The journey to World Bowl XVIII began this morning with the opening week of the regular season. We had four one score games, two shutouts and two teams score over 50 points, so let's see what happened in Week 1.
VooDoo 20 Express 17 (OT)
New Orleans has been a threat to reach the World Bowl the last few years, and the VooDoo are clearly in win now mode. Los Angeles had to play spoiler down the stretch in 1990 and are hoping to be contenders in 1991. New Orleans jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a pair of 1st quarter TDs, both Bruno Wilson passes. The VooDoo were 1 for 2 in two point tries. The Express got back into the game with 2 second quarter FGs and a sack of Wilson in the end zone to trail 14-8 at halftime.
More field goals in the second half, as the Express kicked 2 to tie the game at 14. New Orleans would take the lead with 2:48 left on a Jordan Fuller FG. Los Angeles would drive into FG range and very nearly won the game on this play. Mario Price converted the chip shot FG as time expired, giving us extra football.
In OT, the teams exchanged two three and out drives before Jordan Fuller nailed a 52 yard FG with 1:35 left to give New Orleans the hard fought victory. No huge statistical games to speak of as both teams spread the ball around. Seven players rushed for the VooDoo, none over 50 yards and they had 10 different players catch a pass, none more than 4 for 46 yards. Los Angeles had 9 different receivers catch a pass.
Gold 23 Showboats 19
12uKnights has a tough task taking over the champion Memphis team, as the fan base has lofty expectations. The Denver Gold are a tough team in their own right, and would love nothing more than to get off to a good start in their very tough division. Denver took a 20-10 halftime lead and following a scoreless 3rd quarter, Memphis pulled within 20-16 on a TD pass from David Allen to David Austin. For some reason, Memphis went for 2 and failed, which meant they were down 4 instead of 3. It didn't matter much because Denver then drove for a FG and a 23-16 lead with 3:47 left. Memphis drove for a long FG of their own, but the onside kick failed and the Gold ran out the clock.
David Austin caught 7 passes for 141 yards and a TD for Memphis while Denver was led by Jake Peralta's 130 rushing yards (1 TD) and 83 receiving yards (1 TD) on 7 catches.
Panthers 17 Invaders 12
Michigan got out to an early 10-0 lead and held on for the victory in a defensive battle. Michigan QB Adam Scales threw 2 INTs but Oakland QB Andrew Moreno tossed 3 of his own as the Invaders comeback effort fell short. Oakland was down 17-6 in the 4th quarter when they finally broke through for a TD to pull within 17-12. The 2 point try failed but there was still 6:35 left in the game. Michigan took the clock down to the 2 minute warning before punting, and Julius Horowitz pinned Oakland at their own 7. The Invaders went nowhere and Michigan ran out the clock.
Wheels 32 Blazers 27
Detroit outlasted Florida in a wild, back and forth game thanks to 6 field goals from Kent Olden. Florida out gained Detroit 377-285, but field position went against the Blazers today. Detroit's average starting field position was their own 43, Florida at their own 24. The game was tied at 4 different points of the game, the last at 20-20 midway through the 3rd. Detroit could not stop the Sidney Maggard to Richard Carstens connection, as Carstens caught 3 passes, 2 for TDs with 172 yards. Maggard threw for 321 yards overall but his lone INT came late in the game as the Blazers were going for the game winning TD.
Storm 58 Wranglers 0
Portland flexed their muscles today as Oscar Willis had an excellent game. Willis was 25/31, 448 yards with 3 TDs. Richard Robinson was Willis' favorite target, catching 5 for 184 and 2 TDs. Timothy Roquemore added 155 combined yards (111 rushing) with 2 TD runs, and the Storm had 4 rushing TDs in all. The Storm were up 27-0 after 3 quarters then put up 31 in the 4th qtr alone. We don't have an Elias Sports Bureau but I can't imagine we've had very many 30 point quarters.
Federals 31 Hornets 0
Washington shut down the Charlotte running game and QB Scott Bieber threw for 408 yards and 4 TDs to lead the Federals to victory. Washington punted on their first possession before scoring on the next 5 to put the game away early. Matthew Cuevas caught 3 of Bieber's TD passes as part of his 4-103-3 receiving day but James Dunn was the offensive pace-setter. Dunn didn't score a TD but he ran 15 times for 54 yards and caught 14 passes for 129 yards.
Bandits 52 Thunderbolts 37
If you like offense, you'll love this game as the teams combined for 1074 yards and 11 touchdowns, 10 passing. The first half was back and forth, ending in a 24 all tie before the Bandits pulled away a bit in the 3rd qtr with 13 unanswered points. Tampa Bay extended the lead to 45-24 with 6:00 to play before Cleveland roared back to within 8 at 45-37. The Bandits answered with a TD and won the game.
Cleveland's Michael McGowan was 31/52, 445 yards 5 TD, 1 INT. Samuel Draper ran for 47 yards but added 114 more on 8 receptions and the Thunderbolts had 2 more receivers on the cusp of 100 yard games. Tampa's Melvin Driggers, subject of trade rumors, also tossed 5 TD passes, but he also didn't turn the ball over. Thomas Whitley led the Bandits WR group with 7 catches, 142 yards and a TD and RB Paul Meade chipped in 121 rushing yards and a TD.
Stallions 34 Hawaiians 19
Birmingham has already surpassed their win total from 1990 with their victory today as Stephen Ponder tossed 4 TD passes to Joseph Oliver. Ponder threw for 345 yards, 227 to Oliver, as the Stallions used the big play to take an early 17-0 lead. Honolulu scored the next 13 before Birmingham went on another 17-0 run to take control of the game. Honolulu had 5 red zone trips to just 1 for Birmingham and the Hawaiians had a nice, balanced offensive game but their inability to cover Oliver cost them.
Force 26 Breakers 10
Georgia only won 4 games in 1990, 2 of those over winless Birmingham, so starting out 1-0 is huge for the Force. Boston improved a lot in 1990, and many media pundits pegged the Breakers as a surprise team this year. It's just 1 game, so it could still happen for Boston but their leaky run defense showed up again today. Georgia ran for 188 yards, allowing the Force to control the clock. QB Thomas Jacobi was efficient, passing for 220 yards and 3 TDs with no INTs and Richard Donofrio led the rushing attack with 90 yards.
Sun 28 Gunslingers 13
Yet another week 1 game between teams who struggled in 1990. Southern California (3-13) and San Antonio (1-15) combined for 4 wins last season, so whichever team won would certainly gain some confidence heading into Week 2. The Sun got out of the gates quickly, scoring a TD and a FG on their first 2 drives. The Sun defense held the Gunslingers offense in check and the California boys had a 28-0 lead early in the 4th qtr. San Antonio made a run, but too little too late at this point. The Sun nearly doubled the yards of the Gunslingers, 416-209 and won time of possession 36-24.
Stars 48 Maulers 3
The tribewriter era of the Pittsburgh Maulers did not get off to a good start as the Baltimore Stars mauled Pittsburgh today. Jon Snow threw for 417 yards and 5 TDs to 5 different receivers while the Stars defense held Pittsburgh to just 142 yards. William Halford had a combined 136 yards (64 rushing, 72 receiving) and Mark Numbers had 114 combined yards (37 rushing, 77 receiving) to lead the Stars.
Gamblers 52 Bell 7
Houston traveled to the city of brotherly love and proceeded to hate all over Philadelphia today. The Gamblers defense held the Bell to 2 first downs, 155 total yards and only 19:24 minutes of possession. We all know about Tony Dean, and he was himself today, passing for 388 yards and 5 TDs (a lot of 5 TD games today) completing 23 of 27. Francisco Russell had a combined 170 yards, 91 on 13 rushes to go with 6 catches, 2 TDs and 79 yards.Wesley Hull had 125 yards receiving and 2 TD catches as Houston racked up 622 total yards today. Donald Turner and Lloyd Ellis also had over 100 combined yards for Houston.
Generals 34 Bulls 13
New Jersey QB Ric Flair completed 26 of 28 passes, including his first 15 in a row to lead the Generals to victory. Flair tossed 3 TD passes, 2 to TE Calvin Hobbes and RB Dr. Sam Beckett had 80 yards rushing and 62 receiving. Rookie RB Kurt Cobain smelled like 2 touchdowns today, getting a rushing TD on his first ever carry while adding a receiving TD later. Cobain combined for 94 yards in his debut, 10-61 rushing and 3 catches for 33 yards.
Renegades 38 Blitz 24
Orlando gave up 384 yards to Chicago's offense, but the Renegades forced 5 turnovers, the last one a game sealing Pick Six in the final minute of the game. Orlando racked up 470 offensive yards and had a 28-10 lead at one point. Chicago had cut the lead to 28-17 before Orlando sacked Ronald Brown in the end zone for a safety. Chicago cut the lead to 30-24 with just under 5 minutes left, and the Blitz would actually get the ball 3 more times before the end of the game. Chicago's defense got the Renegades offense off the field only to see Ronald Brown toss an interception on the first play after the 2 minute warning. The Blitz then forced a 3 and out, only to see Brown throw another interception, this one returned 50 yards for a score by Luis Fellows, game over.
Orlando WR David King caught 9 passes, 3 for TDs for a whopping 281 yards.
(NY) Stars 34 Outlaws 3
New York out gained Oklahoma by more than 400 yards, 587-185, rushing for 203 as a team as they corral the Outlaws today. QB Willie Bust was 18/25 passing with 4 TDs and 384 yards. Most of that damage was done by Stephen Tavera who caught 4 for 225 yards and 2 TD. William Hall ran for 118 yards and former All Pro RB Cam Dalton (remember him?) had a combined 114 yards with a receiving TD to help New York control the ball for nearly 37 minutes.
SaberCats 34 Steamer 7
The first half saw just 1 TD and San Jose had a 7-0 lead at the break. In fact it was still 7-0 late in the 3rd when San Jose scored again to take a 14-0 lead with 5:31 left in the 3rd. Shreveport cut the lead in half during the final minute of the 3rd but the SaberCats answered that quickly to take back control of the game. Reigning Offensive ROY Mark Hsu caught a 68 yard TD pass that extended the lead to 21-7 and following a FG that extended the lead, Aqib Talib put the game away with a Pick Six. Hsu only caught 4 passes today, but that TD was important and those 4 receptions were good for 179 yards, so no sophomore slump so far.
