We didn't have very many close games this week, just 4 within a score and the average margin of victory was 19 points. Let's find out which teams flexed their muscles Week 9 and which ones got stuffed in their lockers.
Invaders 16 Storm 14
The West Division is a legitimate 3 team race after Oakland pulled off the upset today. Defending Champion Portland only had 3 good offensive drives and one resulted in no points following a missed chip shot FG, and Melvin Driggers tossed a pair of early INTs that Oakland turned into a couple of FGs. A third Invaders FG made the halftime score 14-9 Portland, but Oakland took the first drive of the second half down the field and Andrew Moreno found his old pal Nelson Martinez for the TD and a 16-14 lead. The rest of the game was all punts except for the final drive, which ended when the clock hit 0:00. Oakland RB Oliver Thomas had 103 combined yards and was the only player who had stats worth mentioning.
Showboats 13 Express 12
Los Angeles out gained Memphis 322-248 but the Express turned the ball over on their last 2 possessions as Memphis breaks their 3 game win streak. There isn't much to talk about in this game, as they combined for 16 punts and 3 FG attempts. No RB had more than 50 yards, only one receiver had more than 56 yards (71) and nobody had multiple TDs.
Renegades 13 Hawaiians 10
One thing these one score games have in common is a lack of big stat games, of course the low scores also have a lot to do with that, and this game was no different than the 2 I've already reviewed. Orlando QB Emory Howard threw a 25 yard TD pass to David King inside the 2 minute warning to give the Renegades a come from behind victory over Honolulu. Scott Stillings had a combined 101 yards for the Hawaiians while Cam Dalton had 99 combined yards for Orlando.
Thunderbolts 17 Outlaws 10
Cleveland got a 2nd qtr Tony Romo TD pass to Mark Howe to take a 7-0 lead. Oklahoma tied it in the 3rd on a John Crisp TD pass of 21 yards to Edward McGeehan. Late in the 3rd Cleveland took the lead for good on a Howard Buxton 4 yard TD run and the teams exchanged FGs in the 4th. Yet another low scoring, one score game with no stats worth mentioning.
Blazers 26 Steamer 0
Sidney Maggard and Ray Parker hooked up for a pair of 1st qtr TDs as the Blazers bounce back from their first loss of the season. Maggard finished the day 24/36, 329 yards and those 2 TDs to Parker, who caught 5 for 219 overall. Florida's defense held Shreveport to 136 total yards, sacking Shane Falco twice and intercepting him once.
Federals 24 VooDoo 0
Scott Bieber threw for 203 yards and a TD while Robert Trammell had a combined 142 yards on 33 touches to lead Washington to victory. The Federals defense limited New Orleans to 195 yards and a miserable 1/13 on 3rd down. Trammell ran 19 times for 81 yards, with 61 receiving yards on 14 catches. Trammell has 77 receptions on the year, 4 behind Tampa Bay RB Paul Meade for the league lead, and the 14 catches is a single game high this season.
Gamblers 32 Panthers 23
Through 3 quarters it looked like Houston would win by a 20 point margin or more as they led 26-3, thanks to Tony Dean's 391 yards passing. Dean threw just 1 TD on the day, to a blast from the past, Gabriel Ahrens. Ryan Dearing also ran in a score and former Generals kicker Lucio Grant made 4 FGs. Falling behind so quickly forced Michigan to completely abandon their running game, as William Mauriello threw an all time high 90 passes today. The previous record was 88 by San Antonio's Walter Jackson at Memphis in 1986. Auriello also broke Jackson's record for completions in a game, besting his 57 with 58 today. Those 58 went for 470 yards and 3 TDs, but also 3 INTs.
Lucio Grant booted his 5th FG to start the 4th qtr scoring, then Michigan scored 2 TDs to pull within 29-17. The Panthers were able to recover the onside kick and scored another TD. The 2 point conversion failed though, making the score 29-23 Houston. The Gamblers recovered this onside kick but went 3 and out. Auriello threw his 2nd INT deep in Michigan territory, allowing Grant a 6th FG and a 32-23 lead. Michigan's last drive ended with Auriello's 3rd INT and Houston hangs on for the win.
Gold 45 Force 9
Denver QB Andrew Brewer threw for 382 yards and 2 TDs as the Gold defeat Georgia. Richard Funkhouser didn't catch any TDs but he did catch 9 passes for 118 yards, while James Peralta added 5 receptions for 91 scoreless yards. Peralta was no stranger to the end zone however, as he ran in 3 scores to make Al Bundy nervous, and his 61 rushing yards gave him 152 on the day. Denver had 27 first downs, went 11/15 on 3rd down and were a perfect 5 for 5 in the red zone.
SaberCats 38 Sun 3
Jake Plummer tossed a pair of TD passes while 4 different ball carriers combined for 210 rushing yards as San Jose defeated Southern California. The SaberCats defense intercepted Wilmer Kimble 4 times and sacked him twice, as the Sun were held to 163 total yards.
Generals 34 Breakers 13
New Generals QB Paul Marcum threw 3 TD passes, 2 to Roger Rabbit as New Jersey beats Boston to take a 3 game lead in the East. Backup QB turned starting RB (due to injuries) James Wright ran 34 times for 222 yards and a TD, as he continues to make the most out of finally getting regular playing time. The 222 yards are a season high in the USFL, topping Orville Barker's 217, and his 690 yards on the season puts him 4th on the leading rusher list.
Stars 48 Bell 13
Baltimore put up exactly 600 yards on Philadelphia today as they ring the Bell 48-13. Jon Snow threw for 497 yards and 6 TDs, 4 to John Warkentin, who caught 8 for 234 yards in all. Philadelphia had 326 offensive yards of their own but the defense let them down today.
Maulers 27 Gunslingers 6
Will Allison threw 2 TD passes and the Pittsburgh defense held San Antonio to 154 total yards as the Maulers beat the Gunslingers. Pittsburgh more than doubled that yardage (332) and exactly doubled San Antonio's 3rd down percentage, converting 8/16 to 4/16 for the Gunslingers.
Blitz 27 Wheels 3
The running game was the difference in this game as Detroit didn't have one while Chicago's Dale Davis ran for 142 yards on 30 carries. The Wheels converted just 2/11 3rd downs as a result, and the offense turned the ball over 4 times, 3 on INTs. Chicago controlled the clock (39:06 time of possession) and the scoreboard, scoring the game's first 27 points before Detroit got 3.
Bandits 33 (NY) Stars 6
Tampa Bay only had 73 rushing yards on 23 carries, but that was a great game judging by recent Bandits box scores. Paul Meade ran 17 times for 46 yards and a TD, adding 104 receiving yards on 11 catches. The Bandits defense intercepted Marcus Geist 5 times, sacked him 3 times and recovered a lost fumble and William Cordova capped off the Tampa Bay scoring with a Pick 6.
Bulls 28 Hornets 10
Charlotte and Jacksonville played a tight first half, with the Bulls taking a 13-10 lead into halftime. The second half belonged to Jacksonville as the Bulls defense shut down the Hornets offense. Jacksonville was 7/18 on 3rd down conversions while Charlotte was 0/14. The Bulls offense was led by Christopher Kimbrough's 262 passing yards and 2 TD passes.
Stallions 16 Wranglers 3
Arizona had 208 total yards of offense while Birmingham ran for 210 yards to get a victory in the desert. The Stallions defense allowed just 2/13 3rd down conversions and 1 red zone trip, as Birmingham had a nearly 10 minute possession advantage. Francis Schultz ran for 104 yards and a TDand Walter Lemay added 94 yards on the ground. It wasn't all great for the Stallions as 5 red zone trips produced just 13 points, but a win is a win.
