Wild Card Playoffs: Storm Damage

The Wild Card round of the USFL/WFL playoffs saw some teams assert their might.

One was the Portland Storm, which rolled to a 36-23 victory over the Detroit Wheels. After QB William Hill threw his fourth TD of the first half, the Storm led, 30-6, much to the delight of their rain-soaked fans. Portland has won six in a row after enduring a three-game losing streak. Detroit QB Henry Prieto had a tough night, completing 11 of 40 passes and being sacked nine times, seven of them by DT Eugene Pacheco.

Eugene Pacheco, DT, Portland

The Denver Gold advanced with a 40-27 win over the San Jose SaberCats. Denver QB Agustin Cook was absolutely on fire, completing 34 of 63 passes for 538 yards and five TDs without an interception. San Jose led, 20-16, at halftime, but Cook threw for three TDs in the second half, including to WR William Delatorre for 61, and later, for 62 yards. The SaberCats, who defeated Denver, 36-31, in Week 1, finished the season with three consecutive losses.

The Pittsburgh Maulers bounced back from a Week 16 loss to the Baltimore Stars to defeat the Stars, 36-21. Pittsburgh QB Michael White fired three TD passes in the second quarter to stake his team to a 24-7 halftime lead and finished the day with a nice 153.53 QB rating. Baltimore SS Earl Campbell made 16 tackles.

The New Orleans VooDoo advanced by holding off the Jacksonville Bulls, 23-20. Jacksonville led, 20-17, with 6:22 to play but New Orleans kicker Ramon Brownlee hit field goals of 42 and 43 yards, including the game-winner with 1:41 to play. The Bulls punted the ball away with 1:04 remaining and never got it back.

The divisional round will take place Thursday, with four games on the slate:

• Denver Gold at Chicago Blitz: Chicago is a 7-point favorite. The teams did not face each other during the regular season.
• Portland Storm at San Antonio Gunslingers: San Antonio is an 8-point favorite. The teams did not face each other during the regular season.
• New Orleans VooDoo at Florida Blazers: The Blazers, a 4-point favorite, outlasted New Orleans, 23-16, in Week 6.
• Pittsburgh Maulers at Boston Breakers: The Maulers, a 7-point underdog in this one, handed the Breakers a 24-22 setback in Week 14 by stuffing a 2-point conversation attempt with 40 seconds to go.