As we start the second half of the season, the Baltimore Stars are the only team with zero losses, and this week they played their namesake from New York. This battle of the Stars was all Baltimore as they run their record to 9-0. Washington won a close game against Los Angeles to remain 1 game behind at 8-1. New Jersey is also 8-1 leading the East, and the Generals play the Federals next week in an important National Conference game. Philadelphia survived Oakland to stay 1 game behind at 7-2. San Jose and Honolulu are tied in the Pacific at 4-5 but no division race is more compelling than the Midwest. There we have 3 teams tied with 8-1 records, and if the playoffs started now, Michigan, Detroit, and Cleveland all make it. Cleveland has yet to play either Michigan or Detroit and the 2 Michigan teams have played once. That made the second Denver/Portland game more important, as the loser would be 2 games behind in the wildcard race.
Stars 48 (NY) Stars 3
Baltimore keeps rolling along as they held New York to 212 total yards, intercepting 4 passes, recovering a fumble, and holding New York to 13 rushing yards as they remain undefeated. Baltimore only led 10-0 at the half but exploded for 28 points in the 3rd quarter to put the game away. Jon Snow completed 32/46, 295 yards and 5 TDs with John Warkentin leading the receivers with 9 catches, 117 yards and 3 TDs. RB William Halford had 197 combined yards and 2 TDs, rushing for 126 yards and 1 score with 71 receiving yards and a score on 6 receptions.
Panthers 21 Blitz 16
Both offenses started off hot as Chicago drove for a FG on their opening drive and Michigan drove for a FG attempt, but Jonathan Ruch was wide left on the 37 yard try. Chicago then drove for a TD as Ronald Brown found Ian Gordon for a 13 yard score and a 10-0 Blitz lead. Michigan then went 75 yards in 3 plays, the final 52 being a Larry Henderson TD pass to Harvey Williams. The Panthers defense finally forced a punt before Henderson led Michigan on a 16 play, 83 yard scoring drive culminating in Henderson's 2nd TD pass, 13 yards to Kevin Terry. That gave the Panthers a 14-10 lead which they took into halftime.
The 3rd quarter almost went by without a score, but Larry Henderson's 3rd TD pass gave Michigan a 21-10 lead. Midway through the 4th, Ronald Brown found Ian Gordon again, this time for a 50 yard scoring strike to pull within 21-16. The 2 point try was no good but a few minutes later, WLB George Caraballo intercepted Henderson to give the Blitz the ball near midfield. Chicago RB John Gates had a good statistical game, rushing for 114 yards, but he failed running in the 2 point try and he fumbled on the first play after the INT, giving Michigan the ball right back. Chicago did force a punt and the Blitz had 1 last chance to win if they could go 93 yards. Ronald Brown got Chicago across midfield and found TE Jason Rambo open in the flat, but Rambo was caught between trying to stop the clock or trying to score. He made it all the way down to the Michigan 4 yard line before being forced out of bounds, but it took too much time and there were 0:00 left on the clock as Michigan holds on for the win.
Wheels 27 Stallions 3
Detroit is off to their best start in the fhunt3 era and that continued against Birmingham. Detroit held the Stallions to 176 yards of offense, forcing a lost fumble, an INT and a sack. Gabriel Flanagan threw for 290 yards and 2 TDs to lead a balanced offensive attack for Detroit. Not much to talk about from a stat perspective, but on the season, Detroit has the 9th ranked offense by yards and their defense is 11th, and their remaining schedule is easier than Michigan and Cleveland.
Thunderbolts 26 Hawaiians 7
Honolulu out gained Cleveland and took an early 7-0 lead when Derek Henry connected with Mark Schram for a 10 yard TD pass. The Hawaiians were driving for another score on their next drive when they lost a fumble in the red zone, then Tony Romo led Cleveland 92 yards for their first score, a 2 yard TD pass to Bobby Colley. Henry threw an INT on Honolulu's next drive and Romo made them pay with his 2nd TD pass, a 4 yard toss to Kenneth Fogelman to take a 14-7 lead. Romo finished the game 23/29, 234 yards and 2 TD passes. The second half was 4 Cleveland FGs by Carlos Reed and the Thunderbolts win to keep pace with Michigan and Detroit.
Storm 45 Gold 13
If Denver could pull off the sweep of Portland today, they would have a 1 game lead on Portland with the tiebreaker in hand and the Gold were coming off an impressive win. The Denver coaching staff decided after last week's 24/26 performance that Andrew Brewer should throw every down against the Storm. It backfired though, as the Denver defense had trouble getting off the field against the Storm offense, leaving Denver just under 16 minutes of possession. Portland QB Melvin Driggers completed 43/50, 427 yards and 6 TDs with WR Richard Robinson hauling in 10 for 148 scoreless yards. The rest of the yards were spread among several players as Portland improves to 7-2 and sole possession of 1st in the West.
Federals 24 Express 17
There were 5 lead changes in this game with most of the action occurring in the 2nd/3rd quarters. Los Angeles led 3-0 after a quarter before Scott Bieber threw a 4 yard TD pass to Andrew Favela as Washington took the lead 7-3. Express QB David Tavarez wasted little time getting the lead back, connecting on a 73 yard TD pass to Sidney Chavis. Washington retook the lead 14-10 on James Dunn's 1 yard TD run but in the final 30 seconds of the first half Tavarez struck again with a 28 yard TD pass to Patric Peavey. Washington K John Bazile missed 2 of 3 FG tries today, but in the 3rd quarter, his 25 yard FG tied the game at 17 then Scott Bieber's 2nd TD pass broke the tie later in the 3rd. Los Angeles could not run the ball all day, finishing with negative 5 yards on 14 carries, and the one dimensional offense hurt the Express in the second half. David Tavarez was intercepted on each of the last 2 Express drives as the Federals defense made the late lead stand up for the win to keep pace with Baltimore.
Generals 37 VooDoo 10
Coming into this game, New Jersey QB Don Ferguson had only thrown 2 INT all season, but he threw 3 today. The Generals defense forced New Orleans into 3 turnovers of their own and Ferguson had a good game aside from the turnovers. Ferguson finished 30/42, 434 yards, 4 TD and 3 INT. RBs Sam Beckett and Kurt Cobain had productive games along with WR Duncan Meyer. Beckett finished with 218 combined yards on 73 rushing with 10 catches, 145 yards and a TD while Cobain had 51 rushing and 85 receiving yards and a TD reception. Meyer caught 5 for 124 yards and 2 TDs to lead the New Jersey offense and helping the Generals improve to 8-1.
Bell 14 Invaders 13
Philadelphia scored on 75 yard touchdown drives on their first possession of each half and the Bell defense made those scores stand up as the Bell improve to 7-2. Oakland got the ball first and the Invaders got a FG on the opening drive led by QB Martin Greene, who was taking over for Andrew Moreno because of a coach's decision. Philadelphia answered with a TD on their first drive, a 4 yard run by Robert Cooper. Philadelphia opted for a run heavy attack today, running almost twice as much as they threw. Jamie Epperson ran for 104 yards to lead the Bell RBBC and his 2 yard run in the 3rd gave the Bell a 14-3 lead. Oakland answered with a Lemon Jefferson 6 yard TD run and a FG, but Greene threw an INT on the Invaders last drive and Philadelphia ran out the remaining 2:17 off the clock.
Gamblers 24 Gunslingers 10
Tony Dean and Hugh Chance hooked up for TDs on the Gamblers first 2 possessions and got out to a 17-7 first quarter lead which they took into halftime after a scoreless 2nd. San Antonio got the ball to start the second half and were driving toward the red zone when Robert Fanelli threw an interception. Lloyd Ellis capped off the ensuing Houston drive with a 1 yard TD run and the defense did the rest as the Gamblers improve to 8-1. Dean finished 26/35, 365 yards and 2 TDs, both to Hugh Chance, who caught 5 for 98 yards. RB Donald Turner sat out resting an injury and Lloyd Ellis stepped in and rushed for 70 yards and a TD to go with 9 receptions and 162 yards.
Showboats 10 Wranglers 3
Arizona might be winless now, but the team is playing much better, especially on defense. They have only given up 33 points the last 3 weeks, and while Oakland is also struggling offensively, they held Denver to 16 and Memphis to 10 and those teams average more than 20 ppg. Unfortunately for the Wranglers, their offense only scores 3 points a game and struggles to move the ball. This game was tied at 3 after the first quarter and Norman Maldonado's 2nd qtr 72 yard TD pass to Mark Glenn stood up, as Memphis escapes with a narrow 10-3 win. Arizona RB Elias Williams didn't find much running room but he did gain 122 yards on 4 receptions, and looks like a potential player to build an offense around.
SaberCats 13 Maulers 0
Graham Peterson ran for 82 yards and a TD to lead the San Jose offense. QB Jake Plummer didn't have to do much, but he wasn't intercepted or sacked for the second consecutive game after getting pummeled and picked off like crazy the first 7 weeks. The SaberCats defense held Pittsburgh to 193 yards and forced 3 turnovers as San Jose wins a defensive struggle to improve to 4-5 and getting a share of 1st in the Pacific.
Breakers 33 Bandits 30
I don't get to write much about Boston skill players unless they score or turn the ball over, as the Breakers aren't known for stat producing. Today was a different story however, as the Breakers ran for 151 yards and threw for 397 for a whopping 548 total yards. It wasn't all Boston though, as neither team had more than a 7 point lead until the 4th quarter and the Bandits had 457 offensive yards themselves. Boston was 7/13 on 3rd down while Tampa Bay was 8/18, although they also combined for 5 turnovers, 3 by Boston. Breakers QB Adam Scales was 21/31, 397 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT and WR Anthony Temple led the receivers with 4 catches, 174 yards and 3 TDs. Bandits QB Antonio Martinez completed 22/52, 410 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT.
The 3rd Scales to Temple TD pass came with 5 minutes left in the game to give Boston a 33-23 lead, then Martinez threw his INT. Tampa Bay forced a punt and scored a TD just inside the 2 minute warning but the onside kick failed and Boston ran out the clock for the win.
Blazers 17 Renegades 6
Orlando is just 3-6 on the year but they have scored 1 more point than they've allowed, as 4 of those losses are by one score. Florida has ruled the Southeast the last 2 seasons,and one of the reasons is being able to win even when not playing their best football. Sidney Maggard overcame 2 interceptions by throwing a pair of TD passes as Florida wins a defensive struggle 17-6. Orlando made 2 trips into the red zone but could not score TDs. The Renegades defense held the Blazers to 290 total yards, but allowed them to convert 6/14 3rd downs and the Blazers average starting field position was 15 yards better than Orlando.
Hornets 13 Sun 10
Southern California took an early 7-0 lead on a 19 yard TD pass by Gary Wiggins to Jonathan Sapp after Charlotte punt returner David Delgadillo fumbled the punt return. The Sun added a 3rd quarter FG and led 10-0 after 3 quarters and completely shutting down the Hornets rushing attack. Charlotte ran 34 times for 18 yards today, but QB Robert Ament completed 19/22 for 222 yards and a 77 yard TD pass in the 4th quarter to Randall Liles to start the Hornets come back. A couple minutes later, Javier Gill's 53 yard FG tied the game and his 52 yarder at the gun prevented overtime and gave Charlotte their second win of the season.
Bulls 18 Outlaws 3
Well at least I can stop complaining about no kicker for Oklahoma as they finally signed one. Each team threw 3 INTs and we had a FG contest until Jacksonville QB Derek Joyce connected on a 45 yard TD pass to Steven Riley with 4:14 to play. Up to that point, the Bulls had 4 FGs from Neal Williams while the Outlaws new K Eric Chandler made his only kick. With neither team particularly effective through the air, Jacksonville's superior running game was the difference. Both teams use a RBBC but Jacksonville ran for 134 yards on 25 carries while Oklahoma's 21 carries netted just 18 yards.
Steamer 9 Force 2
A Georgia win would trim the Shreveport lead in the South to 1 game, but the Force offense wasn't up to the challenge. Actually, Georgia did have success on the ground, gaining 114 yards at more than 5 ypc, but Milton People had an awful game. People finished 15/38, 83 yards and 2 INTs as Georgia's only points came when the Force defense sacked George Marcil in the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 lead. On the next Shreveport possession, Marcil led the Steamer 95 yards for a TD, with a 7 yard pass to Martin Haley giving them a 6-2 lead when the XP was no good. Shreveport would add a FG in the final minute of the first half and that 9-2 score stood up the rest of the game as Georgia only had one real scoring chance but James May missed the kick. It wasn't offensively impressive but Shreveport now has a 3 game lead on Georgia and a 4 game lead on the rest of the South.
