Season 20 Begins: Opening Weekend

 Throughout this season, we'll take a look back at our league's history here. Right now, we have the All Time Conference teams, the All Time Playoff Team and a brief look at the 4 Hall of Fame players selected in the first round of the 1974 allocation draft. History is great to look back on, but we also have a present and a future to look forward to, and Week 1 is now in the books. We had six games decided by one score or less, a pair of shut outs and both defending champion Denver and National Conference champs Baltimore lost.

Thunderbolts 16 Gold 10

Denver won World Bowl XIX with the #1 offense in the league, but Cleveland held the Gold to 269 total yards and just 10 points. The Thunderbolts controlled the clock with their running game as Bobby Colley ran 16 times for 73 yards while Evan Hershey ran for 70 yards on 11 carries. QB Tony Romo wasn't great but he out performed Andrew Brewer, throwing for 249 yards with a TD and an INT. Brewer did get Denver on the scoreboard first, with a 5 yard TD pass to Richard Huff, but Brewer would end the day with just 183 yards through the air. Romo tied the game at 7 with a TD pass to Herbert Paradise and Carlos Reed finished the scoring by booting 3 short FGs for Cleveland to just 1 for Denver's Robert Deacon.

Federals 33 Stars 24

The schedule maker did Baltimore no favors, as they throw them right into the fire against bitter division rival Washington. For the new owners, the Stars and Federals have been battling to be top dog in this division for the last decade, and they've had several playoff games against each other as well. There was also some controversy when the All Time Playoff Team was announced and it was revealed that Baltimore QB Jon Snow was the top choice over 3 time Champion Tony Dean. 

There was an actual game, and while Snow tossed a pair of TD passes, he also threw 3 interceptions, leading the Stars to defeat. The Federals defense allowed a lot of yards and points but their offense had their back. QB Scott Bieber threw 4 TD passes and no INTs, finishing with 295 yards in the air. RB James Dunn led the Washington ground game with 69 rushing yards while chipping in 6 receptions for 137 yards and one of Bieber's TDs. 

Panthers 31 Blitz 28

Michigan traded William Mauriello to Los Angeles, clearing the way for 2nd year pro Larry Henderson to be the starter. Through the first 90 seconds of the 4th, it looked like a bad decision as the Panthers had turned it over 6 times, 4 on Henderson interceptions and they trailed Chicago 25-9. Henderson did have an early 75 yard TD pass to John Tingle and the Panthers defense scored 2 points when a Blitz screen pass got stuffed in the end zone. Chicago only had 258 yards of offense and could not take advantage of all those turnovers, getting 5 Leon Rupe FGs. 

The 4th qtr was wild, as Henderson got the Panthers within 10 on his 2nd TD pass to Tingle. Rupe's 5th FG gave Chicago a 28-15 lead with 5:39 left but Henderson wasn't finished. Walter Simmons caught Henderson's 3rd TD pass and a 2 point pass to Kevin Terry  got Michigan within 5 at 28-23. The onside kick failed but the Panthers defense did not, forcing a three and out. We were now inside the 2 minute warning and Michigan had the ball at their own 10, needing a TD. Henderson got them down the field and found Kevin Terry for his 4th TD pass of the day, and the pair then hooked up on another 2 point conversion. The Panthers had a 31-28 lead and a Jesse Barnett INT sealed the win for Michigan. 

On the day, Henderson was 37/65, 464 yards with 4 TD and 4 INT. John Tingle had 2 of those TDs as part of his 9 catch, 132 yard day.

Bandits 27 Bulls 24

Last season the Bandits drafted 2 QBs, Thomas Lawson in the 2nd round, Antonio Martinez in the 3rd, opting to start Lawson. This season, they're opting for Martinez, and he finished the day 31/44, 336 yards with 2 TD and 2 INT. TE Darren Cotton was his favorite target, catching 10 passes for 122 yards and a TD. Garry Fowler had 8 catches for 95 yards and a TD as well, but suffered a leg injury. For Jacksonville, it was the William Morrison show. QB Joseph Serio threw for 246 yards and a pair of TDs, both to Morrison, and receivers not named Morrison had just 90 combined yards. 

The game itself was back and forth for 3 quarters before the scoreless punt fest of a 4th. Tampa Bay took an early 14-0 lead, getting one score on the ground and one through the air. Jacksonville then matched that, even getting 1 rushing and 1 passing TD. The Bandits broke the tie with a FG before Jacksonville got another TD for a 21-17 lead. One more Bandits FG before halftime gave us a 21-20 score headed to the locker room. Jacksonville extended the lead to 24-20 with a FG before Martinez found Fowler for the game winning TD pass with 4:30 to go in the 3rd.

Maulers 12 Wheels 6

Not much action from this game to discuss, so I'd like to point out that both teams are coming off playoff seasons and hope to build off that success for a deeper run this year. The defenses came to play as neither offense topped 300 yards or cracked the end zone. Pittsburgh K Brett Bowman was 4/4 on FGs while Detroit's All Pro K Kent Olden was 2/3 and that's it. Pittsburgh wins the kicking contest.

Steamer 20 Gunslingers 16

Most of the scoring came in the first half as the teams played to a 13 all tie. Shreveport scored first with a FG but San Antonio had 2 of their own to take an early 6-3 lead. Shreveport took the lead back on a Jeffrey Morris 13 yard TD run, but the Gunslingers answered with a Robert Fanelli TD pass to Eugene Bufkin. A FG right before halftime tied the game at 13 until a San Antonio FG late in the 3rd broke the tie. Shreveport got a TD pass from George Marcil to Martin Haley with 1:33 to play that turned out to be the game winning TD.

Breakers 15 Hornets 7

Boston took an early 3-0 lead before Henry Young gave Charlotte the 7-3 lead with a 6 yard TD run. Boston isn't known for having a big play offense, so when they got the ball at their own 9 in the final minute of the first half, the Hornets probably figured they'd run the clock out. It was just a swing pass to RB Ralph Harris, but he broke a tackle and sprinted down the sideline for a back breaking 91 yard TD. The XP was no good, but that momentum swing carried over to the second half and Boston added on a couple of FGs for the final margin.

Blazers 29 Renegades 0

Florida looked dominant today, making life rough on 2nd year Orlando QB Emory Howard, limiting him to 9/21 passing for 70 yards with 3 INTs. Offensively, Robert Romero and Ronald Kirby combined for 100 yards on 32 rushes while Sidney Maggard also looked good. Maggard was 29/40, 350 yards and 2 TDs while 4 receivers had between 60-90 yards. About the only negative for the Blazers was too many FG tries in the red zone, though it didn't matter today.

Gamblers 36 VooDoo 0

This is like a carbon copy of the previous game. Houston made life rough for 10th year vet Joseph Jones, holding him to 15/41, 72 yards and 3 INTs. They even sacked Jones in the end zone for 2 points to throw salt in the wound. Offensively, Lloyd Ellis and Francisco Russell combined for 145 yards and a TD on 35 carries. Tony Dean let his play speak for him amid all of the Snow/Dean debate about playoff greatness. Dean was 24/38, 324 yards and 3 TDs, 2 of those to Hugh Chance, who caught 5 balls for 104 yards. Russell added 78 receiving yards, giving him 150 combined yards while Ellis also topped 100 combined (117) with 43 receiving yards.

Storm 52 Invaders 3

Portland's defense had a sack and 3 INTs while the offense was led by Melvin Driggers and his 6 TD passes. Driggers finished 22/34, 352 yards and 1 INT to go with the 6 pack of scores and of course the leading receiver was Richard Robinson. Robinson caught 1 of the TDs as part of his 3-113 day, while Val Smith had 7 catches, 99 yards and 2 TDs. The Storm rushing attack was on point as well, with 3 RBs combining for 156 yards and a score on 24 carries. Only a 2nd qtr Robert Albertson FG prevented a shutout. 

SaberCats 23 Hawaiians 14

Familiar story for San Jose, as Mark Hsu dominated the receivers, catching 4 for 170 and a TD while Jake Plummer had 236 total passing yards. The SaberCats also had 140 rushing yards and a TD combined from Graham Peterson and Rodney Richardson. San Jose took a 20-3 lead into the 4th and led 23-6 until Honolulu got a TD and a 2 point conversion in the final minute to make the final margin closer.

Showboats 38 Sun 3

PrivateSnowflake is back for his second tour of duty running Memphis. He got the Showboats dynasty started by winning back to back World Bowls (VI and VII) before he left MFN, then of course Memphis would win 3 more titles since, 2 by Infinity on Trial and 1 by Tribewriter, who now runs Pittsburgh. PS is now seeking to return Memphis to glory, as they missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 1983.

That journey got off on the right foot as Memphis seemingly moved the ball at will. Only 2 players carried the ball but Erik McNamee (19-128) and Thomas Saunders (14-47) combined for 175 yards, with Saunders scoring 3 TDs. QB Norman Maldonado was making his regular season debut after sitting on the bench for 2 years, and he took an instant liking to veteran WR Fred Wink. The pair hooked up 4 times for 146 yards and 2 TDs while Maldonado finished 24/36 for 371 yards with those 2 TDs to Wink and an INT. 

Defensively, they held Southern California under 200 offensive yards and only allowed a 3rd qtr FG.

Generals 25 (NY) Stars 13

New Jersey was one of several teams breaking in a new starting QB and the Generals got a mixed bag from former Washington backup Don Ferguson. His 2nd pass was intercepted and the offense struggled in the red zone, but he finished the day 34/58, 337 yards and 2 INTs. Ferguson did follow up that 1st INT by leading New Jersey 91 yards in 12 plays for a TD on the next drive. That TD was the only one of the day for the Generals, and it was scored by rookie David Koresh. Koresh also led the Generals in receiving yards with 99 on 6 receptions. For New York, QB Willie Bust threw 2 TD passes, but one was very late in the game after New Jersey had a 25-7 lead. Bust was just 12/25 passing but 8 of those incompletions were actually knocked down by New Jersey defenders. New Jersey made 5 trips into the Stars red zone, coming away with just 1 TD and 4 FGs, as K Al Borland booted 6 in all, as the lack of TDs kept the game close.

Stallions 48 Force 10

Birmingham has 4 QBs on the roster but it looks like they picked the correct starter in former Gunslinger Willie Benge. Benge fired TD passes to 4 different receivers, finishing 27/41, 378 yards with 0 INT. The receiving yards were spread out as 4 different receivers had between 63-82 yards. The running game was working for Birmingham as well, with Francis Schultz leading the way with 122 yards and a TD on 22 carries. The Stallions finished with 578 offensive yards, converting 12/19 3rd down attempts and both 4th down tries as they held the ball over 40 minutes.

Bell 23 Express 6

RBBC is becoming a trend in the USFL as Philadelphia is just one of many teams I saw giving 3 RBs a decent amount of carries. The running game was the difference in this game as the Bell rushed for 171 yards on 43 carries while Los Angeles only ran 10 times for 6 yards. The Express scored first and last, both FGs, but in between Philadelphia scored 23 unanswered points. Jamie Epperson led the Bell RBBC with 86 yards and a TD on 21 carries, adding another 45 yards on 3 receptions. In the passing game, Robert Hernandez was 21/29, 197 yards, 2 TD and an INT, with the receptions and yards evenly distributed. Seven different receivers caught passes today for Philadelphia and they all had between 2-4 receptions and 20-45 yards each.

Outlaws 21 Wranglers 9

Arizona is trying to rebuild but things got off to a rough start on the opening kickoff. John Gates fumbled the ball and it was scooped up by Oklahoma's George Moss for a quick 7-0 Outlaws lead. The Wranglers would punt and John Quimby ran for the first of his 2 TDs for a 14-0 lead. Quimby would get another TD run early in the 2nd qtr to give Oklahoma a 21-0 lead. Arizona would get a TD and a safety to cut the lead to 21-9 at halftime, but the second half was a punt fest with no points for either team. Oklahoma used 6 RB/FB in their RBBC with the top 4 all between 7-9 carries for 34-50 yards each.

World Bowl XIX: Gold Rush

 Denver Gold 24 Baltimore Stars 23

 

 

 World Bowl XIX was played in Orlando, Florida in front of a capacity crowd of 52,000 as the Denver Gold and Baltimore Stars battled it out to see which team would win their first championship. Denver got the ball first but went three and out. Baltimore's first drive lasted 10 plays, covering 74 yards, ending on an 18 yard TD pass from Jon Snow to Mark Numbers. Denver started to move the ball on their second drive but they stalled in the red zone, settling for a FG to trim the deficit to 7-3. Jon Snow led the Stars down the field again on Baltimore's second drive, which also ended on a Snow TD pass. This one went 10 yards to Robert Lerma and it gave the Stars a 14-3 lead just before the end of the first quarter.

Down 14-3, Gold KR James Riley took the kickoff 7 yards deep in the end zone and brought it out, only reaching the 16 yard line. Andrew Brewer kept his poise however, leading Denver on a 12 play, 84 yard TD drive. The TD was a 16 yard Brewer pass to Richard Funkhouser, cutting the lead to 14-10. We had our first costly mistake of the game on Baltimore's next drive, as William Halford burst up the middle for an 11 yard gain, but Matthew Samson knocked the ball loose and Joshua Woodruff fell on the ball at the Stars 46 yard line. Denver took the lead on the very next play as Andrew Brewer found Jake Peralta over the middle and Peralta took it the distance for a 46 yard score. Baltimore would come back to tie it on  Fred Boyce 49 yard FG and they took the lead back on another Boyce FG, this one a 39 yarder. That FG was at the end of the first half, and Baltimore took a 20-17 lead into the locker room.

Baltimore got the ball to start the 3rd qtr and they went three and out, giving the ball back to Denver for the eventual game winning drive. Andrew Brewer and the Gold embarked on a 14 play, 80 yard TD drive that took nearly 7 minutes off the clock. The drive ended with a Jake Peralta 2 yard TD run, but it almost didn't happen. Denver faced a 4th and 1 situation on their own 43 and if it failed, they would be setting up the Stars just outside Boyce FG range. Max Ellis plunged into the line and they got a good spot, allowing the drive to continue. The Peralta score allowed Denver to retake the lead themselves, 24-20. 

A couple of punts later, Baltimore got within 24-23 on a Fred Boyce 29 yard FG on the second play of the 4th qtr. Denver went on a decent drive that stalled at the Baltimore 40, and punter Garland Hubler pinned Baltimore at their own 10. The Stars got just inside Denver territory before they too had to punt, and John Baker poncherello'd Denver to their own 9. (CHiPs reference there) Brewer got the Gold near midfield on the first play with a 39 yard pass to Douglas Crowley, but Jake Peralta fumbled on the next play, giving the ball back to the Stars. Jon Snow threw 3 straight incompletions and Baltimore punted it back, with John Baker leaving it at the Gold 8. Denver continued the field position game, eventually punting back to Baltimore. The Stars had one last chance, starting their last drive at their 18 with 4:06 to play. Jon Snow had the offense out to the 32 at the 2 minute warning but something strange happened to Baltimore. Through 18 games and 58 minutes of a 19th game, Jon Snow had been sacked 6 times all season, but he was sacked on 2 of the final 4 plays as the Denver defense sealed the deal. Nathan Coleman sacked him on 1st down, Josiah Stiefel sacked him on 3rd down, and the desperation 4th and 28 play was dropped by Knob Creek. 

The Gold ran the final minute off the clock and the entire team celebrated on the field with the MVP of the game, Andrew Brewer. 

For his efforts, the USFL/WFL awarded Brewer a 1993 Chevrolet Corvette. Brewer finished the game completing 25/36, 323 yards and 2 TDs. Jake Peralta had a rushing TD and a receiving TD and Brian Thornton had 122 combined yards for the Gold. Jon Snow was 28/46, 273 yards and 2 TDs while John Warkentin "was held" to 7 catches and 91 scoreless yards. A decent stat line for sure, but Warkentin was dominant the first 2 playoff games, so keeping him out of the end zone was huge. William Halford was solid aside from his fumble, as he rushed for 82 yards on 13 carries, adding 69 yards on 5 receptions.

1992 Conference Championships

 World Bowl XIX is all set except for determining the as of now unknown location of the game. The Denver Gold needed overtime to defeat Houston while Baltimore got out to a huge lead over Florida to advance to the big game. While Houston and Florida are understandably disappointed, they both had excellent seasons and look like they have a great chance to compete for World Bowl XX. First things first though, as we have a long way to go plus a little matter of crowning this year's champion. 

Gold 30 Gamblers 24 (OT)

Houston got the ball first and punted, then Denver went on a 14 play, 89 yard TD drive to take a 7-0 lead. Max Ellis capped off that drive with a 1 yard TD plunge, then Houston went on a long drive of their own. The 1st qtr ended during the Gamblers 10 play, 75 yard TD drive and early in the 2nd, Tony Dean found Lloyd Ellis for a 17 yard TD pass that tied the game at 7.

It only took Denver 4 plays to answer that score, as two big pass plays to Richard Huff set up Jake Peralta's 9 yard TD run. Each team would punt twice before Tony Dean tied the game at 14 inside the 2 minute warning. Dean found Jett Black for an 18 yard TD pass and Denver ran the ball 3 times before the first half ended 14-14.

Denver added a FG on their first drive of the 3rd quarter and were driving for another score before Andrew Brewer was intercepted by Charles Saner, keeping the score 17-14. That was our score until the first play of the 4th, when Andrew Brewer tossed a 17 yard TD pass to Richard Huff, extending the lead to 24-14. Houston then drove all the way to the Denver 5 yard line and the Gamblers opted for a FG on 4th and goal from the 5, pulling the Gamblers within 7. Denver went 3 and out before Dean and Brewer exchanged interceptions. That set up Houston at the Denver 36 with over 4 minutes to play as they sought the tying TD. The Gamblers took 11 plays to travel 36 yards, with the last 11 yards coming on the second Dean to Black TD. Denver would have just over a minute to get in position for a game winning FG but they ran out of time as they got to the Gamblers 39 yard line, forcing OT.

Denver got the ball to start overtime and it ended almost as quickly as it bagan. Lucio Grant forced a touchback on the kickoff, and on the first play of OT, Andrew Brewer silenced 76,273 fans as he hit Douglas Crowley for the 75 yard game winning TD.

Statistically, Denver held Donald Turner to 89 combined yards without a score while also sort of keeping Tony Dean in check, as he completed 32/43 for 279 yards, 3 TD and an INT. Andrew Brewer was 26/39, 402 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. His favorite target was Richard Huff, who caught 12 for 227 and a TD.

Stars 41 Blazers 20

Florida got the ball first and drove for a FG and an early 3-0 lead. That would be as good as it got for the Blazers today as Baltimore scored the next 38 points to take any mystery away concerning who would win. William Halford (21-73) and Knob Creek (13-44) chewed up the clock with their rushing and Jon Snow threw 5 TD passes, 4 to John Warkentin. Warkentin caught 5 passes in all for 231 yards while Snow finished with 370 yards in the air.

Snow to Warkentin TD #1 gave Baltimore a 7-3 lead. The first quarter ended with that 7-3 score and Jon Snow's 2nd TD pass increased the lead to 14-3. This score was not to John Warkentin, but William Halford. The game really turned at the end of the first half when Gerald Harmon missed a 55 yard FG attempt and Snow found Warkentin again for a 55 yard TD to give Baltimore a 21-3 halftime lead. 

That momentum shift continued in the second half as 4 plays in, Snow and Warkentin hooked up yet again, this time for a 64 yard score. Baltimore would add 3 more points on a Fred Boyce FG before Snow's 4th TD pass to Warkentin gave the Stars a 38-3 lead entering the 4th qtr. 

Florida woke up in the 4th, but it was too little, too late. A Gerald Harmon FG made it 38-6, then Sidney Maggard fired a 1 yard TD pass to Perry Salgado, cutting the lead to 38-13. Baltimore would get 3 more points from Fred Boyce before Maggard's 2nd TD pass made the final score 41-20.