Week 16 has a different feel than the rest of the season, as some teams are playing out the string, while others are preparing for January football, trying to get healthy. Then we have several teams with important Week 16 games that will determine when, where, and IF they continue playing.
Congratulations to the playoff teams and best of luck in the post season. Let's see what happened in Week 16.
Showboats 33 Gamblers 27
Houston got the opening kickoff and drove down the field, only to have Tony Dean throw an interception in the end zone to kill the potential scoring drive. Memphis took over at their 20 and marched 80 yards for an early 7-0 lead they would never relinquish. Houston would get 3 points on their next drive but that was as close as they would get to Memphis today. With just under 3 minutes to go, Houston got a Tony Dean TD pass to Gabriel Ahrens to pull within 33-27, but the onside kick failed. Houston was able to force a punt, but they were pinned at their own 6 with less than 2 minutes to go. Tony Dean did not have a miracle drive in him today, and the Gamblers turned the ball over on downs and must play Wildcard Weekend.
Tony Dean finished 32/45, 425 yards with 3 TD and 3 INT. Houston had a trio of 100 yard receivers, Jett Black (5-125-1), Anthony Fulks (8-110-1), and Hugh Chance (6-103). The Gamblers had very little success on the ground on either side of the ball. Offensively they ran for 23 yards on 16 carries while allowing Memphis 162 yards on 31 runs. Mark Lambert led the way with 89 yards on the ground with 41 more receiving. Showboats QB David Allen was 25/42, 299 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs and no Memphis receiver had more than David Austin's 88 yards.
Blitz 20 Wheels 10
The winner of the game would be the winner of the Midwest while the loser was staying home for the playoffs. Detroit would get on the scoreboard first with a FG, but Chicago held the Wheels offense at bay after that drive, allowing just 195 yards today. Chicago got rushing TDs from Jay Kinder and Ronald Miller, with Miller's score allowing Chicago to reclaim the lead at 14-10. The Blitz lost their 7-3 halftime lead on the kickoff to start the 3rd as Detroit's Ronald Geter took it back 106 yards for the TD. Chicago QB Ronald Brown led a ball control offense today, completing 25 of 34 for 256 yards and Leon Rupe added 2 second half FGs to help Chicago win. The reward for the Blitz is a game against Houston Wildcard Weekend.
SaberCats 33 Express 27
San Jose escaped from L.A. with a win despite a poor game from Jake Plummer. Plummer did throw for 354 yards and a TD, but his 3 INTs nearly cost them the game. Express RB Jessie Cepeda gave Los Angeles an early lead with a short TD run, but his fumble in the 4th quarter deep in their own territory proved costly. San Jose RDE Jae Travis scooped it up and rumbled into the end zone from 6 yards out to extend the SaberCats lead to 30-20. Los Angeles WR Fredrick Whidden caught 6 passes for 195 yards and 2 TDs and San Jose's Tim Horton caught 4 for 143 yards and a TD.
The San Jose win gives the SaberCats the Pacific Division title and a home playoff game against the #6 seed, either Denver or Honolulu.
Gold 41 Bell 20
Denver needed to beat Philadelphia and hope Southern California could defeat Honolulu to make the playoffs, and the Gold held up their end of the deal. Philadelphia finishes 7-9, missing a chance on their first season .500 or better since 1983. The Bell had no answer for WR/RB Chad Magana today, as he rushed for 90 yards and caught 6 passes for 179 yards with 2 TDs. Gold QB Andrew Brewer only completed 18 passes (only 22 attempts) but they went for 346 yards and 3 TDs, with the 3rd going to Jake Peralta, who finished with 9 catches and 149 yards.
Hawaiians 28 Sun 22 (OT)
Southern California did their best to play spoiler after Honolulu got out to an early 14-0 1st qtr lead. The Sun ran for 253 yards today, led by Gene Ingram's 140 and a TD, but the red zone was the difference. Both teams had 4 red zone trips but the Hawaiians went 4-4 scoring TDs there, the SaberCats only had 9 points from their 4 trips. San Jose took a 19-14 lead into the 4th qtr, but Honolulu scored a TD and a 2 point conversion for a 22-19 lead. San Jose would tie the game with a FG, and went 3 and out on their lone OT possession. Honolulu only needed a FG to win the game, yet kept their offense on the field despite being well within the range of K Howard Bury. Bury has been shaky on FGs this season, only making 75.7% and the strategy paid off when Robert Schuler plunged into the end zone for the game winning TD. The win gives us a 3rd game between Honolulu and San Jose Wildcard Weekend.
Storm 25 (NY) Stars 3
All Portland needed to do was win and they wouldn't have to leave Oregon until the World Bowl. QB Oscar Willis reverted back to his 1989 form, tossing 3 INTs to just 1 TD, but the Storm defense made life absolutely miserable for the New York offense. The Stars only rushed for 7 yards on 12 carries and QB Willie Bust was 14/31, 141 yards with an INT and 7 sacks. Frank Baker led the way with 3 of those sacks while Armando Wells had 2, one for a safety. Portland was able to run for 5 yards a carry and Chris Goldberg caught 9 passes for 113 yards and a TD, so it wasn't all bad today.
Stars 34 Bandits 13
Holy turnovers Batman! Baltimore turned the ball over 4 times, 3 on Jon Snow interceptions, but the Stars defense forced Melvin Driggers into throwing 6 interceptions. Baltimore scored 21 unanswered 3rd qtr points to break open a close game and send Tampa Bay home for the playoffs. Snow managed to balance his INTs with 3 TD passes, while Tampa Bay's lone TD came on an INT return late in the game and only served to make the score tighter. No word on whether the Bandits defense posed for a team picture afterwards like real NFL defenses do in garbage time.
VooDoo 48 Steamer 10
The Tampa Bay loss means Shreveport claims the #6 seed regardless of this game's outcome. That's a good thing because Bruno Wilson and Nicholas Dorey put on quite a show. Wilson led the USFL with nearly 6,000 passing yards in 1990 after throwing for 538 yards and 5 TDs today. Nicholas Dorey caught 4 of those TD passes as part of his 12 catch, 422 yard day. Dorey finished 1990 with 2,430 yards, 3rd best all time and his 25 TD receptions was 1 shy of the all time league record.
Hornets 34 Renegades 9
Orlando already had the #4 seed wrapped up, so it was an easy decision to sit Ben Dehaven today. Charlotte made life difficult for Renegades QB Bradley Austin, sacking him 4 times and intercepting 3 passes. Hornets RB Henry Young ran for 2 TDs to help Charlotte end their season on a positive note. Orlando will need to flip the switch next week when Washington comes to town for Wildcard Weekend.
Federals 33 Generals 3
Speaking of Washington, their victory today gives the Federals a 13-3 record, yet they have to travel to Orlando for Wildcard Weekend. New Jersey was locked into the #3 seed, so they opted to sit some people, including QB Ric Flair. The Generals also started #3 RB Greg Ayala due to injuries and the offense had no flow. The Generals defense must have taken their cue from the offense, because they couldn't get off the field. Washington QB Scott Bieber tossed 2 TD passes, one to Ronald Matthews, who had 140 combined yards today (61 rushing, 79 receiving). James Dunn chipped in with 93 rushing yards and a TD to go along with 6 catches for 42 yards. Washington out gained New Jersey 425-186 and controlled the ball nearly 38 minutes.
Thunderbolts 37 Stallions 34 (OT)
Birmingham was 0-15 coming in, and many people figured the Stallions had their vehicles running in the parking lot with all their bags packed to get outta town. That was especially true as most of the 45,498 fans left after the 3rd quarter with Cleveland enjoying a seemingly insurmountable 34-13 lead. They missed the best quarter of football all season as Stephen Ponder fired 3 TD passes in the quarter (4 overall), two to Mario Burton, as the Stallions rally to send the game into overtime. Cleveland got the ball first and missed a FG. Following a Birmingham punt, Cleveland made a FG on their next drive to win the game and finish 8-8.
Both teams had over 500 offensive yards as Ponder threw for 398 yards while Michael McGowan threw for 423 and 4 TDs like Ponder did.
Outlaws 13 Gunslingers 10 (OT)
San Antonio had a 10-0 lead following a Brian Johnson FG early in the 4th qtr, but Oklahoma scored 13 unanswered points to win the game in overtime. There was not much offense to speak of in this game as they combined for 557 total yards. San Antonio got the ball first in OT and punted, as did Oklahoma. Willie Benge threw an INT on the next drive, allowing Oklahoma to kick the game winning FG.
Blazers 30 Bulls 7
Florida RB Robert Romero ran for 95 yards and 2 TDs to lead the Blazers to a victory over in state rival Jacksonville. Romero added 5 catches for 44 yards and the Blazers defense held the Bulls to 215 total yards.
Breakers 26 Invaders 17
Boston RB Robert Torres had 90 combined yards and a TD run, while QB Edward Swafford threw for 232 yards and a TD to lead the Breakers to victory. Donald Dosch booted 3 late FGs to break a 17 all tie, allowing Boston to finish 7-9, their best record since 1985.
Panthers 30 Wranglers 12
Arizona ran the ball well against the Michigan defense, but Simmon and Palmer continued their horrid play, combining for 13/33 passing with 4 INTs. Panthers QB Adam Scales threw 3 INTs of his own, but he also fired 4 TD passes to James Hillis, who caught 6 in all for 174 yards. The win makes Michigan 8-8, and the whole Midwest Division finished .500 or better.
Force 19 Maulers 9
Georgia finishes 1990 on a positive note, as they held Pittsburgh to 208 total yards in defeating the Maulers. The Force were led by Richard Donofrio's 107 rushing yards, and if Georgia had better red zone success (1 TD, 3 FG), the game wouldn't have been so tight. Georgia finished their 4-12 season by going 3-2 in their final 5 games, including a win over playoff bound Shreveport.
