We had some upsets in Week 11 that shook up some divisional races, while some other playoff bound teams flexed their muscles. The Pittsburgh Maulers upset the Baltimore Stars as they won their 5th game in a row and got a little closer to what seemed an improbable playoff spot just a few games ago. Houston and Washington are the only teams hotter than Pittsburgh and they both rolled to easy wins. Orlando and Boston played to a tie, so if Florida could continue their winning ways, they would claim first place, but the Blazers were upset by the Georgia Force. San Jose seemed to be rolling a few games ago, but Cleveland handed the SaberCats their 3rd straight defeat, bringing them closer to the pack. Tampa Bay traveled to Chicago for a game between teams just on the outside of the playoffs, and the Blitz were victorious.
Maulers 13 Stars 10
Pittsburgh won a defensive struggle over Baltimore, thanks to a pair of field goals in the final minute of action. The Maulers led 3-0 at the half and added their first safety of the 3rd quarter for a 5-0 lead. Baltimore QB Jon Snow tossed a 41 yard TD pass to William Halford for a brief 7-5 lead, and a later Snow pass to Walter Nava never got out of the end zone, and Pittsburgh's second safety of the quarter knotted the game at 7. The Stars booted a FG midway through the 4th and Pittsburgh got a FG just inside the final minute, and we appeared headed for overtime. Jon Snow had other ideas, and he threw an interception trying to win in regulation. That set up Dominick Cochran for the game winning FG at the final gun.
Force 28 Blazers 24
Georgia RB Ricardo Thomas ran in 2 TD runs in the first half as the Force built a 21-7 lead. Florida's lone TD at this point was a 94 yard punt return by Robert Romero. Florida would make a comeback with 3 field goals and a Sidney Maggard TD pass, taking a 24-21 lead early in the 4th. Georgia would answer with Thomas Jacobi's 2nd TD pass to John Huynh with 5:39 left and the Force defense kept Florida from scoring the rest of the game for the win.
Thunderbolts 16 SaberCats 12
San Jose was 0-4 in the red zone, getting 4 field goals for their 12 points today. The SaberCats still led 12-9 late when Cleveland QB Michael McGowan connected with James Bull for the eventual game winning 65 yard TD at the 2 minute warning. San Jose would get 2 chances for the go ahead score but they could not cross midfield and Cleveland hangs on for the win.
Breakers 9 Renegades 9 (OT)
This FG kicking contest ended in a tie, but Orlando's Robert Moulton missed 3 FG tries, including 1 in the 4th qtr and 1 on the final play of overtime. Despite the tie, Orlando is in first place by themselves thanks to the Blazers loss.
Showboats 49 Outlaws 10
Memphis QB David Allen completed 21/23, 413 yards and 6 TDs as Memphis rolled over Oklahoma. Mark Lambert caught a TD pass and ran for another score, along with 109 rushing yards but he was overshadowed by Arthur Devore. Allen's favorite target caught 7 passes, 5 for TDs and 294 total yards.
Gamblers 52 Wranglers 3
Tony Dean completed 23/27, 389 yards and 5 TDs with most of the yardage to Wesley Hull (8-156-0). RB Donald Turner caught one of Dean's TD tosses as he had 81 receiving yards and 76 rushing. The Houston defense forced 4 turnovers and allowed Arizona less than 20 minutes of possession.
Storm 41 Hornets 3
Portland's offense was anything but putrid this week, as Oscar Willis and company got back on track. Willis completed 35/49, 477 yards and 3 TDs, 2 to Richard Robinson who caught 12 for 229 yards. Tony Abbott ran in 2 TDs and Timothy Roquemore had a combined 133 yards. Portland's defense forced 3 turnovers and held Charlotte to 209 total yards.
Gold 47 Hawaiians 10
Denver racked up 666 total yards and had scoring chances every time they had the ball. The Gold had 10 possessions and scored on the first eight before missing a field goal and running out the clock with the ball deep in Honolulu territory. James Peralta ran for 126 yards (44 receiving), and Brian Thornton ran for 110 and a TD. Andrew Brewer was 18/24, 391 yards and 5 TDs, 4 of which went to Richard Huff. Huff caught 6 in all for 217 yards.
Panthers 24 Sun 6
Michigan got 3 TDs from Walter Simmons and the Panthers defense held the Sun under 200 yards. Simmons ran for 1 score and 103 yards and caught both William Mauriello TD passes as Michigan wins their 5th in a row to improve to 9-2.
VooDoo 33 Steamer 15
New Orleans QB Bruno Wilson tossed 4 TD passes as the VooDoo scored on all 5 red zone possessions, 4 TDs and a FG, but needed 11 unanswered 4th qtr points to put the game away. Shreveport kept hanging around thanks to Wilson, who threw 3 INTs, but couldn't get closer than 7 points. New Orleans had 7 different ball carriers combine for 141 rushing yards as the VooDoo now have a 3.5 game lead with 5 to play.
Federals 42 Bell 9
Washington ran for 3 TDs and QB Scott Bieber threw for 3 more TDs as the Federals routed Philadelphia. Ronald Matthews had a rushing and a receiving TD, while Robert Sullivan had a rushing TD and 150 combined yards (67 rushing, 83 receiving). Matthew Cuevas caught 4 for 153 and a TD as Bieber threw for 373 total. Washington was a perfect 4/4 in the red zone offensively, and they held Philadelphia to FGs on all 3 of their red zone trips, as the Bell could not take advantage of 2 Bieber interceptions. Washington is now in 1st place in the Atlantic with a tiebreaker edge on Baltimore.
(NY) Stars 20 Generals 17 (OT)
New Jersey benched long time starting QB Ric Flair in an attempt to shake up a slumbering offense, and while the yards were there, the 17 points were not enough. James Wright was 33/52, 278 yards with 2 TD and 2 INT. One of those interceptions was returned for a TD by Under Grandstand that tied the game at 10 in the 3rd quarter. New York had a balanced attack, with 164 rushing yards and 171 through the air. New Jersey tied the game in the final minute of regulation, but after an OT punt, the Stars drove 68 yards in 14 plays for the game winning FG.
Blitz 41 Bandits 20
Chicago racked up 525 offensive yards against reeling Tampa Bay, as the Blitz hand the Bandits their 5th consecutive defeat. Jay Kinder ran for 128 yards and 2 TDs, while Ronald Brown threw for 395 yards and 3 TDs, 2 to David Karim (6-123-2). Melvin Driggers had a decent game for the Bandits, completing 30/48, 358 yards, 2 TD and an INT but the Bandits rushing attack was MIA.
Bulls 33 Stallions 20
Birmingham amassed 407 yards of offense but they turned the ball over 4 times and only kicked 2 FGs on their 3 red zone trips. The Bulls Tyron Bailey caught 6 for 102 and a TD, adding a rushing TD with 37 ground yards. Joseph Serio tossed 2 TD passes and 247 yards in the air to lead Jacksonville to victory.
Express 6 Wheels 3
This game tried to hit every branch on the ugly tree on the way down. The two teams combined for 414 offensive yards, 4/27 on 3rd downs and zero TDs in 4 red zone trips. This game was horrible even by FG only standards, as both kickers combined to make just 3 of 8 FG attempts, with Kent Olden of Detroit going 1/4. Mario Price made 2 of 4 for Los Angeles and that was good enough for the victory.
Invaders 16 Gunslingers 9
This game was also a FG kicking contest until Andrew Moreno tossed a 52 yard TD pass to Nelson Martinez with 10 seconds left to give Oakland the win over San Antonio.
