Storm 31 SaberCats 3
The current record for sacks in a season is 33 by Washington's John Broussard in 1980. Portland's Mark McKeon had 5 more sacks today, giving him 18 through 6 games. Unless future Storm opponents figure out how to stop him, the sack record will be obliterated by season's end. Portland's defense isn't all about sacks either, as they held San Jose to 35 offensive yards, 5 yards per completion and less than 2 ypc. Alfred Gale led the Storm offense with 3 TDs and QB Oscar Willis did not throw an INT.
(NY) Stars 17 Express 3
New York RB Cam Dalton had a combined 145 yards and a TD to lead the Stars to victory in the cross country road game. Dalton's TD was the game sealer as the Stars jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and kept the Express out of the end zone all game. Next week, the Stars travel to New Jersey, and if they beat the Generals, they will have a 3 game division lead.
Stars 41 Breakers 17
Boston's 17 points scored is a season high, and that was thanks to Generals castoff RB Rudi Johnson. The Breakers signed the 11th year veteran off waivers and he showed there is still gas left in the tank, rushing for 130 and 2 TDs. Unfortunately for Boston, their defense couldn't stop Baltimore from gaining yards. The Stars did turn it over 3 times, but QB Jon Snow passed for 5 TDs to 5 different receivers and Mark Numbers ran for 152 yards to lead Baltimore to victory.
Invaders 24 Hawaiians 17
Honolulu entered the game 5-0, while Oakland needed a win to keep pace with the red hot Portland Storm and the Denver Gold. Hawaiians QB Derek Henry threw for 402 yards and RB Scott Stillings had a combined 189 yards but mistakes cost them a win. Honolulu had a fumble and missed FG on their first two possessions, falling behind 10-0 after 1 and eventually down 24-3 before the attempted comeback. Oakland RB Juan Davis ran for 100 yards and 2 TDs subbing for injured Oliver Thomas and the Invaders offense as a whole played turnover free football. WR Nelson Martinez chipped in for Oakland with 5 catches, 130 yards and a TD.
Gamblers 28 Gunslingers 3
Houston's defense kept San Antonio out of the end zone all game and QB Tony Dean tossed 4 TD to lead the Champs to victory. With injuries eating away at the Gamblers backfield, WR Jett Black was asked to fill in at RB and the rookie had his best game so far. Black ran 20 times for 120 yards and caught 7 for 127, though he did not find the end zone. Two of Dean's 4 TD passes went to Gabriel Ahrens, who returned to the lineup after an injury.
Showboats 35 Stallions 0
Tired of the turnovers, Memphis went with newly acquired QB Jerry Ruiz, and though his stat line was minimal, the important number was 0, as in zero interceptions. The Memphis defense intercepted 3 passes of their own as part of a 4 turnover day that saw Birmingham possess the ball for a mere 16 minutes. Mark Lambert had 114 yards rushing and Mark Glenn added 79 more for the ball hogging Showboats offense.
Gold 48 Sun 17
Portland's Mark McKeon isn't the only player putting up video game like stats. Denver's Jake Peralta is now up to 955 receiving yards and 11 TDs after today's stat line of 6-160-3. Gold QB Andrew Brewer tossed 4 first half TDs, 5 overall as Denver went on a 27-3 run after the Sun got within 21-14 in the 2nd qtr. Denver's defense had 4 turnovers and held Southern California to 238 offensive yards.
Panthers 21 Thunderbolts 9
Michigan could not afford a loss in this game if they had hopes of winning the division and things didn't look good after a lost fumble on the first snap of the game. The Panthers defense pushed the Cleveland offense back 6 yards, holding them to a FG. That effort seemed to spark the offense as they scored the next 3 times they had the ball, two Adam Scales TD passes to Albert Barraza and a FG for an 18-3 lead. That lead was extended to 21-3 at halftime and the Panthers defense held on to that lead in the second half for the division tightening victory.
VooDoo 41 Blazers 7
New Orleans QB Bruno Wilson had another nice game today, 34/55, 464 yards, 4 TD 1 INT. WR Socrates Rogers had a combined 208 yards and a TD and Stanley Kerr added 126 yards on 7 catches. Rogers even returned an INT for a TD in the 4th qtr as part of his 2 INT day as a 2 way player.
Steamer 31 Outlaws 10
Shreveport K James Hooper tied the league record with 8 FGs today. Hooper also did it back in 1980 as did then New Jersey K Dustin Henry. Steamer RB Orville Barker ran for 116 yards and James Brown caught 5 passes for 144 yards and Shreveport's lone TD. The Steamer defense forced 5 turnovers, 2 INT and 3 fumble recoveries.
Bandits 31 Wranglers 7
Tampa Bay has won 3 in a row after a rough start to 1989, and they have a 2 game division lead. The Bandits defense held Arizona to just 160 yards and 22 minutes of possession. WR Thomas Whitley was the star for Tampa, catching 2 TDs as part of his 7-125 day. RB Paul Meade had a combined 120 yards and QB Melvin Driggers topped 300 yards with a 3:1 TD:INT ratio.
Blitz 27 Maulers 20
It's a shame only 40,396 fans showed up because this was a good, back and forth game. Pittsburgh jumped out to an early 14-0 lead thanks to a Will Allison to Robert Wheeler TD pass and a fumble return by Thomas Chau. Chicago would then tie the game on a Ronald Brown TD pass to Ronald Miller and a 59 yard run by Jay Kinder. Pittsburgh got the last 3 points of the first half and the only 3 points in the 3rd to take a 20-14 lead into the 4th. Blitz QB Ronald Brown then threw his 2nd TD pass to give Chicago the lead for good and 2 Leon Rupe FGs helped seal the win.
Hornets 25 Wheels 3
Charlotte got their lone TD of the game on the second play from scrimmage and K Lawrence Linville added 6 FGs as the Hornets stung the Wheels. That 67 yard TD was James Lombardo's only catch of the game but he sure made it count. The Hornets defense turned Detroit over twice and held them to 142 yards of offense.
Generals 26 Bell 14
New Jersey got 2 TDs and 92 rushing yards from rookie RB Sam Beckett in the Generals first game in 11 seasons without Rudi Johnson on the roster, and Beckett added 38 more yards on 7 receptions. The Generals defense did alright overall, holding Philadelphia to 269 yards with 2 INTs, but they once again allowed an opposing WR to have a huge day. Today it was Bell WR James Jones. Jones only caught 3 balls, but they covered 155 yards with a TD.
Federals 34 Renegades 20
Orlando K Jacob Barger kicked 4 first half FGs, 3 from 50+ as the Renegades held a 12-7 lead late in the first half. Washington would kick a FG just before halftime, then came out on fire in the second half. QB Scott Bieber threw 3 of his 4 TD passes the first 3 drives of the second half as the Federals scored 27 unanswered points to propel them to victory. WR Joseph Andrews caught 2 of Bieber's TD passes as part of his 6-133-2 day while fellow WR Robert Sullivan caught 9 for 123 and a TD.
Force 9 Bulls 7
Georgia held Jacksonville to 180 offensive yards, 65 of that came on a Joseph Serio TD pass to Jordan Frederick in the second qtr. That was all the points the Bulls would score today. Jacksonville's defense allowed 362 yards but kept the Force out of the end zone all day. Georgia K Javier Gill made 3 of 4 FG tries, the last a 52 yarder midway through the 4th to give the Force a 9-7 lead. Jacksonville punted with about 5 minutes left in the game and never saw the ball again, as Georgia ran out the clock to preserve victory. Georgia RB Richard Donofrio had a combined 148 yards to lead the Force attack.
