The undefeated club lost a member this week as the San Jose SaberCats were defeated by the Memphis Showboats, leaving us with 3 teams without a loss. The Portland Storm continue to crush opponents and look like they're on a mission. The Florida Blazers got out to a big lead before surviving a late Pittsburgh flurry. The Philadelphia Bell helped Washington continue their offensive slump, intercepting 3 passes.
Portland and Florida enjoy 3 game division leads while Philadelphia has a 1 game lead on 5-1 New Jersey. San Jose still has a 2 game lead in the Pacific while the other 4 divisions are tight. Houston and Memphis are tied atop the Southwest at 5-1 while the Midwest has a 3 way tie as Michigan, Cleveland, and Chicago are all 4-2. New Orleans has a 1 game lead on Birmingham and Shreveport, and even last place Georgia is just 2 games out. The Atlantic mirrors the Midwest, with Pittsburgh, Washington, and Baltimore all tied at 4-2.
Showboats 24 SaberCats 3
Memphis won this game with a balanced offensive attack and a defense that shut down the big play San Jose offense. QB Norman Maldonado threw for 292 yards and 2 TDs and Thomas Saunders had 107 combined yards to lead the Showboats offense. Memphis led 17-3 at the half and San Jose wasn't able to adjust in the second half. Memphis limited the SaberCats to just 174 offensive yards. San Jose didn't turn the ball over at all, they just couldn't move the ball on the Showboats, generating only 10 first downs. The Memphis win gives both teams 5-1 records.
Storm 55 Wranglers 3
Last week I said in the blog that Arizona is an improved team, and I still believe that, even after the destruction by Portland. The Storm are on a mission, ticked off at being a wildcard in 1992, and they've let it be known they want the division back. It took Portland most of the first quarter to dent the scoreboard, but once they did, it was like the floodgates opened. The Portland defense allowed Arizona just 5 first downs, 141 total yards, and 16 minutes worth of possession. Wranglers QB Zachary Kinkead had a stat line like 1992, and their next game is against 6-0 Florida.
Stat time: RB Jose Moses had 214 combined yards and just missed a double triple with 126 rushing yards and 88 receiving. Moses also scored 3 rushing TDs. Timothy Roquemore had 109 combined yards with 80 rushing and 29 receiving. In addition to those 2 combining for 206 rushing yards, 3 other ball carriers added 48 yards on 10 carries as Portland rushed for 254 as a team. If that's not enough, Melvin Driggers completed 35/43 for 459 yards and 4 TDs, all to different receivers. Peter Jesse led the way with 11 catches, 160 yards and a TD.
Blazers 27 Maulers 24
This game was a tale of 2 halves, with Florida winning the first half 24-3. The Pittsburgh defense did a good job of limiting the big plays Florida usually gets, as the Blazers longest offensive play was 18 yards, but the Maulers offense and special teams let them down the first 30 minutes. Will Allison threw 2 INTs, both in the first half, and Florida turned both into TDs, driving 20 and 50 yards respectively. In between those drives, Florida got a 35 yard punt return, setting up a short 34 yard TD drive. Sidney Maggard tossed 1 TD pass to Freddy Jones today, but was limited to 192 yards passing. No Blazers skill player had 100 yards, with RB Robert Romero the closest with 80 yards and a rushing TD.
The Pittsburgh offense finally got going late in the 3rd when Robert Erickson's 4 yard TD run cut the deficit to 24-10. Erickson ran for 62 yards and 2 TDs while catching 10 for 143 yards, spearheading the attempted Maulers comeback. Pittsburgh would add 2 FGs to get within 8 before Florida finally scored again with a FG of their own, for a 27-16 lead with 3 minutes to play. The Maulers drove quickly for a TD, Erickson's 2nd rushing score, and Allison threw for 2 points to Cory Martin and the score was 27-24 Florida. Pittsburgh tried an onside kick that failed, and got the ball back too far away with too little time left to force OT.
Bell 17 Federals 7
Washington QB Scott Bieber is in the midst of a slump that's affecting the whole offense as they've only scored 36 points the last 3 weeks after averaging 29 points the first 3 weeks. Bieber threw 2 INTs each of the last 2 weeks, and he matched that today on the first 2 Federals drives. Philadelphia couldn't take advantage directly though. Indirectly, it led to a field position switch, and the Bell finally got 3 points after a Washington punt allowed Philadelphia to start on the Federals side of the field. The Bell got a TD on their next drive as Robert Hernandez found Craig Hines for a 59 yard TD and a 10-0 lead. Bieber then led Washington to a TD of their own, with Robert Trammell capping it off with an 8 yard run, trimming the lead to 10-7. Washington would get the ball one more time before the half ended, but another Bieber INT thwarted that drive, leaving the score 10-7 Bell at the half.
The second half, both teams traded punts until Philadelphia's last 2 drives. Hernandez tossed his 2nd TD pass, 47 yards to Andres Freeman, to extend the Bell lead to 17-7, then their last drive ran the final 4:51 off the clock to preserve the win and improve to 6-0.
Bandits 29 Gold 25
Denver is the defending champs, but the Gold are finding 1993 to be much tougher than 1992. The Gold lost their 5th game of the season today, although none of the losses has been by double digits, and they still have to play Portland twice. It's going to be difficult for Denver to get back into the playoff race, but they have the talent to do it.
There was a game today, and for 3 quarters, not much happened. The first half ended with Denver leading 8-7, on a pair of FGs and a safety. Andrew Brewer's lone TD pass came in the 3rd qtr to give the Gold a 15-7 lead going into the 4th. Denver extended the lead to 22-7 after Fredrick Whidden's 3 yard TD run before Tampa Bay started their comeback. The Bandits moved the ball well on their opening drive before punting, and their first half TD came on a 75 yard drive, but the rest was literally almost nothing until early in the 4th. Tampa Bay would score TDs on each of their last 3 drives to steal victory from Denver.
Antonio Martinez wasn't efficient, completing just 18/37, with 2 INTs and 3 sacks allowed, one for a safety. His 18 completions went for 346 yards though, and he threw 4 TD passes, 3 in the 4th qtr. Luis Dean caught a TD from Martinez in the first half, then Daniel Steward caught an 11 yard TD pass and Martinez found Darren Cotton for the 2 point conversion to cut the deficit to 22-15 early in the 4th. Following a three and out, Martinez led the Bandits on an 11 play, 83 yard drive that ended with a 5 yard TD pass to Richard Miller. That tied the game at 22, then Denver drove for a go ahead FG with just over a minute to play, but Tampa Bay would get the ball back with time. A 58 yard pass to Thomas Whitley got the Bandits into the red zone right away and the next play, Martinez found Luis Dean for the game winning 17 yard TD pass. Denver got the ball back with 0:30 remaining, but couldn't cross midfield.
Generals 13 Steamer 9
The teams combined for 24 punts as there were few sustained drives today. New Jersey was leading 6-0 in the 3rd qtr when rookie FB Frasier Crane caught a pass but Christopher Landreneau forced a fumble, which was scooped up by William Augustine for a 32 yard TD, but the XP was wide right, leaving the game tied at 6. Don Ferguson threw 44 passes today, completing just 24 for 206 yards, with 91 coming on a 3rd qtr TD pass to Duncan Meyer, breaking the tie. The rest of the game was punts until Shreveport cut the lead to 13-9 with a FG at the 1:21 mark. The Steamer then recovered the onside kick and got to the edge of FG range, but being down 4, they had to go for it on 4th and 14, but failed. New Jersey kneeled down twice to preserve the win for the 5-1 Generals.
Blitz 24 Wheels 16
Detroit led 13-10 after 3 quarters but Chicago out scored the Wheels 14-3 in the final quarter for their 4th victory in a row. Detroit QB Gabriel Flanagan completed 32/45 for 263 yards with a TD and an INT. The TD went to Matthew Houston, who caught 9 in all for 114 yards. Chicago turned the ball over 3 times during the first 3 quarters, including 2 INTs by QB Ronald Brown, but Brown found Ian Gordon for a 21 yard TD that gave the Blitz a 17-13 lead early in the 4th. Detroit got a FG to get within 17-16 before Flanagan's INT allowed Chicago to play add on with a Dale Davis 3 yard TD run. Davis ran for 97 yards, adding 41 more receiving, while Ian Gordon caught 7 for 116 yards and a TD. The Davis TD came with 1:10 left, but Detroit could not cross midfield and the Blitz hang on to win.
Force 23 Breakers 20 (OT)
Four Boston RBs combined for 39 rushes, 145 yards and 2 TDs as the Breakers enjoyed a 20-9 lead after 3 quarters. Boston QB Joseph Haight threw an INT and James Nash lost a fumble, leading to 2 of the 3 Force FGs up to this point.Georgia would start to move the ball in the 3rd qtr and that continued into the 4th. Milton People found Thomas Sanchez for an 8 yard TD on the first play of the 4th, and the 2 point conversion got the Force within 20-17. Georgia would tie the game with a FG inside the 2 minute warning. The game then went to overtime, where Boston punted and Georgia drove for the game winning FG by Salvador Dennison.
Bulls 12 Hornets 6
Jacksonville won the FG kicking contest against Charlotte 4-2, giving the Bulls their first win of the season. Tyron Bailey ran for 118 yards and Brian Johnson made 4/5 FG attempts to lead the Bulls to victory. The Jacksonville defense held Charlotte to 260 offensive yards and forced 2 fumbles.
Panthers 17 Invaders 7
Michigan shut down the Oakland rushing attack (19 rushes 28 yards), and intercepted 2 passes, scoring 17 unanswered second half points to defeat the Invaders. Oakland did throw for 299 yards, with Jessie Heidt catching 8 for 110 yards and Ronald McDevitt hauling in 8 as well for 96 yards. Michigan got a big play TD pass from Larry Henderson on each of the Panther's first 2 drives of the second half, 64 to James Hillis and 65 to Walter Simmons. Oakland QB Andrew Moreno threw 2 4th qtr interceptions to seal the win for Michigan. Hillis caught 8 for 149 yards today while Simmons ran for 51 to add to his 77 receiving yards for a combined 128.
Gamblers 36 Express 10
Los Angeles did a good job on the ground today, rushing for 112 yards on 20 carries while allowing Houston 82 yards on 39 carries. The difference today was the passing game, where William Mauriello completed less than 50% of his passes with a pair of INTs while Tony Dean completed 20/22 for 427 yards and 3 TDs. Jett Black caught 4 passes for 194 yards and 2 of the TD passes while Lloyd Ellis caught the other TD pass as part of his 8 for 163 stat line. Houston scored 23 points in the 1st qtr and rode that flurry of early points to cruise to victory.
Stallions 16 Gunslingers 6
This was a defense oriented game as the teams combined for less than 400 yards and the only TD of the game was an interception return. Each team had similar rushing stats, getting about 3.5 yards a carry, but the Birmingham passing game was less putrid than San Antonio's. Each QB tossed 2 INTs, but one of Robert Fanelli's was returned 19 yards for a score by David McElmore. Both of Fanelli's INTs came in the 4th qtr, ending any hopes of a come from behind win.
Thunderbolts 17 Outlaws 3
The Cleveland defense allowed Oklahoma just 117 total yards today as they bottled up the Outlaws RBBC to the tune of 13 yards on 26 attempts. Outlaws QB John Crisp completed 19/25 passes, 76%, but they only covered 104 yards as Oklahoma only had 5 first downs all day. Cleveland turned the ball over 3 times, 2 on lost fumbles, but Tony Romo completed 26/31 for 308 yards and 2 TD passes with 1 INT. James Bull caught 6 passes for 134 yards and a TD to lead the Thunderbolts skill players.
VooDoo 24 (NY) Stars 0
The New Orleans defense shut down New York today, allowing just 133 total yards and 7 first downs on 22 minutes of possession. VooDoo QB Joseph Jones completed 16/20 passes for 156 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT, with both scoring tosses coming in the first half. Every New York drive ended with a punt except the drive at the end of the first half, which ended when the clock ran out. The game was effectively sealed in the 3rd qtr when Edward Hervey recovered a fumble and returned it 15 yards for a TD to give New Orleans a 21-0 lead. Thomas Thomas led the VooDoo with 104 combined yards, 61 rushing, 43 receiving.
Stars 38 Renegades 10
Orlando had the lead at halftime 10-7 but Baltimore made the needed halftime adjustments, out scoring the Renegades 31-0 in the second half to win going away. QB Emory Howard threw a TD pass to RB Ben Dehaven , who had 118 combined yards (50 rushing, 68 receiving), in the final minute of the first half to take the brief lead. The second half was all three and out drives except for 1 6 play drive, but they all ended in punts, which did nothing to help their defense, which was being abused by Jon Snow. After the break, Snow led Baltimore to points on their first 4 drives, breaking open a close game. Snow finished 36/51, 520 yards, 5 TD and 1 INT, with all 5 TD passes going to John Warkentin, who caught 9 in all for 290 yards. Orville Barker was the leading rusher for the Stars with 48 yards and he caught 9 passes for 96 yards as Baltimore takes advantage of losses by Pittsburgh and Washington to forge a 3 way tie atop the Atlantic.
Hawaiians 45 Sun 0
Honolulu dominated division rival Southern California today, out gaining the Sun 600-95. The Hawaiians ran for 291 as a team, with Robert Schuler gaining 161 yards and a TD on 16 carries and Anthony Davis rushing for 107 and a score on 20 carries. QB Derek Henry completed 28/37 for 309 yards and 2 TDs, spreading the ball around as no receiver had more than 57 yards. K David McInnis, was 5/5 on FG attempts. Defensively, Honolulu forced 2 turnovers and sacked Wilmer Kimble 5 times, allowing just 1/12 3rd down conversions.
