The last 4 weeks of the season will feature many games that will directly affect playoff seeding, so they are sort of pre-playoff games. I will preview the race to the playoffs on the league message board, so let's get right to the Week 13 action.
Hawaiians 22 SaberCats 21
Honolulu needed a win to have a realistic shot at the division, and early in the game, it looked like San Jose was going to bury the Hawaiians. SaberCats QB Jake Plummer threw 3 first half TD passes, two to William Smalling as they built an early 21-0 lead. Honolulu would get a TD run from Scott Stillings but Howard Bury missed the PAT. Bury would boot a FG and the SaberCats went to the locker room with a 21-9 lead.
In the second half, Honolulu forced San Jose into a fumble on their first drive and the next two drives ended with missed FGs. Meanwhile, Honolulu's Tom Jacobs scored 2 TDs, one running and one on a pass from Derek Henry. The 2 point try failed after the 2nd TD, but Honolulu had a 22-21 lead with just over 9 minutes to play. San Jose had a golden opportunity with 3 minutes left, recovering a fumble at the Hawaiians 39 yard line, just outside of FG range. The Honolulu defense forced the SaberCats backwards and they ended up punting and never seeing the ball again.
The Honolulu win has forced a tie atop the Pacific, and the rematch is Week 15.
Showboats 38 Renegades 3
Orlando is fighting for a playoff spot, so seeing 12-0 Memphis on the schedule wasn't good news. QB David Allen threw for 313 yards and 4 TDs and this week's big game WR was Arthur Devore. Devore caught 4 passes for 146 yards and 3 TDs. The Showboats defense intercepted Bradley Austin 3 times and held the Renegades to 137 offensive yards.
Orlando gets league owned Pittsburgh next before their big game against Tampa Bay in Week 15. Memphis gets San Antonio before facing the league's toughest last 2 games against Portland and Houston.
Gamblers 52 Sun 13
Ever since the commish rankings restarted and Houston wanted wins/losses included, all they've done is put up stats and win. Previous Memphis owner IOT had some criticism for Houston QB Tony Dean before he left, and if there were whispers about Dean's abilities, they were put to rest today. Dean finished 25/30, 488 yards with 7 TD passes and no interceptions. Wesley Hull caught 5 for 204 yards and 2 TDs, Hugh Chance 3 for 138 and 2 TDs and Donald Turner also caught 2 TD passes to lead the prolific Gamblers offense. Southern California did not turn the ball over, but their offense only generated 146 yards, and their TD came on a 106 yard kickoff return by Billy Brown.
Storm 41 Invaders 0
Looks like losing didn't sit well with Portland as they obliterate Oakland, holding them to 11 total yards. LB Frank Baker is playing the McKeon role, at least today as he had 7 sacks (his speed is 76, no rule broken). Portland went with a RBBC in the absence of Timothy Roquemore, and the Storm ran for 228 yards on 42 carries. Jeffrey Frost led the committee with 93 yards and a TD, while Oscar Willis threw for 312 yards and 3 TDs. Jose Moses led the receivers with 3 catches, 111 yards and 2 TDs.
Gold 34 Breakers 21
The Oakland loss opened the door for Denver to move into the #7 spot with a win over Boston. The Breakers hung tough in the first half, but their offense couldn't stay on the field long enough, and the Gold offense broke the game open in the second half. Boston only had the ball for 18 minutes, yet put up 290 yards, almost all through the air as their running game was stymied. Denver ran for 211 yards, led by Chad Magana's 92 and a TD, and passed for 335. Andrew Brewer found 10 different receivers today and tossed 2 TDs.
VooDoo 14 Blitz 12
Two division leaders faced off in a defensive slugfest, as they combine for 441 total yards. New Orleans had the #1 pass offense coming into the game, but they opted for a run heavy approach against the Blitz defense. Chicago got a 1st qtr FG for a 3-0 lead before New Orleans WR/RB Nicholas Dorey had a short TD run and a 2 point run for an 8-3 VooDoo lead. Bruno Wilson was sacked in the end zone to cut the VooDoo lead to 8-5, then Ronald Brown tossed a TD pass to David Karim, giving Chicago a very short lived 12-8 lead. Short lived because Jose Little returned the kickoff 103 yards for a TD, but the 2 point try failed. New Orleans took a 14-12 lead into halftime, and a scoreless second half means that lead held up for the win.
Wheels 13 Outlaws 3
That Chicago loss opened the door for the rest of the Midwest, and all 3 teams won their games. Detroit out gained Oklahoma 332-164 as Gabriel Flanagan was an efficient 23/28 for 271 yards. Detroit got the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards for the games only TD, a short run by James Fischer. The Wheels defense sacked Shane Falco 3 times and forced an INT.
Thunderbolts 29 Wranglers 3
Heading into 1991, the Arizona Wranglers will be looking for a QB, as they have had sub par performances from multiple QBs this year. Robert Palmer was simply irresistible to the Cleveland defense, finishing 8/29 with 3 INTs. Samuel Draper had 96 rushing yards and a TD while QB Michael McGowan threw for 241 yards and a TD to James Bull to lead Cleveland to the victory.
Cleveland and Detroit play each other next week, with the winner taking sole possession of first in the Midwest.
Panthers 48 Stallions 0
Michigan might still be in last place at 6-7, but they are now only 1 game out of 1st place with the easy win over struggling Birmingham. Michigan rookie WR/RB Walter Simmons is trying to change the offensive ROY narrative with another huge game today while San Jose WR Mark Hsu nurses a foot injury. Simmons ran 25 times for 183 yards and a TD, adding 56 yards on 8 catches. QB Adam Scales was 37/47, 299 yards and 4 TDs. The Panthers defense had Birmingham QB Stephen Ponder pondering a new line of work after his 9/40, 2 INT, 2 sack day.
Bandits 38 Maulers 12
Pittsburgh had more first downs and time of possession, but the Maulers could not get the ball in the end zone, getting 4 FGs today. Tampa Bay had trouble hanging onto the ball, fumbling 4 times, yet they lost just 1 and put up some yards otherwise. Melvin Driggers was only 16/33 but he got 307 yards from those completions with 4 TD passes and 1 INT. Those TD passes went to 4 different receivers as Driggers spread the ball around, and a 5th different player, Paul Meade, had a TD run.
This win, coupled with the Orlando loss means the Bandits now have sole possession of first place in the Southeast.
Federals 36 Steamer 13
Washington and Shreveport are both fighting for the playoffs, and both offenses were on fire today, except in the red zone. There were 5 total TDs in the game, all but one over 60 yards, and that short one was 43. Washington had 3 red zone trips but just 2 FGs to show for them, while Shreveport also got 2 red zone FGs with no TDs. Steamer QB Edgar Jones completed 33/51 for 331 yards and a TD to James Brown, who caught 12 for 212 yards. Washington QB Scott Bieber was 22/37, 422 yards and 4 TDs. Matthew Cuevas caught 2 of those as part of his 3-133 yard day.
Washington broke open a 13-10 halftime game in the second half, outscoring Shreveport 23-3 en route to a playoff clinching win. The Atlantic division title is still possible, though unlikely as they were swept by Baltimore. MFN lists Shreveport as #6 seed over Orlando, so they must have a tiebreaker edge.
Stars 31 Blazers 3
Baltimore couldn't get their ground game going but QB Jon Snow was 24/38, 342 yards and 4 TD passes to lead the Stars to victory. Snow's favorite target was Jeffrey Zimmer, who caught 5 for 165 yards and 2 TDs. DE Joseph Gerald had 4 sacks for the Stars defense as they hold Florida to 158 total yards. Baltimore has qualified for the playoffs and are expected to win the Atlantic and at least have a BYE, if not the #1 seed.
Express 17 Hornets 7
Los Angeles has been eliminated from playoff contention and their remaining schedule is full of playoff hopefuls, so they can at least play spoiler. Charlotte came in at 6-6, fighting with Orlando, Tampa Bay, and Shreveport for a playoff spot. Express QB Joe Richardson bounced back from last week's horrible game finishing 26/31 for 227 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs. Los Angeles held the Hornets to 7 rushing yards on 19 carries and limiting their passing game to a dink and dunk attack.
Charlotte's last 3 opponents have a combined 26-13 record, so the Hornets have their work cut out for them if they want to play football in January.
Generals 20 (NY) Stars 3
In 1974 the Boston Breakers won the East division, and since then, the East has been owned by New Jersey and New York. The Generals entered the game as presumed East Champs by MFN, though there was some doubt as to the accuracy of that. Today's win puts any doubt to rest. New Jersey got 76 rushing yards from Dr. Sam Beckett and 74 from Greg Ayala, who also caught a TD pass from Ric Flair for the game's lone offensive TD. Early in the 4th qtr, Lars Ulrich intercepted a Willie Bust pass, returning it 39 yards for a TD to seal the win.
Bulls 21 Gunslingers 6
Jacksonville QB Joseph Serio threw for 286 yards and 3 TDs to lead the Bulls to a win over San Antonio. The Gunslingers defense did sack Serio 4 times, but once the Bulls entered the red zone, they scored TDs, going 3 for 3. San Antonio had trouble on the ground, not being able to get their running game going while allowing Jacksonville to gain 6 yards a carry.
Bell 20 Force 7
Georgia got another decent performance from QB Thomas Jacobi but it wasn't enough to get the victory over Philadelphia today. The Bell got very efficient QB play from Robert Hernandez, who finished 20/22, 198 yards and a TD. James Jones (5-106-1) was his favorite target and Richard Brown contributed 99 rushing yards.
