We had a couple of upsets in the divisional round, and the conference finals next week will have Denver at Portland and Pittsburgh at New Orleans. Portland and New Orleans are both listed as 6 point favorites to reach World Bowl XVIII.
Maulers 15 Federals 10
Pittsburgh QB Will Allison was a game time decision with an injured foot and the Maulers decided to roll with him rather than backup Clifford Saul. Allison didn't have a very good game, completing 28/47 for 216 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT but Washington QB Scott Bieber was worse, finishing 31/49, 223 yards with 1 TD and 4 INTs. The turnover battle ended evenly though, as Pittsburgh RB Robert Erickson lost 2 fumbles.
The 1st quarter ended 3-0 Pittsburgh but Washington took the lead very early in the 2nd on Scott Bieber's 15 yard TD pass to Andrew Favela. Pittsburgh would get another FG from Dominick Cochran and the Federals took a 7-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Washington would drive for a FG to start the second half and their lead grew to 10-6. The rest of the 3rd was scoreless and the Maulers were driving as the quarter changed but was forced to punt. John Downey pinned Washington at their own 7, and Bieber threw his 3rd interception on the next play to give Pittsburgh a 1st and goal situation. Three plays later, Allison found Michael Merlino for a 2 yard TD pass, giving Pittsburgh a 13-10 lead after the XP. Washington would punt and throw an INT on their next 2 drives and Allison had the Maulers offense poised to score the game clinching TD when disaster struck. Facing 3rd and goal at the 1, Allison was intercepted by Robert Mann, and the Federals had 1 last chance for the tying or winning points. Scott Bieber would get sacked in the end zone for a safety by Lee Ramirez to give Pittsburgh a 15-10 lead. Washington would recover the onside free kick, so they still had a chance, but a field goal was no longer an option. The Federals could not get a first down and had to punt, allowing Pittsburgh to run most of the clock before punting back to Washington with too little time left to do anything.
VooDoo 26 Stars 17
New Orleans ran 85 offensive plays (39:03 time of possession) to just 46 for Baltimore, and the VooDoo had a nearly even run/pass split. They ran 41 times for 162 yards while Bruno Wilson tossed 3 TD passes to just 1 INT as he led the VooDoo to a 26-7 lead before Baltimore made the score closer at the end.
New Orleans got the ball first and their opening drive covered 75 yards in 13 plays, ending on a 2 yard TD pass from Wilson to Tom Jacobs. Nicholas Dorey ran in the 2 point conversion for an early 8-0 VooDoo lead. Baltimore would punt and New Orleans would turn it over on downs as the quarter ended 8-0. Early in the second qtr, Jon Snow got the Stars within 8-7 after his 9 yard TD pass to Jeffrey Zimmer. The VooDoo then went on another long drive, taking 16 plays to go 81 yards for another TD , a Bruno Wilson 10 yard pass to Stanley Kerr. Dorey ran in another 2 point conversion and New Orleans had a 16-7 lead. Baltimore would turn it over on downs at their own 42 and the VooDoo would capitalize with a FG just before the 1st half ended, taking a 19-7 lead into the locker room.
Baltimore got the ball to start the 3rd qtr but was forced to punt. Bruno Wilson struck again, firing a 62 yard pass to Eric Duncan to get down to the Baltimore 1 yard line, then Wilson fired a short TD pass to Jose Little. The conventional XP gave New Orleans a 26-7 lead. Baltimore would get a 3rd qtr FG and a Jon Snow 70 yard TD pass to John Warkentin early in the 4th to get within 26-17. The Stars would only get the ball two more times, going three and out and throwing an interception and the VooDoo advance to host Pittsburgh for the right to play in World Bowl XVIII.
