We have reached the mid point of the 1993 season and the Florida Blazers and Philadelphia Bell just keep on winning, pacing the league with their 8-0 records. We have several tight division races, three have a tie at the top, two are separated by a single game, and one has a two game spread. Only Florida and Portland enjoy 3 game division leads while the Midwest, South, and Atlantic are 3 team races. Statistically, Tampa Bay QB Antonio Martinez has thrown 22 interceptions, on pace to tie the league record of 44. San Jose WR Mark Hsu has slowed his pace a bit, but his 169 yards against New Jersey today gives him 1,354 yards through 8 games, on pace for 2,708 which would be a new league record. Speaking of New Jersey, Generals K Al Borland is 27/29 on FGs this season, on pace for 54 FGs made. Only John Bazile has ever made 50 in a season, making exactly 50 in 1985. If the second half of the season is anything like the first half, we're in for a fun last 8 weeks.
Generals 50 SaberCats 45
I normally begin the blog with the undefeated teams, but this week I feel like leading with this wild and crazy game. There were a combined 95 points in this game, 72 by halftime, 35 after the 1st qtr, although defense played a role as well. San Jose QB Jake Plummer threw 5 first half TD passes, 3 to SaberCats receivers and 2 to New Jersey defensive players. The SaberCats begin the game by ripping down the field for a TD and a 7-0 lead before the Generals were forced to punt on their first drive. Clark W. Griswold pinned San Jose inside their 1, and on the next play, Plummer tried a RB screen over the middle, but he threw it right to New Jersey DT Justin Orlowski in the end zone for the tying TD. On the next series, Plummer found Mark Hsu for a 76 yard TD pass, then New Jersey tied it on a Don Ferguson pass to Kurt Cobain. Jake Plummer closed out the first quarter scoring with a 43 yard TD pass to David McEntee, giving San Jose a 21-14 lead.
In the 2nd qtr, Al Borland made the first of his 5 FG on the day, cutting the lead to 21-17 before Plummer to Hsu struck again. This score went for 32 yards and extended San Jose's lead to 28-17. The rest of the first half belonged to New Jersey, as they went on a 27-0 run in just the last half of the 2nd qtr. First, Ferguson and Cobain hooked up for another TD on a 46 yard pass then Jay Leno intercepted Jake Plummer, racing 19 yards for the go ahead TD. Don Ferguson then hit Sam Beckett in stride as he raced down the sideline for a 62 yard TD to extend the Generals lead to 38-28. Al Borland closed out the wild first half with a pair of FGs to give New Jersey a 44-28 lead at the half.
In the second half, the SaberCats defense tightened up, but the Generals extended their lead to 50-28 with Borland's 4th and 5th FGs of the game. Those came after turnovers and San Jose had 6 in all, 5 interceptions by Plummer and a lost fumble. San Jose would go on to score the last 17 points of the game, including the 3rd Plummer to Hsu TD pass but that 33-0 New Jersey run was too much to overcome.
Plummer finished 17/35, 392 yards, 5 TD and 5 INT with Mark Hsu catching 5 for 169 yards and 3 TDs while David McEntee caught 4 for 123 yards and 2 TDs. For New Jersey, Ferguson completed 32/50 for 305 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. The Generals running game was led by Sam Beckett's 88 yards and he also caught 7 passes for 76 yards and a TD. RB Kurt Cobain caught 7 passes as well, covering 107 yards with 2 TDs.
Storm 13 Panthers 9
This game was the opposite of Generals/SaberCats as only one TD was scored all game. Defense ruled the day and Portland's 4.28 yards and a cloud of dust out lasted Michigan and their 3.41 yards and a cloud of dust. Melvin Driggers fired a 1st qtr TD pass to James Pritchard and the Storm defense forced the Panthers to go three and out on their first 5 drives as Portland improves to 7-1. Storm K Alan Grossi bounced back from last week's implosion to make all 3 of his kicks today, 1 XP and 2 FGs.
Showboats 10 VooDoo 9
Defense ruled the day in this game too, as both teams had 287 offensive yards with just 1 offensive TD scored all game. The combined 3rd down conversion rate was 2/28, New Orleans going 1/16, Memphis 1/12. The VooDoo led the time of possession, with nearly 38 minutes, but they could only manage 3 Jordan Fuller FGs today. Memphis got a FG in the 1st and a 74 yard TD pass from Norman Maldonado to Mark Glenn, and the Showboats defense made those 10 points stand up for victory.
Gamblers 37 Steamer 30
Houston QB Tony Dean has only thrown 5 INTs this season, with 3 coming today against Shreveport. All 3 came in the second half as Houston was trying to come back from a double digit deficit. The Steamer built that lead despite not a lot of offensive fireworks, as they had a pair of FGs and a TD drive of 26 yards as they took an early 13-3 lead. Tony Dean cut it to 13-10 with a 75 yard TD pass to Jett Black, but Richard Brown took the kickoff 106 yards for a score and a 20-10 Shreveport lead.
On the first Houston drive of the second half, Tony Dean was intercepted by Toney Richardson, who returned it 27 yards for the score, increasing the Steamer lead to 27-10. Dean would later find Jett Black again for a 72 yard TD before Shreveport added a FG to take a 30-17 lead into the 4th. Houston would score 20 unanswered points in the 4th for a come from behind win. Earl Castro started and ended the run with FGs and Tony Dean tossed a pair of TD passes in between, including his 3rd to Jett Black.
The Gamblers defense really put the clamps on the Shreveport offense in the second half, allowing Tony Dean to complete the comeback. Dean finished the day 24/44, 358 yards, 4 TD and 3 INT. Jett Black hauled in 6 passes for 169 yards and 3 TDs.
Blazers 24 Bulls 3
Sidney Maggard threw a pair of 2nd qtr TD passes as the Blazers score 17 in the quarter, and riding that momentum to a 24-3 win over division rival Jacksonville. Maggard finished 31/38, 275 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. TE William Merkel caught 13 passes for 132 yards and a TD while Robert Romero had 98 yards on the ground to lead the Florida offense. The Florida defense allowed just 219 yards to Jacksonville today, with 118 of that coming on the final 2 drives of the game when the outcome was already decided.
Bell 30 Force 9
Georgia put up 406 offensive yards against the Philadelphia defense, but the Bell forced the Force into 3 turnovers and kept them out of the end zone until the game was already decided. Philadelphia had 422 offensive yards of their own, and Craig Hines seems to be the difference for the Bell in their 8-0 start. In previous seasons, Philadelphia lacked a big play WR, but after today's 3-153-2 stat line, Hines has 562 receiving yards and 6 TDs in 8 games, putting him on pace for 1124 yards. Philadelphia hasn't had a 1,000 yard receiver since 1979.
QB Robert Hernandez completed 18/25 for 306 yards and 3 TDs, with RB Jamie Epperson catching the one Hines didn't. Epperson caught 3 for 48 yards in all to go with his 62 rushing yards, for a combined 110. Philadelphia is now 8-0, looking for their first playoff appearance since 1982.
Federals 16 Blitz 13
Scott Bieber and the Washington offense continued their offensive slump in the first half as Chicago enjoyed a 13-3 lead at the break. In the second half, the Federals offense showed signs of snapping out of it, but still trailed 13-6 after 3 quarters. Washington enjoyed success on the ground, gaining 152 yards on 34 carries and that opened up the passing game for Bieber, who tied the game in the 4th with a 52 yard TD pass to Andrew Favela. K John Bazile broke the tie with a FG on the next drive and the Washington defense held on for the win.
Maulers 34 Renegades 13
Neither team ran the ball well today, but while the Pittsburgh defense forced Orlando to stick with short passes (26 completions, 204 yards), Maulers QB Will Allison threw for 431 yards on 30/38 passing with 4 TDs and 1 INT. After Allison's 1st TD pass, Emory Howard brought Orlando back with a TD pass of his own to Daniel Williams, tying the game at 7. From that point, Allison and the Maulers went on a 27-0 run, seizing control of the game. RB Chris Goldberg only ran for 26 yards on 15 carries, but he caught one of Allison's TD passes as part of his 7 catch, 154 yard receiving line to lead the Maulers skill players.
Stars 27 Hornets 0
The Baltimore defense only allowed 141 yards to the Charlotte offense and Jon Snow threw 3 TD passes to lead the Stars to victory. RB Orville Barker ran for 112 yards and caught 6 passes for 56 yards and a TD to lead the offense. The Baltimore defense forced 2 turnovers and made the Hornets go three and out on 10 of 15 drives.
Gold 24 Invaders 9
Don't look now but our defending champs won their second in a row, and find themselves just 2 games out of a wildcard spot. The Gold leaned on their ground game today, rushing for 208 yards and QB Andrew Brewer overcame 2 interceptions with 2 TD passes to Richard Huff. RB Jake Peralta led the Denver RBBC with 106 yards on 23 carries and the Gold converted 8/14 3rd down tries. Defensively, they held Oakland to just 2/11 on 3rd down and kept the Invaders out of the end zone as they improve to 3-5.
Bandits 38 Wranglers 19
Tampa Bay QB Antonio Martinez continues to rack up both TD passes and INTs, throwing 3 of each today, giving him a 23/22 TD/INT ratio on the season. Martinez threw an INT on the Bandits first drive, then led 3 consecutive TD drives to take control of the game. The Bandits defense was shutting down the Arizona offense in the first half as the Bandits took a 24-0 lead into halftime. Zachary Kinkead tried to bring Arizona back, but they were too far behind after the Bandits scoring run to get any closer than 18 points. Martinez threw for 372 yards today, 138 to Garry Fowler (5 catches, 1 TD) and 117 to RB Paul Meade. Meade scored 3 total TDs today, catching 2 from Martinez among 10 total receptions, and running 1 in as part of his 15 carry, 38 yard day.
Hawaiians 22 Gunslingers 20
Honolulu QB Derek Henry threw for 287 yards and 2 TDs while RB Anthony Davis had a combined 110 yards (39 rushing, 71 receiving) to lead the Hawaiians to a 22-7 lead midway through the 4th qtr. San Antonio got their TD on a Robert Fanelli 69 yard TD pass to Russell Arroyo on their opening drive, then did little until the 4th. The Gunslingers drove for a TD after Honolulu took the 22-7 lead, but the 2 point try failed, leaving the Gunslingers down 9. They recovered the onside kick, then Fanelli hooked up with Arroyo for another score to cut the lead to 2 points, but this time Honolulu recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock for the win. Fanelli threw for 244 yards and 3 TD for San Antonio with Arroyo finishing with 9 catches, 133 yards and 2 scores.
Thunderbolts 16 Wheels 0
Detroit is shutout for the second straight game as Cleveland scored 10 points on their first 2 drives, then held on for the divisional win. The Thunderbolts forced Gabriel Flanagan into 3 interceptions, sacked him 3 times, and held the Wheels to 163 total yards. Cleveland did little on offense after their initial 10 point flurry, but with the Wheels only converting 1/13 3rd down conversions it didn't matter. Late in the game, Detroit turned the ball over on downs 3 times, enabling Cleveland to kick 2 FGs without moving the ball to pad the final margin.
Stallions 24 Outlaws 6
Birmingham scored TDs on their first 2 drives, adding a FG on the 3rd for a quick 17-0 advantage over Oklahoma. The Stallions defense forced the Outlaws to punt on their first 9 drives, before forcing a pair of 4th qtr fumbles to seal the win. RB Francis Schultz ran for 116 yards and a TD while QB Willie Benge threw 2 TD passes to lead the Birmingham offense.
Sun 20 Express 9
Southern California beat division rival Los Angeles for their 2nd win in a row. RB Michael Johnson ran 8 times for 29 yards, caught 3 passes for 97 yards and a TD, and he returned a kickoff 104 yards for a score. The Sun led after 3 quarters 17-6, and the defense clamped down after the Express cut the lead to 17-9 by forcing a fumble, punt, and interception on the last 3 Los Angeles drives.
(NY) Stars 5 Breakers 3
Boston scored first with a FG, then the Stars got within a point after tackling RB George Cade in the end zone for a safety. The 3-2 score stood until 2:10 left in the game when New York K Ed Jetton booted a 33 yard FG to give the Stars a 5-3 win over Boston.
