Gamblers 45 Force 3
Welcome to the league RyanFitzmagic, your first game is against the defending Champions. Houston was in top form as Tony Dean threw for 499 yards and 5 TD, 3 of those to Gabriel Ahrens. Ahrens caught 7 total passes for 220 yards and Willie Nelson smoked his way to 2 TDs as well.
Stars 24 Hornets 3
Baltimore WR Jeffrey Zimmer caught 4 passes for 120 yards and 2 TDs as the Stars defense stole the show today. They held Charlotte to 195 offensive yards and forced 2 turnovers in the victory. The Hornets defense did okay against the Baltimore offense, but too many short possessions by the Charlotte offense seemed to wear out their defense a bit.
(NY) Stars 26 VooDoo 24
These two teams were eliminated in the 1988 playoffs by the Baltimore Stars and they're looking to start 1989 off on the right foot. Neither team had a 100 yard RB or WR nor a 300 yard QB. New Orleans actually won the box score, outgaining New York 400-296, but the 2 INTs by VooDoo QB Bruno Wilson were the difference. Wilson found Billy Brink for a TD late in the 4th to cut the Stars lead to 26-24 but the 2 point conversion failed, as did the onside kick. New York then ran out the final 3:26 to preserve victory.
Renegades 35 Bandits 28
Orlando is an up and coming team in the Southeast division and Tampa Bay has to be sick of seeing the Renegades. Orlando eliminated Tampa Bay in the 1988 playoffs and they start 1989 against each other. Orlando had a 21-13 lead after 3 but Tampa tied it with a TD and 2 point conversion early in the 4th. A few minutes later, Orlando retook the lead with a TD but a missed XP left the score 27-21. Tampa Bay would score a TD and the XP made the score 28-27 Bandits. Orlando would come right back with a TD and a 2 point conversion just inside the 2 minute warning to take a 35-28 lead. Needing a TD, the Bandits drove all the way down to the Orlando 9 yard line before the clock hit 0:00.
Panthers 25 Thunderbolts 6
Cleveland started rookie QB Michael McGowan and he experienced the expected rookie jitters. McGowan has the tools to be a fine QB eventually but today he threw 3 INTs and just 189 yards. The Thunderbolts defense held Michigan's offense down except for Nicholas Dorey, who had 161 combined yards. The Panthers scored just 1 TD but added 6 John Bibler FGs.
Showboats 44 Blitz 6
Memphis RB Mark Lambert had a combined 171 yards and a TD while Big Play Willie Howland chipped in with 125 receiving yards and 2 TDs. Memphis allowed Chicago 338 offensive yards but kept them out of the end zone all game.
Maulers 17 Blazers 3
Florida had no answer for Pittsburgh WR Robert Wheeler today. Wheeler had 6 catches for 136 yards and the game's only 2 TDs to lead the Maulers to victory. Pittsburgh hald Florida to 231 offensive yards.
Steamer 21 Stallions 6
New Birmingham QB Joe Richardson is one of the USFL's all time QBs but his Stallions debut was anything but stellar. Richardson was 16/32, 2 INT and 155 yards. Shreveport RB Orville Barker had 2 TDs and 131 total yards as Shreveport left Birmingham steamed about the loss.
Gunslingers 7 Outlaws 3
The defenses came to play today as both teams combined for just 443 yards of offense. The only TD of the game was a 56 yard pass from Gary Wiggins to Chris Cornell as San Antonio never drove into the red zone. Oklahoma got to the red zone 4 times but their "kicker" missed 3 of 4 FGs. That "kicker" was actually center William Downing. If Oklahoma had a kicker on the roster, perhaps they'd be 1-0 instead of 0-1.
Federals 23 Wheels 10
Detroit got on the scoreboard right away, as Billy Smith celebrated his All Pro election with a 108 yard kickoff return TD. Things went downhill for the Wheels after that, as they could only muster 91 offensive yards. Federals QB Scott Bieber threw for 434 yards and 2 TD but also threw 2 INT. Robert Sullivan had 180 combined yards and Joseph Andrews had 100 receiving yards and 2 TD.
Generals 38 Breakers 3
New Jersey had the 1988 Defensive Rookie of the Year in DE Dan Conner and the Generals started off 1989 with a win led by 2 offensive rookies. RB Sam Beckett quantam leaped to the top of the leagues rushing list with 162 yards but also quantam leaped to the training room with a bad neck injury. Fellow rookie, WR Duncan Meyer, chipped in with 5 catches, 103 yards and 3 TDs. Meyer's namesake lost 2 foot races to comedian Jerry Seinfeld under suspicious circumstances.
Gold 47 Express 10
Los Angeles only had 230 offensive yards and could not stop Jake Peralta of Denver. Peralta ran 17 times for 78 yards but also added 6 catches for 234 yards and 3 TD. For those not counting along, that's 312 yards for Peralta, 230 for Los Angeles. Gold QB Andrew Brewer tossed 5 TD without an INT and had 433 yards.
Storm 20 Bulls 16
Portland overcame 5 INTs by Oscar Willis to survive Jacksonville 20-16. The Storm held the Bulls to 5 rushing yards on 15 carries and had a nearly 37-23 edge in time of possession. Jacksonville Defensive MVP Gordon Wong had 2 INT today, starting 1989 where he left off in 1988.
Invaders 26 Wranglers 17
Total yards were almost even but Oakland forced 3 Arizona turnovers, leading to 2 short TD drives for the Invaders. Kicker John Hensley converted all 4 FG attempts and Oakland had a 36-24 edge in time of possession.
Hawaiians 26 Sun 24
This game didn't have the crazy wild 4th qtr of Orlando/Tampa Bay but Honolulu K Howard Bury buried a 53 yard FG as time expired to give the Hawaiians the victory. I haven't watched the game film, but the scores were back and forth while the box score also indicates an evenly matched game. Southern California RB Gene Ingram had a combined 140 yards and a TD, but his lost fumble just after the 2 minute warning, set up Honolulu for the game winning FG.
Bell 12 SaberCats 0
This game was a defensive struggle but Philadelphia came out on top, thanks to 4 FGs by kicker Robert Albertson. San Jose missed 3 FGs, all by RDE Jurrell Casey despite having a real kicker on the roster.
