We still have 9 undefeated teams as all the 2-0 teams won this week. In a statistical oddity, there are only 3 of 32 teams with 2 wins and 13 with 1 win. We've also had 2 tie games already, blowing Donovan McNabb's brain.
Gold 51 Bulls 0
It's early in the season but the Denver Gold look like a legitimate threat to end the Houston/Memphis stranglehold on the World Bowl. Jake Peralta had set the league on fire the first two weeks, so much so that today's 144 combined yards with a TD seems like an off game. QB Andrew Brewer threw for 542 yards and 4 TD, and with Peralta getting so much defensive attention, the Gold will need others to step up. Step up they did, as Jose Buford caught just 3 passes, but they were all long TDs covering 195 yards (69, 46, 80yds). Richard Huff chipped in 150 total yards and 2 TD, 1 each rushing and receiving.
Denver's defense is overlooked because of their offensive firepower, but the Gold have only given up 11 points a game. Three of Denver's next 4 games are against other 3-0 teams, Portland, Houston, then after a game against the Sun, they face Portland again.
Gamblers 12 Stallions 10
Birmingham has struggled offensively this year, but their defense held Tony Dean in check today. Dean was 18/31 for 255 yards, which isn't bad but it's a subpar game for Mr. MVP. Houston's whole offense had a subpar game, but to be champions, you need to be strong on both sides of the ball. The Gamblers defense had Dean's back, sacking Joe Richardson 5 times, one for a safety by Charles Wallace that proved to be the difference in the game.
Showboats 41 VooDoo 11
Memphis is 3-0 and one of 3 teams to have scored over 100 points this season (Denver and Houston the others) but their defense has been equally good. Only the Baltimore Stars have given up less than the 20 Memphis has allowed. For New Orleans, new QB Bruno Wilson is struggling to acclimate himself with the VooDoo offense. The VooDoo did put up 340 yards of offense, but losing the turnover battle 3-1 won't help against an offensive juggernaut like Memphis.
Willie Howland had over 100 yards again as did Mark Lambert. The score was close at halftime, 17-11 Showboats, but Memphis shutout New Orleans in the second half, adding 24 points to their total for the lopsided win.
Hawaiians 10 Wheels 7
If you like low scoring, turnover filled games, then you would enjoy this game. Detroit turned it over 4 times, Honolulu twice. The teams also combined to go 1-3 on FG attempts, so this was an ugly win for the Hawaiians. Detroit's Frederick Barron was the only player with a 100 yard game, as his 76 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards gave him 105 for the game. Honolulu held a 10-0 lead until 1:10 left in the game, when the Wheels finally crossed the goal line, but the onside kick failed and Honolulu ran out the clock.
Storm 17 Bandits 9
Portland is 3-0 despite QB Oscar Willis and his 6/8 TD/INT ratio. Willis threw 2 more today and his counterpart, Melvin Driggers, who has INT issues of his own, threw none. That's usually good news for the Bandits but the Storm defense kept Tampa Bay out of the end zone all game and rode an early 17-3 lead to victory. The offensive star was Portland WR Fred Wink who caught 4 for 118 and a TD. Tampa Bay's last drive went all the way to the Storm 17 yard line, but they turned it over on downs.
Invaders 23 SaberCats 10
San Jose rookie QB Tony Romo took his lumps today and if this continues, this Romo will start his broadcast career well before RL Romo did in 2018. Oakland intercepted 6 passes today, taking one to the house for a TD. That came in the 4th qtr of a 10-10 game, and that momentum swing was all she wrote for San Jose. Oakland's Nelson Martines caught 11 for 103 and a TD while teammate Oliver Thomas had a combined 118 yards.
Steamer 17 Gunslingers 10
The first 2 weeks, Shreveport won despite not cracking 300 yards of offense. This week the defense continued their fine play but their offense not only eclipsed 300 yards, they topped 400. Orville Barker ran for 149 and a TD and Zachary Goudy had 100 receiving yards. The Steamer defense intercepted 3 passes and led 17-3 until the final minute of the game.
Stars 27 Blitz 13
Baltimore is now 3-0 thanks to their #1 ranked defense. They have given up the fewest yards and points in this young season. Oh by the way, their offense is ranked 5th in yards so they're continuing where they left off last year. There were a lot of turnovers in this game, 4 by Chicago and 3 by Baltimore. In between the turnovers, the Stars had 489 yards of offense but could not pull away from the Blitz until the final 3 minutes of the game. Mark Numbers had 169 combined yards and Knob Creek had 102 and a TD.
(NY) Stars 24 Sun 0
There was a solar eclipse in New York as their Stars shut out Southern California, holding them to a mere 127 offensive yards. QB Willie Bust was an efficient 31/37, 261 and a TD but the Stars stars of the game were Cam Dalton and Ernest Lynch. Lynch punched in 2 short yardage TDs while Dalton did the heavy lifting otherwise, with 82 rush yards and 90 receiving.
Thunderbolts 27 Express 10
Live by the punter, die by the punter. Huh??? One week after Dwain Yu pinned New Jersey deep many, many times, the tables turned this week. Cleveland P Thomas Brott nailed 7 of 8 punts inside the 20 and the Express offense had trouble moving all game. Cleveland held Los Angeles to 185 yards and Samuel Draper had a combined 127 yards and 2 TD. Thunderbolt RDE Eric Taft had a strip sack in the end zone for a TD to help the cause.
Federals 16 Panthers 10
What's up with Michigan? The Panthers have struggled out of the gate in 1989, already losing more games than they did in 1988. The schedule hasn't been kind for sure, but coming off such a fine season, it's shocking their offense is ranked 18th, defense 19th. We were asking what's up with Washington last week but the Federals bounced back today, despite 3 turnovers. The Federals defense held Michigan under 200 yards and John Bazile kicked 3 FGs for the win.
Generals 48 Hornets 24
New Jersey's pass defense isn't as feared as it once was, as yet another WR had a big day against them. Charlotte WR James Lombardo caught 5 for 100 yards and 2 TD, but it wasn't enough to keep pace with the Generals offense today. QB Ric Flair was 28/31 for 362 yards and 4 TD, 2 of those to Marcus Medina. TE Calvin Hobbes had 125 yards on 8 catches and rookie RB/WR Duncan Meyer ran for 100 yards and a TD.
Outlaws 23 Force 14
The box score was pretty even in this game, but it doesn't reflect field position. Oklahoma had the advantage there all game, enabling them to kick 3 FGs, which was their margin of victory. Oklahoma RB Clint Young ran for 120 yards and a TD.
Wranglers 12 Renegades 10
Orlando held Arizona to 7 rushing yards on 21 carries and outgained the Wranglers 379-312, but 2 lost fumbles and a late missed FG spelled doom. Despite the lack of a running game, Arizona had 305 yards through the air, with TE William Fey catching 9 for 123. The missed Orlando FG was their last drive of the game and would have given them a 13-9 lead, forcing the Wranglers to stick it in the end zone. As it was, the 10-9 lead enabled Arizona to drain the clock and kick the GW FG as time expired.
Maulers 13 Bell 13 (OT)
Pittsburgh probably wants to kick themselves worse than Orlando. The Maulers outgained the Bell 422-145 and missed 2 long FGs as 70 minutes of football could not determine a winner. Pittsburgh also had the time of possession advantage but 3 INTs hurt their cause. Pittsburgh WR Robert Wheeler was the star of the game, catching 8 for 135 and a TD.
Blazers 9 Breakers 7
This was a classic defensive struggle, as Florida had 231 offensive yards, Boston 149. Florida won the turnover battle 3-1 and a 3rd down almost always meant a punt. The teams combined to go 3-29 on 3rd down and there were 5 total sacks.
