The New York Stars are the last remaining undefeated team after losses by Portland and Baltimore this week. Denver WR Jake Peralta is now up to 1,297 yards and 15 TD, and has a 593 yard lead over second place Willie Howland. For perspective, that 593 yard lead is more than every receiver in the league except for Howland and Robert Sullivan. Portland's Mark McKeon had 1 sack to push his season total to 19 and Jacksonville's Gordon Wong has 11 INT already.
(NY) Stars 23 Generals 16
New York was actually outgained by 146 yards but the Generals turned it over 4 times and failed to capitalize on any of 5 red zone trips (3 FG) as the Stars seem headed for their second consecutive East title. The New Jersey defense did force 4 fumbles but the ball bounced New York's way as the Generals only recovered 1. New Jersey also allowed a big game to an opposing WR, this time Damien Bierman who caught 10 for 119 yards. Kenny Heasley caught both Willie Bust TD passes and Cam Dalton had 125 combined yards.
For the Generals, rookie RB Sam Beckett had a combined 109 yards and fellow RB Richard Hansen had a combined 108. QB Ric Flair tossed 3 INT however and New Jersey ran out of time as the game ended with the Generals just outside the Stars red zone.
Gold 50 Storm 23
Denver and Portland had their rematch 3 weeks after Mark McKeon set the league on fire with his record breaking 9 sacks in a 47-13 Storm win. Whatever the problem was in that game, it was corrected for this one as Mark McKeon and the Storm defense only sacked Andrew Brewer 1 time. Denver was also able to get Jake Peralta back on track after Portland held him to his second lowest output of the season (121 yds) in the first meeting.
The first half was all Denver as the Gold crossed the goal line on each of their first 3 drives, while Portland struggled out of the gate with an INT, turnover on downs and a FG. Brewer tossed 5 first half TDs, 2 to Peralta en route to a commanding 35-6 halftime lead.
The second half looked like it was going to be a repeat of the first after Brewer and Peralta hooked up for a 75 yard TD on the first play of the 3rd to make the score 42-6. Most teams would throw in the towel at this point, but not Portland. The Storm had an incredible 32 first downs today and outgained Denver 622-503, and Portland went on a 20-0 run to pull within 42-26 midway through the 4th. The last score of the game came on a 75 yard TD pass, the 7th of the day for Brewer, 4th to Peralta. The two point conversion was successful, giving the Gold 50 points for the game. 50 is the magic number triggering the Bullwinkle's Bar and Grill free Rocky Mountain Oysters promotion, and all fans in attendance gets a free order with a ticket stub.
Stat stars of the game were Denver's dynamic duo Andrew Brewer (24/36, 497, 7 TD, 0 INT) and Jake Peralta (8-342-4) and Portland's Oscar Willis (35/62, 439, 2 TD, 1 INT) and Timothy Roquemore (102 rushing yards 84 receiving).
Federals 30 Stars 27 (OT)
This game played out more like we've come to expect whenever Washington and Baltimore play, a nip and tuck affair often decided on the last possession. It was sort of like basketball where everybody makes a run. The Federals scored the first 10 points, the Stars then ripped off 24 straight points for a 24-10 lead. Washington fired right back late in the game with 17 unanswered for a 27-24 lead that would hold up until the clock hit 0:00 at the end of regulation. That's when Baltimore's K Fred Boyce knocked through a short FG to send the game to OT. John Bazile would make a 57 yard FG on Washington's first drive and the Federals defense held on for victory.
Showboats 27 Thunderbolts 23
Memphis went back to David Allen at QB after Jerry Ruiz underwhelmed last week and despite going 26/35 for 285 yards, Allen tossed 2 more INTs. Allen was outplayed by Cleveland's rookie QB Michael McGowan, who went 26/34 for 262 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. Cleveland took an early 3-0 lead, then gave up 8, scored 3 and gave up 3 before McGowan's 76 yard TD pass to James Bull gave Cleveland a 13-11 lead. Two Memphis FGs followed by a Cleveland FG made it 17-16 Memphis midway through the 3rd. The teams then exchanged TD runs for a 24-23 Showboats lead after 3. Cleveland fell behind 27-23 before turning it over on downs twice.
Mark Lambert had a combined 165 yards with a TD while Willie Howland hauled in 9 for 179 yards.
Gamblers 20 VooDoo 10
Houston and New Orleans are 2 of just 6 teams with 200+ points on the season, so it figures this game was all about defense. Both offenses turned the ball over 3 times and were held well below their average yardage output. Both QBs threw 2 INT although every Tony Dean pass was caught by a WR. New Orleans has been using WR Socrates Rogers in their defensive backfield and his 2 INT today give him 7 on the year on only 17 passes thrown at him. Houston jumped out to a 17-3 lead then held on in the second half for victory.
Hawaiians 16 Sun 9
One week after suffering their first loss of the season, Honolulu turned the ball over on their first two possessions today. One of those INTs led to the first of 2 Southern California early FGs for a 6-0 Sun lead. Honolulu finally got the offense on track in the 2nd qtr, scoring 13 unanswered for a 13-6 lead at the break. The second half saw just one FG each and the Hawaiians come away with the win. Gene Ingram had 119 rushing yards for the Sun while Honolulu RB Scott Stillings had 110 rushing, 141 receiving.
Panthers 16 Wheels 0
Michigan's offense didn't have a great game but Nicholas Dorey finally filled the stat sheet. Adam Scales found Dorey for an early 80 yard TD pass and Dorey added 103 rushing yards to support the Panthers defensive effort. Detroit struggled to move the ball all day, amassing just 120 total yards and crossing the 50 only twice.
Bandits 38 Stallions 19
Tampa Bay scored TDs on 3 of their first 4 drives as the Melvin Driggers to Thomas Whitley connection was on fire. Driggers finished the game 29/42, 366 and 5 TDs and Whitley caught 7 for 190 and 4 TD. Birmingham had 341 yards of offense but lost 2 fumbles with problems on 3rd down on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Stallions converted 3/11 third downs, defensively they allowed Tampa Bay to convert 10/17.
Steamer 13 Bell 6
Shreveport jumped out to a 13-0 2nd qtr lead before Philadelphia booted a FG just before halftime. The Bell added a FG midway through the 4th to pull within 13-6, but QB Robert Hernandez threw 2 INTs late in the game to thwart the comeback attempt. RB David Oldham led the Shreveport attack with exactly 100 combined yards.
Bulls 30 Blazers 27
Florida QB Sidney Maggard threw for 340 yards but the Jacksonville defense intercepted him 4 times while also sacking him 5 times. The Bulls committed 3 turnovers of their own, including giving up a Pick Six to Brandon Gonzalez, but Joseph Serio tossed 4 TDs as Jacksonville holds on for the win. Timothy Richardson only caught 4 passes but 3 were touchdowns and he finished the game with 135 receiving yards. All 4 interceptions Maggard threw were picked off by Gordon Wong, who now has 11 for the season.
Renegades 14 Force 7
Orlando scored 2 early touchdowns, then held on defensively for the win. Renegades RB Ben Dehaven got the scoring underway with a 69 yard TD run. Dehaven finished with 215 combined yards, 165 of that on the ground as he was the star of the game. Georgia WR Ruben Brannon caught 8 for 88 yards and a TD.
Maulers 23 Hornets 16
Charlotte jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the 1st qtr and Pittsburgh tied it by halftime with the first of 3 Will Allison TD passes. The extra point was no good after that one, but he made the XP in the 3rd after Allison's second TD toss for a 13-6 Maulers lead. Charlotte would pull within 4 after a FG before Allison's 3rd TD pass and a FG extended the lead to 23-9. The Hornets got a late, long TD to narrow the final margin. For Charlotte, RB Henry Young had 112 combined yards and James Lombardo caught 4 for 98 yards and a TD. For Pittsburgh, Allison's 3 TD passes went to 3 different receivers, but his favorite target was Bobby Cantu, who hauled in 8 passes for 108 and a TD.
Express 29 Breakers 0
This game boiled down to the rushing attack. One week after veteran Rudi Johnson had an impressive Breakers debut, he hit the proverbial wall against Los Angeles. Johnson ran 20 times for negative 9 yards while on offense, Los Angeles used a 4 man committee to gain 184 yards on 29 carries. Express QB Christopher Pringle tossed 2 early TD passes, then the defense and ground attack did the rest.
Gunslingers 16 SaberCats 14
San Jose RB William Smalling had a 15 yard TD run to get the scoring underway, but inexplicably, that was Smalling's only touch of the game. San Antonio RB Charlie Shanks tied it with an 11 yard TD run as part of his 133 yard day (79 rushing, 54 receiving). The Gunslingers would add a FG, then San Jose would get a Michael Temples to Stephen Demmer 6 yard TD pass for a 14-10 halftime lead. The second half was mostly uneventful, but the Gunslingers did kick 2 FGs, the last of which was the game winner with 5 seconds left.
Blitz 33 Outlaws 3
Chicago QB Ronald Brown threw 2 TD passes and the Blitz defense made life miserable for QB Shane Falco and the Outlaws offense. For the game, Oklahoma was held to 116 yards and committed 4 turnovers, 3 of those being Falco INTs. One of those interceptions was returned for a TD by George Caraballo and K Leon Rupe booted 4 FGs to complete the scoring.
Wranglers 21 Invaders 0
This was a defensive struggle as the teams combined for 421 yards, 5 turnovers and 4 sacks. Neither team was able to get into the red zone and there were 26 combined punts. The offensive star of the game was Arizona WR Eric Duncan, who had the lone offensive TD of the game along with 4 catches for 97 yards. The Wranglers forced Oakland into 4 turnovers, 3 INT and a fumble. One of those INTs was returned for a TD by Anthony Dyer in the 4th qtr.
