Halfway through 1991 and the American Conference has a cluster of 6 teams at the top, thanks to Baltimore defeating Portland this week. The current playoff field are all 2 games clear of the competition in that conference so some team(s) will need to go on a run. Home field advantage would be a mess to figure out, but there is still half a season to play. It's not quite as clear cut in the National Conference, but Orlando is on fire. The Renegades are tied with Houston for the longest current winning streak at 5 and their win over Tampa Bay gives them sole possession of the Southeast. The New York Stars turned back New Jersey to take a 2 game lead in the East.
Stars 27 Storm 3
Baltimore forced Portland QB Oscar Willis into a horrible game, as he tossed 3 interceptions and lost a fumble. The Stars also sacked Willis 4 times and held Timothy Roquemore to 44 combined yards. Aside from the opening drive, the Baltimore offense did not have a good day, but Jon Snow did throw for 2 TD passes and Courtney Wright returned an interception for a TD late in the 4th to seal the win.
(NY) Stars 13 Generals 10
A New Jersey win would have forced a tie atop the East, but the Stars took control, winning a Woody Hayes 3 yards and a cloud of dust type game. The Generals were in control in the middle of the game, leading 10-6, when Sam Beckett lost a fumble which lead to the eventual game winning TD, a Willie Bust 10 yard pass to Tomas Abbott. William Hall ran for 134 yards to pace the New York offense.
Gamblers 37 Gunslingers 0
Tony Dean threw for 3 TD passes to 3 different receivers, Donald Turner only ran for 1 this week, but still had 109 rushing yards, and the Houston defense completely shut down the San Antonio offense. Ryan Dearing also chipped in with 144 combined yards to help Houston improve to 7-1.
SaberCats 22 Sun 0
San Jose won despite only throwing 16 passes all game and not getting the ball to Mark Hsu. The SaberCats ran 43 times as a team, led by Rodney Richardson's 25 for 106. The defense did the rest, intercepting Wilmer Kimble twice and forcing 2 lost fumbles as San Jose improves to 7-1 and a 3 game Pacific lead.
Gold 38 Outlaws 3
Andrew Brewer had a perfect QBR today and nearly had a perfect throwing afternoon as he completed 21/23 for 313 yards and 4 TDs. Jake Peralta had a double triple, catching 2 of the TD passes as part of his 6-120 receiving day, and he added 106 on the ground. The win improves Denver to 7-1, good for a first place tie in the West with Portland.
Showboats 33 Blitz 9
Chicago scored the first 2 times they had the ball but they were both field goals, while Memphis scored their first 5 drives for a commanding 27-6 lead. David Allen threw 3 TD passes, 2 to Arthur Devore as Memphis cruised over Chicago. Memphis sacked Ronald Brown 3 times and intercepted him once to thwart the comeback attempt.
Panthers 26 Thunderbolts 10
Michigan benched QB Adam Scales in favor of William Mauriello, and he did what the coaching staff wanted, secure the football. Cleveland QB Michael McGowan did his part to fill the air with errant passes as he threw 5 to the Michigan defense. RB/WR Walter Simmons ran for 114 yards and 2 TDs in support of Mauriello, who did not throw a TD pass. He did fine though, as the main thing was zero INTs, and he had 262 yards on 21 completions.
VooDoo 36 Hornets 3
New Orleans came through their rough schedule patch 2-2, and they have won 4 in a row overall, including the last 3 by lopsided margins. Don't look now but their schedule only has one team with a winning record left on it, so it's possible the road to the World Bowl goes through New Orleans if Baltimore doesn't win out. Today, Bruno Wilson was not efficient, completing 33/61, 432 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT, but he didn't need to be as the VooDoo defense shut down Charlotte. Thomas Thomas, he of cruel parents, caught 8 passes for 100 yards and 2 TDs for New Orleans.
Renegades 29 Bandits 10
Orlando QB Bradley Austin completed 25/35 for 259 yards and 3 TDs and RB Ben Dehaven ran for 174 yards with 51 more receiving. The bad Melvin Driggers showed up today as he threw 3 INTs and the Orlando win gives them sole possession of first place in the Southeast.
Federals 32 Wranglers 6
Arizona still has QB issues, but the Washington offense was the Wranglers problem today. Scott Bieber was 24/34, 371 yards and 3 TDs to 3 different receivers and Robert Sullivan had a combined 246 yards as Washington rolled to victory.
Blazers 37 Bulls 17
Florida is probably the quietest 5-3 team in the league and the Blazers find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt. Sidney Maggard led a balanced Blazers offense with 3 TD passes to 3 different receivers and the defense forced 3 Jacksonville turnovers.
Force 37 Steamer 21
This game featured zero turnovers and every red zone possession produced a TD, and there was a kickoff return for a TD to boot. Georgia had 2 early rushing TDs and the kickoff return for an early 21-7 lead and Thomas Jacobi tossed 2 TDs to seal the win to improve the Force to 3-4-1, second place in the South.
Hawaiians 19 Wheels 17
Honolulu RB Scott Stillings ran for 133 yards, adding 72 receiving yards and a TD as the Hawaiians overcame several mistakes to post a narrow victory over Detroit. Honolulu turned the ball over twice on interceptions, twice on downs and missed a FG, but did enough in between, thanks to the defense, which turned Detroit over 3 times. The Wheels cut the deficit to 19-17 with a TD early in the 4th but could not move the ball after that point, even after a Derek Henry INT left them at midfield.
Maulers 23 Stallions 7
Pittsburgh has won 2 in a row and the Maulers are now 3-5 on the season, matching last year's win total. Today the Maulers did it with a ball hog, balanced approach as the box score was stuffed with contributors. Pittsburgh held the ball over 42 minutes and converted 9/16 3rd downs while the Maulers defense kept Birmingham out of the red zone, allowing just a late game 39 yard TD in garbage time.
Express 17 Invaders 13
If Los Angeles is playing, odds are the game will be decided by one score or less and today is no exception. It was a pretty even game according to the box score except Oakland had 3 red zone trips (10 points) to none for the Express. Los Angeles was trailing 13-10 early in the 4th when Andrew Moreno was sacked in the end zone by Robert Gallegos, causing Moreno to fumble. Joseph Taylor fell on the ball for the eventual game winning Los Angeles TD.
Bell 8 Breakers 3
Philadelphia beat Boston in a game similar to a 1-0 baseball game where there are like 5 total hits. Former Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman (the old Hall of Famer, not his homophobe son Thom) used to call these type of games "good old good one's". Philadelphia led 6-3 late when the defense tackled RB Charles Brockman in the end zone for a game clinching safety as the Breakers never got the ball back.
