Throughout this season, we'll take a look back at our league's history here. Right now, we have the All Time Conference teams, the All Time Playoff Team and a brief look at the 4 Hall of Fame players selected in the first round of the 1974 allocation draft. History is great to look back on, but we also have a present and a future to look forward to, and Week 1 is now in the books. We had six games decided by one score or less, a pair of shut outs and both defending champion Denver and National Conference champs Baltimore lost.
Thunderbolts 16 Gold 10
Denver won World Bowl XIX with the #1 offense in the league, but Cleveland held the Gold to 269 total yards and just 10 points. The Thunderbolts controlled the clock with their running game as Bobby Colley ran 16 times for 73 yards while Evan Hershey ran for 70 yards on 11 carries. QB Tony Romo wasn't great but he out performed Andrew Brewer, throwing for 249 yards with a TD and an INT. Brewer did get Denver on the scoreboard first, with a 5 yard TD pass to Richard Huff, but Brewer would end the day with just 183 yards through the air. Romo tied the game at 7 with a TD pass to Herbert Paradise and Carlos Reed finished the scoring by booting 3 short FGs for Cleveland to just 1 for Denver's Robert Deacon.
Federals 33 Stars 24
The schedule maker did Baltimore no favors, as they throw them right into the fire against bitter division rival Washington. For the new owners, the Stars and Federals have been battling to be top dog in this division for the last decade, and they've had several playoff games against each other as well. There was also some controversy when the All Time Playoff Team was announced and it was revealed that Baltimore QB Jon Snow was the top choice over 3 time Champion Tony Dean.
There was an actual game, and while Snow tossed a pair of TD passes, he also threw 3 interceptions, leading the Stars to defeat. The Federals defense allowed a lot of yards and points but their offense had their back. QB Scott Bieber threw 4 TD passes and no INTs, finishing with 295 yards in the air. RB James Dunn led the Washington ground game with 69 rushing yards while chipping in 6 receptions for 137 yards and one of Bieber's TDs.
Panthers 31 Blitz 28
Michigan traded William Mauriello to Los Angeles, clearing the way for 2nd year pro Larry Henderson to be the starter. Through the first 90 seconds of the 4th, it looked like a bad decision as the Panthers had turned it over 6 times, 4 on Henderson interceptions and they trailed Chicago 25-9. Henderson did have an early 75 yard TD pass to John Tingle and the Panthers defense scored 2 points when a Blitz screen pass got stuffed in the end zone. Chicago only had 258 yards of offense and could not take advantage of all those turnovers, getting 5 Leon Rupe FGs.
The 4th qtr was wild, as Henderson got the Panthers within 10 on his 2nd TD pass to Tingle. Rupe's 5th FG gave Chicago a 28-15 lead with 5:39 left but Henderson wasn't finished. Walter Simmons caught Henderson's 3rd TD pass and a 2 point pass to Kevin Terry got Michigan within 5 at 28-23. The onside kick failed but the Panthers defense did not, forcing a three and out. We were now inside the 2 minute warning and Michigan had the ball at their own 10, needing a TD. Henderson got them down the field and found Kevin Terry for his 4th TD pass of the day, and the pair then hooked up on another 2 point conversion. The Panthers had a 31-28 lead and a Jesse Barnett INT sealed the win for Michigan.
On the day, Henderson was 37/65, 464 yards with 4 TD and 4 INT. John Tingle had 2 of those TDs as part of his 9 catch, 132 yard day.
Bandits 27 Bulls 24
Last season the Bandits drafted 2 QBs, Thomas Lawson in the 2nd round, Antonio Martinez in the 3rd, opting to start Lawson. This season, they're opting for Martinez, and he finished the day 31/44, 336 yards with 2 TD and 2 INT. TE Darren Cotton was his favorite target, catching 10 passes for 122 yards and a TD. Garry Fowler had 8 catches for 95 yards and a TD as well, but suffered a leg injury. For Jacksonville, it was the William Morrison show. QB Joseph Serio threw for 246 yards and a pair of TDs, both to Morrison, and receivers not named Morrison had just 90 combined yards.
The game itself was back and forth for 3 quarters before the scoreless punt fest of a 4th. Tampa Bay took an early 14-0 lead, getting one score on the ground and one through the air. Jacksonville then matched that, even getting 1 rushing and 1 passing TD. The Bandits broke the tie with a FG before Jacksonville got another TD for a 21-17 lead. One more Bandits FG before halftime gave us a 21-20 score headed to the locker room. Jacksonville extended the lead to 24-20 with a FG before Martinez found Fowler for the game winning TD pass with 4:30 to go in the 3rd.
Maulers 12 Wheels 6
Not much action from this game to discuss, so I'd like to point out that both teams are coming off playoff seasons and hope to build off that success for a deeper run this year. The defenses came to play as neither offense topped 300 yards or cracked the end zone. Pittsburgh K Brett Bowman was 4/4 on FGs while Detroit's All Pro K Kent Olden was 2/3 and that's it. Pittsburgh wins the kicking contest.
Steamer 20 Gunslingers 16
Most of the scoring came in the first half as the teams played to a 13 all tie. Shreveport scored first with a FG but San Antonio had 2 of their own to take an early 6-3 lead. Shreveport took the lead back on a Jeffrey Morris 13 yard TD run, but the Gunslingers answered with a Robert Fanelli TD pass to Eugene Bufkin. A FG right before halftime tied the game at 13 until a San Antonio FG late in the 3rd broke the tie. Shreveport got a TD pass from George Marcil to Martin Haley with 1:33 to play that turned out to be the game winning TD.
Breakers 15 Hornets 7
Boston took an early 3-0 lead before Henry Young gave Charlotte the 7-3 lead with a 6 yard TD run. Boston isn't known for having a big play offense, so when they got the ball at their own 9 in the final minute of the first half, the Hornets probably figured they'd run the clock out. It was just a swing pass to RB Ralph Harris, but he broke a tackle and sprinted down the sideline for a back breaking 91 yard TD. The XP was no good, but that momentum swing carried over to the second half and Boston added on a couple of FGs for the final margin.
Blazers 29 Renegades 0
Florida looked dominant today, making life rough on 2nd year Orlando QB Emory Howard, limiting him to 9/21 passing for 70 yards with 3 INTs. Offensively, Robert Romero and Ronald Kirby combined for 100 yards on 32 rushes while Sidney Maggard also looked good. Maggard was 29/40, 350 yards and 2 TDs while 4 receivers had between 60-90 yards. About the only negative for the Blazers was too many FG tries in the red zone, though it didn't matter today.
Gamblers 36 VooDoo 0
This is like a carbon copy of the previous game. Houston made life rough for 10th year vet Joseph Jones, holding him to 15/41, 72 yards and 3 INTs. They even sacked Jones in the end zone for 2 points to throw salt in the wound. Offensively, Lloyd Ellis and Francisco Russell combined for 145 yards and a TD on 35 carries. Tony Dean let his play speak for him amid all of the Snow/Dean debate about playoff greatness. Dean was 24/38, 324 yards and 3 TDs, 2 of those to Hugh Chance, who caught 5 balls for 104 yards. Russell added 78 receiving yards, giving him 150 combined yards while Ellis also topped 100 combined (117) with 43 receiving yards.
Storm 52 Invaders 3
Portland's defense had a sack and 3 INTs while the offense was led by Melvin Driggers and his 6 TD passes. Driggers finished 22/34, 352 yards and 1 INT to go with the 6 pack of scores and of course the leading receiver was Richard Robinson. Robinson caught 1 of the TDs as part of his 3-113 day, while Val Smith had 7 catches, 99 yards and 2 TDs. The Storm rushing attack was on point as well, with 3 RBs combining for 156 yards and a score on 24 carries. Only a 2nd qtr Robert Albertson FG prevented a shutout.
SaberCats 23 Hawaiians 14
Familiar story for San Jose, as Mark Hsu dominated the receivers, catching 4 for 170 and a TD while Jake Plummer had 236 total passing yards. The SaberCats also had 140 rushing yards and a TD combined from Graham Peterson and Rodney Richardson. San Jose took a 20-3 lead into the 4th and led 23-6 until Honolulu got a TD and a 2 point conversion in the final minute to make the final margin closer.
Showboats 38 Sun 3
PrivateSnowflake is back for his second tour of duty running Memphis. He got the Showboats dynasty started by winning back to back World Bowls (VI and VII) before he left MFN, then of course Memphis would win 3 more titles since, 2 by Infinity on Trial and 1 by Tribewriter, who now runs Pittsburgh. PS is now seeking to return Memphis to glory, as they missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 1983.
That journey got off on the right foot as Memphis seemingly moved the ball at will. Only 2 players carried the ball but Erik McNamee (19-128) and Thomas Saunders (14-47) combined for 175 yards, with Saunders scoring 3 TDs. QB Norman Maldonado was making his regular season debut after sitting on the bench for 2 years, and he took an instant liking to veteran WR Fred Wink. The pair hooked up 4 times for 146 yards and 2 TDs while Maldonado finished 24/36 for 371 yards with those 2 TDs to Wink and an INT.
Defensively, they held Southern California under 200 offensive yards and only allowed a 3rd qtr FG.
Generals 25 (NY) Stars 13
New Jersey was one of several teams breaking in a new starting QB and the Generals got a mixed bag from former Washington backup Don Ferguson. His 2nd pass was intercepted and the offense struggled in the red zone, but he finished the day 34/58, 337 yards and 2 INTs. Ferguson did follow up that 1st INT by leading New Jersey 91 yards in 12 plays for a TD on the next drive. That TD was the only one of the day for the Generals, and it was scored by rookie David Koresh. Koresh also led the Generals in receiving yards with 99 on 6 receptions. For New York, QB Willie Bust threw 2 TD passes, but one was very late in the game after New Jersey had a 25-7 lead. Bust was just 12/25 passing but 8 of those incompletions were actually knocked down by New Jersey defenders. New Jersey made 5 trips into the Stars red zone, coming away with just 1 TD and 4 FGs, as K Al Borland booted 6 in all, as the lack of TDs kept the game close.
Stallions 48 Force 10
Birmingham has 4 QBs on the roster but it looks like they picked the correct starter in former Gunslinger Willie Benge. Benge fired TD passes to 4 different receivers, finishing 27/41, 378 yards with 0 INT. The receiving yards were spread out as 4 different receivers had between 63-82 yards. The running game was working for Birmingham as well, with Francis Schultz leading the way with 122 yards and a TD on 22 carries. The Stallions finished with 578 offensive yards, converting 12/19 3rd down attempts and both 4th down tries as they held the ball over 40 minutes.
Bell 23 Express 6
RBBC is becoming a trend in the USFL as Philadelphia is just one of many teams I saw giving 3 RBs a decent amount of carries. The running game was the difference in this game as the Bell rushed for 171 yards on 43 carries while Los Angeles only ran 10 times for 6 yards. The Express scored first and last, both FGs, but in between Philadelphia scored 23 unanswered points. Jamie Epperson led the Bell RBBC with 86 yards and a TD on 21 carries, adding another 45 yards on 3 receptions. In the passing game, Robert Hernandez was 21/29, 197 yards, 2 TD and an INT, with the receptions and yards evenly distributed. Seven different receivers caught passes today for Philadelphia and they all had between 2-4 receptions and 20-45 yards each.
Outlaws 21 Wranglers 9
Arizona is trying to rebuild but things got off to a rough start on the opening kickoff. John Gates fumbled the ball and it was scooped up by Oklahoma's George Moss for a quick 7-0 Outlaws lead. The Wranglers would punt and John Quimby ran for the first of his 2 TDs for a 14-0 lead. Quimby would get another TD run early in the 2nd qtr to give Oklahoma a 21-0 lead. Arizona would get a TD and a safety to cut the lead to 21-9 at halftime, but the second half was a punt fest with no points for either team. Oklahoma used 6 RB/FB in their RBBC with the top 4 all between 7-9 carries for 34-50 yards each.
