The Florida Blazers were defeated by the Washington Federals, leaving the Philadelphia Bell as the last undefeated team in the league. The Bell have won four one score games, including an OT win, and they have their biggest game of the season so far next week. Philadelphia travels to New Jersey to take on the 8-1 Generals, whose only loss this year was to the Bell, and if Philadelphia wins again, they will have the inside track on their first ever division title. New Jersey has scored 119 points the last 2 games, putting up 69 today after last week's 50-45 win over San Jose, but Baltimore and New Orleans said hold our beers. The Stars and VooDoo put up 106 total points and 1330 total yards and both QBs combined for 13 TD passes. Baltimore won 59-47, scoring 49 first half points, and WR John Warkentin went off for 7 TD catches, which is not a league record by the way.
Bell 17 (NY) Stars 12
Philadelphia failed to score 20 points for just the 3rd time this season, with one of the other's being the first time these two teams met. In Week 4, the Bell beat the Stars 16-10, and this rematch produced a similar game. New York out gained Philadelphia as QB Willie Bust completed 29/42 for 245 yards. Not a great game by Bust, but he was not sacked and did not turn the ball over. The Stars got the memo about Craig Hines, as they held the big play Bell WR in check with 51 yards on 3 receptions. Midway through the 4th qtr, Ed Jetton made his 4th FG of the game, giving New York a very brief 12-10 lead. Jetton's kickoff nearly went out of the end zone but Faustino Dixon brought it out anyway, not stopping until he reached the other end zone 109 yards away for the game winning TD. On New York's last drive, Bust got them into the red zone, but a 4th and 1 pass from the Bell 17 was short of the line to gain and Philadelphia ran out the clock for the win.
Federals 17 Blazers 13
Florida scored a TD on their opening drive as Sidney Maggard found Ray Parker for a 65 yard catch and run, and the Blazers added FGs on each of their next 2 possessions for a 13-0 2nd qtr lead. Washington moved the ball well on their opening drive but Scott Bieber threw an INT. Bieber bounced back though, with a 2nd qtr 22 yard TD pass to Ronald Matthews to cut the lead to 13-7. Defense took over at this point as Washington scored their next TD on a 1 play, 74 yard "drive", a Bieber pass to Andrew Favela in the 3rd qtr. John Bazile added a FG for the final margin.
Scott Bieber's worst season continues, as he threw for 2 TD and 2 INT today, but the running game helped out a lot. The Federals ran for 177 yards, with Robert Trammell's 87 yards leading the way. Trammell added 59 receiving yards to help Washington keep pace with Pittsburgh atop the Atlantic. This was the first loss of the season for Florida but they still enjoy a 3 game division lead.
Stars 59 VooDoo 47
It seems the only defense played in this game was when the QBs threw to the wrong team, as Baltimore and New Orleans combine for 106 points, 1330 total yards, 14 TDs, 13 of those passing, and 5 INTs, but there were 10 punts as well. New Orleans scored first on a 68 yard run by Thomas Thomas, then Jon Snow hooked up with John Warkentin for not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 TD passes in the 1st qtr alone, covering 75, 63, 74, and 7 yards. That gave Baltimore a 28-7 lead and New Orleans would cut the deficit to 28-14 before the quarter ended on a 75 yard TD pass by Joseph Jones to Thomas Thomas.
The 2nd quarter began and it didn't take long for Snow and Warkentin to connect on their 5th TD of the game. Before the end of the half, Snow found Warkentin for 2 additional TD passes, then New Orleans got a FG to make the halftime score Baltimore 49 New Orleans 17.
Baltimore got the ball to start the second half and Jon Snow decided to be different by throwing his 8th TD of the game to someone other than John Warkentin. Tomas Abbott caught the 12 yard score to give the Stars a 39 point lead. New Orleans finally started to slow down Baltimore after this score, holding them to just 3 points the rest of the game. Joseph Jones tried to bring the VooDoo back from the huge deficit and they won the second half 30-10, but Jon Snow and John Warkentin were too much in the first half, and Baltimore holds on for the win.
Stats time: RB Orville Barker ran for 103 yards. QB Jon Snow completed 29/38, 584 yards, 8 TDs and 2 INT. WR John Warkentin caught 10 passes for 452 yards and 7 TDs and FS Howard Hutchinson intercepted 2 passes. For New Orleans, QB Joseph Jones completed 42/60, 497 yards, 5 TDs and 3 INTs and RB Thomas Thomas had a double triple. Thomas ran for 103 yards and a TD on 12 carries while catching 13 passes for 154 yards and 2 TDs.
Storm 13 Gold 9
Important game in Denver today as the defending champion Gold try to keep their winning streak alive and get back into playoff contention against division leader Portland. These offenses combined for 484 yards, or 32 more than John Warkentin had. Portland got 97 yards rushing and a TD from Jose Moses and the defense intercepted 3 Andrew Brewer passes as the Storm defeat Denver to improve to 8-1. K Alan Grossi made all of his kicks again today, so it seems whatever was wrong with him against Oakland is no longer an issue.
Showboats 51 Outlaws 9
We have had a high scoring game 2 weeks in a row, but none of those games featured a team scoring 35 points in a quarter. That's what Memphis did today, scoring 35 points in the 1st quarter before cruising to an easy victory over division rival Oklahoma. The Outlaws RBBC was shut down by the Showboats defense to the tune of 17 yards on 24 carries and Oklahoma had just 3 drives all game longer than 3 plays. The Outlaws actually scored first, turning a Norman Maldonado INT into a quick 3 points. Maldonado bounced back with 4 TD passes in the 1st quarter alone, 3 to Mark Glenn. The Showboats also returned a fumble for a TD on the kickoff following their first TD.
RB Erik McNamee ran for 104 yards and a TD to lead the Memphis running game. Maldonado finished the game 21/32, 451 yards, 5 TD and 1 INT with Mark Glenn catching 9 for 280 yards and 4 scores. Memphis is quietly 8-1, tied atop the Southwest division.
Gamblers 23 Stallions 16
Houston scored first on a Francisco Russell 8 yard TD run for a 7-0 lead, then the next 3 quarters of action saw both teams kick 3 FGs apiece. Birmingham QB Willie Benge tied the game at 16 late in the 4th on a 49 yard TD pass to Willie Despres. That left plenty of time for Tony Dean to lead Houston down the field, finding Donald Turner for an 8 yard TD with less than a minute to play. Birmingham went 4 and out and Houston holds on for the win to keep pace with Memphis.
Birmingham RB Francis Schultz ran for 122 yards on 14 carries to lead the Stallions offense. Tony Dean completed 44/55 for 393 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, with Donald Turner the leading receiver, gaining 100 yards and a TD on 7 receptions.
SaberCats 41 Express 9
San Jose got the ball first but fumbled, setting up Los Angeles with a short field. The Express cashed it in for a William Mauriello 3 yard TD pass to Gary Sappington, but the XP was no good, giving Los Angeles an early 6-0 lead. San Jose didn't flinch, as Jake Plummer threw 2 TD passes in the quarter and Rodney Richardson ran in a score from 9 yards out and the SaberCats led 21-6 after 15 minutes. Los Angeles cut it to 21-9 with a FG in the 3rd before San Jose closed out the scoring with 20 unanswered points, including a fumble return for a TD by Champ Bailey.
San Jose sacked Mauriello 5 times and Plummer threw for 342 yards and 3 TDs. The leading receiver for San Jose was not Mark Hsu, although he caught 4 for 111 and a TD. Leading the way was Glenn Kahl, who caught 4 for 116 yards and a TD while Rodney Richardson ran 31 times for 98 yards to help San Jose improve to 7-2.
Maulers 32 Bandits 6
This seems to be the week for huge 1st quarters as the Pittsburgh Maulers scored 20 points during the first 15 minutes to take a 20-0 lead, then they won the kicking contest 4-2 the rest of the way. K Brett Bowman made 6 FGs today, giving him 28 on the season, 1 behind Al Borland for the league lead. For Tampa Bay, they turned it over on their first 2 drives, although it only cost them 6 points. QB Antonio Martinez threw just 1 INT today, which is encouraging, but he also failed to throw a TD pass. For Pittsburgh, QB Will Allison completed 32/43, 331 yards and a TD, finding 11 different receivers. RB Chris Goldberg ran for 120 yards, including an 80 yard TD run and caught 3 passes for 31 yards to lead the Maulers skill players.
The win improves Pittsburgh to 7-2, keeping pace with Washington atop the Atlantic, and Baltimore, who is hot on their heels, 1 game back.
Panthers 38 Hornets 6
This game was about QB play. The Michigan defense intercepted Charlotte QB Robert Ament 3 times, including 1 for a TD by Ramon Carter. Panthers QB Larry Henderson struggled the first 3 weeks, throwing 11 INTs in that span, but he's only thrown 1 since. Today, Henderson was 21/33, 329 yards and 4 TDs. WR James Hillis caught 2 of those, and he usually gets the lion's share of receiving yards, but today Henderson spread the ball around, with 5 receivers having between 47-64 yards. The win keeps Michigan tied atop the Midwest with Cleveland.
Thunderbolts 27 Blitz 9
Cleveland scored on 5 of their first 6 drives as Bobby Colley led the rushing attack with 125 yards and a TD on 15 carries to help the Thunderbolts beat Chicago. Tony Romo was an efficient 20/27, 193 yards and a TD as Cleveland converted 8/12 3rd down conversion attempts. The Blitz have had a streaky season, losing their first 2, winning the next 4, and they have now lost 3 in a row.
Hawaiians 30 Wheels 24
Honolulu had 532 yards of offense, holding the ball over 40 minutes and fending off a late Detroit rally to defeat the Wheels. QB Derek Henry was 37/53, 380 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT, with Brian Vizcarra leading the way with 8 catches, 146 yards and a TD. The Hawaiians also ran the ball well, rushing for 152 yards on 32 carries. Detroit QB Gabriel Flanagan threw for 361 yards and 3 TDs in defeat.
Generals 69 Breakers 10
New Jersey started off slow, with only a 7-0 lead after 1 quarter, but they then scored 21 in the 2nd, 24 in the 3rd and 17 more in the 4th to break Boston 69-10. The Generals had 31 first downs and 616 offensive yards, including 202 rushing. The defense intercepted 4 Joseph Haight passes, with Martin Riggs returning one 5 yards for a TD. New Jersey RB Sam Beckett ran for 126 yards and a TD, adding 8 receptions for 65 yards and a TD, for 191 combined yards. RB Kurt Cobain almost caught Beckett, rushing for 70 yards, while catching 8 passes for 116 yards and a TD. QB Don Ferguson completed 38/57 for 414 yards, 7 TDs and 0 INT, with 3 of the scores going to TE Redd Foxx, who caught 9 for 100 yards altogether.
Force 27 Steamer 3
Georgia defeated division rival Shreveport to tighten the South division standings. The Force are still in last with a 3-6 record, but they are only 2 games behind division leading New Orleans with plenty of season left. QB Milton People completed 26/33 for 252 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT, with Matthew Taylor catching 2 of the scores among his 6 catches for 92 yards. Defensively, they held the Steamer to 144 offensive yards and intercepted 2 passes, allowing just 1 3rd down conversion in 12 attempts.
Invaders 16 Wranglers 0
Arizona is still struggling, but it's nowhere near as bad as the last 3 seasons. This was a major rebuilding project that is going to take time to fix, and the Wranglers seem headed in the right direction, especially since they finally settled on a starting QB. The previous regime played QB merry-go-round, which hurt the development of all the QBs.
In this game, Oakland got 3 FG from Robert Albertson and a TD pass from Andrew Moreno to Jessie Heidt and the defense held Arizona to 195 yards to help the Invaders improve to 5-4. RB Ronald McDevitt ran for 107 yards, adding 52 more receiving to lead the Oakland skill players.
Renegades 26 Bulls 13
QB Emory Howard is finding life rough as a 2nd year pro, but he threw for a season high 366 yards today as Orlando defeats division rival Jacksonville. The Renegades got a big game from WR Donald Young, who caught 8 passes for 167 yards and the Orlando defense intercepted Derek Joyce 3 times, including one returned for a TD by Murray Hardin. Orlando ran out the final 2:18 of the game, and could have caused some bad blood, but opted against it. The Renegades had the ball 1st and goal at the 1 following a pass interference penalty with 1:32 to play, and had Howard kneel down 3 times to kill the clock.
Gunslingers 16 Sun 13
San Antonio got 222 passing yards from Robert Fanelli, with 103 of that going to Eugene Bufkin and the Gunslingers defense forced 2 turnovers in their win over Southern California today. The game was tied at 13 after 3 quarters and San Antonio K Benjamin Regalado was wide right on a 37 yard FG attempt in the middle of the 4th. It seemed we were headed for extra football when the Gunslingers took over on their own 34 with 0:52 left, but they got just enough yards for Regalado to boot a 57 yard game winning FG at the final gun to boost San Antonio to 3-6, snapping the Sun's 2 game win streak.
