The USFL/WFL Divisional Round was played today and we had 3 close games and a blowout. In the American Conference, the Houston Gamblers are looking for their first World Bowl appearance in 6 seasons as they flatten the Detroit Wheels to advance to the Conference Championship Game. They will face the Denver Gold who won a slugfest with the Portland Storm. In the National Conference, it was the road teams avenging regular season losses, and in the case of the Washington Federals, they avenged a sweep. I felt all along that if Baltimore got past Washington, they would win it all, as the Federals were probably the team best suited to take them out. Congratulations again to Baltimore on their 16-0 regular season, which is still an impressive accomplishment despite no title to back it up. New Jersey had to travel to Florida thanks to the Blazers regular season win and the Generals had fun in the sun as a late 4th down stop seals the win. New Jersey will host Washington in the Conference Championship Game as the Generals try to avenge a shutout loss to the Federals earlier this season.
Gold 16 Storm 14
Portland got the ball first and were driving for a score when David Smith coughed up the ball after a reception and Denver SS Joshua Woodruff fell on the ball after knocking it loose. Andrew Brewer led the Gold offense into the Storm red zone, but the drive stalled and a Robert Deacon 31 yard FG gave Denver an early 3-0 lead. Denver forced a three and out before Andrew Brewer led the longest drive I think I've ever seen in MFN. The Gold went 85 yards, taking a whopping 20 plays to do it and 10:12 of game clock. Frederick Barron's 1 yard TD run was the 20th play to put Denver up 10-0 after the XP. Melvin Driggers brought Portland back with a TD drive to get back within 3 points, with his 32 yard TD pass to Peter Jessee. The first half would end 10-7 Denver.
Denver's FG drive in the first half took 11 plays, and their first drive of the second half took 14 plays, resulting in a FG for a 13-7 lead. The Gold defense forced a punt and the Denver offense had their 4th drive of double digit plays, driving 55 yards in 13 plays, but Robert Deacon missed the 53 yard try. Four long, grueling drives against the Storm defense had to take their toll, and they did a great job only allowing 13 points to this point.
Melvin Driggers and Jose Moses got Portland's defense some rest with a 9 play, 58 yard TD drive. Moses got the TD with a 2 yard run and Donald Atkins made the XP to give the Storm a 14-13 lead with 8:35 to play. Denver was forced to punt and Driggers was leading Portland on a clock draining drive with a 1st and 10 at the Denver 37 yard line when the 2 minute warning hit. On the next play, MLB Herbert Patterson knocked the ball loose from Jose Moses and CB James Butts fell on the loose ball for Denver. Andrew Brewer led the Gold offense into FG range and Robert Deacon was good from 48 yards to give Denver a 16-14 lead. Melvin Driggers and Portland had 1:17 to work with but the drive ended short of midfield and the Denver Gold advance to host the American Conference Championship Game.
Gamblers 47 Wheels 12
Tony Dean fired TD passes on Houston's first 2 drives and the Gamblers got out to a 17-3 lead and never looked back as they earn a trip to Denver. Houston's defense never let Detroit get comfortable on offense, holding them to 215 total yards and 1/12 on 3rd down. Detroit did get a FG on their opening drive and sacked Dean in the end zone for a safety, but Dean bounced back with his 3rd TD pass of the first half as the Gamblers enjoyed a 24-5 halftime lead. Dean threw his 4th TD on the first second half drive and it was all over but the shouting. Ryan Dearing ran for 118 yards while Donald Turner ran for 95 and catching 10 passes for 88 yards and a TD to lead Houston. Dean finished 30/43, 281 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT while Detroit's Gabriel Flanagan had a day to forget, 17/44, 187 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT. Houston CB Thomas Hutson put the final nail in the Detroit coffin when he intercepted Flanagan, returning it 34 yards for a TD early in the 4th.
Federals 19 Stars 17
Baltimore entered the game 16-0, having swept Washington in the regular season and owning a 5-1 post season record against the Federals. Jon Snow led the Stars to a TD on their opening drive, finding TE Ivan Oneil 4 times, the last one being a 3 yard TD for a 7-0 lead. Baltimore would add a FG on their 2nd drive for a 10-0 lead before we had some punts by both teams. Washington finally got on the scoreboard with a John Bazile 37 yard FG before a wild sequence of plays in the final 2 minutes before halftime. Right after the 2 minute timeout, Scott Bieber threw an interception to Jeffery Venable. Jon Snow was playing hot potato though, as he promptly gave it back with an interception to Robert Cosby. Given new life, Bieber got Washington into the end zone with 3 completions, with the 5 yard score going to Oliver Jeter. On the ensuing kickoff, Glenn Sprinkle fumbled on a hit by Theodore Paladino and Francisco Bailey fell on the loose ball for the Federals. Bieber couldn't get a TD out of it, but another Bazile FG gave Washington a 13-10 halftime lead.
The 3rd quarter was a punt fest and a John Bazile FG early in the 4th extended the Washington lead to 16-10. Jon Snow would lead Baltimore back with a 1 yard TD pass to Walter Bowser and the Fred Boyce XP gave the Stars a late 17-16 lead. Washington had just under 6 minutes to work with and the drive almost stalled near midfield, but Scott Bieber converted a 4th and 8 to keep the drive alive. John Bazile did the honors, booting a 21 yard FG for the Washington lead and the Federals defense held for 4 downs and they win the game.
Generals 17 Blazers 13
Two possessions in and both teams had 1 punt and 1 FG. Don Ferguson had New Jersey poised to score again, but on 2nd and 3 from the Florida 9, he was intercepted by James McCormick, keeping the game tied at 3. The rest of the half was punts as neither team had good starting field position.
Third quarter started similar, with Florida punting, pinning the Generals at their own 9. Ferguson led New Jersey on a 10 play, 91 yard drive, getting the game's first TD with a 20 yard scoring strike to WR Eric Davis (Go Reds!). It only took Sidney Maggard 4 plays to match that score as he quickly led the Blazers down field. WR William Sheppard was the recipient of the 53 yard scoring strike that knotted the game at 10. The punting resumed for a bit until Florida K Gerald Harmon booted a 47 yard FG for a 13-10 Blazers lead with 9:15 to play in the 4th. Ferguson answered by leading New Jersey to an 8 play, 75 yard TD drive, with Kurt Cobain's 13 yard TD reception giving the Generals the lead. Al Borland's XP made the score 17-13, meaning Florida had 4:55 to score a TD. Sidney Maggard and Robert Romero led Florida down the field and the Blazers hit the 2 minute warning facing a 4th and 6 from the New Jersey 16. Maggard connected on the pass to Romero, but Nuke LaLoosh stopped Romero short of the line to gain, allowing New Jersey to drain the clock and advance.
