Week 8 saw 10 one score games and the Florida Blazers finally lost a football game, so no team will have a perfect record this season. We seem to have a bit more parity in the standings and there are several teams capable of winning it all, but we'll need more seasons to tell if this is a fluke or a trend, now that rosters are a bit more normalized. Either way, I am glad to no longer have to deal with rosters half full of WR/CB.
Generals 27 Blazers 24
Florida out gained New Jersey by nearly 200 yards and the Generals couldn't cover Ray Parker today, as he had 8 catches, 227 yards and 3 TDs. Blazers QB Sidney Maggard completed 28/37 for 400 yards, the 3 TDs to Parker and 2 INTs, one of which allowed the Generals to get a 4 yard TD "drive". After Florida tied the game at 14, Generals KR Cody Schiavo tied a record that can never be broken unless we change to Canada rules, as he returned the kickoff 110 yards for a score.New Generals QB Paul Marcum completed less than 50% of his passes but he threw 2 TDs vs 0 INTs, with both TDs going to Todd Christensen.
New Jersey led 24-14 entering the 4th but Florida tied it at 24 with just under 5 minutes to play. Following an exchange of punts, the Generals had the ball on their own 17 with 0:36 left to play. Marcum found Roger Rabbit for a 43 yard gain and Al Borland nailed a 58 yard FG at the gun to prevent OT and send Florida to their first loss of 1992.
SaberCats 17 Gold 13
San Jose scored the first 3 times they had the ball and their defense bent but didn't break once Denver got to the red zone as the SaberCats hand the Gold their second consecutive loss after a 6-0 start. Jake Plummer completed 20/23 for 210 yards and 2 TDs and of course Mark Hsu led the receiving corps with 5 catches, 126 yards and a TD. Denver got the offense going in the 4th qtr, and trailing 17-13, the Gold were driving for the go ahead TD when Andrew Brewer was intercepted by Champ Bailey deep in San Jose territory. Three plays later the clock ran out, leaving both teams 6-2.
VooDoo 42 Bandits 39
What a wild game down on Bourbon St as Tampa Bay and New Orleans combine for 81 points, 1,017 yards, 7 TDs (all passing), 5 INTs, 112 passes, 12 FG attemps, 10 made and 1 TD during 5 red zone trips. Tampa Bay got the scoring started with a pair of Thomas Lawson TD passes to Thomas Whitley, and a FG to take a 17-0 1st qtr lead. Lawson and Whitley would hook up twice more in the 2nd qtr as the Bandits took a 31-13 lead into halftime. In the 2nd half, the VooDoo kept chipping away until they finally tied the game with 3 minutes to play and got the game winning FG at the gun to steal a W from the Bandits.
Thomas Lawson had 4 TDs and 473 passing yards for Tampa Bay, with most going to Thomas Whitley (5-228-4) and Paul Meade (9-117). For New Orleans, it was the Wilson and Kerr show as Wilson threw for 424 yards and 3 TDs while Stanley Kerr ran 12 times for 78 yards, catching 11 for 158 and a TD.
Panthers 21 Blitz 13
Michigan spotted Chicago 10 points but William Mauriello threw 3 first half TD passes to take a 21-10 halftime lead. Mauriello was reinserted into a starting role this week and he delivered, completing 29/38, 391 yards and 3 TDs, 2 to James Hillis, who caught 9 for 230 yards. The second half didn't go well offensively for the Panthers, as they missed a FG and lost 2 fumbles but the defense allowed just 3 points and very few yards as they hang on for the win.
Showboats 20 Maulers 17
Pittsburgh scored TDs on their first possession of each half but only added a FG in between. Their 3rd qtr TD gave the Maulers a 17-6 lead that Memphis chipped away at, getting to within 17-12 mid 4th qtr. Memphis was able to move the ball, but never could get into the end zone during the first 56 minutes of game action, settling for 4 long Javier Gill FGs. The Showboats finally cracked the end zone on a 73 yard David Allen pass to Omar Jenkins with 3:56 left and after Mark Lambert ran in the 2 point conversion, Memphis had the lead 20-17. Pittsburgh had 1 drive left and they turned it over on downs, leaving both teams 4-4.
Express 19 Invaders 13
Los Angeles has now won 3 in a row after an 0-5 start as the Express got 4 Mario Price FGs and a TD run by Gary Sappington to defeat Oakland 19-13. The stat king of this game was Oakland RB Oliver Thomas, who had a combined 138 yards, and 10 different Invaders caught a pass, but 29 completions by Andrew Moreno netted just 168 yards. Los Angeles got 215 passing yards from Tristan Arnold and 83 rushing yards from Daniel Franks to lead the Express.
Wheels 20 Gunslingers 17 (OT)
This was a battle of once struggling franchises on the cusp of turning things around, but only one team could win. 20 points is the key number for both squads as San Antonio is 0-4 when allowing 20 points or more, 4-0 when less than 20. For Detroit, 20 is an offensive key, as they are 5-0 when scoring 20 but 0-3 when they don't. The Wheels out gained the Gunslingers 328-139 but settled for 5 Kent Olden FGs offensively and a lost fumble allowed San Antonio a 7 yard TD "drive". The XP was no good, and the Wheels defense added a safety for their 17 points, and Detroit led 17-9 late in the 4th. That's when San Antonio QB Robert Fanelli found Charlie Shanks for a 4 yard TD to pull within 17-15. Fanelli hit John Orozco for the tying 2 point conversion and we were headed for extra football.
In the OT period, each team punted twice, then Fanelli made a mistake, tossing an INT deep in their own territory. Detroit got a 6th FG from Olden and the Wheels escape with a win to improve to 5-3.
Bulls 23 Hawaiians 19
Honolulu had a balanced attack, as their 373 total yards were split between 197 rushing and 176 passing, but they also committed the game's only 2 turnovers and allowed Jacksonville 403 yards as they lose their 3rd game in a row. The strangest stat from this game was 5 total fumbles by both teams, all recovered by the fumbling team. Jacksonville QB Christopher Kimbrough passed for 378 yards and 2 TDs, including an 80 yard catch and run to William Morrison midway through the 4th qtr for what turned out to be the game winning TD. Honolulu RB Scott Stillings ran for 141 yards and a TD in the losing effort.
Thunderbolts 20 Sun 17
Southern California scored first and last, but Cleveland won the in between time 20-3 for a 20-17 win over the Sun. The Thunderbolts saw the good and bad sides of QB Tony Romo, as he threw for 2 TDs but also 3 INTs., but Cleveland was able to overcome those thanks to their ball control rushing attack. Bobby Colley ran for 86 yards, adding a receiving TD and 27 yards and James Bull led the receivers with 5 catches, 60 yards and a TD. Southern California got a combined 102 yards and a TD from Gene Ingram but fall to 2-6 on the season.
Steamer 23 Force 16
Georgia struggled on offense today as their only TD came on a 99 yard kickoff return by Ruben Brannon. QB Milton People completed 25 passes for just 154 yards and the offense turned the ball over twice as the Force lost to the Steamer. Georgia's defense played well except for a 3 drive stretch late 2nd/early 3rd qtrs which produced 17 points for Shreveport. Red zone failure was a theme in this game as Georgia was 0/2 with 2 FGs and Shreveport was 1/5 with 3 FGs so both teams left points on the field.
Storm 45 Wranglers 9
It was the Driggers-Robinson show today as Melvin Driggers threw for 407 yards and 5 TDs, with Robinson accounting for 230 yards and 3 TDs on 5 receptions as the Storm wallop the Wranglers. Arizona started Zachary Kinkead at QB again, he is the best of the 3 imo, but I'm not sure even Hall of Famer Mario Valencia would have helped today as Portland's offense only stopped itself with 2 INTs. The Wranglers offense wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as we've seen either, as they converted 6/20 3rd downs and ran 29 times at nearly 3 ypc.
Gamblers 49 Outlaws 7
It was all Houston as Tony Dean threw for 432 yards and 4 TDs to lead the Gamblers to victory. Lloyd Ellis ran for 63 yards and 2 TDs, chipping in 138 receiving yards on 6 catches to give him 201 combined yards. Dean threw a pair of TD passes to Jett Black (3-161-2) and Peter Henderson (7-71-2) as Houston led 28-0 at the half, then scored TDs on 3 straight drives before taking their foot off the gas.
Federals 26 Hornets 3
Washington's offense wasn't great today, scoring just 1 TD in 4 red zone trips (2 FGs) but the Federals defense allowed just 184 yards and forced 5 turnovers, 4 of them interceptions. Scott Bieber threw for 275 yards and a TD with Robert Trammell catching 10 passes for 116 yards to lead Washington into FG range often, as John Bazile kicked 4 FG in all. Charlotte QB Robert Ament had a miserable day with his 4 INTs but he also got no help from the running game, as the Hornets ran for just 25 yards on 20 carries. Neither team was very good on 3rd down, combining to go 4/28.
Stars 24 (NY) Stars 6
Baltimore and New York had a Battle of the Stars, and while New York scored first and last, Baltimore scored everything in between and won the game to keep pace with Washington. Jon Snow threw for 298 yards and 3 TDs with 0 INTs, with 2 of the TDs going to John Warkentin. Warkentin caught 3 in all for 106 yards but the star of the game was William Halford. He caught 5 passes for 152 yards and a TD, adding 44 yards rushing to nearly get 200 combined.
Bell 22 Breakers 0
Boston had trouble moving the ball, gaining just 108 yards and possessing the ball for only 20 minutes. Philadelphia couldn't move the ball through the air, but the Bell were able to run for 263 yards, led by Jamie Epperson's 139. Jay Carlisle added 94 and the game's only TD while K Robert Albertson was 5/5 on FGs as Philadelphia shut out Boston.
Renegades 32 Stallions 0
Orlando rookie QB Emory Howard had a perfect passer rating today, completing 24/26, 335 yards and 4 TDs to lead Orlando to the shut out victory over Birmingham. Ben Dehaven rushed for 84 yards and Cam Dalton 21, but Dalton did his damage receiving, catching 6 for 157 yards and 3 TDs. David King had 128 yards on 7 catches and the Renegades defense held the Stallions to just 128 total yards.
