Week 5 had 5 one score games, including a pair of OT contests, and the Orlando Renegades got their first win by scoring a league high 55 points. Four of the eight divisions are tied and the East is separated by 1 game. Portland has a 2 game lead in the West while San Jose and Florida enjoy 3 game leads. Portland also boasts the top scoring offense (189 points) and defense (39 points), with an average margin of victory of 30 points a game.
Bell 23 Steamer 17 (OT)
Shreveport didn't exactly gain a bunch of yards, with 215 total, but they held a 17-3 lead through 3 quarters thanks to a pair of George Marcil 1 yard TD passes. Philadelphia wasn't great on offense either, with 343 total yards, 75 of that coming in OT, and the Bell suffered 3 turnovers. QB Robert Hernandez was responsible for 1 of the turnovers with an interception, but he also threw a 4th qtr TD pass to Brian McDonald to trim the deficit to 17-10. Shreveport got the ball back and immediately had their lone turnover of the game, an interception returned for a TD by Jason Richards and the game was suddenly tied. The next scoring chance came on the last play of regulation, but Philadelphia K Lucio Grant was short on a 58 yard try and we were headed for extra football.
In OT, both teams get a chance with the ball unless the first team scores a TD, then it's game over. Three plays into OT, on a 3rd and 6 from the 29, RB James Moon took the handoff and raced 71 yards to the end zone for the game winning, walk off TD, enabling Philadelphia to remain undefeated this season.
Storm 29 Wheels 17
As noted above, Portland is having an excellent season, but the Detroit Wheels hung with the Storm all game, and might have won had they exercised better ball security. Jose Moses and Timothy Roquemore led the Storm RBBC, combining for 26 carries and 112 yards, while Melvin Driggers threw for 282 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. Portland was not very good in the red zone today, with 1 TD and 4 FG in 5 trips, which helped keep the Wheels in the game despite their 5 turnovers. QB Gabriel Flanagan was responsible for 4 of those with interceptions but Portland had 3 turnovers themselves.
Portland held a 19-14 lead entering the 4th and a Kent Olden FG got Detroit within 2 points before the turnovers started. Timothy Roquemore fumbled it away to Detroit but Gabriel Flanagan promptly gave it back via interception. Portland then drove for a bit, nearly reaching the red zone when Driggers threw his interception, only to have Detroit give it right back again. Flanagan completed a short pass to Matthew Houston, who then lost it on a fumble. The Storm would add a FG to take a 22-17 lead with 3:37 to go, then added a TD on a short drive after the Wheels turned it over on downs. The game was sealed inside the final minute on Flanagan's 4th INT to help Portland remain unbeaten.
SaberCats 19 Sun 9
San Jose scored on their first 4 possessions to take a 16-0 lead before Southern California started to chip away with 3 FG of their own. The SaberCats led 16-9 after 3, with Lester Turner's 5 yard TD run the difference in the game so far. San Jose ran the ball better than they threw today, as the Sun defense limited Jake Plummer to 108 passing yards and kept Mark Hsu from making an impact (4-62-0). Rodney Richardson led the way with 99 rushing yards, and the team had 143 yards total. Southern California out gained San Jose 268-231, but while the SaberCats played turnover free football, the Sun lost the ball twice on interceptions and 3 times on downs.
Blazers 48 VooDoo 10
Florida QB Sidney Maggard threw for 542 yards on 34/44 passing with 5 TD and 1 INT. The 542 yards are a league high so far, topping the 480 New Jersey's Don Ferguson threw for last week. Florida got off to a blazing start, with TDs on each of their first 4 drives. All 5 Maggard TDs came in the first half as Florida led 38-0 at halftime. Four of those 5 TDs were big play strikes, 75 yards to Ray Parker, 95 yards to Freddy Jones, 57 yards to Kevin Forester, a 1 yarder to Parker snuck in there before an 81 yard strike to Jones again. Jones caught 6 for 222 yards total today, with Parker next at 81 total receiving yards. RBs Robert Romero (61 rush yards, 59 receiving) and Kevin Forester (43 rushing, 77 receiving) both had 120 combined yards from scrimmage.
Blitz 30 Thunderbolts 27 (OT)
Chicago had won 2 straight after starting 0-2, and at the 2 minute warning, it looked like they were headed for a 3rd straight victory. Leon Rupe had just kicked a FG to give the Blitz a 27-13 lead, but Cleveland QB Tony Romo immediately found James Bull for a 75 yard TD. That cut the score to 27-20 and rather than kick deep and play defense, they tried an onside kick. The Thunderbolts recovered and 5 plays later, Romo found Mark Howe for a 22 yard TD to tie the game at 27.
In OT, Chicago got the ball first and punted. Romo then threw an INT, setting up Chicago just inside the 50 yard line, but 2 plays later, Ronald Brown gave it back with an interception of his own. Three punts later, there was just 1:29 left in OT when Chicago got the ball on their own 22. A pair of pass completions got the Blitz in FG range and Leon Rupe booted the game winning 42 yard FG as the OT clock expired.
For Cleveland, Tony Romo was 36/52, 379 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT while James Bull caught 8 passes for 223 yards and 2 TDs. Chicago got 105 rushing yards from Dale Davis, while Ronald Brown completed 31/44, 356 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT. Ian Gordon caught all 3 TD passes as part of his 5 catch 153 yard game.
Gamblers 20 Gold 13
Tony Dean threw a pair of 1st qtr TD passes to help Houston to an early 14-0 lead on the defending champs. The first score came on the first play from scrimmage, a 78 yard TD to Lloyd Ellis, then their second drive covered 98 yards in 7 plays, ending on a 28 yard TD pass to Wesley Hull. Those 2 drives accounted for over half of Houston's total yardage as the Denver defense stiffened up. Unfortunately for Denver, their offense was stymied all game long, as they had just a pair of FGs until the final minute, when they finally cracked the end zone. The onside kick failed, and Tony Dean knelt down twice, preserving victory for the Gamblers.
Stallions 27 Force 24
Birmingham and Georgia played a wild game with a crazy finish. The Stallions led 20-10 after 3 quarters thanks to a pair of Willie Benge TD passes. Georgia came back in the 4th with a 51 yard TD run by Thomas Sanchez and a 15 yard TD pass from Milton People to John Huynh. The TD to Huynh came with 1:19 left and gave the Force a 24-20 lead. With 0:33 left, Ralph Hooks intercepted a pass that seemed to seal the win for Georgia, but a pass interference penalty by Kyle Pedersen nullified it. On the very next play, Willie Benge found Richard Sutton for a 52 yard game winning TD.
For Shreveport, Willie Benge completed 36/50 for 305 yards and 3 TDs, while the skill players split up the yards relatively evenly. Milton People was 24/37, 378 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT for Georgia, and his favorite receiver was Matthew Taylor, who caught 8 for 206 yards.
Express 6 (NY) Stars 3
Defense ruled this game as the teams combined for 436 offensive yards, zero red zone trips and a combined 3-26 on 3rd down conversions. Los Angeles had 2 first half FGs for a 6-0 lead that they held until the middle of the 4th. William Mauriello threw an interception that New York turned into 3 points. Los Angeles then drove a little bit but missed on a 52 yard FG try, then New York missed a 51 yard try inside the 2 minute warning. From there, Los Angeles ran out the clock and hung on for the win.
Federals 20 Panthers 9
Michigan did a lot of things right in this game, except they couldn't crack the end zone, losing to Washington. The Panthers tried to play keep away from the Federals, as they ran 49 times for 123 yards, attempting just 23 passes. They held the ball for 39 minutes, and the Panthers defense frustrated Scott Bieber all day. Bieber only completed 11/29 for 112 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs. The running game picked up Bieber's slack though, as Robert Trammell ran for 117 yards on 14 carries and James Dunn ran 8 times for 61 yards and a TD. Dunn's TD came just before the 2 minute warning to extend the slim 4 point lead to 11.
Maulers 32 Hornets 3
Pittsburgh had 4 times the yards of Charlotte (531-131) and Will Allison tossed 3 TD passes to lead the Maulers to victory. Allison finished the game 28/37 for 390 yards and no turnovers. RB Chris Goldberg ran for 92 yards and caught 4 passes for 84 yards and a TD to lead the skill players with 176 combined yards. Joel Davis caught 4 for 111 yards and Robert Erickson had a combined 101 (30 rushing, 71 receiving).
Stars 21 Bulls 6
Jon Snow tossed 3 TD passes, 2 in the 1st qtr as Baltimore got out to a quick 14-0 lead before going on to defeat Jacksonville. Snow threw for exactly 300 yards and WR John Warkentin caught 2 of his TD throws, racking up 118 yards in all on 4 receptions. Orville Barker (14 carries, 24 yards) and company had trouble running the ball, but Barker caught 4 for 90 yards as the 2nd leading receiver for the Stars. Jacksonville was the opposite, as they ran decently (30-106 yards) but had just 96 passing yards, 77 after taking the sack yardage away.
Showboats 44 Hawaiians 23
Memphis had trouble stopping Honolulu RB Anthony Davis, who ran for 64 yards and caught 11 passes for 107 yards, but the Hawaiians defense had no answer for the big plays Memphis put up when they had the ball. Erik McNamee ran for 102 yards while Norman Maldonado threw for 469 yards on just 15 completions, with 6 TDs and 2 INTs. Mark Glenn caught 3 for 149 yards and 2 TDs while Thomas Ballard caught 2 passes, both TDs covering 131 yards.
Honolulu scored first for an early 3-0 lead before Memphis started putting up points to take a 35-13 halftime lead. Honolulu won the second half 10-9 but the early deficit was too much to overcome.
Renegades 55 Bandits 27
Orlando fumbled it away on their first possession but bounced back for touchdowns on their next 3 to take a 21-3 lead after 15 minutes. Tampa Bay would fight back to get within 28-17 by halftime, and a 3rd qtr FG cut the lead to 28-20. Orlando then went on a 27-0 run to seize the victory, with a last minute Bandits TD rounding out the scoring.
Tampa Bay out gained Orlando 407-395 but Bandits QB Antonio Martinez threw 6 INTs. Martinez otherwise completed 29/52 for 395 yards and 3 TDs. Richard Miller caught 2 of those as part of his 5 catch, 100 yard game. Darren Cotton added 126 receiving yards on 9 receptions. For Orlando, Emory Howard finally had a good game this year, completing 25/34, 290 yards and 4 TDs, spreading the ball to 10 different receivers. RB Ben Dehaven was the leading receiver for the Renegades (3-76-1) and he also ran for 112 yards and a score as Orlando gets their first win of the season.
Generals 40 Breakers 21
New Jersey has been the most pass happy team in 1993, and while they ran 29 times for 149 yards, they still threw 45 passes. The Generals aren't complaining about the results though, as Don Ferguson completed 39/45 for 401 yards and 4 TD passes, all to different receivers as New Jersey beat division rival Boston. The Breakers moved the ball well when they had it but New Jersey kept the ball 40 minutes, out gaining Boston 550-239. Cody Schiavo led the Generals receivers with 9 catches, 117 yards while David Koresh ran for 73 and Sam Beckett 70.
Gunslingers 25 Outlaws 7
San Antonio played ball control offense, keeping the ball 38 minutes while rushing 53 times for 188 yards. Charlie Shanks ran 28 times for 104 yards and a TD while Randy Leger added 79 yards on 18 carries. All of that rushing left little work for QB Robert Fanelli, but he threw 3 TD passes on 14/18 passing for 170 yards. Eugene Bufkin caught 2 of those scoring tosses and the only bad spot for San Antonio was K Benjamin Regalado missing 2 of 3 XP kicks.
Invaders 30 Wranglers 13
The W-L record doesn't show it but the Arizona Wranglers are much better than they've been at any point in the last 3+ seasons. The losses are much more competitive and they were in this game for 3 and a half quarters. The first half ended 16-13 Oakland and 2 more second half FGs gave the Invaders a 22-13 lead mid 4th. That's when future HOF LB Victor Thomas intercepted Zachary Kinkead, returning it 20 yards for essentially the game clinching score. In all, Kinkead finished 20/35, 247 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT for Arizona while Oakland's Andrew Moreno was 29/42 for 227 yards and a TD. Invaders RB Ronald McDevitt ran 21 times for 103 yards and was the leading receiver with 66 yards on 7 catches. K Robert Albertson made all 5 of his FG opportunities.
