Week 16 represents the last game of the season for 20 teams and we had some important games featuring teams trying to either punch their ticket or get a better seed. Before we get into the games, let's take a look at our league leaders, which has a musical touch from players I did not name...
Most Passing Yards: 5,479 Bruno Wilson, New Orleans
Most Passing TD: 51 Bruno Wilson, New Orleans
Most Rushing Yards: 1,533 William Hall, (NY) Stars
Most Rushing TD: 11 Timothy Roquemore, Portland
Most Receptions: 118 Robert Sullivan, Washington
Most Receiving Yards: 1,994 Richard Robinson, Portland
Most Receiving TD: 22 Arthur Devore, Memphis
Most Kick Return TD: 3 Thomas Earl Petty, San Antonio
Most Punt Return TD: 2 Robert Romero, Florida (League Record)
Most FG: 43 John Bazile, Washington
Most Tackles: 121 Stephen Ray Vaughan, San Antonio
Most Sacks: 15 Wade Whitaker, Tampa Bay Hubert Morris, Los Angeles
Most Hurries: 23 Charlie Daniels, Georgia
Most Interceptions: 8 Luis Fellows, Orlando
Most INT TD: 2 Alfred Payeur, (NY) Stars
Most Total Yards: 2,751 Walter Simmons, Michigan
Most Total TD: 22 Arthur Devore, Memphis
Bandits 34 Blazers 30
Florida just needed to win and they would win the division while Tampa Bay would need help if they won the game. The Bandits got on the board first on a Melvin Driggers 7 yard TD pass to Richard Miller. The first quarter would end 7-0 Tampa Bay but Florida tied the game early in the 2nd on a Sidney Maggard 8 yard TD pass to Perry Salgado. Two plays later, the Blazers recovered a Paul Meade fumble and turned that into 3 points and a 10-7 lead. Florida would push the lead to 17-7 on Maggard's 2nd TD pass, this one 4 yards to Richard Carstens. One thing defenses must do to beat the Bandits is prevent big plays from WR Thomas Whitley, and the Blazers missed that memo, as 3 plays later Driggers found Whitley for a 73 yard score to pull within 3. Just after the 2 minute warning, Maggard fired his 3rd TD pass of the half, a 44 yarder to William Merkel and Florida upped their lead to 24-14. Tampa Bay would close out the first half scoring on a Driggers to Whitley 4 yard pass and the score was 24-21 Florida at halftime.
The second half didn't see as much scoring and Florida held a 30-24 lead midway through the 4th. That's when Melvin Driggers fired his 4th TD pass of the day, 3rd to Thomas Whitley, and the XP gave Tampa Bay the lead, 31-30. Sidney Maggard then threw an interception, leading to a FG for the Bandits, extending the lead to 34-30. Maggard threw another INT but the Florida defense forced a punt to give the offense one last chance. Starting at their own 15, Sidney Maggard led the Blazers down the field, but they needed a TD and the clock ran out with the Blazers at the Tampa Bay 12 yard line.
Sidney Maggard completed 36/54, 343 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT in the loss while TE William Merkel caught 11 for 147 yards and a TD. Melvin Driggers was 34/53, 368 yards and 4 TDs while Thomas Whitley caught 6 for 133 yards and 3 TDs. The win gives Tampa Bay the tiebreaker edge on Florida, but they still needed help to make the playoffs, and an Orlando loss to Cleveland would do the trick.
Thunderbolts 16 Renegades 13 (OT)
An Orlando win would give them the Southeast Division title but Cleveland played spoiler. The first quarter was scoreless and the Renegades dented the scoreboard first on a 37 yard run by Jose Rush. Cleveland would get a FG and the halftime score was 7-3 Orlando. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Michael McGowan threw a 75 yard TD pass to Wayne Boutwell to give the Thunderbolts a 10-7 lead. Orlando would later tie it with a FG only to see Cleveland break that tie and hold a 13-10 lead. Orlando QB Gregory Skidmore threw an INT to set Cleveland up for a FG opportunity, but the kick was no good and the lead remained 3 points. Orlando would use the last 2 minutes of clock and kick the game tying FG as regulation time expired.
In the extra session, both teams went three and out, then Orlando punted a second time after a first down, leaving Cleveland at their own 18 and 3:30 left in OT. The Thunderbolts drove down the field, thanks in large part to a 30 yard McGowan pass to Mark Howe. They got the ball to the Orlando 18 in the final minute, and Brian Haworth kicked the game winning 36 yard FG, ending both team's seasons.
Federals 22 Maulers 19
Washington scored 10 points in the final 1:10 to steal a victory and break Pittsburgh's 9 game winning streak. Washington secures home field advantage with the win while Pittsburgh also made the playoffs as a wildcard team despite the loss. This game featured 9 field goals and 4 turnovers, none more costly than Will Allison's 2nd one in the final minute. Pittsburgh held a 19-12 lead until Washington capped off an 11 play, 91 yard drive with the tying Scott Bieber TD pass to Andrew Favela. Allison promptly threw an interception to allow John Bazile to kick the game winning FG with 0:42 left.
VooDoo 52 Force 3
New Orleans secured a first round bye by destroying Georgia 52-3. Bruno Wilson had 673 passing yards on 38/67 passing with 8 TD and 3 INT. The VooDoo had 4 receivers with over 100 yards: Leonard Robles (7-192-2), Nicholas Dorey (7-152-1), Mario Burton (7-105-1), and Eric Duncan (3-103-1), and Jose Little caught 2 TDs with 93 combined yards.
(NY) Stars 27 Stallions 6
William Hall ran for 149 yards and 2 TDs as he takes the league rushing title this season. The Stars defense held Birmingham to 150 total yards and will have a home playoff game against Pittsburgh next week.
Stars 58 Wranglers 0
Jon Snow threw for 580 yards and 6 TDs, 4 to Jeffrey Zimmer who caught 6 total for 254 yards. Baltimore out gained Arizona 749-200 as they tune up for their wildcard game at Tampa Bay next week.
Storm 31 Showboats 10
Portland held the usually prolific Memphis offense to 130 total yards and Timothy Roquemore ran for 88 yards and 3 scores as the Storm defeat the Showboats handily. QB Oscar Willis completed 29/36 for 309 yards and a TD to Richard Robinson, who had 6 catches for 117 yards.
Gamblers 62 Outlaws 3
Tony Dean was 22/27, 367 yards and TD passes to 4 different receivers as Houston crushed Oklahoma to secure a first round bye. Ryan Dearing contributed 3 rushing TDs and 122 yards and the Gamblers defense forced 3 Outlaws turnovers and held them to 160 total yards.
Blitz 26 Panthers 17
Michigan will host a playoff game against Denver next week despite today's loss to Chicago. The Blitz were out gained by Michigan 437-270 but the Panthers turned it over on downs 4 times. Chicago QB Ronald Brown tossed 2 TD passes and RB Jay Kinder had 115 combined offensive yards with a TD reception along with a 105 yard kickoff return TD. Michigan QB William Mauriello threw for 346 yards and 2 TDs in the loss.
SaberCats 16 Express 0
San Jose out gained Los Angeles 355-83 with 204 yards rushing as the SaberCats shut out the Express. San Jose spread the ball around both rushing and passing but the story was the defense. Los Angeles had 11 total possessions, going three and out the first 9, then they threw an interception on the 3rd play of the tenth drive before finally putting together a 10 play, 59 yard drive that ended on downs.
Invaders 20 Gold 15
Denver opted to sit QB Andrew Brewer to avoid any potential for injury with a playoff game coming up, and Elwood Savage was alright in his place, but a 2nd qtr pick six helped Oakland pull the upset. Brian Thornton had 154 combined yards for Denver while Oliver Thomas had 114 rushing yards for victorious Invaders.
Bulls 26 Wheels 9
Joseph Serio passed for 271 yards and 2 TDs to lead Jacksonville to the win over Detroit. William Morrisson caught 9 passes for 125 yards and a TD while teammate Tyron Bailey caught 7 for 103 and a TD and the Bulls defense held Detroit to 172 offensive yards.
Steamer 9 Hornets 6
The teams combined for 402 offensive yards and Shreveport won the field goal kicking contest 3-2 over Charlotte.
Bell 20 Breakers 7
Jamie Epperson ran for 88 yards and a TD to help Philadelphia win their 2nd game in a row to close out the season. QB Robert Hernandez was 19/24 with a TD pass, with just 138 passing yards but no turnovers. Boston was able to nearly match the Bell's yardage but not the points.
Generals 38 Gunslingers 9
Ernest Simmon was 19/24, 247 yards and 3 TD passes in his second good start since joining New Jersey. Sam Beckett ran for 129 yards and a TD as the Generals close out their season with their 2nd win in a row.
Sun 28 Hawaiians 26
Southern California QB Wilmer Kimble threw for 2 TDs and the Sun ran for 2 more as they hand Honolulu their 7th consecutive loss. Edwin Clarkson got the start in place of Derek Henry, and he finished 31/49, 271 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT.
