Players of the Week
American Conference
Offense: William Delatorre, WR, Denver Gold. Delatorre's receiving line was 11-144-2 with a 2-point conversion thrown in during a 42-30 win over the Memphis Showboats that moved Denver into a second-place tie in the West Division.
 |
| William Delatorre, WR, Denver Gold |
Honorable Mention: Curtis Scott, RB, Arizona Wranglers; William Dolloff, WR, Cleveland Thunderbolts; Damon Rosato, WR, Portland Storm; Bruce Fine, RB, Chicago Fire.
Defense: Jason Hendon, DT, Portland. Facing an Arizona Wranglers offense averaging 36.5 points per game coming in, Hendon and teammate DT Eugene Pacheco dominated, helping keep the Wranglers out of the end zone all game in a 26-9 victory that gave the Storm a two-game lead in the West Division. Hendon only had one tackle and his 3 sacks were one less than Pacheco, but Hendon threw in a lot more extras. Pacheco got a safety but Hendon caused three fumbles, recovering two of them, one for a TD. Human wrecking ball.
Honorable Mention: Eugene Pacheco, DT, Portland Storm; Christopher Taylor, RDE, Memphis Showboats; Allen Herrera, SS, Oklahoma Outlaws; Leon Crisman, CB, San Antonio Gunslingers.
National Conference
Offense: Randy Christmas, WR, Baltimore Stars. Caught four passes for 193 yards and four TDs in a 35-13 victory over the Charlotte Hornets that moved the Stars within a game of the first-place Pittsburgh Maulers in the Atlantic Division.
Honorable Mention: Matthew Mitchell, RB, Orlando Renegades; William Trombly, QB, Florida Blazers; Victor Gorman, QB, Baltimore Stars; Edward Miller, FB, Florida Blazers; Jose Medina, RB, Philadephia Bell.
Defense: Jim Byrne, DT, New Jersey Generals. Made seven tackles, intercepted a pass and forced a fumble during a 25-23 loss to the Orlando Renegades.
Honorable Mention: Ryan Moore, DT, Georgia Force; Joseph Poulsen, WLB, New Orleans Voodoo; George Grant, SLB, Pittsburgh Maulers; Barry Litchford, CB, Florida Blazers; Kelvin Funk, SS, Boston Breakers.
Notes
- The Atlantic Division race is going to be fun to watch all season. Last week, it looked like the Washington Federals were going to assert themselves after fighting mighty Boston to a tie. Fast forward one week, and the Pittsburgh Maulers knocked off the Federals, 31-26, to take a half-game lead in the division. The Maulers (3-2) led, 31-7, going into the fourth quarter, but Federals QB Joe Richardson fired three TD passes to make it close. The Maulers got the ball back with 5 minutes to go and reeled off an 11-play drive. Washington (2-2-1) didn't see the ball again until 27 seconds remained.
- The Michigan Panthers came oh-so-close to their first win under new coach Hellbriner. A wild fourth quarter against the Cleveland Thunderbolts saw the teams score a combined 35 points. The Panthers led, 25-24, with 1:31 to play before Cleveland scored twice and then held on for a 34-32 victory.
- Michigan Panthers RB Steven Napier had 42 yards on seven carries with two receptions for 62 and a TD, but returned four kicks for 254 yds and two TDs. Napier may take over the starting RB job from rookie Travis Tucker, who fumbled four times.
- The Jacksonville Bulls picked up their first victory, beating Tampa Bay, 23-7, while limiting the Bandits to 135 total yards.
- The Chicago Blitz handed the San Antonio Gunslingers their first loss, 27-20. after trailing, 20-7, entering the fourth quarter. Chicago RB Christian Martens scored the winning touchdown on a 2-yard run with 2 minutes to play — his only carry of the game.
- The New Orleans VooDoo seized control of the South Division by routing the Shreveport Steamer, 40-6. The VooDoo, along with the San Jose SaberCats, Portland Storm, and Florida Blazers, have a two-game lead in their division.
- The now-first-place Maulers will travel to Baltimore to face the Stars (2-3), just a game behind them, in this week's Monday Night Football matchup. The Sunday Night Football game will see a battle of unbeatens, with the Florida Blazers meeting the New Orleans VooDoo at the Superdome.
