Week 2 is in the books, and close games are rare, three one score games this week. Houston and Honolulu scored 41 points each, the high water mark for the season so far. Statistically speaking, no skill player has more than 3 TDs and only Donald Turner of Houston has over 300 combined yards. Tony Dean of Houston already has a 156 yard lead in the passing department with 834 yards so far. Defensively, Jacob Hills of Baltimore has 9 sacks and 9 hurries already. He's a legit DE, 6'3", 276 lbs. Second place in sacks has 4 while the second place in hurries has 6, Stars opponents will need to account for Hills. Evan Joseph of Chicago has made 10/12 FGs already, on pace for 80 made kicks.
Storm 35 Generals 25
World Bowl Champs Portland traveled across the country to face New Jersey, who finally get their shot at the Storm after falling short in last year's Conference Championship Game. The first half was closely contested, with Portland holding a 12-10 lead thanks to a safety, sacking Generals QB Don Ferguson in the end zone. Portland QB Melvin Driggers had an up and down game, throwing for 451 yards and 4 TDs, but also 3 INTs, with 2 of his TD passes coming in the 3rd quarter to extend the Storm lead to 26-10 entering the 4th. Early in the 4th, Sam Beckett ran in his 2nd rushing score to pull New Jersey within 26-17 but Portland came right back with a 70 yard Driggers TD pass to Timothy Roquemore. The Storm would add a FG and the Generals would add a TD and a 2 point conversion for our final score of 35-25.
New Jersey was able to move the ball on Portland on the ground and in the air, albeit dink and dunk style. The Generals finished with 397 total yards, converting 11/25 3rd downs, and they forced Portland into 4 turnovers. Aside from the turnovers, the Storm moved the ball better than New Jersey, especially in the air, more than doubling the Generals in yards per pass and per completion. Also, usually reliable K Al Borland missed 2 FGs for New Jersey. That's the same number of FGs Borland missed for all of 1993.
Bell 28 Maulers 6
This was also a battle of 1993 playoff teams that did not meet in the post season. Philadelphia had 3 good drives in a row at the end of the first half/start of the second, and rode those to victory. Bell QB Joseph Serio only completed 12/22 passes for 208 yards, but he threw 3 TD passes as well. Andres Freeman caught 2 of those and the Philadelphia defense intercepted Will Allison twice. Both teams had 2 red zone trips, but Pittsburgh came away with just FGs on both while Philadelphia cashed in TDs.
Gamblers 41 Invaders 10
Houston has their offense rolling to begin 1994, as their 75 points lead the league by 12 and Tony Dean has the passing yard lead. Dean threw for 381 yards and 3 TDs today while RB Donald Turner had a double 90 game. Turner fell just short of 100 yards rushing, gaining 99 yards with a TD while catching 7 for 90 yards and another TD. Oakland was able to top 300 yards against the Gamblers, but they were hurt by 3 turnovers, 2 of them fumbles.
Hawaiians 41 Sun 17
Both teams committed 3 turnovers, but Honolulu did a better job of overcoming those, putting up 504 yards of offense in defeating division rival Southern California. The Sun held a 17-14 lead after scoring a TD in the first minute of the 2nd quarter, but the Hawaiians went on a 27-0 run thereafter. Honolulu QB Derek Henry completed 32/43 for 378 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs, with Brian Vizcarra the leading receiver, hauling in 5 for 138 yards and 2 TDs. The Sun had trouble running the ball all game but the Hawaiians did not, as RB Jeffrey Richins gained 110 yards and a TD on 17 carries.
Showboats 31 Outlaws 9
Memphis jumped out to a 21-0 lead after 1 quarter and 1 play, then held on for the division victory over Oklahoma. The Showboats were led by QB Norman Maldonado, RB Erik McNamee and WR Thomas Ballard. Maldonado was only 18/38 passing, but he threw for 312 yards with 3 TDs and 2 INTs. Thomas Ballard only caught 4 passes but 2 went for TDs and he had 211 yards on those receptions. Erik McNamee ran 21 times for 120 yards and a TD, adding 20 more yards on 3 receptions. The Showboats defense bottled up the Outlaws offense most of the day, but they did allow a 91 yard John Crisp TD pass to Craig Icenhour.
Panthers 27 Express 6
In 1993, Michigan QB Larry Henderson threw 33 TD passes and 27 INTs, but so far in 1994, it's 7/1. If Henderson keeps up this level of ball security, the Panthers will be tough to beat. Henderson finished this game 27/33, 340 yards and 3 TD passes and the Panthers defense held the Express to 238 total yards. FB William Hutchings led the Panthers skill players with 128 combined yards and a TD, with his 82 receiving yards and 46 rushing yards led both the WRBC and RBBC (WR by committee, RB by committee).
Wheels 20 Blitz 18
Detroit overcame 4 turnovers to secure a division win over Chicago thanks to a pair of Gabriel Flanagan TD passes. Flanagan completed 31/41 passes in all for just 233 yards, as big plays were scarce on both sides. The Wheels defense kept Blitz QB Ronald Brown below 50% and 200 yards while also keeping the offense out of the end zone. Chicago K Evan Joseph made 6/7 FG attempts, missing only a 56 yard attempt, and while some may say he should have made that kick, at some point the ball needs to get into the opponent's end zone, and that did not happen in today's loss.
Blazers 38 Bulls 16
Florida won the first half over Jacksonville 24-3 and rode that to victory. Jacksonville did move the ball on the Blazers defense, but most of the damage was in the second half, facing a large deficit on the scoreboard. Florida had 5 different ball carriers and Robert Romero led the RBBC with 40 yards, no big deal. Romero was also the Blazers leading receiver though, catching 7 for 149 yards and 2 TDs. QB Sidney Maggard threw 4 TDs in all, completing 28/38 for 354 yards and no turnovers. Jacksonville rookie WR Leon Gutierrez caught 6 for 153 yards and a TD.
Bandits 24 Renegades 21
This was Florida week in USFL as all 4 teams in the Southeast division, aka Florida division faced off. The box score was pretty even in this game, as both teams had trouble running the ball but had decent success through the air. Both QBs threw 2 TDs and 1 INT and both teams lost a fumble. Tampa Bay held a 21-6 lead through 3 quarters before Trey Lyons found David King for a TD to cut the lead to 8. Tampa Bay would extend their lead by 3 inside the 2 minute warning before Lyons and King hooked up again, this time on a 73 yard TD. Lyons completed a pass for the 2 point conversion but the onside kick failed and the Bandits ran out the clock for a 2-0 start.
Steamer 19 Stallions 3
Shreveport has the #3 ranked defense through 2 weeks based on yards and only Baltimore has allowed fewer than the 10 points the Steamer defense has allowed. They did give up over 5 yards per carry on the ground but the pass defense held Birmingham to 11/37 passing, 52 yards, 2 INTs and 1 sack. RB David Oldham broke a 3-3 tie late in the 3rd quarter with a 45 yard TD run for the game's only TD and Jeffrey Smith made 4/6 FGs to lead Shreveport to a division win over Birmingham.
Federals 20 Force 6
Washington starts out 2-0 as the Federals played good red zone defense today against Georgia. The Force also played good defense against Washington's rushing attack, holding Robert Trammell and James Dunn to 56 yards on 24 carries. QB Scott Bieber was solid for the Federals, completing 22/29 for 252 yards and a TD to Ronald Matthews, who was the leading receiver with 66 yards. Georgia reached the red zone twice, but had to settle for 3 both times while the Federals cashed in their lone trip with a TD.
Stars 23 SaberCats 0
I mentioned Jacob Hills in the opening, and it turns out all 9 sacks came in this game. The Baltimore defense totally wrecked the San Jose passing attack, sacking Jake Plummer 12 times in all. Plummer finished 14/33, 100 yards and 1 INT, but he lost 109 yards on sacks for a net negative 9 yards passing. We haven't seen sack numbers like this since Mark McKeon, although I suspect this has more to do with too many long passes attempted. Baltimore would have won 16-0 but Hills sacked Plummer in the end zone, causing a fumble which Barristan Selmy recovered for a TD, padding the lead in the final minute.
VooDoo 25 Hornets 10
New Orleans doubled the yards per carry of Charlotte, although the Hornets only ran for 0.54 yards a carry. Neither team ran the ball well, as the Hornets gained 7 yards in 13 carries while New Orleans stuck with their struggling ground game longer, gaining 48 yards on 42 carries. Through the air, the VooDoo held the Hornets below 50% completions, intercepting 2 passes and getting a sack while offensively, Joseph Jones was 30/35, 354 yards and 2 TDs. Backup QB Donald Briggs saw extensive action at RB today, rushing 37 times for 46 yards and a TD while catching 10 for 115 yards to lead New Orleans in both categories.
Gold 27 Wranglers 10
Denver got out to a 17-3 lead before Arizona cut it to 17-10 late in the first half, but that's as close as the Wranglers would get as the Gold claim the division win. Fredrick Whidden ran for 92 of the Gold's 177 rushing yards, with a TD and he added 59 yards on 4 receptions. QB Andrew Brewer was 18/24, 278 yards with a TD, spreading the ball around to 6 different receivers. Denver's defense held Arizona to 179 total yards, intercepting a pass and recording 2 sacks.
Gunslingers 17 Thunderbolts 12
San Antonio played a 1970's style offense, running twice as much as they threw, and while they were out gained by Cleveland in yards 323-209, they also did not turn the ball over while the Gunslingers defense had 4 sacks and an INT. San Antonio RB Charlie Shanks did the heavy lifting, rushing for 149 yards and 2 TDs on 25 carries. Shanks went 75 yards for a score on the second play from scrimmage to give San Antonio the instant lead. QB Robert Fanelli was 8/15 for 45 yards passing while his counterpart, Tony Romo, completed 30/45 for 235 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.
(NY) Stars 31 Breakers 21
New York RB William Hall caught a TD pass and ran in another score as the Stars had a 17-7 lead late in the 2nd quarter. In the final minute before intermission, Boston QB Adam Scales threw his 2nd TD pass to cut the lead to 17-14, then New York QB Damien Oleary threw an interception that Boston CB Edward Baker returned for a score and suddenly the Breakers led 21-17 at halftime. Oleary bounced back with a pair of TD passes to Theodore Dunn, one at the end of the 3rd quarter, the other early in the 4th, and that was enough for New York to emerge victorious.
