Week 2 saw 10 of 16 games decided by one score or less and left us with 9 undefeated teams and 9 winless teams.
Stars 37 Stallions 31 (OT)
These aren't your 1990 Birmingham Stallions. Stallions QB Stephen Ponder was 32/43, 400 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT. Both TD tosses went to Joseph Oliver, who caught 6 for 148 overall. Birmingham also got 2 Richard Sutton TD runs as they built a 31-16 lead early in the 4th qtr. Baltimore QB Jon Snow threw for 406 yards and 4 TD passes but also had 3 interceptions. Three of Snow's TD tosses came in the last half of the 4th qtr/OT.
Baltimore cut the lead to 31-24 with just over 6 minutes to go on a Snow to Justin Coffey 11 yard TD pass, and William Halford ran in the 2 point conversion. Birmingham would punt, as would Baltimore, and Birmingham again, with a 30 yard return by Jeffrey Gentry setting the Stars up just outside the red zone at the 2 minute warning. Four plays later, Snow found Timothy Harmon for the TD and Fred Boyce tied it with the XP.
Birmingham still had 1:09 left to get in FG range, and Stephen Ponder did just that. The Stallions lined up for a 37 yard FG at the gun for a chance to go 2-0, but Gerald Hinton's kick was wide right and we were getting free football.
Baltimore got the ball first in the extra period and Jon Snow threw an interception, setting up Birmingham just inside Baltimore territory. One or two first downs would have allowed Hinton another chance at a game winning FG, but the Stallions went three and out. The punt left the Stars at their own 8 yard line but Jon Snow led Baltimore on a 7 play, 92 yard drive which ended on a walk off 7 yard TD pass to Justin Coffey.
Showboats 10 Invaders 6
Memphis got out to a 10-0 lead midway through the second quarter then Oakland came back with 2 FGs before halftime, cutting the deficit to 10-6. The second half was scoreless and the Showboats defense made the 10 points hold up for victory. Memphis held Oakland to 0/12 on 3rd down and 185 total yards.
Gold 23 Maulers 19
Denver, led by Jake Peralta's 199 combined yards, got out to a 20-0 lead, then had to hold off a late Pittsburgh rally for victory. Unlike Peralta's huge 1989, which was mostly receiving yards, he is doing his damage on the ground this season. Peralta ran for 146 yards today, giving him 276 on the year to pace the USFL. He also added 53 receiving yards and a TD reception. Pittsburgh cut the lead to 20-7 early in the 4th on a Robert Erickson TD run, then following a Gold FG, Will Allison tossed two late TD passes to scare Denver. For some reason, Pittsburgh only tried for 1 point after cutting the lead to 23-13, which meant they still had to score twice even if the kick was good, which it was not. The Maulers got the ball back with 3:09 left and scored a TD with 0:50 on the clock. So now they go for 2 instead of 1, which left them down 4 instead of 3. Pittsburgh managed to recover the onside kick and drove to the Denver 26 before time ran out.
Steamer 17 Sun 16
Orville Barker ran for 116 yards and Shane Falco tossed 2 TD passes to lead Shreveport to victory over Southern California. The Sun had a 16-14 lead, but a lost fumble inside the 2 minute warning allowed Shreveport a chance at a 52 yard FG to win the game and William Neal split the uprights.
Storm 17 Federals 13
An early season game between 2 upper echelon teams turned into somewhat of a defensive struggle. Washington held Portland to 315 total yards, which is just less than half of what they put up Week 1. The Federals couldn't quite contain the Oscar Willis to Timothy Roquemore connection though, as the pair hooked up for two 2nd qtr TDs and the Storm defense made that hold up. Portland bottled up Washington's James Dunn, holding him to 70 combined yards and they sacked Shane Bieber 5 times.
Hawaiians 16 Express 15
This turnover free game produced an odd looking box score. Los Angeles out gained Honolulu 378-253 but was just 1/12 on 3rd down conversions while the Hawaiians converted 7/17. 254 of those yards were on the ground, and Gary Sappington had perhaps the oddest stat line for a RB, 6 carries, 159 yards but 0 TD. In fact the Express did not score a TD all game, settling for 5 Mario Price FGs. That was good for a 15-13 late lead but Honolulu drove to the brink of a TD before settling for a game winning 19 yard FG from David McInnis as time expired.
Blazers 20 Renegades 17
Florida built a 17-0 lead thanks to Sidney Maggard and Ray Parker. The pair hooked up for 2 TDs as part of Parker's 5-144-2 day and the Blazers withstood a late Orlando rally for the win. Renegades QB Bradley Austin threw for 358 yards and David King caught 9, 2 for TDs and 159 yards to lead the Orlando offense, but they lost the turnover battle 4-2. Orlando cut the lead to 3 points late but the onside kick failed.
Blitz 16 Bulls 10
Neither team topped 300 offensive yards today and no player had a big stat game worth mentioning. Chicago's Jay Kinder got the Blitz on the scoreboard first with a early 3 yard TD run and a FG gave them a 10-0 lead. Jacksonville would tie it up with a FG and a TD in the final minute of the first half, a Joseph Serio 2 yard pass to Edward Maloney. The second half scoring consisted of two Leon Rupe FGs, giving Chicago the win.
Wheels 15 Gunslingers 13
Detroit is 2-0, thanks to 5 more Kent Olden FGs today. Olden made 6 in Week 1, and the Wheels will need to find a way to convert some of these drives into touchdowns if they want to stay atop the Midwest. Detroit doubled San Antonio's yardage, 313-142 but had to withstand a late Gunslingers rally to hold onto victory. San Antonio turned the ball over on downs near midfield in the final 2 minutes.
Breakers 13 Bandits 10
Tampa Bay QB Melvin Driggers was Dr. Jekyll last week with 452 yards and 5 TDs, today he was Mr. Hyde, with 226 yards and 3 INTs, including one on each of the last 2 drives. While Boston's defense frustrated Driggers, the Breakers had trouble scoring points, trailing late 10-6. Boston finally broke through for a TD with 1:19 to play, as Edward Swafford tossed a 9 yard TD pass to Nathan Fogle for a 13-10 lead. Tampa Bay had time for a game tying/winning drive but Driggers tossed an interception and Boston ran out the clock.
SaberCats 27 Force 10
Georgia had the yardage advantage and time of possession advantage, but were less successful in the red zone and lost the turnover battle 2-1. The Force held Mark Hsu to just 95 yards and a TD, but allowed the SaberCats to score 13 unanswered points after cutting the lead to 14-10 late in the 3rd. San Jose was aided in that run by a fumble and 3 straight turnovers on downs.
Hornets 17 Wranglers 7
Henry Young caught 2 TD passes from Robert Ament and Charlotte held Arizona to 178 yards as they defeat the Wranglers to even their record at 1-1. The Hornets had just 258 yards themselves and each QB tossed 2 interceptions.
Gamblers 38 Thunderbolts 26
The teams combined for 933 yards today as the Gamblers got out to a big 31-6 lead before holding on for the 12 point victory. Tony Dean threw for 368 yards and 3 TDs to 3 different receivers to lead Houston. The Gamblers also had big games from Ryan Dearing (78 rushing yards 2 TD, 74 receiving yards and a TD catch) and Loyd Ellis (68 rushing, 57 receiving). Cleveland was led by Bobby Colley who ran for 113 yards and a TD to go with 119 receiving yards and a TD.
VooDoo 30 Generals 16
New Orleans defeated New Jersey.
(NY) Stars 19 Bell 7
New York QB Willie Bust was an efficient 25/29 passing but the lofty yardage totals from last week were nowhere to be found. Instead the Stars opted to chew up the clock, and they held the ball for over 38 minutes as they built a 19-0 lead. Philadelphia was 0/10 on 3rd down and had just 168 offensive yards. The Bell scored a TD with under 30 seconds to play, avoiding the shutout.
Panthers 37 Outlaws 10
Michigan out gained Oklahoma 579-140 and built a 34-10 halftime lead, with the Outlaws TD coming on a 105 yard kickoff return by Eric Hollar. Gregory Clark ran in 2 touchdowns and Adam Scales threw for 457 yards and 2 TDs. Colin Jones led the Panthers receivers with 5 catches, 165 yards and a TD and right behind him was James Hillis with 10 catches, 157 yards and a TD.
