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| James Ewing, K, Memphis |
Memphis kicker James Ewing booted a 56-yard field goal with 45 seconds remaining, giving the Showboats a 30-28 win over the previously undefeated Tampa Bay Bandits.
Memphis (9-2) moved into sole possession of first place in the Southwest Division. The Showboats were 5-11 last year. Tampa Bay (10-1) saw its 19-game regular-season win streak come to an end. The Bandits are 40-3 in regular-season games over the last three seasons.
There were three lead changes in the first half and four in the second. Tampa Bay had gone ahead, 28-27, on Luis Gero's 44-yard TD pass to Edward Conner midway through the fourth quarter. The Bandits committed a fatal error with 2:39 remaining when James Haigh fumbled a punt and Memphis LT Rafael McGill recovered at the Tampa Bay 46. Ewing kicked his game-winner four plays later.
Memphis RB Gregory Shea ran for 124 yards and a TD and WR Fred Stevenson caught 10 passes for 133 yards. WLB Douglas Banda intercepted a pass and forced a fumble and SLB Allen Mullins recorded three sacks. DT Daniel Middleton had four sacks for the Bandits.
In other Week 4 games:
- Orlando has won three in a row under new coach DemonMaster, outscoring those foes 105-16. The latest Renegades victory was 42-3 over Birmingham as Douglas Donald rushed for 207 yards. Orlando now holds a two-game lead in the National Conference wild card race.
- Cleveland's Jim Zarate set a USFL/WFL single-season record with his 103rd hurry as the Thunderbolts beat the Denver Gold, 31-16. Portland's Norman Paulk had 102 hurries in 1976.
- Oakland RB Jason Brooks ran for 52 yards and caught five passes for 108 yards and two TDs in a 41-24 win over Portland that snapped the Storm's four-game win streak.
- Pittsburgh QB Michael White threw for 524 yards and five TDs as the Maulers moved closer to a fifth consecutive Atlantic Division title with a 54-17 thrashing of the Jacksonville Bulls.
- The San Antonio Gunslingers knocked Oklahoma out of a share of the Southwest Division lead, beating the Outlaws, 27-24, on Tony Smith's 54-yard TD pass to Freddie Mercury with 1:45 remaining.
- The New Orleans VooDoo pulled within a game of Shreveport in the South Division after edging Washington, 23-19, on Ryan Tate's 24-yard hot read TD pass to RB James Nantz with 1:30 to play.
- Honolulu RDE Keith Smith had six sacks and forced a fumble during a 25-2 win over the Baltimore Stars.
- The Detroit Wheels allowed just 141 net yards in a 19-0 shutout of Michigan. The Panthers are 0-4 vs. their Midwest Division foes this season, 5-2 vs. everyone else. CB David Peralta had six tackles for the Wheels.
Week 12 Preview
The Birmingham Stallions (6-5) will try to pull into a first-place tie with Shreveport (7-4) atop the South Division when they host the Steamer. The New Orleans VooDoo (6-5) will try to make that a three-way tie with a victory at home against the awful New York Stars (0-11). The Oakland Invaders (11-0) are at Cleveland (9-2) in a preview of a potential postseason matchup.
Record Book
- William Lewis of Tampa Bay (28) and Cleveland's Jim Zarate (23) could both break the single-season record for sacks — 31, set by Ryan Moore of the Georgia Force in 1974.
- Zarate's Thunderbolts teammate, Monte Cherry, has returned two interceptions for TDs this season, the only player in league history to do so twice in a single season.
- San Antonio Gunslingers QB Tony Smith, who set a league record by throwing 39 interceptions last season, has been picked off only 20 times in 1978.
- Oklahoma Outlaws RB Patrick Hiebert has 1,408 rushing yards this season, and needs to average 130 yards per game over his last five games to break the single-season record of 2,056 set by Chicago's Bruce Fine in 1974.
- Houston's James Connelly has averaged 41.0 yards on his 22 kickoff returns this season, which ties him for second place all-time among players who qualify (20 or more returns). Gregory Shea of Memphis averaged 48 yards on his 25 returns last season. The NFL record by the way, has stood since 1967 and is held by Green Bay's Travis Williams (41.06).
