Once again our average margin of victory was 20 points with only three one score games. No team has clinched a playoff spot yet, though several are close to doing so and we have 6 teams eliminated. We still have 5 weeks of action left, which team(s) will get hot and make a deep playoff run?
Blazers 38 Bulls 0
Florida's defense allowed Jacksonville just 58 total yards, including 5 yards on 20 rushes and they forced 2 turnovers. Offensively, the Blazers ran for 128 yards, led by Ronald Kirby's 60 yards, and he added 82 more and a TD on 3 catches. Sidney Maggard is having an MVP caliber season, and today he completed 31/37, 330 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT with William Merkel (10-110) catching 2 of the TDs. Florida is now 10-1, fighting with Washington for home field advantage.
Federals 42 Hornets 3
Charlotte took the opening kickoff and drove for a FG, but it went haywire from there once Scott Bieber got on the field. Bieber threw for 6 TDs for the second consecutive week as Washington obliterated the Hornets. Bieber threw for 312 yards in all, and the Federals had 107 rushing yards, yet no skill position player had 100 combined yards. The closest was James Dunn, who ran for 44 yards and caught 55 yards worth of passes, including 2 of Bieber's scoring tosses. Ronald Matthews only caught 2 passes today, but he made them count as both went for scores covering 81 total yards. Washington converted 10/17 3rd downs and all 3 of their red zone trips resulted in TDs.
Gold 41 Showboats 25
Not much defense was played in Memphis today as the teams combined for 960 yards, 1 turnover and zero sacks, while converting 9/21 third downs and 6 of 8 scoring TDs in the red zone. The Showboats did their best to hang with the Gold, trailing 21-19 at the half, but Denver pulled away in the 3rd qtr before salting the game away in the 4th. For Memphis, David Allen threw for 335 yards and 2 TDs, both to David Austin, who caught 8 for 197 yards. Denver's Andrew Brewer was 26/32, 449 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT and he was throwing to a pair of WR who each topped 160 yards. Richard Funkhouser caught a TD pass among his 7 for 165 yards while Richard Huff matched that TD and caught 6 for 162 yards. Denver is 9-2, and if they can survive the challenge of Portland, will be fighting with Michigan for home field advantage.
Panthers 34 Wheels 13
Michigan improves to 9-2 thanks to their defense forcing 3 interceptions and their new bombs away offensive approach. Detroit was able to gain 279 yards but Gabriel Flanagan was intercepted 3 times by the Panthers in the second half after the Wheels had cut the lead to 7 points. William Mauriello completed 35/55 for 411 yards and 4 TDs, 3 of those to James Hillis who went off for 201 yards on 8 receptions.
Storm 48 Force 0
203 was the magic number for the Storm as that was the amount of total yardage for Georgia and the total rushing yards by Portland. The Storm used a RBBC (RB by committee) as 5 rushers contributed between 25-59 yards each. Melvin Driggers threw 5 TD passes and 398 yards, producing a pair of 100 yard receivers. Richard Robinson caught 8 for 140 yards and a TD while Jeffrey Frost caught 8 for 100 and a TD, while also contributing 47 rushing yards. Timothy Roquemore ran for a team high 59 yards, adding 5 receptions for 63 yards and a TD for 122 combined yards. Portland had 601 total yards and scored points in every quarter as they improve to 8-3, putting pressure on Denver to keep winning.
Stars 48 Steamer 10
Baltimore did most everything right today, other than lose 3 fumbles, as they crush Shreveport by 38 points. Scott Bieber isn't the only one to throw 6 TDs this week as Jon Snow matched that, completing 29/38 for 496 yards. John Warkentin caught 5 of those TDs as part of his 11 catch, 316 yard game. The 316 yards is a league high this season, besting Mark Hsu by 10 yards and the 5 TDs ties the league season high, set by teammate Jeffrey Zimmer. William Halford chipped in 127 rushing yards as the Stars racked up 652 yards total.
Bandits 21 SaberCats 10
The media talked all week about Thomas Whitley and Mark Hsu, the All Pro WRs facing off, nevermind they aren't on the field at the same time. Whitley and Hsu both caught a TD pass but neither topped 80 yards and Whitley was the Bandits 3rd leading receiver today. Thomas Lawson got Tampa Bay off to a great start, leading TD drives the first 2 times the Bandits had the ball, the first one to Richard Miller, who caught 4 for 100 yards today. San Jose was able to run the ball better than Tampa Bay, and the SaberCats did not turn the ball over but the Tampa defense allowed just 211 passing yards, 173 when you take off the yardage from 4 sacks. Lawson threw 3 TDs in all, but also 2 INTs, so that early 14 point cushion proved huge.
Gunslingers 13 Gamblers 9
As I watched San Antonio get off to a fast start this season, I thought to myself, this is nice but it won't matter until they beat Houston. The Gamblers and Memphis Showboats have owned the Southwest the last decade, so the Gunslingers need to beat them if they want to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1976. The Gunslingers offense played ok today, led by Charlie Shanks 104 rushing yards and a TD, and they played turnover free football. Defensively, San Antonio bent but didn't break, keeping Houston out of the end zone all day despite 444 offensive yards. The Gamblers turned the ball over twice and could generate just 3 FGs in 4 red zone trips. Tony Dean almost led Houston to a game winning TD on their final drive, but the Gamblers turned it over on downs just 8 yards from the end zone.
Blitz 25 Thunderbolts 13
Cleveland entered the game 7-3, the #6 seed in the American Conference, and a win over the 5-5 Blitz would have given the Thunderbolts a 2 game lead on the field. Cleveland has been winning thanks to their 6th ranked defense, but today Chicago hung 402 yards on them. Cleveland did stiffen in the red zone, allowing 1 TD/3 FG in 5 Blitz red zone trips. Chicago converted 8/18 3rd down conversions while Cleveland was 0/11, and the Thunderbolts had just 209 total yards, yet they led Chicago 13-12 after 3 quarters of football. In the 4th, Chicago got a Jay Kinder TD run (2 point failed), then on Cleveland's next to last drive, Darryl Stein returned a Tony Romo interception 11 yards for a TD and a 25-13 lead that stood as the final score.
VooDoo 16 Stallions 10
It was the Stanley Kerr show in Birmingham today, as he missed a double triple by 3 yards. New Orleans got out to a 13-3 halftime lead on a pair of FGs and a 45 yard Bruno Wilson TD pass to Kerr, then held on in the second half for an important division win. Kerr rushed for 97 yards and caught 4 passes for 133 yards and the aforementioned TD while Bruno Wilson threw for 295 yards.
Maulers 24 Renegades 6
Orlando became ownerless while I was writing this blog, and I'm not sure why. Given the Renegades performance in this game, I'd bet the decision had already been made. Pittsburgh racked up 429 yards of offense, while holding Orlando to 190. Will Allison completed 26/35 for 307 yards and 3 TDs, 2 in the first half. Robert Erickson caught 1 of the scores among his 6 catches for 125 yards amd the Maulers RBBC gained 122 yards. The win improves Pittsburgh to 7-4, good for the current #6 seed in the National Conference.
Hawaiians 20 Invaders 10
The tone for this game was set on the first play from scrimmage, when Derek Henry was intercepted by Oakland's Wayne Timm, who returned it 27 yards for a score to give the Invaders an instant 7-0 lead. The tone for the game was not Oakland dominance, but interceptions. Henry and Andrew Moreno both threw 3 INTs, and Oakland scored just 3 more points the rest of the game. The difference in this game was the rushing attack, as both teams ran 21 times with Oakland gaining 48 yards, Honolulu 116. Scott Stillings ran for 93 while Robert Schuler had 23 and a TD while Derek Henry found Brian Vizcarra for a TD as Honolulu defeats Oakland 20-10.
Generals 24 (NY) Stars 13
New Jersey got 2 TDs from QB Paul Marcum to Roger Rabbit and Dr. Sam Beckett ran for 101 and a TD as the Generals defeat New York. Rabbit ended with 134 receiving yards on 5 catches, as the last man standing among the Generals WR group. New Jersey had to sign ex General WR Michael Wood as the injury bug moved from the RBs to the receivers. New York moved the ball well as Willie Bust threw for 255 yards and William Hall had a double eighty game with 83 rushing yards and 86 receiving. New Jersey sacked Bust twice and Marcus Geist once while the Generals OL kept Marcum's jersey clean.
Outlaws 34 Wranglers 10
Arizona hung with Oklahoma in the first half, but the offense never got going in the second half, as the Outlaws pulled away for a decisive victory. QB John Crisp was 25/33, 332 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT, spreading the ball around to 8 different receivers. Oklahoma had 422 yards of offense, converted 8/14 third downs and had the ball nearly 40 minutes as they leave the Wranglers searching for their first W.
Express 26 Sun 10
Southern California hung around in the first half as the game was tied at 10 at halftime, but the second half belonged to Los Angeles as the Express pull away for a 26-10 victory. The Express out gained the Sun 412-285 and Tristan Arnold fired 2 TD passes to Fredrick Whidden. Arnold threw for 273 yards, 108 to Whidden, while Gary Sappington and Daniel Franks combined to rush for 139 yards. Gene Ingram had himself a day for Southern California with 7 catches, 193 yards and a TD and 27 yards rushing. The rest of the Sun offense wasn't as good, as Wilmer Kimble completed less than 50% of his passes and was sacked 3 times.
Bell 16 Breakers 9
This wasn't your typical, low scoring Boston/Philadelphia game as both offenses moved the ball well inside the 20's and ran for at least 4 ypc. Once they got to the red zone, it was hit or miss as they combined for 2 TDs and 3 FGs in 5 trips inside the 20. Both QBs were accurate, albeit dink and dunk style, as Edward Swafford was 26/36 for 250 yards and an INT while Robert Hernandez was 20/25 for 149 yards. The difference in the game was turnovers, as Philadelphia took care of the ball, playing turnover free while the Breakers lost 2 fumbles in addition to the Swafford INT, which came on Boston's last drive as they approached the red zone.
