Houston is in the drivers seat to win the Southwest thanks to their season sweep of Memphis. One Gamblers win or one Showboats loss and Houston clinches but Memphis will go to the playoffs too. San Antonio and Oklahoma hope better days are ahead.
Houston Gamblers (12-2) Week 13 saw Oklahoma take an early 7-0 lead before Tony Dean threw 5 TD passes as Houston beat the Outlaws 38-7. The Gamblers had 3 players with 100+ combined yards: Donald Turner (116 rushing yards, 33 receiving), Francisco Russell (19 rushing, 111 receiving), and Ryan Dearing (84 rushing, 25 receiving). Week 14 saw Houston travel to New York for a game against the East leading Stars. Six of the first seven drives for the Gamblers ended with punts and the other drive was a missed FG attempt by Daniel McCormack. Houston's first points came mid 4th qtr on a McCormack made FG that cut the deficit to 9-3. Houston would turn the ball over on downs in their own territory, putting New York in immediate FG range and the Stars would extend the lead to 12-3 just inside the 2 minute warning. That would be huge because Houston would score a quick, long strike TD to get within 3. The 2 point try and onside kick failed and New York won the game.
Memphis Showboats (11-3) Memphis traveled to New Jersey Week 13 and the Showboats played bend but don't break defense. The Generals would get 439 offensive yards but they kicked too many field goals while Memphis scored TDs on 3 of 4 red zone trips. David Allen completed 21/25 for 281 yards and 3 TDs while Arthur Devore caught 4 for 137 yards and a TD. New Jersey scored first for a 6-0 lead, then Memphis scored 17 unanswered points and the Generals would get no closer than 8 points the rest of the game as the Showboats win 31-19. Memphis fell behind again Week 14 as Philadelphia scored a TD following an early Memphis fumble for the 7-0 lead. The Bell also scored last in the final minute on a 93 yard TD pass but David Allen tossed 3 TD passes as Memphis scored 30 unanswered points in between Philadelphia TDs to post a 30-14 victory. The 3 QBs that played combined to complete 53/64 passes and if you take out Gregory Walker's 0/3 and it's 53/61. Memphis got 4 more yards per completion and had the better running game and the margin of victory would have been larger with better red zone efficiency.
San Antonio Gunslingers (4-9-1) San Antonio benched QB Willie Benge 3 games ago and while the Gunslingers are 0-3 under Robert Fanelli, the offense seems to be moving a bit better. It's tough being in a division with 2 powerhouse teams, but all you can do is keep acquiring talent and wait your turn I guess. Week 13 saw the Gunslingers fall behind Portland 17-0 after a quarter and the defense had trouble getting off the field in the 31-9 loss. Week 14 saw Boston come to town with their #1 pass defense. The Breakers allow a league low 177 yards a game through the air and the 5.2 yards per attempt they allow is 3rd best, so it's no surprise Fanelli struggled. San Antonio scored first then Boston tied them with a FG, which would end up being the theme of the day. San Antonio kept taking the lead and Boston would keep tying the game so we played an extra 10 minutes of football. The 20-20 tie would not be broken as the extra session was all punts until time ran out.
Oklahoma Outlaws (0-14) It's been a real rough season for the Outlaws as they have only scored double digit points 3 times all year while their defense gives up nearly 32 points a game. Oklahoma scored first against Houston Week 13 before Tony Dean took over in a 38-7 loss to the division leaders. Oklahoma would score first again Week 14 against Oakland but the Invaders scored the next 33 points for a 33-3 win.
