2001 Wildcard Weekend National Conference

 New Jersey Generals 16 Philadelphia Bell 13

These East division rivals were facing off for the third time this season and the winner of the rubber match will advance to the Divisional round. New Jersey got the ball first and punted, but Generals FS Hank Hill intercepted Bryant Smith to give the ball back to the offense in scoring position. Al Borland was wide right on a 47 yard FG try and we remained scoreless. Philadelphia would get on the board first with a 55 yard Steve Matthews FG and a 3-0 lead that didn't last very long. On the very next play from scrimmage, RB/WR Jeff Lebowski lined up at TE and was open down the seam where Antonio Martinez hit him in stride for a 75 yard TD and a 7-3 Generals lead. Later in the quarter, Al Borland connected on a 35 yard FG and the score was 10-3 New Jersey as we head to the 2nd.

Not much of note happened in the 2nd quarter besides a pair of Al Borland FGs and the teams head into the locker room with New Jersey leading 16-3.

Philadelphia got the ball to start the second half and they kept the ball for half of the 3rd quarter, thanks to a 12 play, 75 yard TD drive. Bryant Smith found Ryan Davis for the 8 yard TD pass that cut the lead to 16-10. The rest of the 3rd was uneventful and Philadelphia cut the lead further after another FG by Steve Matthews early in the 4th. 

Two punts followed and New Jersey was in the process of bleeding the clock when Steve Ransome lost a fumble  to give Philadelphia hope. They had 1:44 left to drive into FG range but they ended up turning it over on downs and with that, New Jersey advances.

Jacksonville Bulls 16 Orlando Renegades 9

These Southeast division rivals were facing off for the third time this season and the winner advances to the Divisional round. The first 6 drives ended with a punt so we skip to the 2nd quarter where Jacksonville QB Derek Joyce was intercepted by William Kimble, giving Orlando the ball in scoring range. The Renegades couldn't put it in the end zone but they did get a FG for a 3-0 lead. The next time Orlando got the ball Anthony Graves lost a fumble to give Jacksonville the ball on the Renegades 40. Orlando's defense forced a FG attempt, which was good but Lloyd Benally was offsides. It had been 4th and 3 so Jacksonville took the FG off the board for a 1st and goal at the 4. Derek Joyce fired a 4 yard TD pass to Peter Lowe on the next play and the extra point gave the Bulls a 7-3 lead they took into halftime.

The 3rd quarter saw an exchange of FGs, making the score 10-6 Jacksonville to begin the 4th. On the very first play of the quarter, Orlando QB Trey Lyons was intercepted by Howard Pfeil, leading to a Jacksonville FG and a 13-6 lead. Orlando pulled within 13-9 thanks to a FG with under 5 minutes to play, and they opted to attempt an onside kick, which failed. Derek Joyce would throw an interception but Orlando turned it over on downs, leading to a Jacksonville FG and a 16-9 lead. Orlando would have 1:47 to get the tying TD but they went four and out, allowing Jacksonville to kill the clock and advance.

Pittsburgh Maulers 31 Shreveport Steamer 7

Pittsburgh QB Brian White threw 3 TDs today, all to Agustin Fiecke and the Maulers defense shut down the Shreveport passing attack. White and Fiecke hooked up on a 75 yard TD on the first play from scrimmage for a 7-0 lead and that was it for first half scoring. Pittsburgh turned the ball over on downs once and missed a FG attempt, but the defense held the Steamer to 103 total yards all game long. Almost all of that was on the ground as QB Paul Marcum was 12/19 for 14 yards, being sacked once for minus 10, giving the Steamer 4 passing yards. 

The second half saw a Pittsburgh FG followed by the 2nd and 3rd TDs by White/Fiecke for a 24-0 Maulers lead. The lone Shreveport highlight of the game came on this 97 yard kickoff return TD by John Gates to get within 24-7. That was it though as Pittsburgh put the icing on the cake with a 1 yard John King TD run and they advance with a 31-7 victory.

2001 Wildcard Weekend American Conference

 Usually having a home playoff game is a good thing, but not this season as 5 of the 6 road teams won and advanced to the Divisional round. Next weekend will have some intriguing games as defending champs San Jose travel to 16-0 Oklahoma, Memphis and Houston face off for the 3rd time with a combined World Bowl record of 13-0, Jacksonville travels to the bayou to face the New Orleans VooDoo, and the New Jersey Generals head to Pittsburgh to face the Maulers. Pittsburgh entered this season with new ownership and mindset, turning around a franchise that had gone 1-31 the previous two seasons. 

The road to World Bowl XXVIII is a long one that started with a 6 game bonanza this past weekend. 

Houston Gamblers 21 Michigan Panthers 3

The first quarter was a feeling out period for both teams as nobody scored. Michigan QB Emory Howard was intercepted by Xavier "X" Factor on the first drive but the Houston offense couldn't take advantage. Early in the 2nd quarter Howard was intercepted again, this time by David Numbers to give the Gamblers the ball in scoring position. The offense got inside the 10 but stalled, and an Earl Castro FG gave Houston a 3-0 lead. Later in the quarter Castro added another FG and a 6-0 halftime deficit wouldn't have been too bad for the Panthers. Bryan Franklin had other ideas however, finding Gus "Hightest" Gas for a 20 yard TD pass and a 13-0 halftime lead.

In the 3rd quarter Houston did not keep their momentum, fumbling the ball away on the first drive and going three and out on the next. Michigan then went on a 10 play drive but had to settle for a FG to cut the lead to 13-3. Michigan took over 6 minutes off the clock and Houston took 6 more off on their next drive following the Panthers FG. The Michigan defense couldn't keep the Gamblers out of the end zone though as Steve Austin punched in a short TD run and Bryan Franklin converted the 2 point conversion with a pass to Cecil Soto. 

That TD drive came early in the 4th quarter and gave Houston a commanding 21-3 lead. Michigan would have 3 more drives, none of which crossed midfield as Houston wins and advances. The Gamblers" trio of RBs rushed for 206 yards and Bryan Franklin completed 25/29 for an efficient, move the chains performance. 

Memphis Showboats 24 Los Angeles Express 20

Memphis got off to a fast start before they started allowing Los Angeles to claw back in the game in the 4th quarter. The Showboats turned it over 5 times in all, 3 in the 4th quarter alone but the Express offense wasn't quite up to the task today.

Memphis scored first, taking a 7-0 lead on a 26 yard Kenneth Anderson TD pass to Richard Harris. Early in the 2nd quarter, L.A. RB Ronnie Nix lost a fumble which led to another Memphis TD. Kenneth Anderson's 2 yard TD pass to Jeremy Wheatley gave the Showboats a 14-0 lead. Anderson would throw an interception later in the quarter, leading to a FG for the Express, cutting the lead to 14-3. Los Angeles had a chance to cut the lead further but Brian Haworth missed a 53 yard try wide right. The Express defense intercepted Anderson again, but Haworth was wide right again, this time from 45 yards out and the halftime score was 14-3 Memphis.

Memphis scored a TD on their second drive of the second half, but a holding penalty wiped that away and they had to settle for a FG. Late in the 3rd, Anderson found Richard Harris for a 56 yard TD pass, giving Memphis a 24-3 lead heading to the 4th.

Early in the 4th, Los Angeles was driving until Ronnie Nix lost another fumble but Eugene Riggs fumbled it back a few plays later. David Tavarez wasted little time, tossing a 40 yard TD to Patrick Peavey, cutting the lead to 24-10. Kenneth Anderson then threw INT #3, allowing David Tavarez to throw another TD pass. The 2 yard scoring toss to Stephen Tye cut the Memphis lead to 24-17 with 8:17 to play. The Express defense forced a three and out, leading to a Haworth 45 yard FG to get within 24-20. Kenneth Anderson promptly threw his 4th interception, giving Los Angeles a golden opportunity to steal the game, but the 2 earlier missed FGs meant they needed a TD. That was huge as they turned it over on downs in the red zone because a FG would have done no good. Memphis ran the last minute off the clock to advance to the next round.  

San Jose SaberCats 17 Portland 12

If you just look at the box score, it looks like Portland won as they nearly doubled the yards of San Jose, 304-156. Portland was 5/15 on 3rd down to 1/12 for San Jose and they had 3 red zone trips to none for the SaberCats. Portland took the opening kickoff and drove 71 yards in 14 plays, getting 3 points and taking a 3-0 lead halfway through the 1st. San Jose's first possession ended with a punt on 4th and 2 from the Portland 42 a few plays after converting a 4th and 1. Portland would later fail on a 4th and 2 near midfield, leading to a San Jose FG to tie the game at 3. 

The halftime score was 3-3 and San Jose went three and out. The SaberCats defense then intercepted Raymond Oswalt, setting up the offense in scoring range. Jake Plummer would throw a 28 yard TD pass to Ivan Humphrey and Darren Cotton ran in the 2 point try to give San Jose an 11-3 lead. Toward the end of the 3rd qtr, Portland was inside the red zone facing a 4th and 2. David Smith ran for the first down, but a holding penalty forced the Storm to settle for a FG, cutting the lead to 11-6. 

Portland went on a long drive early in the 4th that ended with a Raymond Oswalt 8 yard TD pass to Craig Hines. The 2 point pass failed but Portland now led 12-11. San Jose then went on a time consuming drive, getting a 50 yard FG from Steve Jones just before the 2 minute warning to take a 14-12 lead. Portland would turn it over on downs, leading to another 50 yard FG for Jones to extend the lead to 17-12. Portland only had time for 2 plays to try and score the winning TD but they couldn't do it and the champions advance.