The road to World Bowl XIX began today with wildcard weekend and we're down to our final 8 teams. Detroit, San Jose, Pittsburgh, and Washington were eliminated, and while they are disappointed, every team but 1 ends their season with either no playoffs or a loss, so they have nothing to be ashamed of. Congratulations on making the playoffs and best of luck in free agency and the draft.
Gamblers 30 Wheels 3
Detroit scored first to take a 3-0 lead but it was all Houston after that. Tony Dean led Houston to a TD on their opening drive, then Detroit QB Gabriel Flanagan threw a pair of interceptions, which the Gamblers turned into 10 more points. That gave Houston a 17-3 lead after 15 minutes and they cruised to victory. Tony Dean threw 3 TD passes, 2 to Jett Black, and Donald Turner had a combined 190 offensive yards. The Gamblers defense intercepted 3 passes in all and sacked Flanagan twice, holding the Wheels to less than 25 minutes of possession.
Highlights: Tony Dean's 1st TD to Jett Black
Gabriel Flanagan's 1st INT
Tony Dean to Jett Black again
Gabriel Flanagan INT #2
Tony Dean TD #3 to Hugh Chance
Storm 27 SaberCats 16
San Jose scored first for a 3-0 lead but Melvin Driggers found Jeffrey Frost for a TD en route to a 10-3 halftime lead. San Jose would tie the game at 10 in the 3rd quarter when Richard Alcantara intercepted Melvin Driggers, returning it 16 yards for a score. Portland and Driggers bounced back quickly, as Driggers found Frost again for a 74 yard TD pass. The XP was no good, so the lead was 16-10 Storm. In the 4th qtr, Portland added a FG, a Driggers to Richard Robinson TD pass and a 2 point run to take a 27-10 lead. SaberCats QB Jake Plummer and WR Mark Hsu had rough games, as Plummer was 19/34, 137 yards with a TD and INT, while Mark Hsu was held to 41 yards on 4 catches. Portland also sacked Plummer 4 times. Driggers finished with 286 yards and 3 TDs, with an INT while Frost caught 6 for 128 yards and 2 TDs.
VooDoo 30 Maulers 20
Turnovers were the theme in the National Conference wildcard games, as Pittsburgh lost the ball 4 times (2 INT, 2 fumbles) and New Orleans just once. The VooDoo took a 3-0 lead on their opening possession and took a 6-0 lead early in the 2nd, thanks to great field position after recovering a Pittsburgh fumble. The Maulers would take a 7-6 lead midway through the 2nd when Robert Erickson ran it in from 1 yard out. Inside the 2 minute warning, Maulers QB Will Allison threw a 19 yard TD pass to Robert Wheeler but the lead was only 13-6 thanks to a missed XP. New Orleans would execute the hurry up offense, thanks to a 55 yard pass from Wilson to Nicholas Dorey to set up a short TD pass to Mario Burton, tying the game at 13.
Pittsburgh got the ball to start the second half and Will Allison threw an interception, but the VooDoo were forced to punt. On the next New Orleans drive, Nicholas Dorey beat the CB off the line of scrimmage and raced 55 yards to the end zone, breaking the tie. The VooDoo would add a FG to take a 23-13 lead into the 4th. Pittsburgh was driving for a score when Will Allison threw a red zone INT to preserve the 10 point New Orleans lead. With just under 3 minutes to play, New Orleans got a 13 yard TD run from Thomas Thomas, essentially putting the game away with a 30-13 lead. Pittsburgh answered quickly with a 59 yard Allison TD pass to William Obrien but the onside kick failed and the VooDoo ran most of the remaining clock to advance to the Divisional Round.
Will Allison finished the day 36/54, 335 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT and William Obrien had a combined 107 yards with a TD to lead Pittsburgh. Bruno Wilson completed 19/27, 274 yards and 2 TDs with Nicholas Dorey catching 5 passes for 197 yards and a TD to lead New Orleans.
Generals 24 Federals 17
Washington out gained New Jersey 524-206, had 25 1st downs to just 3 for the Generals and had a time of possession edge of 35 minutes to 25. The Federals shot themselves in the foot however, scoring just 3 points on a pair of red zone possessions and losing the turnover battle 5-1. New Jersey got on the scoreboard first thanks to a James Wright 69 yard TD run. The Generals backup QB turned #1 RB was on his way to a 1,000 yard rushing season when a knee injury sidelined him, and this TD run was his second touch since. The teams would also trade FGs, giving the Generals a 10-3 lead after a quarter.
Washington tied it in the 2nd with a Scott Bieber 30 yard TD pass to Ronald Matthews. Washington had a chance to take a halftime lead but usually reliable John Bazile pulled the kick wide left, leaving the game tied 10-10 at halftime. Martin Riggs gave the Generals a 17-10 lead when he returned a Scott Bieber INT 21 yards for a TD. In the final minute of the 3rd, Matthew Cuevas got behind the defense and hauled in a Bieber throw and took it to the end zone. That 48 yard score tied the game at 17 going into the 4th.
Early in the 4th, Bieber threw his 3rd INT of the game, this one to Jay Leno. The Generals did nothing with the ball and punted it back, before the defense came up big again. Dan Conner sacked Bieber, stripping the ball and recovering the fumble to set up New Jersey at the Washington 16 yard line. Three plays later, Paul Marcum found Todd Christensen for the 10 yard TD, giving New Jersey a 24-17 lead. Washington would have 2 more chances to tie the game and send it to OT, but the first drive ended on downs, while the last drive ended on the Generals 16 yard line when the clock hit 0:00.
For the Federals, Scott Bieber completed 38/58, 399 yards with 2 TD and 3 INTs. Robert Trammell caught 13 for 99 yards, adding 43 rushing yards while James Dunn had 104 combined yards. New Jersey didn't accumulate many offensive stats, but James Wright did run for 123 yards and a TD on 20 carries. QB Paul Marcum was 17/25 for just 83 yards with a TD and an INT.
