1980 Week 9 Roundup: Motor City Madness

There was a tremor (more like an earthquake actually) that shook the stretch of Michigan between Pontiac and Ypsilanti on Thursday.

Clifford Blackburn, Michigan

That came from the sheer force of the titanic upset that took place when the Michigan Panthers ended nearly seven seasons of misery at the hands of their crosstown rivals, the Detroit Wheels. Jerry Ruiz passed for three TDs and rookie CB Clifford Blackburn made 10 tackles as Michigan stunned Detroit, 38-35.

Michigan came into the game with an 0-13 all-time record against Detroit. The Panthers were 1-7, the Wheels 7-1.

Detroit led through three quarters, but Ruiz directed scoring drives of 80 and 74 yards. He found Roy Weeks for a 46-yard TD with 5:31 to play and Weeks ran 3 yards for the clincher with 1:49 to go.

That outcome marked the third time this season a USFL/WFL team beat one of its division opponents for the first time ever. The Philadelphia Bell had been 0-12 against New Jersey before knocking off the Generals in Week 2. The Washington Federals had been 0-12 against the Pittsburgh Maulers before beating them in Week 5.

The Los Angeles Express is 13-0 all-time against the Southern California Sun and the Memphis Showboats are 12-0 against the Houston Gamblers.

In other Week 9 games:

• The league's last unbeaten team fell by the wayside as the Memphis Showboats outscored the Denver Gold, 47-38. Memphis took a 28-3 lead after one quarter but fell behind, 29-28, at halftime. Memphis never trailed again after Antonio Wilson's 39-yard TD pass to Ernest McNeill early in the third quarter.
• New Orleans VooDoo QB James Lightfoot passed for 605 yards and seven TDs, including four scores on a span of four drives during the second and third quarters a 59-16 rout of the New Jersey Generals. 
• The Birmingham Stallions picked up their second win of the season by rallying past Atlantic Division leader Washington, 27-24. Keith Marsh returned an interception 25 yards for a score and Bernard Warner hit Gregory Frick with a 58-yard TD pass for Birmingham, which trailed, 24-13, in the final minute of the third quarter.
• The Cleveland Thunderbolts took over the No. 6 playoff seed in the American Conference by topping the Oklahoma Outlaws, 26-14. Cleveland's defense forced Oklahoma QB Dale Brown into three interceptions.

Week 10 Preview

The New Jersey Generals (6-3) find themselves trailing surprising Philadelphia in the East Division and now must face the Cleveland Thunderbolts (6-3). The Detroit Wheels (7-2) host the Memphis Showboats (8-1) in a battle of division leaders. The Portland Storm (7-2) could pull into a first-place tie with Denver (8-1) in the West Division with a victory over the Gold this week. A victory for the New Orleans VooDoo (6-3) over the Florida Blazers (2-7) and a victory by the Shreveport Steamer (5-4) over the Georgia Force (7-2) would leave Georgia and New Orleans tied for first place in the South Division with Shreveport only a game behind.