The Washington Federals played their 3rd consecutive former champion and couldn't complete the sweep, losing to the Denver Gold to leave the Orlando Renegades as the last undefeated team remaining. In the long run this won't hurt the Federals too much as they will most likely still get a BYE and they no longer have any self imposed pressure to try for a perfect record. Washington has a 2 game lead and a victory over New Jersey for the #2 seed and all that's left on the schedule are home and home with Charlotte and Pittsburgh. Speaking of New Jersey, the Generals clinched the East with their victory over Boston and they join San Jose and defending champion Houston in punching their playoff ticket.
We now know 5 of the 12 playoff teams, and they are all division winners, which leaves just 3 divisions with drama at the top. Denver and Portland are tied atop the West with 10-2 records, and it would take an epic collapse for one of these teams to miss the playoffs altogether. We also have a tie in the South between a pair of 6-6 teams, Georgia and Shreveport. In the National Conference, 6-6 puts the loser of this division in the middle of the wildcard hunt with most of the rest of the conference. Our third division with competition is the Midwest, where Michigan has a 1 game lead on a very hot Chicago Blitz and a 2 game lead on the Detroit Wheels.
Wildcard races look to be truly wild down the stretch, especially in the National Conference. Between 6-11 teams are in contention for 2 wildcard spots, depending on where you feel the line of contention falls. If the season ended today, you'd first ask me why we're only playing a 12 game season, but the Florida Blazers would be the #5 seed with their 7-5 record. Georgia and Shreveport are 6-6 but one will win the South, while the other would be in a tiebreaker with the Baltimore Stars for the last spot. Since the season has 4 games remaining, there is still time for the 5-7 teams to make a move. Tampa Bay has a playoff hopeful all 4 remaining games (Chicago, Shreveport, Detroit, Georgia) which is a tougher schedule than fellow 5-7 teams Boston and Philadelphia. Even with 4-8 records, Pittsburgh and New York are just 2 games out of a playoff spot while Jacksonville, Birmingham, and New Orleans are mathematically alive at 3-9.
The American Conference wildcard race isn't as crowded as the National, with the loser of Denver/Portland likely grabbing the top wildcard spot. They both have 10-2 records, 3 games clear of the competition. That leaves 1 wildcard open for Los Angeles, Memphis, or Chicago. Those 3 teams are all 7-5, but Chicago also has a shot to win the Midwest which would put Michigan in this mix. Detroit is 6-6, not out of it, but they will need help, especially with San Jose and Denver still on the schedule. Oakland and Arizona need to get hot and have help as well, while San Antonio and Cleveland are mathematically alive, but on life support.
I started this blog late, so I'm planning on doing a quick review of the games.
Gold 30 Federals 21
Andrew Brewer threw for 273 yards and 3 TD passes, all to Douglas Crowley as the Gold got out to a 27-10 lead after 3 quarters. Crowley finished with 183 yards on 5 catches, with scoring plays of 56, 84, and 21 yards respectively. Washington cut the lead to 27-21 with 5 minutes to play but Denver ran the remaining time off the clock, tacking on a FG at the final gun.
Renegades 37 Bandits 14
Trey Lyons completed 31/43, 323 yards, 4 TD and 2 INT as Orlando scored 21 first quarter points to seize control of the game and remain unbeaten. Anthony Milan and Jose Rush led the Renegades rushing attack that gained 172 yards and helped Orlando hog the ball over 41 minutes. Orlando was also 5/5 in the red zone. For Tampa Bay, it was the bad Antonio Martinez again. Martinez completed just 22/54, 211 yards, 2 TD and 3 INT, and had no support from the running game.
Gamblers 20 Gunslingers 13
San Antonio did a lot of things right today, out gaining the champs 431-273 and not turning the ball over. Robert Fanelli was 31/47, 302 yards and a TD and Charlie Shanks led a RBBC that had 129 yards. The only thing the Gunslingers could have done better was finish drives. They settled for too many FGs, and missed a pair which would have altered the end game. San Antonio had the ball last, getting all the way down to the Houston 1, but couldn't get it in the end zone for the tying TD. Had Benjamin Regalado made those kicks, he would have had an opportunity for a game winning kick. He didn't, so he didn't and the Gamblers stay ahead of Denver/Portland for the all important BYE.
SaberCats 23 Express 19
Los Angeles needed to win if they had any hopes of winning the Pacific but division leaders San Jose scored first thanks to a Jake Plummer TD pass. David Tavarez then led the Express to 16 unanswered points with a pair of TD passes and a FG drive. The XP was no good following the first TD. Jake Plummer's 2nd TD pass got the SaberCats within 16-14 after 3 quarters, with Daniel Hartwig catching both (4-129-2). Los Angeles extended the lead to 19-14 midway through the 4th, but Plummer's 3rd TD pass gave San Jose the lead for good. That score went to Mark Hsu, and the 2 point try failed, but they would add a FG following a turnover on downs for the final margin. Los Angeles made little mistakes that cost them, in addition to the early missed XP, they lost the turnover battle 2-1 and scored just 2 TDs in 4 red zone trips.
Storm 24 Maulers 9
Portland traveled to rainy Pittsburgh and the Storm scored quickly thanks to a Melvin Driggers 72 yard pass to Richard Robinson. That was it in the first half for Portland, as the Maulers defense hung tough. Will Allison led a pair of long scoring drives, but they both fell short of the end zone as the Storm led at the half 7-6. Jose Moses had a 12 yard TD run to extend the lead in the 3rd quarter then Melvin Driggers found Jeffrey Frost for a 61 yard TD in the 4th for a 21-9 lead and the Maulers turned it over on downs their last 3 possessions. Richard Robinson caught 9 for 146 yards and a TD while Jeffrey Frost had a combined 178 yards (102 receiving) and a TD to lead the Portland offense.
Blitz 26 Panthers 21
Since a 1-3 start, Chicago has won 6 of their last 8, with their 2 losses coming at the hands of 12-0 Orlando and 11-1 Houston. The Michigan Panthers have led the Midwest most of the year, withstanding an early challenge from the Wheels, but now it's the Blitz coming up on the Panthers fast. Michigan still has games against 12-0 Orlando and 11-1 Houston coming up, plus a rematch with Chicago, so a win over the Blitz would really enhance their playoff chances. This was a back and forth game with 4 lead changes, so if this was a normal blog, I'd be writing a short story for this one. We'll skip to the 4th where Chicago had a 17-13 lead. Larry Henderson threw a 24 yard TD pass to Harvey Williams and Lawrence Schroeder ran in the 2 point try for a 21-17 Panthers lead. It only took Ronald Brown 2 plays to give the Blitz the lead back with a 26 yard TD pass to Daniel Johnson. Inside the 2 minute warning, Henderson was sacked in the end zone for a safety to extend the lead but Michigan recovered the onside free kick. The Blitz defense came up huge again, intercepting Henderson and sealing victory. RB John Gates paced the Chicago offense with 128 rushing yards and 66 receiving.
Generals 30 Breakers 6
Don Ferguson passed for 345 yards and 3 TDs to lead New Jersey over Boston. WR Duncan Meyer caught 6 for 162 yards and a TD while Kurt Cobain rushed for 103 yards, just the 2nd 100 yard game of his career. Cobain also chipped in 78 receiving yards on 11 catches. The Generals out gained the Breakers 497-191 and were pretty good on 3rd down, converting 9/15 and holding Boston to 2/13.
Stallions 34 Force 17
If this were real life, the media would say Georgia got caught looking ahead to next week's showdown with Shreveport. The box score reads like the Stallions defense took it to the Force offense, forcing punts the whole first half. That doesn't explain how the Georgia defense let Birmingham walk all over them, getting out to a 24-0 halftime lead. The Stallions have 7 games this season scoring single digits and just 2 games where they scored more than 13, so 24 in a half is a point explosion. RB Francis Schultz ran for 139 yards with a TD and delivered the backbreaking blow. Georgia was kicking off after finally scoring to cut the lead to 24-7 with plenty of time left in the 3rd, but Schultz took the kickoff 103 yards for a TD to instantly take momentum back.
Steamer 52 Sun 6
One team that wasn't looking ahead to next week was Shreveport. QB George Marcil was nursing a hand injury so the Steamer started veteran journeyman James Wright. Wright spent most of his career in New Jersey where his most notable season was 1992. That year he played RB and had over 1,000 combined yards, rushing for 884 (4.6 ypc) with another 187 receiving. Today, Wright enjoyed his best day ever as a pro QB, completing 26/32, 408 yards, 7 TD and 1 INT. His favorite target was David Shafer, who caught 6 for 264 yards and 4 TDs and RB Milton Schwab ran for 114 yards as the Steamer scored on their first 7 possessions of the game. Had the Southern California defense been able to slow down the Steamer, it might have been a different game, as the Sun ran for nearly 8 yards per carry. It's kind of hard to keep running the ball with such a big, early deficit however.
Showboats 17 Wheels 10
Well I wasn't ready for this box score, but it's fitting. The game prior, I spoke about a QB I turned into a RB for a season. It seems Memphis RB Erik McNamee was drafted as a QB and turned into a RB, who has now been switched back to QB. Norman Maldonado has not had a good season, tossing 23 INTs and finding himself on the bench as Memphis tries to qualify for the playoffs. McNamee wasn't bad, completing 23/38 for 183 yards, but the running game was working well. USFL leading rusher Steve Ransome ran for 110 yards while William Magallon ran for 83 yards and a TD and Detroit ran 3 times all game. The aerial attack only produced 10 points though as Detroit loses their 2nd in a row to watch their playoff hopes slowly fade.
Blazers 20 Bulls 13
The Florida drought has come to an end finally. The Blazers scored a TD on a Sidney Maggard 14 yard TD pass to William Sheppard late in the first quarter to snap a TD drought that lasted more than 5 games. More importantly, that TD gave Florida a 10-7 lead they wouldn't relinquish. The Blazers would add another TD in the 2nd quarter and led 17-10 at the half. Not much happened in the 2nd half and the Blazers hang on for an important win that keeps then in the top wildcard spot.
Stars 37 (NY) Stars 10
Baltimore is having a subpar season by their standards, but the Stars can still light up a scoreboard. The New York Stars Albert Olson still leads the league in receiving, and he got his today (5-114), but the next guy on the receiving yards list is Baltimore WR John Warkentin. The All Pro caught 9 for 215 yards and 2 TDs, including a 92 yard score in the 3rd to give Baltimore a 24-0 lead. New York's only TD came when John Wayne sacked Jon Snow, causing a fumble in the end zone that Danny Devito's cousin Patrick recovered for a TD. Snow finished with 380 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs.
Bell 44 Hornets 7
Philadelphia was hoping to build on the momentum from the last couple of seasons and take the East from New Jersey, but a 3 game losing streak had the Bell clinging to dwindling playoff hopes. Today, they took out their frustrations on Charlotte, building a 20-0 halftime lead that grew to 41-0 after 3. Joseph Serio completed 21/32, 293 yards and 3 TDs with Craig Hines leading the receivers with 5 catches, 123 yards and 2 scores. Jamie Epperson led the RBBC with 107 rushing yards and a TD while the Bell defense bent (319 yards allowed) but didn't break (forced 4 Hornets turnovers).
Wranglers 11 Invaders 9
Not much offense to talk about as the teams combined for just 433 yards, or what the 4th ranked offense (San Jose 432.9) gets on the weekly. Arizona got on the board first after a punt pinned Oakland deep in their own end. Andrew Moreno was sacked in the end zone by Dan Daniel for a safety and a 2-0 Arizona lead. The rest of the game was a kicking contest with each team booting 3. Arizona held a late 11-9 lead when Oakland attempted a 53 yard FG. It was wide left and the Invaders last drive ended on downs as Arizona snaps a 6 game losing streak.
VooDoo 10 Hawaiians 7 (OT)
For the most part this was a punting contest. Honolulu took a 7-0 lead in the 2nd quarter on a Jeffrey Richins TD run then Joseph Jones answered for New Orleans with a 10 yard TD pass to Tom Jacobs. On the first drive of the 3rd quarter, Jones was intercepted in the red zone, keeping the score 7-7 and it would stay that way until OT. Honolulu got the ball first, going three and out. New Orleans was able to drive to the edge of FG range and Emil Porter sent the crowd home happy as his 53 yard kick sailed through the uprights for the VooDoo victory.
Thunderbolts 31 Outlaws 12
Tony Romo threw a 30 yard TD pass to Andre King in the first quarter then Marvin Williamson returned a John Crisp INT 62 yards for a score and a 14-0 Cleveland lead. Oklahoma came back with a FG and a John Crisp TD pass to pull within 14-9 after the XP was no good. That was the halftime score and the teams exchanged FGs as Cleveland led 17-12 midway through the 4th. Tony Romo then led another TD drive, getting his 2nd TD pass when he found Edward McGeehan for a 12 yard score. Oklahoma turned it over on downs then Howard Buxton ran in a 22 yard TD to seal the win for the Thunderbolts.
