1987 begins the way 1986 ended, with a Memphis victory. Every team saw action however, and no team was shutout. The Pacific division went a combined 0-4 yet somehow aren't last in the division rankings. The Jacksonville Bulls were one of seven teams to only score single digit points, yet they won 7-3. Washington scored 49 and the Champion Showboats scored 41. On to the action on the field...
Showboats 41 Breakers 10
Sure fire future Hall of Famer Willie Howland was up to his usual tricks, hauling in 7 catches for 195 yards and 4 TD's. Howland's first TD was also the longest, going for 90 yards and the ensuing 2 point conversion gave Memphis an early 8-0 lead. Three minutes later, QB David Allen found Howland again, this time for a 56 yard TD and the 2 point conversion pushed the lead to 16-0.
Following a Boston FG, new Showboat RB Mark Lambert paid dividends with a 46 yard TD run. Lambert would finish the day with 157 yards rushing. The 2 point conversion gave Memphis an insurmountable 22-3 lead. Boston did manage the next score, QB Richard Garrett finding Joseph Clark for a 61 yard TD. The second half was a Memphis FG and 2 more Willie Howland TD receptions from David Allen.
Bandits 20 Blazers 16
Tampa Bay got 3 TD passes from Melvin Driggers and intercepted 2 passes to upset Florida 20-16. Two of those TD passes went to Paul Meade, the first of which covered 70 yards and gave Tampa an early 7-3 lead. It wasn't all bad for Florida QB Sidney Maggard, as his 2nd qtr 73 yard TD pass to Arthur Strickland gave Florida the lead back briefly, 10-7.
Early in the 4th qtr, the 2nd TD catch by Paul Meade was the difference maker. The XP was no good but it gave the Bandits a 20-10 lead. Florida would add 2 4th qtr FG's for the final margin.
Bulls 7 Force 3
In the words of my favorite baseball broadcaster Marty Brennaman, this game was a "titanic struggle". Defense ruled the day for the most part, save for one big play and one long, empty drive. The big play was a 79 yard Joseph Serio TD pass to Stanton Redman, giving Jacksonville the game's first points with 5:11 left in the 3rd. Georgia would kick a FG in the 4th to cut the deficit to 7-3, then got the ball back with 4:11 left in the game after a three and out. The Force held the ball until the final gun, going 67 yards in an incredible 18 plays only to stall out at the Bulls 9 yard line.
Steamer 23 Express 17
There were only three one score games Week 1 and this was one of them. New Los Angeles owner Buenoboss 11 got his USFL/WFL career started on the right foot. On the first offensive play of the season, Express QB Robert Burns found WR Dane Britt for an 82 yard TD pass for the early 7-0 lead. It was at that point sideline reporter Jayne Kennedy overheard Shreveport QB George Marcil tell teammates "hold my beer". The first Steamers offensive play was also a long TD pass, 79 yards to Joseph Wagner. Two minutes later, Burns and Britt were at it again, this time for 65 yards for the 14-7 Express lead. George Marcil would also throw a 2nd TD pass in the 1st qtr and we were knotted at 14 through one. The rest of the game was a FG contest but Steamer QB Marcil finished an efficient 35/42 for 372 yards and the 2 TD's while Express QB Burns had trouble moving the chains, finishing below 50% (17/39).
Federals 49 Gold 23
Denver had made the playoffs 5 straight years before missing out in 1986, so to have to start 1987 on the road at juggernaut Washington was no easy task. The Federals are 39-9 the last 3 seasons, largely due to the play of former starting QB Joe Richardson. Washington decided to let 4th year pro Shane "Justin" Bieber start. When asked about the nickname, Bieber replied "I don't get it, who is Justin Bieber?" Good question since he wasn't even born in 1987 (1994).
The first drive for Bieber ended well, with a 48 yard TD to Jason Laughlin. The second "drive" ended badly, as WLB Robert Givens intercepted the pass and walked into the end zone. Bieber would end the day 26/50 349 yards 5 TD and 2 INT. Denver put up 415 yards of their own but QB Andrew Brewer finished 30/56 383 yards 1 TD but 3 INT. Gold backup QB Walton Vazquez also saw action, though they might as well have used Mr. Magoo as Vazquez only completed 2 of his 6 passes, both to Washington defenders.
Stars 38 (NY) Stars 6
The battle of the Stars wasn't much of a battle as Baltimore QB Jon Snow threw for 399 yards and 4 TD's in the victory. Baltimore WR Justin Coffey had a big day with 180 yards and a TD on 7 catches. Baltimore had 547 yards of offense to 225 for New York.
Thunderbolts 16 Renegades 3
Move along, nothing to see here. Cleveland didn't do anything spectacular on offense but their defense didn't let Orlando do much of anything. Cleveland WR/RB Samuel Draper ran for 106 yards on 28 carries and QB Allen Rose was 18/22 passing as the Thunderbolts grinded to victory.
Maulers 22 Hornets 10
Charlotte brought the defense today, holding Pittsburgh to just 22 rushing yards on 37 attempts but offensive turnovers doomed the Hornets to defeat. Both teams scored 1 TD but Maulers K Bret Curley booted 5 FG's to just 1 for Hornets K Samuel Hoye.
Storm 30 Wranglers 10
Arizona finished as the #2 seed in 1986 but they ran into a Storm to start 1987. Portland ran for over 4.5 yards a carry and QB Oscar Willis was 33/41 for 332 yards and a TD. The Storm also scored TD's on 4 of 5 red zone possessions and if they continue to play like this, they'll be contending for conference superiority with Memphis and Houston.
Panthers 19 Wheels 3
Michigan controlled Detroit at home, forcing 2 turnovers, and allowing just 223 yards and zero red zone trips. The Panthers didn't look great on offense but they did enough to win. Nobody on either team had a great stat day.
Invaders 34 SaberCats 13
San Jose didn't look too bad on offense, racking up 330 yards with no turnovers. They did only kick FG's on both red zone trips but even had they converted those, it wouldn't have been enough. The Oakland offense was on point, 7.5 yards per carry (24-180), 29/40 passing and 495 yards of total offense. Invader RB Oliver Thomas had 159 rushing yards on 15 carries while QB Dustin Nichols tossed 3 TD passes in the victory.
VooDoo 32 Sun 6
New Orleans won this game with defense, holding Southern California to 220 total yards and turning them over 3 times. The VooDoo turned those into 3 first qtr TD's and 3 2 point conversions to lead 24-0. The VooDoo even scored a defensive TD, with CB Joseph Walton's pick six.
Gamblers 31 Gunslingers 13
If one just looks at the final score, they'd assume Houston won easily. You know what they say about assumptions though, as the Gamblers trailed 13-7 through 3 quarters. Houston has had one of the league's best offenses the last few seasons, so to keep them to 7 points through 3 is impressive. One thing about having a big play offense is lightning can strike at any time. San Antonio had just punted and pinned Houston at their own 6 yard line when reigning 2 time MVP Tony Dean did his thing. That 94 yard TD pass to Gabriel Ahrens was the game winner as Houston scores 24 points in the final quarter for the victory.
Generals 31 Bell 14
World Bowl loser hangover? Not with New Jersey as they are used to losing World Bowls (2-4 record). Philadelphia did a good job on run defense, holding the Generals to 2.45 ypc (33-81). RB Rudi Johnson was the stat star of this game, finishing with 60 rushing yards and a TD (21 carries) while chipping in 8 catches for 126 yards and another TD to help QB Ric Flair top 300 yards passing. The Nature Boy did throw 2 INT but the Generals defense intercepted 3 passes to offset that.
Stallions 37 Hawaiians 14
Birmingham had quite the balanced attack as they had 273 yards rushing (over 10 ypc) and 320 passing. RB Mark Peterson had 141 of those rushing yards and 52 receiving, but hurt his ankle and is questionable for Week 2. WR Jeffrey Zimmer hauled in 2 TD's among his 6 catches for 132 yards to the pleasure of sold out Legion Field.
Blitz 20 Outlaws 7
Oklahoma nearly doubled Chicago in total yards (331-175) and dominated the rushing stats (31/162 vs 30/71) but they also dominated turnovers (4-1). One of those turnovers was a pick six by Chicago CB Herbert Brigham just before halftime to give the Blitz a 14-0 lead at the break.
