game. Detroit moved into sole possession of first place in the division. Chicago, which was averaging 23 points per game, managed just 161 passing yards.
  • The Los Angeles Express knocked Cleveland out of a share of first place in the Midwest by beating the Thunderbolts, 32-18. LAX scored the last 13 points, including Gene Nowlin's 64-yard TD pass to Santiago Smith with 1:52 to play.

Week 10 Preview

The Georgia Force (9-0), holding a three-game lead in the South Division, travels to New Orleans to face the second-place VooDoo (6-3). The Orlando Renegades (5-4), riding a four-game win streak under new head coach setherick, host the unbeaten Tampa Bay Bandits (9-0). The Oakland Invaders (6-3) will try to re-establish themselves as the league's big dog when they host the undefeated Arizona Wranglers (9-0).

Record Book

  • Los Angeles Express QB Gene Nowlin, who has been one of the league's most accurate passers since its inception, was picked off a record eight times during a 1975 loss to the Georgia Force.
  • Two players have scored four rushing TDs in a single game, Pittsburgh's John Murray and Philadelphia's Jose Medina.
  • Former LAX kicker Winston Hampton holds the league record with seven field goals in one game. Hampton was released by Portland in the 1976 preseason after signing a free agent contract with the Storm.


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