Portland was edged out by New Jersey for the top spot in the commish rankings following Week 9 play, but those don't factor in strength of schedule. Portland defeated Chicago for their 6th straight win, now the longest streak in the league. Oakland defeated Baltimore to keep pace, which makes the West division an incredible 20-2 outside of division play. Every division leader has 7 or 8 wins except for the Pacific division. Los Angeles lost for the first time under Zennarius, but thanks to a Honolulu loss, both teams remained tied for the Pacific lead at 4-5.
We had nine one score games in Week 9, so we'll look at those first.
Hornets 16 Federals 13
Charlotte made a change at QB, benching Stanley Snyder in favor of 2nd year pro Jeremy McDonald. McDonald didn't set the world on fire but the Hornets defense stung Washington time and time again. Charlotte only had 197 offensive yards but they held Washington to 190. The Federals won the turnover battle 4-2, but the Washington OL allowed Shane Bieber to be sacked 6 times. McDonald finished 16/27, 175 yards, 2 INT's and a TD, the game winning 25 yard pass to Harry Henry with 4:41 left.
Invaders 31 Stars 27
Oakland and Baltimore seem likely to reach the playoffs and this game had a playoff feel to it. Baltimore jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Oakland scored the next 17. Baltimore closed out the first half scoring with a TD to cut the Invaders lead to 17-14. The Stars would also score the first 10 points of the second half, taking a 24-17 lead. Oakland would tie the game early in the 4th before Baltimore kicked a FG with 2:43 left for a brief 27-24 Baltimore lead. Oakland would then rip down the field in 4 plays, with Stephen Demmer's 3rd TD being the game winner. Both teams put up at least 400 yards but Oakland was better in the red zone, scoring a TD all 3 trips while holding Baltimore to a Chuck Woolery on their 4 trips (2 and 2).
Gold 18 Wranglers 17
Both teams came into this game 5-3 and the loser would be in the West basement with a difficult road to the playoffs. Arizona had 333 offensive yards but was just 1-9 on 3rd down. Denver had 410 yards of offense and converted 8 of 17 3rd downs. The Wranglers built a 17-6 halftime lead but the Gold defense kept them scoreless in the second half. Denver had a 3 yard Andrew Brewer to Matthew Kluesner TD pass with 6:39 left to cut the lead to 17-15. The Gold went for 2 but were denied. Following an Arizona punt, Denver got the ball down 2 with 4:23 left, but were pinned at their own 5. This is nothing new to Denver, as they drove down the field, using every bit of the clock, and Anthony Schaefer nailed his 3rd game winning FG this year at the final gun.
Bandits 12 Thunderbolts 9
Another game between playoff hopefuls as defense ruled the day in Cleveland. The Thunderbolt defense held the Bandits to 309 yards and just 1 TD in 3 red zone trips (2 FG's) and forced the game's only turnover. Tampa Bay's defense was better though, limiting Cleveland to 240 yards and keeping them out of the end zone all game. Bandits K Edward Walter missed the XP but made both of his FG attempts as Tampa Bay keeps pace with Jacksonville, staying 1 game behind.
Bulls 17 Blazers 13
Speaking of Jacksonville, they traveled to Orlando for a date with division rival Florida. The overall stats were pretty even save for 3rd downs and turnovers. The Blazers were 6 for 16 on 3rd down but lost the turnover battle 2-1. Jacksonville was just 1-12 on 3rd down but both Blazers turnovers happened in their territory, so the Bulls benefited from the short fields. Jacksonville never trailed as the Bulls maintain their 1 game lead over Tampa Bay in the Southeast division.
Stallions 16 Force 13
This turnover free game was all about running the ball, defense, and red zone failure. Georgia has only given up 129 points this season, 6th best in the league but their 90 points scored makes them 1 of 5 teams who haven't cracked 100. Birmingham has the 8th best scoring offense and the stingiest defense. Georgia limited Birmingham to 293 yards, 4 for 14 on 3rd down, and 13 points in 3 red zone visits (1 TD, 2 FG). The Force offense could only muster 184 yards, 3-12 on 3rd down, and no points on their lone red zone trip. Georgia held a 13-10 halftime lead but Birmingham got 2 4th qtr FG's, the last with 1:40 left for the narrow victory.
Steamer 20 Hawaiians 14
Shreveport ran for exactly 200 yards and the Steamer defense withstood the Hawaiian air attack, intercepting Bruno Wilson 4 times. Honolulu actually scored first, taking a 7-0 lead, and they also scored last, with 0:17 left in the game but Shreveport scored 20 in between for the victory. David Oldham ran for 140 yards on 23 carries for the Steamer.
Renegades 27 Maulers 21
Orlando ran for almost 6 ypc while holding Pittsburgh to less than 1. The Maulers were a perfect 3 for 3 in the red zone as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Orlando. Pittsburgh's other 2 TD's came in the 4th qtr, but it was too little, too late. The Renegades ripped off 27 unanswered points after the Maulers took the early lead, and Pittsburgh's final TD occurred with just 1:50 left in the game. The ensuing onside kick failed, and Orlando ran out the clock.
SaberCats 23 Wheels 17
Detroit was hoping to ride the momentum of last week's improbable comeback win, but San Jose had other ideas. The SaberCats came into the game 0 for 1987, and saw this as an opportunity for their first win. San Jose won the turnover battle 2-1, scored TD's on both red zone trips and were 7 for 17 on 3rd down. Detroit had 300 yards of offense and 17 points, which is usually enough for them to win, but the Wheels defense wasn't up to par. It wasn't all roses for the Wheels offense, as they were 2-12 on 3rd down and 0-2 on 4th.
Storm 30 Blitz 17
It seems the 8-1 Portland Storm can do no wrong lately, despite playing a somewhat sloppy game against Chicago. The Blitz had 311 yards of offense, TD's on both red zone trips and 5 for 13 on 3rd down. Portland lost the turnover battle 3-1 but 524 yards of offense was enough to overcome that, as the Storm jumped out to a 24-0 lead before the bout of sloppiness set in.
Outlaws 34 Breakers 0
Oklahoma shot up the commish rankings following this game, moving from 14 to 8. The Outlaws defense held Boston to 2 first downs, 6 yards rushing on 17 carries, and 56 yards passing on 12 completions. Oklahoma didn't have to do much through the air, though they had success when they did throw (11/16, 159 yards). The Outlaws bludgeoned the Breakers defense with a whopping 58 rushing attempts as they held the ball for virtually 43 minutes.
Showboats 20 Express 10
Memphis didn't play their best offensive game, but they hit several big plays, including an 80 yard TD from Willie Howland, whom I haven't mentioned much recently. The Showboats converted for 2 points and held an 11-10 halftime lead. Los Angeles entered the game on a 4 game winning streak but the World Champs proved too much, shutting out the Express in the second half for their 8th victory in 9 tries.
Generals 29 VooDoo 14
New Jersey came into the game feeling some division heat for the first time in a long time, so they needed to be on point against a playoff caliber opponent like New Orleans. The VooDoo had 371 yards of offense, won the turnover battle 2-1, and were better on 3rd down (8-18 to 4-16). New Orleans also owned the red zone, allowing the Generals only 2 FG's in 3 trips while scoring a TD on their lone trip. So, how did New Jersey win then? Big plays. Rudi Johnson scored first on a 38 yard run, then the Generals added a FG for an early 10-0 lead. Ric Flair followed that up with the first of 2 long TD passes to WR Corey True. True ended the day with 4 catches, 185 yards and 2 TD's, vaulting him into the league lead in YDS and TD receptions.
Gamblers 23 (NY) Stars 9
The (NY) Stars are the team giving New Jersey heat in the East but they had to travel to Houston to face the Gamblers. It's only been a year and a half since Houston was back to back World Champions and Tony Dean is still an All Pro level QB as he showed last week. Houston was off to a slow start again, as late in the 3rd it was a 10-6 Gamblers lead. With 1:13 left in the 3rd, Chase Miles punched it in, giving Houston a 17-6 lead entering the 4th qtr, which they won 6-3. The big difference was Houston had rushing success (33-118) and good 3rd down play. The Gamblers offense converted 8 of 15 3rd downs while their defense held New York to 2-12, plus 0-2 on 4th down.
Houston keeps themselves in the thick of the wildcard hunt while the loss puts New York on the outside looking in, though they aren't out of it by any means.
Gunslingers 39 Bell 6
San Antonio wins their second in a row as they cracked the Philadelphia Bell by 33 points. The Gunslingers limited the Bell to 119 yards of offense, forcing 4 turnovers, getting 2 sacks and holding them to 1-12 on 3rd down. Both of the Bell INT's were taken to the house in the 4th qtr, making the score even more lopsided. Offensively they ran for 107 yards against the vaunted Philadelphia run defense, though it took 32 carries to get that. QB Gary Wiggins and WR Calvin Harper hooked up for 2 TD passes.
Panthers 24 Sun 10
Michigan had 396 yards of offense while limiting the Sun to 230. Southern California committed no turnovers but only converted 1 of 14 3rd downs. Michigan jumped out to a 17-0 lead before the Sun cut it to 17-10 late in the 3rd. Michigan scored a TD for the only 4th qtr points, salting away a victory
that gives Michigan a 2 game lead in the Midwest.
