Week 2 is now complete, and our defending champions the Denver Gold are still seeking their first win. Is this a World Bowl hangover? Elsewhere in the West division, Portland seems to be on a mission as they are 2-0, outscoring the opposition 102-13, and the Arizona Wranglers are 1-1, the first time the Wranglers have been .500 or better since 1989. Overall, the league saw 3 one score games in Week 2 with nobody getting shutout.
Wheels 23 Gold 14
Detroit QB Gabriel Flanagan completed 27/33 for 225 yards and 2 TDs, leading the Wheels to victory over the defending champs. Both TD passes went to Eric Hollar and the Wheels got out to an early 10-0 lead. Andrew Brewer was able to lead the Gold to 379 offensive yards, but they couldn't crack the end zone until late in the game down 17 points. Detroit had 342 turnover free yards of their own, and the Wheels defense intercepted 2 Brewer passes. Both offenses performed well on 3rd down, as Detroit converted 7/14 and Denver 5/12.
Storm 50 Showboats 10
Memphis QB Norman Maldonado was intercepted 3 times today, the first 2 coming on the first two drives of the game. Portland turned those into 10 points, and coupled with a TD on the Storm's opening drive, Memphis was in an early 17-0 hole. Maldonado was also sacked 4 times by the Portland defense, and the only bright spot for the Showboats was Fred Wink catching 5 passes for 108 yards against his former team. Melvin Driggers had a nice game without Wink, completing 35/49 for 357 yards and 5 TD passes. Jeffrey Frost caught 3 of those TD passes as part of his 9-100 yard day. Jose Moses had a combined 148 yards and a rushing TD (61 rush yards, 9-87 receiving) while Timothy Roquemore had a combined 108 yards and a receiving score (34 rush yards, 5-74 receiving).
Gamblers 37 Panthers 7
Houston (121 yards) and Michigan (127 yards) both ran the ball well, and both QBs completed 17 passes, but the similarities end there. The Gamblers used a RBBC for their rushing attack while Walter Simmons got the bulk of Michigan's carries, getting 106 yards on 19 carries. Houston's Tony Dean only had 211 passing yards, but he had 4 TD passes against 1 INT. Michigan's Larry Henderson had 188 yards passing with 1 TD and 6 INTs. Those turnovers allowed the Gamblers to build a 28-7 halftime lead, then cruise in the second half. Jett Black caught 5 passes for 101 yards and 2 TDs and Anthony Fulks caught the other 2 TD passes from Dean.
Blazers 24 Invaders 21
Oakland drove 91 yards for a TD on their opening drive, the final 68 coming on an Andrew Moreno TD pass to Nelson Martinez for an early 7-0 lead. Florida's Robert Romero ran for 95 yards today, and his 2nd qtr TD tied the game at 7. Florida QB Sidney Maggard threw for 274 yards and the 1st of his 2 TD passes gave the Blazers a 14-7 lead. Oakland would lose two fumbles in the 2nd qtr but the Invaders would tie the game at 14 on Andrew Moreno's 2nd TD pass. On the opening drive of the second half, Moreno threw his 3rd and final TD pass, 2nd to Jessie Heidt, giving Oakland a 21-14 lead. The Invaders would punt the rest of the game until their final drive, which ended on downs. Florida pulled within 21-17 early in the 4th, and inside the 2 minute warning, Maggard found Ray Parker for the game winning 11 yard TD pass.
Maulers 30 Thunderbolts 23
Cleveland led Pittsburgh 20-10 entering the 4th qtr, but the Maulers scored 2 touchdowns and 2 field goals in the 4th to get a come from behind victory. The tide turned when Scott Garnett sacked Tony Romo, causing a fumble. Jerome Bradley recovered the ball, advancing to the Cleveland 27 and 4 plays later, Will Allison fired his 2nd TD pass to William Obrien to get within 3 points. The Thunderbolts answered with a long drive that stalled in the red zone, but they did get a FG to extend the lead to 23-17. On the next offensive snap, Will Allison fired his 3rd TD pass, this one a 75 yard catch and run to Franklin Cherry, giving Pittsburgh a 24-23 lead. Pittsburgh would add a pair of FGs to give us our final score of 30-23. Allison threw for 301 yards today on 26/38 passing with 3 TDs and 1 INT. Franklin Cherry caught 4 passes for 117 yards and the long TD.
Gunslingers 9 Force 7
This was our 3rd and final one score game of the week and there wasn't much offense to talk about. Charlie Shanks ran for 104 yards for San Antonio, but the Gunslingers were only able to score a FG on their opening possession. The 3-0 lead held up until the 3rd qtr, when Georgia cracked the end zone on a Milton People 22 yard TD pass to Gordon Janes. Following an exchange of punts, the Gunslingers had a 13 play, 64 yard drive that took almost half of the 4th qtr, and that drive ended with a FG, cutting Georgia's lead to 7-6. San Antonio would force a punt and they got the ball back on their own 20 with 4:42 to play. This drive took 11 plays covering 69 yards, and Benjamin Regalado's 3rd FG came as time expired, giving San Antonio the come from behind win.
SaberCats 22 (NY) Stars 6
San Jose kept New York out of the end zone all day and Jake Plummer completed 21/24 passes for 263 yards and 2 TDs. Mark Hsu caught 5 passes for 149 yards and 1 of the TDs to lead the skill players in stats, again. Defensively, San Jose held the Stars to 167 total yards, intercepting Willie Bust once and sacking him 3 times, including once for a safety.
Steamer 31 Outlaws 19
Shreveport used a RBBC to run for 184 yards and their WR BC saw 10 different pass catchers combine for 182 yards as QB George Marcil completed 24/29 with 3 TD and 0 INT. WR James Brown caught 4 for 85 and a TD as the only receiver for the Steamer with over 22 yards. Oklahoma had 310 yards of offense themselves and they got a good game from QB John Crisp, who completed 18/25 for 207 yards and 2 TDs. The Outlaws defense had trouble getting off the field though, as Shreveport converted 8/14 3rd down opportunities, was perfect on 4 red zone trips, and held the ball for 38 minutes.
Federals 19 Bulls 9
Both offenses struggled to pass the ball today, combining for 237 yards in the air, but both teams were having success on the ground. The Bulls even got a TD when a RB had a short loss on the play, according to the box score/game log description. "45-Brian Turner ran to WAS 0 for a short loss. TOUCHDOWN!" Um, ok then. Jacksonville ran for 138 yards today, but Washington had 179. The Federals were led by Robert Trammell, who ran for 101, adding 63 receiving yards on 8 catches, while James Dunn ran for 78. John Bazile would kick 4 FGs and Washington improves to 2-0.
Bell 23 Stallions 13
The first half ended 3-3, then Birmingham took a 10-3 lead on a 1 yard run by Francis Schultz. Philadelphia immediately tied it up on a 75 yard pass from Robert Hernandez to Andres Freeman, or so they thought. The XP was no good, and the Stallions would add a FG for a 13-9 lead in the 4th. From there, it was the Jamie Epperson show, as he caught a swing pass and took it 60 yards for the go ahead score, then his 13 yard TD run at the 2 minute warning put the game away for the Bell. Epperson finished with 81 rushing yards and 63 receiving on 3 catches. Philadelphia is 2-0 and next week they play 2-0 New Jersey for the early lead in the East.
Generals 26 Express 3
New New Jersey QB Don Ferguson completed 35/56 passes for 405 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT to lead the Generals to victory. WR Cody Schiavo caught 7 passes for 128 yards and a TD to lead the receiving corp and the defense sacked William Mauriello 5 times. Shawn Hicks had 3 of the sacks, including one in the end zone for a safety.
Stars 34 Bandits 23
Tampa Bay QB Antonio Martinez threw for 330 yards and 3 TDs (1 INT), but was just 34/60 passing. Baltimore QB Jon Snow was much more efficient, throwing for 252 yards with 4 TDs and 0 INT on 25/29 passing. Snow was also untouched by the Bandits defense while Martinez was sacked 4 times by Baltimore. Tampa was able to hang close to Baltimore, trailing 24-17 after 3, but the Stars pulled away in the 4th for the win. Stars WR John Warkentin had 112 receiving yards and a TD on 5 catches while William Halford had a combined 119 yards. FB Cal Thornton caught 2 TDs on the day, giving the rookie 3 already this young season.
Wranglers 20 Renegades 3
Arizona is now 1-1 with today's victory, their first time at .500 or better since the end of the 1989 regular season. The Wranglers defense held Emory Howard under 100 passing yards, and despite allowing 168 on the ground, they forced 4 fumbles, recovering 3 to stymie the Orlando offense. Arizona QB Zachary Kinkead has had a rough career so far, though a lot of that is the fault of previous ownership. At the end of 1989, the Wranglers were 8-8, their 6th straight season .500 or better. Jaybird took over at that point, and Arizona went 4-44 in his 3 seasons before he left the USFL. Kinkead came into this season with a TD/INT ratio of 4/39, but so far, he is vastly improved.
Hornets 29 Blitz 20
Charlotte QB Robert Ament threw for 322 yards and a TD and Lawrence Linville booted 5 FGs to lead the Hornets to victory. Chicago ran the ball much better than Charlotte, but QB Ronald Brown was barely over 50% passing, finishing 19/36, 242 yards with a TD and an INT. The Hornets held a 26-13 lead at the 2 minute warning before Chicago scored a TD to get within 6. The onside kick failed, allowing Charlotte to add 3 points to put the game away.
Hawaiians 24 Sun 6
Honolulu QB Derek Henry overcame 2 INTs to throw for 207 yards and 2 TDs with support from a running game that generated 159 yards. Anthony Davis had 97 of those yards, adding another 39 yards receiving and a TD. The Hawaiians defense intercepted Wilmer Kimble 3 times while also sacking him twice. Southern California actually scored first with an early FG, and they also scored the last 3 points of the game, but losing 24-0 in between means a loss.
VooDoo 31 Breakers 7
New Orleans got 3 TD passes by QB Joseph Jones and 120 rushing yards and a TD from RB Thomas Thomas to lead the VooDoo to victory over Boston. The Breakers spread the ball around on offense, with 10 different pass catchers and 5 different rushers, but it resulted in just 258 yards as the Breakers fumbled 4 times, losing 3. Each of those lost fumbles led to New Orleans TDs. The VooDoo also spread the ball around in the passing game, with 3 different receivers catching TD passes and the top yardage was Nicholas Dorey's 50.
