Following the Week 13 games, all four teams in the West are separated by just 1 game as they all have 9 or 10 wins. It's also not a given the West gets both wildcards as the Houston Gamblers are 10-3, and would currently qualify for the post season. The last 3 weeks will be an old fashioned shootout and the teams who emerge from the quagmire will be battle tested come playoff time.
We have two playoff spots clinched, Michigan wins the Midwest Division while the 12-1 Memphis Showboats will at least be a wildcard if they lose the division. The Los Angeles Express and Washington Federals can wrap up their respective divisions with wins in Week 14.
Wranglers 33 Storm 30
It has truly been the Wild, Wild West in 1987 as the Arizona Wranglers have been in last place most of the season, still are technically, yet they find themselves 1 game behind the division lead after knocking off Portland. This game had a playoff feel to it and we had 4 lead changes in the 4th quarter alone.
The box score was similar on both sides, except turnovers. Portland committed 3 to just 1 for the Wranglers. Portland had a halftime lead of 17-13 and 2 Wranglers FG's in the 3rd made the score 19-17 Arizona entering the 4th. Portland scored a TD but the 2 point try failed, giving the Storm a 23-19 lead. Arizona answered with a TD for a 26-23 lead before Portland answered that score with a TD to retake the lead 30-26. On the first play following the 2 minute warning, Arizona QB Joseph Jones threw his 3rd TD of the day, this one to William Johnston to give the Wranglers a 33-30 lead. Portland had time for one last drive to at least send it to OT if not win, but Oscar Willis threw his 2nd INT of the game to seal the Arizona win.
Portland WR Fred Wink had 7 catches for 153 yards and 2 TD's in the loss. Arizona WR Eric Duncan caught 10 for 168 and 2.
West Standings
Oakland 10-3
Portland 10-3
Denver 9-4
Arizona 9-4
Maulers 24 Gold 20
Pittsburgh was eliminated a couple weeks ago, but the Maulers are still fighting as they put a damper on Denver's own playoff chances with the upset win. The Gold had a 20-10 lead entering the 4th but QB Andrew Brewer threw 2 INT's in that quarter, allowing Pittsburgh to score 14 unanswered points for the victory.
At 9-4, Denver is currently on the outside looking in.
Invaders 51 Hornets 3
Oakland bounced back nicely after last week's loss to Detroit, jumping out to a 38-0 halftime lead en route to the blowout win. The Invaders didn't amass a ton of yards because they had multiple short fields to work with, thanks to 5 INT's. The road to the West Division crown goes through Oakland as the Invaders still have games left against Portland and Denver the last 3 weeks.
Panthers 34 Blitz 9
The Michigan Panthers are the first team to clinch their division with their win over Chicago and they are still in play for a BYE week. The Panthers out gained the Blitz 447-177, forced 3 INT's and held Chicago to 2-13 on 3rd down. Panthers WR/RB Nicholas Dorey had 191 combined yards and a TD.
Showboats 40 (NY) Stars 13
Memphis out gained New York 556-246 and QB David Allen bounced back from last week's horrible game with 412 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT's. The Showboats built a first half lead of 27-6 and coasted to victory, clinching a playoff spot in the process. Despite being 12-1, they haven't clinched their division yet, but a victory next week will do the trick. If Memphis and Michigan end up with the same record, Michigan will be the higher seed thanks to them giving Memphis their lone loss. New York remains 1 game behind New Jersey in the East.
The Showboats had 2 WR with huge stat lines, David Austin (5-149-1) and Willie Howland (3-139-2).
Gamblers 37 Thunderbolts 21
Houston is a very tough team to beat when they don't start slow, and Cleveland found that out today. The Gamblers amassed a 30-3 halftime lead in improving to 10-3 and keeping their playoff hopes alive. Houston has an outside shot at winning the division, but I doubt Memphis will lose their last 3.
It was snowy in Cleveland, but that didn't affect MVP Tony Dean. The Gamblers QB was an efficient 32/41 for 310 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT. Houston was 13-20 on 3rd down and scored 3 TD's and a FG in 4 red zone trips, while holding Cleveland to just 2 FG's in their 4 trips inside the Houston red zone.
Express 18 Hawaiians 9
Honolulu keeps chucking up passes with diminishing returns. The Hawaiians only threw 43 passes, well below their average and had just 166 yards to show for it. Los Angeles recorded 4 sacks and used a ball control offense to control the clock. The Express ran for 284 yards and converted 6 of 16 3rd downs while holding Honolulu to 0-13. Daniel Franks ran for 140 yards and Chuck Mayfield ran for 120.
These two teams have a Week 16 rematch, but it will only be meaningful if the Express lose their next 2 while Honolulu wins their next 2.
Bulls 55 Blazers 26
This seems like a hair on fire game, as all kinds of crazy stuff happened. The first quarter and a half was back and forth before Jacksonville pulled away. The game was 14-13 Bulls at that time, and Florida's TD was an INT return. Jacksonville would increase the lead to 24-13 before we saw a play we haven't seen all year. Raymond Hampton fielded a punt from his own 21, broke 3 tackles, and took it to the house for a 79 yard punt return TD, the only one in the league in 1987.
That gave Jacksonville a 31-13 halftime lead, which Florida cut to 31-19 before 24 unanswered Bulls points sealed the game. Jacksonville had 508 yards of offense, led by WR/RB Timothy Richardson who combined for 272 yards (206 receiving) and 2 TD's. Jacksonville improves to 9-4, still tied with Tampa Bay for the Southeast lead.
Bandits 27 Wheels 14
Detroit had 317 offensive yards, one of, if not the best offensive performances of the Wheels season. It wasn't enough however, as Tampa Bay put up 453 yards on the usually stout Detroit defense. Detroit got off to a fast start, leading 14-3 before the Wheels fell off. Tampa Bay scored the last 24 points of the game led by WR Thomas Whitley (4-144-1) and RB Jimmy Clark (12 rushes 119 yards and a TD). Bandits QB Melvin Driggers threw for 341 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT in the victory.
Tampa Bay improves to 9-4 to keep pace atop the Southeast with Jacksonville.
Stallions 20 Force 0
No one score loss for Georgia this week, as Birmingham scored once each quarter for the shutout win. The Stallions had a modest 345 yards of offense but their defense allowed just 221 and intercepted 3 passes, 2 by Howard Hutchinson. Birmingham RB Richard Sutton took the opening kickoff 100 yards for a score and ran for 96 yards on the day.
Birmingham improves to 10-3, good for first place in the South.
Steamer 34 VooDoo 27
There are just 2 teams hotter than Shreveport right now, Memphis and Houston. The Steamer win their 5th straight game as they try and climb back into the playoff picture after a 3-5 start. This game was all about turnovers, as Shreveport won that battle 5-1. Despite the lopsided turnover ratio, New Orleans almost won anyway.
This 4th quarter wasn't quite as crazy as Arizona/Portland, but it was close. Shreveport had a 19-0 lead at one point and it was 19-7 after 3. The VooDoo took the lead 20-19 midway through the 4th, before Shreveport retook the lead with a TD and 2 point conversion with 3:31 left. It didn't take long for New Orleans to tie the game at 27 on a 75 yard TD pass from QB James Perry. Following a Steamer punt, Perry threw his 4th INT of the game, setting Shreveport up inside the VooDoo red zone. Two plays later, Zachary Goudy punched it in from 5 yards out for the game winning TD.
Despite the loss, New Orleans (9-4) would qualify as a wildcard today, while Shreveport (8-5) needs to continue their hot streak to qualify.
Federals 41 Generals 10
A matchup of division leaders turned out to be a dud as New Jersey just couldn't hang with the Federals firepower on offense. The Generals defense had no answer for Luther Ellis who lit New Jersey up for 210 yards and 3 TD's on 7 receptions. RB Cory Martin also ran for 124 as part of a 482 yard day for Washington. Federals QB Scott Bieber threw 5 TD passes but also threw 3 INT's. New Jersey couldn't take advantage though, as Ric Flair threw 3 INT's of his own and the Generals also lost a fumble and were just 1-13 on 3rd down.
Washington improves to 10-3, fighting for the #1 seed while trying to hold off Baltimore in the Atlantic. New Jersey falls to 8-5, yet maintain their 1 game lead in the East over the (NY) Stars.
Stars 31 Renegades 3
Baltimore didn't dominate the stat lines but they did dominate the scoreboard, blowing out Orlando 31-3. Orlando turned the ball over 3 times and failed to reach the red zone, while the Stars turned it over just once while scoring 3 TD's and a FG in 4 red zone trips. Baltimore won the yardage 383-296 and both teams were decent on 3rd down, Orlando 7 for 18, Baltimore 7-16. Knob Creek ran for 102 yards in the win.
Baltimore improves to 8-5, one game out of the wildcard spots.
Sun 20 SaberCats 17 (OT)
San Jose jumped out to a 17-3 lead after 3 quarters but it was all Sun after that. Southern California got a FG, TD and 2 point conversion to pull within 3, then kicked the tying FG at the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime. The extra session began with punts by the Sun and the SaberCats before the Sun went on a 9 play 69 yard drive for the game winning FG. Southern California had a nice offensive day in a true team effort. 43 rushing attempts by 5 different ball carriers netted 159 yards, nobody had more than 66. In the passing game, 27 completions were distributed among 10 different players with nobody gaining more than 77 yards.
Southern California improves to 4-9, 2 games behind Week 14 opponent Los Angeles. If the Sun win, they're still alive, lose and they're eliminated.
Outlaws 28 Gunslingers 9
Oklahoma is still using a ground and pound offense, rushing 49 times for 177 yards while throwing just 14 passes. San Antonio had 335 yards but 4 turnovers (3 INT's) and just 3 points in two red zone trips. The Outlaws had 5 red zone trips but they got their 28 the hard way. Oklahoma had 4 FG's and a TD in those 5 trips and K Roger Ruzich made 3 additional FG's, giving him 7 on the day. Ruzich now has 35 FG's on the season in just 36 attempts as he pushes for an All Pro nomination.
The victory improves Oklahoma to 8-5, yet still on the outside looking in.
Bell 34 Breakers 10
A pair of one win teams squared off and Philadelphia shut down the Boston ground game while committing zero turnovers in the win. Bell RB Richard Brown ran for 107 yards on 22 carries while chipping in 5 receptions for 75 yards and a TD. Philadelphia intercepted a pass for the game's lone turnover, sacked Roy Rhyne 3 times and held the Breakers out of the red zone.
