Today we eliminate 4 more teams in the quest for World Bowl XX and the BYES have it. Portland, Memphis, New Jersey, and Washington all earned first round byes and all four advance to the Conference Championship. Houston, Michigan, Pittsburgh, and Florida all had great seasons, but ultimately only one playoff team can end their season with a win. Which team will it be? Time will tell.
Storm 41 Gamblers 7
Houston has had problems stopping the run all season, but Tony Dean and the rest of the Gamblers offense usually overcame that. Today however, they ran into Portland, who seem to be on a mission for a trophy. Storm RB Jose Moses just found out he was left off of the All Pro ballot and he showed today that perhaps that was a mistake. Moses took the handoff on the first play from scrimmage and announced his presence with authority, galloping 75 yards for a TD and an instant 7-0 lead. Portland forced a three and out, then on the next Storm drive, Timothy Roquemore ripped a 72 yard TD run but a holding penalty brought it back. The Storm would end up punting, but wide open running lanes would be a theme for the game.
Tony Dean brought Houston back, tying the game at 7 with a 26 yard TD to Jett Black. The 1st quarter ended 7-7 and Jose Moses gave Portland the lead for good with a TD reception in the 2nd qtr. This was the only TD of the game for Melvin Driggers, who finished 20/30, 261 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. That gave the Storm a 14-7 lead going into halftime.
Houston got the ball to start the 2nd half and punted. On Portland's first play of the second half, they handed the ball off to Jose Moses, and he did what he did to start the game, he kept running until he got to the end zone. This one went for 87 yards, then following a Houston three and out, Timothy Roquemore busted a 63 yard TD run, and nobody was called for holding, and the game was essentially over at 28-7. If it wasn't over at that point, it was over soon after as Tony Dean threw an interception to set up Jose Mose's 3rd, and shortest TD run of the game and a 35-7 lead. K Alan Grossi booted a pair of FGs in the 4th to give us our final score of 41-7.
Jose Moses finished the game with 4 TDs and 332 combined yards. Moses caught 4 passes for 80 yards and a score, but his running was the story, as he carried the ball 17 times for 252 yards and 3 TDs. Timothy Roquemore also ran for 94 yards on 9 carries as the pair accounted for most of the Storm's 365 rushing yards.
Showboats 10 Panthers 3
We'll skip to the 4th quarter as the first 45 minutes of action resulted in zero points scored. Memphis and Michigan took turns frustrating the opposing offense, as every drive but 3 up to this point ended in a punt. One drive in the 2nd quarter ended with a Larry Henderson interception and one drive ended when the clock ran out at halftime. The 3rd non punting drive was still in progress entering the 4th, and Memphis K Gary Ridgeway nailed a 50 yard FG on the first play of the 4th and we finally have a score. A couple drives later, Memphis was driving for more points when Norman Maldonado threw an interception, and the Panthers drove to the Memphis 38. On 4th down, they decided to pin the Showboats deep rather than attempt a 55/56 yard FG, and they left Memphis at their 9. The Michigan defense held and the Panthers offense used the good field position to tie the game at 3 on a John Hensley 46 yard FG.
There were just over 5 minutes left at this point, and Memphis got the ball back on their 25 after a touchback on the kickoff. Two pass completions and a run later, Memphis faced a 1st and 10 from the Michigan 14. Maldonado completed a pass to FB Larry Ceasar, who fumbled on a hit by Jerry Green, but Ceasar fell on it to keep the drive alive. From there, two Thomas Saunders runs cracked the end zone for the game's first TD. Henderson tried to lead the Panthers to the tying score but the offense stalled around midfield and the game was over.
Generals 34 Maulers 29
New Jersey QB Don Ferguson was making his first ever post season start and the USFL's leading passer wasted no time getting the Generals on the scoreboard. New Jersey went 75 yards in 8 plays, capping the drive with a Ferguson 12 yard TD pass to David Koresh. Late in the 1st quarter Ferguson made his first mistake, getting intercepted by Stephen Ray Vaughan. Pittsburgh QB Will Allison drove the Maulers into the end zone with a 9 yard TD pass to Robert Erickson but Brett Bowman missed the XP, and the Generals still led 7-6. Ferguson then led New Jersey down the field only to be intercepted in the end zone by Bryant Heard. Allison then drove the Maulers to the brink of another TD, but they had to settle for a 22 yard Bowman FG to take the lead 9-7 with less than 2 minutes until halftime. The next New Jersey drive, Ferguson promptly threw his 3rd INT of the half and two Will Allison passes to Joel Davis later, Pittsburgh got a TD for a 16-7 lead. Ferguson was left just enough time to drive for a long FG attempt by Al Borland, and the 59 yard kick was good to cut the lead to 16-10 at the break.
The second half started and New Jersey forced a three and out, then Ferguson led an 11 play, 69 yard TD drive, finishing it off with a 3 yard TD pass to Eric Davis. The Generals defense then got an interception of Allison by Jay Leno, then Ferguson found Duncan Meyer on the next play for a 47 yard TD and a 24-16 lead. Pittsburgh answered that with a 45 yard Will Allison TD pass to Franklin Cherry, and while a 2 point conversion would tie it, we were still in the 3rd quarter so the Maulers kicked the XP to pull within 24-23. Ferguson and Meyer would hook up again for a TD, this one 41 yards in the final minute of the 3rd, allowing New Jersey to take a 31-23 lead into the 4th.
Will Allison drove Pittsburgh to a TD on their first 4th qtr drive, scoring on a 35 yard pass to Travis Vargas. That made the score 31-29 so the Maulers went for 2 but failed, leaving the deficit at 2. Each team would punt, then the Generals started a drive with 6 minutes to go, taking nearly 4 minutes off the clock and getting a 54 yard Al Borland FG and a 5 point lead. Pittsburgh would get one first down before failing on 4th down from their own territory, allowing Ferguson to kneel down 3 times to seal the win.
Allison completed 31/45, 307 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT, with the TDs going to 4 different receivers. The Maulers skill players were led by Joel Davis, who caught 6 for 87 yards and a TD. Ferguson completed 32/46, 361 yards, 4 TDs and 3 INTs. RB David Koresh led the Generals in rushing (42 yards) and caught 10 passes for 122 yards and a TD while Duncan Meyer caught 2 TD passes as part of his 4-102-2 day.
Federals 34 Blazers 13
Washington QB Scott Bieber has been taking heat from the media all season about his sub par play, but he started out on fire today to help the Federals advance to the National Conference Championship Game. The Federals defense helped Bieber out by intercepting Florida QB Sidney Maggard on the first play from scrimmage, and 2 plays later, Bieber found Andrew Favela for a 9 yard TD and a 7-0 lead. Washington's defense then forced a three and out and Bieber engineered a 72 yard TD drive in 7 plays, with a 4 yard TD pass to James Dunn giving the Federals a 14-0 lead. The Federals defense forced another punt and this time Bieber led an 85 yard scoring drive, ending with his 2nd TD pass to Andrew Favela. The Blazers offense had not done much, so Antonio Calvo took it upon himself to bring the kickoff out of the end zone and did not stop running until he found the other end zone 106 yards away for a TD to cut the lead to 21-7. Inside the 2 minute warning, Bieber and Favela connected for a 3rd TD, this one 26 yards and Washington took a 28-7 lead into halftime. The second half was drama and TD free as both teams kicked a pair FGs apiece for our final score of 34-13 Federals.
The Washington defense held Florida to only 184 yards, intercepting Maggard twice and recovering a fumble. Bieber finished the game 23/40, 301 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT, with Andrew Favela catching 3 of the scores. RB Robert Trammell was the Federals leading rusher and receiver, gaining 72 yards on the ground and 71 through the air on 7 catches.
