Denver Gold 24 Baltimore Stars 23
World Bowl XIX was played in Orlando, Florida in front of a capacity crowd of 52,000 as the Denver Gold and Baltimore Stars battled it out to see which team would win their first championship. Denver got the ball first but went three and out. Baltimore's first drive lasted 10 plays, covering 74 yards, ending on an 18 yard TD pass from Jon Snow to Mark Numbers. Denver started to move the ball on their second drive but they stalled in the red zone, settling for a FG to trim the deficit to 7-3. Jon Snow led the Stars down the field again on Baltimore's second drive, which also ended on a Snow TD pass. This one went 10 yards to Robert Lerma and it gave the Stars a 14-3 lead just before the end of the first quarter.
Down 14-3, Gold KR James Riley took the kickoff 7 yards deep in the end zone and brought it out, only reaching the 16 yard line. Andrew Brewer kept his poise however, leading Denver on a 12 play, 84 yard TD drive. The TD was a 16 yard Brewer pass to Richard Funkhouser, cutting the lead to 14-10. We had our first costly mistake of the game on Baltimore's next drive, as William Halford burst up the middle for an 11 yard gain, but Matthew Samson knocked the ball loose and Joshua Woodruff fell on the ball at the Stars 46 yard line. Denver took the lead on the very next play as Andrew Brewer found Jake Peralta over the middle and Peralta took it the distance for a 46 yard score. Baltimore would come back to tie it on Fred Boyce 49 yard FG and they took the lead back on another Boyce FG, this one a 39 yarder. That FG was at the end of the first half, and Baltimore took a 20-17 lead into the locker room.
Baltimore got the ball to start the 3rd qtr and they went three and out, giving the ball back to Denver for the eventual game winning drive. Andrew Brewer and the Gold embarked on a 14 play, 80 yard TD drive that took nearly 7 minutes off the clock. The drive ended with a Jake Peralta 2 yard TD run, but it almost didn't happen. Denver faced a 4th and 1 situation on their own 43 and if it failed, they would be setting up the Stars just outside Boyce FG range. Max Ellis plunged into the line and they got a good spot, allowing the drive to continue. The Peralta score allowed Denver to retake the lead themselves, 24-20.
A couple of punts later, Baltimore got within 24-23 on a Fred Boyce 29 yard FG on the second play of the 4th qtr. Denver went on a decent drive that stalled at the Baltimore 40, and punter Garland Hubler pinned Baltimore at their own 10. The Stars got just inside Denver territory before they too had to punt, and John Baker poncherello'd Denver to their own 9. (CHiPs reference there) Brewer got the Gold near midfield on the first play with a 39 yard pass to Douglas Crowley, but Jake Peralta fumbled on the next play, giving the ball back to the Stars. Jon Snow threw 3 straight incompletions and Baltimore punted it back, with John Baker leaving it at the Gold 8. Denver continued the field position game, eventually punting back to Baltimore. The Stars had one last chance, starting their last drive at their 18 with 4:06 to play. Jon Snow had the offense out to the 32 at the 2 minute warning but something strange happened to Baltimore. Through 18 games and 58 minutes of a 19th game, Jon Snow had been sacked 6 times all season, but he was sacked on 2 of the final 4 plays as the Denver defense sealed the deal. Nathan Coleman sacked him on 1st down, Josiah Stiefel sacked him on 3rd down, and the desperation 4th and 28 play was dropped by Knob Creek.
The Gold ran the final minute off the clock and the entire team celebrated on the field with the MVP of the game, Andrew Brewer.
For his efforts, the USFL/WFL awarded Brewer a 1993 Chevrolet Corvette. Brewer finished the game completing 25/36, 323 yards and 2 TDs. Jake Peralta had a rushing TD and a receiving TD and Brian Thornton had 122 combined yards for the Gold. Jon Snow was 28/46, 273 yards and 2 TDs while John Warkentin "was held" to 7 catches and 91 scoreless yards. A decent stat line for sure, but Warkentin was dominant the first 2 playoff games, so keeping him out of the end zone was huge. William Halford was solid aside from his fumble, as he rushed for 82 yards on 13 carries, adding 69 yards on 5 receptions.
