Week 3 saw 4 teams suffer shutouts and 7 other teams scored less than 10, and just 12 teams scored 20 or more. There are 8 teams with perfect 3-0 records so far, with two divisions each having a pair of unbeatens. Michigan and Detroit are 3-0 in the Midwest while Washington and Baltimore are 3-0 in the Atlantic. The other 3-0 teams are the defending champs Portland Storm, the Houston Gamblers, Florida Blazers and Philadelphia Bell. Despite all the defense, we keep setting a new high in scoring each week. Birmingham scored the most points in Week 1 with 35, then we had two teams score 41 in Week 2, Houston and Honolulu. In Week 3, New Jersey scored 43 to top the previous high, but the Generals were still 3 TDs behind the 64 points Houston put up against Oklahoma.
Storm 27 Breakers 6
Portland's RBBC ran 42 times for 130 yards and 2 TDs while the Storm defense kept Boston out of the end zone all game. Portland QB Melvin Driggers did not have his best game, throwing 2 INTs, but those came late in the game while nursing a big lead. Portland scored TDs the first 3 times they had the ball and added a FG on the 4th, for a 24-3 lead. Boston could muster just 215 total yards in the loss.
Gamblers 64 Outlaws 6
Houston QB Tony Dean is off to a great start in 1994 and he kept it up against Oklahoma today. Dean completed 28/44, 498 yards, 6 TDs and 2 INTs as the Gamblers built a 43-0 halftime lead and held on to stay undefeated. WR Jett Black caught 4 TD passes as part of his 5 catch, 173 yard game while WR Daniel Franks caught 2 passes, both TDs, for 113 yards. RB Donald Turner had a solid game both running (86 yards) and receiving (5-74) for a combined 160 yards. Defensively, the Gamblers forced 3 turnovers and held the Outlaws to 201 total yards.
Panthers 19 VooDoo 0
Michigan struggled in the red zone, settling for 3 points on all 4 trips but the Panthers defense was up to the challenge. Michigan held New Orleans to 171 total yards, sacking Joseph Jones twice and intercepting him twice as well. One of those interceptions led to a 1 play, 24 yard drive for the Panthers as Larry Henderson fired the game's lone TD pass to Lawrence Schroeder to take a 13-0 lead late in the 3rd. New Orleans never threatened to score as they spent most of their offensive time on their side of the field.
Wheels 17 Sun 10
Detroit scored on 2 of their first 3 drives for a 14-0 lead before Southern California went 96 yards in 8 plays for a TD to cut the lead in half. The score remained 14-7 at halftime and through the 3rd qtr, until Detroit broke the scoring drought with a FG early in the 4th. The Sun answered with a FG of their own to pull within 7 but their final drive stalled just inside Detroit territory as time ran out. Wheels TE Thomas Barrera caught 12 passes for 106 yards as the leading skill player of the game.
Blazers 20 (NY) Stars 0
Florida got a solid game from QB Sidney Maggard and the offense, but the defense carried the day for the Blazers. Florida held New York to 145 total yards, allowing barely over 1 yard per carry and keeping QB Damien Oleary under 50% and intercepting him twice, as the Stars never scored. Offensively, Maggard was conservative today, with the biggest play going for just 17 yards, yet he connected on 33/39 for 245 yards and a TD.
Federals 34 Maulers 5
Washington is off to a 3-0 start after their victory over division rival Pittsburgh today. Federals QB Scott Bieber wasn't spectacular, but he did complete 20/34, 220 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INT. Bieber spread the ball around to several different receivers and RB James Dunn led in combined yardage with 80 on 23 rushing yards and 57 receiving. The Washington defense allowed Will Allison to complete 34/57 passes but those 34 completions only covered 160 yards and Allison threw 2 INTs.
Stars 38 Force 21
Baltimore and Georgia had the offense cranked up today, and the Stars used a 17-0 run to seize control of the game in the second half to improve to 3-0. Georgia RB Thomas Sanchez ran for 132 yards on 17 carries, and his 45 yard TD run got the scoring underway. Baltimore tied it up on a short Herman Hayes TD run, then the Force kicked a FG for a 10-7 lead. Jon Snow then threw the first of his 4 TD passes to take the lead back 14-10. Georgia added 3 more to pull within 1, then Jon Snow struck again inside the 2 minute warning with his first TD pass to WR John Warkentin. That TD got the 17-0 run started, and it continued to the 4th as Fred Boyce kicked a FG for the only points of the 3rd quarter. The Stars held a 24-13 lead entering the 4th if you've lost track, and Jon Snow's 3rd TD pass early in the 4th extended it to 31-13. Milton People then found Matthew Taylor for a 68 yard TD and the 2 point try was good as well, and Baltimore's lead was down to 31-21. Baltimore and Jon Snow answered with his 4th TD pass, 2nd to John Warkentin as the Stars put the game away.
Bell 20 Renegades 16
Orlando out gained Philadelphia 329-270 and had a 16-10 lead entering the 4th quarter, but Philadelphia scored 10 unanswered points in the final quarter to remain undefeated on the year. Orlando RB Ben Dehaven ran for 85 yards, adding 74 yards and a TD on 7 receptions, but QB Trey Lyons threw 3 INTs. Philadelphia QB Joseph Serio connected with WR Craig Hines for a 42 yard TD with 8:18 to go, giving Philadelphia the 20-16 lead. Orlando then went on a long drive and were knocking on the door of the red zone when Lyons tossed interception #2. Philadelphia then ran all but 9 seconds off the clock and Lyons was intercepted a 3rd time on the game's final play.
Gold 13 Showboats 7
Not much offense to speak of, as Denver led 3-0 at the half before Max Ellis finally cracked the end zone with a 6 yard run, extending the lead to 10-0. A 4th qtr FG extended the lead to 13-0 before Norman Maldonado got the Showboats on the board with a 6 yard pass to Jason Laughlin. Memphis had one last chance but the clock ran out on them as they approached the red zone. Denver held Memphis to 202 total yards and the Gold RBBC ran for 151 yards as they hand the Showboats their first loss of the season.
Invaders 16 Gunslingers 14
Both teams played hot potato early as San Antonio fumbled, Oakland went three and out, San Antonio threw an interception then Oakland fumbled it back. Things settled down toward the end of the 1st quarter and Oakland took a 7-0 lead on an Andrew Moreno 7 yard pass to Ronald McDevitt. The Invaders would tack on a FG in the 2nd for a 10-0 halftime lead. San Antonio did nothing but punt after their 2 turnovers, but their offense turned it around in the second half as Robert Fanelli threw a 5 yard TD pass to Randy Leger, cutting the lead to 3. The first play of the 4th quarter saw Oakland kick a FG for a 13-7 lead, then San Antonio embarked on a long, time consuming drive. The Gunslingers went 75 yards in 16 plays, taking almost 9 minutes off the clock before Randy Leger ran in a 5 yard TD and the extra point gave San Antonio a 14-13 lead. Moreno then led Oakland down the field before the drive stalled, and Lawrence Linville made his 3rd FG of the game to give the Invaders the lead. San Antonio had a little over 2 minutes to drive into FG range, but they weren't up to the task and Oakland hangs on for the win.
Thunderbolts 31 SaberCats 0
Cleveland ran for 216 yards and the Thunderbolts defense flexed their muscles on the struggling San Jose offense. The SaberCats got the ball first and it took Jake Plummer 3 plays to throw a Pick 6 as Jason Miller did the honors to give Cleveland an early 7-0 lead. Tony Romo threw a 5 yard TD pass to Mark Howe in the 2nd while Bobby Colley got the 3rd quarter started with a bang, rumbling 75 yards for a TD and a 21-0 lead. Cleveland would go on to add a FG before WLB Amos Worsham pulled a defensive trifecta. Worsham sacked Plummer in the end zone, causing a fumble and falling on it for the final TD of the game. Cleveland held San Jose to 159 total yards, intercepting 2 passes, recovering a fumble and sacking Plummer 4 times to go with the bookend defensive TDs to start and end the scoring.
Bulls 13 Bandits 9
The bad Antonio Martinez showed up for Tampa Bay after a good first 2 weeks, as he completed 23/39, 188 yards and 2 INTs but his counterpart was no better. Emanuel Fugate did complete 35 passes in 49 attempts for 275 yards and a TD, but he also threw 3 INTs. The box score was similar for both teams and despite the turnovers and sub 300 yard games, each team had a 100 yard receiver. Jacksonville WR Leon Guiterrez caught 9 for 114 yards while Tampa Bay WR Richard Miller caught 7 for 110 yards, but the difference in the game was a short TD pass from Fugate to Scott Randall. That came in the 2nd quarter, but it was the game's only TD and it gave Jacksonville the lead for good.
Blitz 26 Steamer 9
Chicago RB John Gates ran for 94 yards and a TD and also chipped in a receiving TD as Chicago beat Shreveport. The Steamer had 16 more yards than the Blitz but they lacked any kind of ball security today. QB George Marcil threw 4 INTs and Shreveport lost 2 fumbles for a whopping 6 turnovers. The Steamer defense did a good job keeping them in the game despite all the turnovers but it was just too much to overcome.
Generals 43 Wranglers 0
New Jersey dominated Arizona on both sides of the ball, and the only bad point for the Generals was only scoring 2 TDs in 8 red zone trips. New Jersey held the Wranglers to 92 total yards and less than 20 minutes of possession as they intercepted 3 passes and had 3 sacks. Offensively, New Jersey rolled up 593 total yards with Don Ferguson throwing for 429 yards and 4 TDs. RB David Koresh recorded a double triple, running for 141 yards on 20 carries and catching 7 for 121 yards, although he did not score. WR Roger Rabbit only caught 2 passes but both were scores and WR Eric Davis caught the other 2 TD passes as part of his 5-150 yard day. Even K Al Borland got back on track after missing a pair of FGs in last week's loss, making all 9 of his kicks, including 5/5 on FGs.
Express 31 Hawaiians 27
Honolulu out gained Los Angeles 529-380 and they got out to a 14-0 lead before the Express went on a 31-0 run. Honolulu fought back however, and they went on a 13-0 run to pull within 31-27 and they had 1:53 left for their final drive of the game. Had the Hawaiians not settled for so many FGs earlier, they may have been able to settle for a FG now, but their 3 TDs in 6 red zone trips came back to bite them. Derek Henry threw for 409 yards today and got the Hawaiians inside the red zone on the final drive, but down 4 they had to keep going and the clock expired before they could score.Los Angeles QB David Tavarez completed 22/30, 334 yards and 3 TDs while all of Honolulu's TDs came on the ground with Jeffrey Richins scoring twice. RB Anthony Davis had the other rushing TD and 242 combined yards with 84 rushing and 158 receiving on 11 catches. WR Brian Vizcarra contributed 9 catches for 142 yards.
Hornets 18 Stallions 3
Birmingham won the yardage battle but suffered 2 turnovers and a sack in the end zone for a safety as Charlotte gets their first win of the season. Not much offense to discuss as the leading rusher had 30 yards, neither QB topped 200 yards, and no receiver had more than 49 yards. Charlotte got the game's only TD on a 2 yard run by Mark McDuffie late in the 3rd to extend an 8-0 lead to 15-0. Each team kicked a FG inside the 2 minute warning to give us our final score of 18-3.
