The longest winning streak in Philadelphia Bell history is over after they were defeated by the New Jersey Generals 47-33. Congratulations on being the last team to lose this season. The Generals victory means New Jersey and Philadelphia are now tied atop the East with identical 9-1 records. The East is not the only division tied with 9-1 records, as the Memphis Showboats and Houston Gamblers are both 9-1 atop the Southwest. Week 11 marks the first of 2 Memphis/Houston games, with the rematch set for Week 16. Let's check on what happened in Week 10.
Generals 47 Bell 33
New Jersey got out to an early 17-3 lead before Philadelphia pulled within 17-10 midway through the 2nd quarter. The Bell would tie it with a TD inside the 2 minute warning, capping off a 12 play, 86 yard drive. This TD was a 3 yard Robert Hernandez pass to Robert Cooper and was just the beginning of a very wild and crazy final 90 seconds of the first half. On the very next play from scrimmage, Don Ferguson threw an 81 yard TD pass to Duncan Meyer as the Generals retook the lead, briefly. On the very next play from scrimmage, the Bell handed off to Jamie Epperson and he burst through the New Jersey defense for a 75 yard TD, tying the game at 24. Stop me if you've heard this before, but on the very next play from scrimmage, Ferguson hooked up with Meyer again for a 75 yard TD pass that gave the Generals a 31-24 halftime lead. In case you're not counting at home, that's 4 TDs in 4 consecutive plays from scrimmage, something we probably have not seen since the old days of MFN versions gone by. That was the end of the first half scoring, but the excitement was still happening. On the very next play from scrimmage, Jamie Epperson fumbled the ball away to the Generals and Don Ferguson had the New Jersey offense ready to score, but on 2nd and goal from the 2, he threw an INT.
Things settled down a bit in the second half as each team added a 3rd qtr FG and a Don Ferguson 25 yard TD pass to Kurt Cobain on the first play of the 4th gave New Jersey a 41-27 lead. Philadelphia would get 2 FGs in the 4th to get within 41-33 with 7:21 to play, but they decided to try an onside kick, which failed. New Jersey didn't score, but the field position led to their next FG following a Philadelphia turnover on downs at their own 28 inside 3 minutes to go. Robert Hernandez was intercepted twice inside the final 2 minutes, allowing New Jersey to get the victory that ties the East.
Stat time. For Philadelphia, Robert Hernandez threw 2 TD passes but was otherwise ineffective, completing 18/38, 204 yards and 2 INTs. RB Jamie Epperson ran 20 times for 175 yards and a TD. For the Generals, Don Ferguson completed 32/43, 508 yards, 4 TDs and 3 INTs, with WR Duncan Meyer catching 9 passes for 261 yards and 3 TDs. RB Sam Beckett ran for 62 yards and a TD, adding 7 receptions for 117 yards.
Stars 27 Maulers 23
I failed to mention above that New Jersey won despite committing 5 turnovers, and I was reminded of that when I looked at this box score, as Baltimore also won despite 5 turnovers in an important divisional game. In between the turnovers, the Stars moved the ball well, to the tune of 496 yards, converting 7/13 3rd down conversions. Baltimore got a 71 yard Jon Snow TD to John Warkentin and a 102 yard kickoff return TD from Ernest Wiley to take a 14-3 2nd qtr lead. The teams then had a 2 minute warning fireworks display, though not quite like the Generals/Bell game. First, Will Allison tossed a 23 yard TD pass to Chris Goldberg then Snow found John Warkentin for another TD. That left just enough time for Allison to complete a 35 yard pass to set up a Brett Bowman 58 yard FG for a halftime score of 21-13 Stars.
In the second half, Baltimore would add a FG, extending the lead to 24-13, but Allison would fire his 2nd TD pass late in the 3rd and a 4th qtr Bowman FG got Pittsburgh within 24-23. The rest of the game was exchanging punts until the final seconds, when Fred Boyce tacked on a FG. Chris Goldberg was the star of the game for Pittsburgh, with 42 rushing yards to go with 5 receptions, 100 yards and a TD. Jon Snow threw for 295 yards and 2 TDs, with 4 INTs, finding John Warkentin 7 times for 191 and 2 scores. RB Orville Barker had 165 combined yards, 107 rushing and William Halford added 87 rushing yards.
Showboats 46 Express 7
Memphis scored 3 TDs in the first quarter and rode that momentum to a blow out win over Los Angeles. Norman Maldonado threw for 513 yards and 4 TDs, all to Mark Glenn who had a monster day receiving. Glenn had TDs of 69, 79, 60, and 91 yards, with a total of 333 yards on 8 receptions. RB Thomas Saunders had 151 combined yards, leading the team with 75 rushing yards, adding 76 on 4 receptions. The Showboats defense shut down the Los Angeles running game, forced William Mauriello into a sub 50% completion rate, sacked him once and held the Express to 2/16 on 3rd down.
Gamblers 58 Outlaws 9
It was the Tony Dean show in Houston as Mr. MVP threw for 510 yards and 7 TD passes, leading Houston to scores the first 7 times they had the ball. Jett Black was the leading receiver with 204 yards and 3 TDs on 6 catches, while RB Donald Turner also caught 6, gaining 170 yards with 2 TDs. Turner also ran for 76 yards for a combined 246.
Storm 38 Bandits 13
Tampa Bay scored the first TD of the game on what I can only guess was the fumblerooski play. The game log just says Touchdown, and the video just shows the center fall on the ball in the end zone. Portland QB Melvin Driggers threw a pair of first half TD passes and the Storm led at the half 14-10. Neither team scored in the 3rd, but Portland scored 24 unanswered 4th quarter points to seize control of the game and defeat the Bandits. Driggers finished the game 36/41, 422 yards and 5 TDs, with Peter Jesse leading the way with 8 catches, 113 yards and 2 TDs. Defensively, the Storm intercepted Antonio Martinez twice and sacked him twice as well.
Blazers 37 Bulls 27
Florida QB Sidney Maggard tossed 3 first half TD passes, 2 to Ray Parker and the Blazers defense overcame 180 rushing yards and 2 TDs from Tyron Bailey to defeat Jacksonville. Parker caught 4 for 133 yards in all and Robert Romero had 100 rushing yards to lead the Florida offense. Jacksonville played hard but the Blazers eventually pulled away from the stubborn Bulls.
Federals 13 Thunderbolts 0
Washington passed for 152 yards and ran for 151 in a truly balanced attack and the defense shutout Cleveland as the Federals win to take sole possession of 1st place in the Atlantic. Struggling Scott Bieber did complete 23/29 but for just 152 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. RB Robert Trammell led the Washington offense with 129 total yards, 76 rushing. Cleveland didn't turn the ball over, but they couldn't sustain drives against the stingy Federals defense.
Blitz 30 Panthers 10
Michigan QB Larry Henderson threw 10 interceptions the first 2 weeks of the season but only 2 since, including three straight games with none. One of those first 2 games was against today's opponent Chicago, and the Blitz intercepted Henderson 4 times yet still lost in Week 1. This time around, Chicago intercepted Henderson 7 times, with Jeffery Welch taking 1 in for a TD. Blitz CB Douglas Russell intercepted 4 passes today, giving him a league leading 9 on the season. Offensively, Chicago ran for 198 yards with Dale Davis gaining 142 with a TD on 31 carries. The Chicago win tightens up the Midwest race as the 5-5 Blitz are just a game behind Michigan and Cleveland.
Hawaiians 21 (NY) Stars 3
Honolulu couldn't get out of their own way in the first half, as their 5 drives ended with a punt, downs, missed FG, fumble, and interception. New York couldn't take advantage, with just a FG during the first 30 minutes for a 3-0 lead. Derek Henry bounced back in the 3rd qtr however, leading a pair of scoring drives that ended in TD passes. Henry added a 3rd TD in the 4th qtr and Honolulu wins to improve to 6-4. Hawaiians RB Anthony Davis had 201 combined yards, running for 112 on 18 carries, adding 89 receiving yards and a TD on 7 receptions. The next 4 weeks will make or break Honolulu's season: @ (7-3) San Jose, vs (9-1) Philadelphia, @ (9-1) New Jersey, and @ (9-1) Portland.
Breakers 15 SaberCats 9
Three weeks ago San Jose had a 3 game lead over Honolulu, but today's loss is their 2nd in the last 3 games and the lead is down to 1. The SaberCats did get 111 rushing yards from Rodney Richardson, but the Breakers made life miserable for Jake Plummer and the passing game. Boston intercepted Plummer twice, sacked him twice, and held him to 12/36 passing for 137 yards. They also kept Mark Hsu in check, allowing him 68 scoreless yards on 5 catches. The Breakers weren't great on offense, but they didn't turn the ball over and QB Joseph Haight was a solid 20/30 for 186 yards and a TD.
VooDoo 23 Force 17
Georgia was looking to tighten up the race in the South, and they got the scoring underway with a 67 yard Milton People TD pass to John Huynh in the first qtr. New Orleans RB Thomas Thomas tied it with a short TD run before Georgia got a FG and a short INT return for a TD to take a 17-7 2nd qtr lead. As the first half wound to a close, People had the Force poised to score but a red zone INT thwarted any chance for points. To add insult to injury, the VooDoo took possession and drove for a FG as the half expired.
The turnovers continued in the 3rd quarter as Georgia lost fumbles that directly led to 10 points for New Orleans. The first fumble led to a FG, cutting the lead to 17-13 and the second fumble led to a 17 yard Joseph Jones TD pass to Nicholas Dorey that gave the VooDoo the lead for good. New Orleans would add an important FG at the 2 minute warning because Georgia got the ball after that and drove all the way down to the VooDoo 7 yard line. Down 6 instead of 3, they had to go for it on 4th and goal from the 7 but the Force turned it over on downs and New Orleans hangs on for the win.
Stallions 21 Steamer 3
Birmingham and Shreveport met to determine which team would remain 1 game behind New Orleans in the South. Shreveport won the turnover battle 3-0 but the Steamer offense had trouble moving the ball on the Stallions. Birmingham sacked George Marcil 4 times while their QB Willie Benge tossed 3 TD passes to Theodore Turner as the Stallions defeat division rival Shreveport. Turner had 8 catches for 117 yards in all today while Francis Schulz ran for 89 yards to lead the rushing attack. Sylvester Martin and Jason Hinkle had 2 sacks apiece to lead the defense.
Gold 41 Renegades 20
There wasn't much defense played in this game but the Gold went on a 20-3 run over the last 17 minutes to seize the win and keep their playoff hopes alive. Orlando kept things close for 3 quarters thanks to RB Ben Dehaven, who ran for just 44 yards but he caught 7 passes for 133 yards and a TD. QB Emory Howard completed 25/30 for 283 yards and a TD, but Dehaven and Howard were bested by Jake Peralta and Andrew Brewer. Brewer completed 20/27 for exactly 300 yards, tossing 5 TDs and 0 INTs. Peralta caught 2 of the scores, and 5 overall for 121 yards, adding 76 on the ground. Richard Huff almost joined Peralta in the 100 club, catching 4 for 96 yards and 2 TDs.
Invaders 23 Gunslingers 14
Oakland had 4 first half possessions, scoring on all 4 as they took a 20-0 halftime lead, then held on for the win against San Antonio. The first 2 drives ended with Andrew Moreno TD passes, one to Ronald McDevitt and one to Nelson Martinez. The last 2 drives ended with FGs, the last drive being an 18 play, 93 yard drive that took over 8 minutes off the clock. Gunslingers QB Robert Fanelli threw a pair of TD passes in the second half, but the comeback attempt fell short. Moreno finished the day 35/43, 323 yards and 2 TDs while McDevitt touched the ball 31 times, 19 rushes for 74 yards and 12 receptions for 114 and a TD.
Wheels 34 Hornets 6
Detroit scored the first 34 points of the game before Charlotte closed the scoring with a pair of 4th qtr FGs as the Wheels break a 7 game losing streak. Detroit QB Gabriel Flanagan completed 23/32 for 387 yards and 3 TDs, with favorite target Matthew Houston catching 5 for 237 yards and 2 of the scores.
Sun 10 Wranglers 9
Arizona outgained Southern California 253-184 and the Wranglers defense held the Sun to 0/11 on 3rd down, allowing less than 50% completions. An early lost fumble by Nathan Rodgers allowed the Sun to score first on a FG, then Southern California had their best drive of the game. The 10 play, 79 yard drive ended when Wilmer Kimble found Joseph Baker for a 1 yard TD pass, giving the Sun a 10-0 lead. Arizona opted to go with Gregory Skidmore at QB today and he led 3 scoring drives but unfortunately, they were all FGs, with the last 2 Wranglers possessions ending in a turnover on downs and an interception. The INT came in the final minute as Arizona was approaching the outer limits of FG range, sealing victory for Southern California.
