We're through 10 weeks of action and it seems our playoff field is separating from the pack as all current non playoff teams are at least 2 games behind. We do still have 6 games left so there is time for a team to make a run, but it's looking like all the playoff talk down the stretch will be about seeding. In the National Conference, it's looking like San Jose, Portland, Denver, Houston, Memphis and Michigan will be our 6 playoff teams. Chicago is 2 games behind Michigan in the Midwest and 2 games behind Memphis and Denver for a wildcard spot, while Honolulu and Los Angeles are 3 games behind San Jose in the Pacific.
In the National Conference, it looks like Orlando, Florida, New Orleans, Baltimore, Washington and New York will be the 6 playoff teams. The Tampa Bay Bandits are 2 games out of both the division lead and the wildcard while the suddenly hot Pittsburgh Maulers are also 2 games out of the wildcard. Birmingham is 2.5 games out of a playoff spot, New Jersey 3 and Georgia 3.5.
Despite the above scenario, half of our divisions are tied or have 1 game separation so there is plenty of jockeying for position to come.
Showboats 38 SaberCats 22
David Allen threw for 333 yards and 4 TDs on only 14 completions as Memphis took control of the game in the 3rd qtr en route to victory. Arthur Devore caught 3 of those TDs, catching 4 for 170 yards in all.
Blazers 16 (NY) Stars 7
Florida and New York appear to be headed for January football and they played to a 7-7 tie during the first half of a defensive struggle. Florida shut out the Stars in the second half, as they held New York to just 62 yards after the break. The Blazers offense wasn't much better, but they were able to kick 3 FGs and win their 5th game in a row to remain in a 1st place tie with Orlando.
Panthers 27 Bandits 6
It appears the Adam Scales era is over in Michigan as William Mauriello tossed 3 TD passes with 391 yards passing to lead the Panthers to their 4th straight victory. RB/WR Walter Simmons had a double triple, rushing for 106 yards with 11 catches, 185 yards and a TD to help Michigan hold the ball 37:37. Tampa Bay QB Melvin Driggers played turnover free football but the Michigan defense eliminated the Bandits ground game while simultaneously preventing big plays through the air.
Maulers 27 Hornets 13
Pittsburgh won their 4th consecutive game to put them into playoff contention, and while their slow start hurts this year's chances, Maulers fans have to be excited about the future. Today they won despite suffering 3 turnovers, as they were a perfect 4 for 4 in the red zone, accounting for all 27 points (1 XP was no good). Charlotte also made 4 trips into the red zone, good for just 13 points. Pittsburgh QB Will Allison threw for 294 yards on 33 completions to 10 different receivers, while adding 4 TD passes.
Storm 17 Invaders 13
Portland snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they scored 14 points in the last 2 minutes, with the aid of a recovered onside kick, to stun the 47,863 fans in attendance. Portland's offense was putrid most of the game as Oscar Willis had as many interceptions as the Storm had points...3 through the first 56 minutes of the game. Oakland had a 13-0 first half lead thanks to 2 of those INTs and a lost fumble, but with just over 4 minutes left, the Invaders were driving for the game clinching score when Andrew Moreno tossed an INT of his own. The Storm took over on their own 30 and Oscar Willis led Portland down the field, firing a 3 yard TD pass to Tony Abbott to make the score 13-10 Oakland. The onside kick was successful and Oscar Willis fired his second TD pass, the game winner to Timothy Roquemore, leaving Oakland about 30 seconds to score a TD, which they did not.
Stars 37 Steamer 7
Baltimore QB Jon Snow threw for 328 yards and 5 TD passes, 3 to Mark Numbers as the Stars were all over Shreveport today. Numbers had 136 combined yards (43 rushing, 93 receiving) while teammate William Halford caught a TD pass as part of 3 for 68 yards, adding 72 on the ground for 140 combined.
Federals 37 Force 13
Georgia hung tough with Washington in the first half, going into the locker room tied at 10 but the powerful Federals offense flexed their muscles in the second half. The win allows Washington to keep pace with Baltimore as they try and win the division and get a bye week. Scott Bieber was 24/34, 403 yards with 3 TD and 1 INT. Ronald Matthews and Robert Sullivan both caught 7 balls, with Matthews accounting for 161 and 2 TDs. Sullivan's catches resulted in no scores but he had 127 yards receiving with 56 more rushing for a pretty nice game.
Gold 44 Wranglers 0
Denver QB Andrew Brewer had a pretty good game, completing 30/37, for 472 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT. Arizona QB Zachary Kinkead did not, completing 5/31, 59 yards and 3 INTs. Jake Peralta had 91 rushing yards, 145 receiving yards and a TD, Richard Huff caught 4 for 119 and 2 TDs, and Richard Funkhouser caught 4 for 100 and a score.
Stallions 17 Sun 16
Birmingham turned the ball over 3 times in the first half but Southern California could only score 3 points and an early Richard Sutton TD run gave the Stallions the 7-3 halftime lead. Southern California took the second half kickoff and drove 75 yards for the go ahead TD, then 3 field goals, 2 by the Sun, gave us a score of 16-10 inside the 2 minute warning. Stallions QB Stephen Ponder threw 3 INTs today, but he led the offense down the field and his 4 yard TD pass to Theodore Turner with 1:01 left was the game winning score.
Gamblers 41 Breakers 17
Boston went toe to toe with Houston in the first half, going to the locker room down 20-17, but the Houston defense shut out the Breakers in the second half, forcing 2 turnovers and allowing only 42 yards in the final 30 minutes. Tony Dean fired TD passes to 4 different receivers and the Gamblers rushing attack had nearly 200 yards as they improve to 9-1.
Thunderbolts 21 Express 6
Cleveland QB Michael McGowan was awesome between the 20's, completing 30/41 for 348 yards, but the Thunderbolts went without a TD today despite 5 red zone trips. Brian Haworth connected on 7/8 FG tries to lead Cleveland to victory in the kicking contest. FYI: League record is 8 FG in a game, done 4 times.
VooDoo 31 Hawaiians 22
The first half was back and forth as the offenses seemingly moved the ball at will. Honolulu was a blistering 12/18 on 3rd down conversions and scored the first 3 times they had the ball on a FG and 2 TDs. One of the XP tries was no good, resulting in 16 first half points for the Hawaiians. New Orleans sandwiched turnovers on downs with 3 Bruno Wilson to Eric Duncan TDs and 3 successful 2 point tries for a 24-16 lead at the break. The score remained the same until late in the 4th when Bruno Wilson found Nicholas Dorey for his 4th TD pass of the game to extend the lead to 31-16. Tom Jacobs had a combined 152 yards for New Orleans while Scott Stillings had 156 combined yards for Honolulu.
Bell 20 Generals 17
Philadelphia overcame 3 turnovers to amass 345 offensive yards while the Bell defense held New Jersey to 221. Philadelphia QB Robert Hernandez threw 2 TD passes as the Bell built a 17-7 lead early in the 4th. The Generals defense forced 2 turnovers in the final quarter, and the offense converted those into 10 points, tying the game with just over 2 minutes left. Philadelphia then used the remaining clock to drive the field and boot the game winning FG at the gun, destroying most of whatever was left of New Jersey's playoff chances.
Renegades 12 Bulls 9 (OT)
The second game this week to feature nothing but field goals, Jacksonville led 9-6 until the final play of regulation when Robert Moulton's 53 yard FG tied the game. Moulton would add a 53 yard FG in overtime to give Orlando the win.
Blitz 13 Wheels 6
Ronald Brown's 2nd qtr 25 yard TD pass to David Karim was the only TD in a defensive struggle. Chicago scored all 13 of their points in the 2nd qtr and the Blitz defense allowed just 145 yards to the Detroit offense as they improve to 6-4 on the season.
Gunslingers 10 Outlaws 3
This game featured 26 punts, 20 series going three and out, and the score was tied at 3 inside the final minute of "action". That's when San Antonio QB Willie Benge tossed a 1 yard TD pass to Andrew Huerta for the game winning score. The Gunslingers held Oklahoma to 107 offensive yards and 1/16 on 3rd down as the defense did not allow the 2 offensive turnovers to hurt them, and now San Antonio find themselves 4-6.
