The Road to World Bowl XXI begins for real now, with 12 teams vying for the coveted trophy. Denver, Houston, Baltimore, and Florida had BYE weeks and they now know their first playoff opponent in the Divisional Round. The American Conference games were as tight as their standings were all season while in the National Conference one game was close and one was a blowout. San Jose, Michigan, Shreveport, and Philadelphia all have bowed out of the playoffs involuntarily, but they all deserve props for great seasons.
Storm 17 SaberCats 13
Portland got the ball first and was forced to punt near midfield. Jason Harper did what coaches always say not to do by fielding the punt inside the 10 yard line. Harper got hit and fumbled, with Christopher Schneider recovering it for Portland to set up a first and goal. Three plays later Melvin Driggers found Donald Langlois for an 8 yard TD pass and a 7-0 lead. A few drives later, San Jose would get a FG and the first quarter ended 7-3 Portland. In the second quarter, Portland faced a 4th and 1 from the San Jose 41, and the run failed but Jake Plummer threw an interception 3 plays later, so it's like they made it all along. The Storm would continue to drive, getting a 46 yard Donald Atkins FG to take a 10-3 lead. Plummer brought the SaberCats back to tie the game just inside the 2 minute warning with a 46 yard TD pass to David Hartwig.
The 3rd quarter saw an exchange of punts until we neared the 4th as Driggers led Portland on a 9 play, 80 yard TD drive to take a 17-10 lead into the 4th. Val Smith caught the 24 yard TD pass, and the TE led the Storm in receiving today. In the middle of the 4th, Plummer drove San Jose into FG range and Robert Rodriguez was good on his 51 yard try, cutting the lead to 17-13. Driggers then had Portland driving for a score when he was intercepted by Geoffrey Kessler, giving Plummer 2 minutes to score a TD for the win. That drive went nowhere and Portland holds on for the win, advancing to face Denver for the 3rd time this year.
Wheels 13 Panthers 12
Speaking of teams playing for the 3rd time, all 4 games this weekend deal with that in one way or another. Portland and Washington victories have them advancing to face division rivals, while just like Philadelphia and New Jersey, the Detroit Wheels and Michigan Panthers have their 3rd game take place wildcard weekend. It was 14 degrees in Detroit and both offenses played like they wish this game was in the Silverdome instead of Rynearson Stadium, as 5 combined red zone trips resulted in just 3 FGs and neither team scored an offensive TD today.
Detroit forced a Michigan punt deep in Panthers territory and the Wheels began their drive from the Michigan 40. The offense didn't move much but Kent Olden's 44 yard FG gave Detroit the 3-0 lead. Later on in the first, Detroit FB Thomas Love fumbled after a reception with Miguel Lamar recovering it, leading to a Jonathan Ruch 46 yard FG and a tie game. Late in the first and early in the 2nd, Gabriel Flanagan threw interceptions that the Michigan offense turned into FGs for a 9-3 lead. Flanagan then led Detroit on their best offensive drive of the game, but on 4th and 1 from the Michigan 7, they opted to play it safe and try a 26 yard FG to get within 3 points but Kent Olden was wide right, leaving the score 9-3. Michigan then drove into FG range where Jonathan Ruch was wide left on a 41 yard try. Detroit then drove into FG range and Olden was good on the 32 yard kick for a halftime score of 9-6 Michigan.
Michigan got the ball to start the 3rd quarter and a FG drive extended the Panthers lead to 12-6. From there the teams took turns punting and throwing interceptions and the score remained 12-6 entering the 4th. On the first play of the final quarter, Larry Henderson threw his 2nd INT of the game and CB Ralph Thomas returned it 39 yards for the only TD of the game. Olden's XP gave Detroit a 13-12 lead with most of the 4th yet to play. Henderson threw an interception on the very next Michigan play and Gabriel Flanagan had Detroit on the doorstep of a TD, but Ronald Sparling intercepted him in the end zone, leaving the score 13-12. The Panthers offense could not cross midfield on their last 2 drives, allowing Detroit to hold on for the first Wheels playoff win in the fhunt3 era. His reward is a trip to Houston to face the Gamblers and Tony Dean.
Federals 24 Steamer 3
Not much drama in this game as each team had 5 full first half possessions in which Shreveport punted 5 times while Washington scored on 4 of their 5 for a 16-0 halftime lead. Scott Bieber completed 28/37 for 287 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT while RBs Robert Trammell and James Dunn did most of the heavy lifting as Washington advances to face Baltimore for the 3rd time.
Bieber found Dunn for a 7 yard TD pass to give the Federals a 7-0 lead after 1 quarter while John Bazile made 3 FGs in the 2nd quarter for that 16-0 halftime lead. Bieber had Washington driving for more points in the 3rd quarter before being intercepted by William Augustine at the goal line. George Marcil drove Shreveport from one 20 yard line to almost the other 20 before the drive stalled. A Jeffrey Smith 40 yard FG got the Steamer on the scoreboard but they still trailed by 13 points and time was running out. Early in the 4th, Bieber fired his 2nd TD pass, a 1 yard toss to Jonathan Fuller and a 2 point conversion pass to James Dunn to make the score 24-3. The rest of the 4th was uneventful and the Federals win.
Robert Trammell ran for 89 yards, adding 21 receiving while James Dunn ran for 43 yards, catching 9 passes for 145 yards and a TD to lead the Washington skill players.
Generals 33 Bell 24
It was even colder in New Jersey (7 degrees) than Detroit, but the offenses of both teams came out of the gates on fire, with 5 combined 75 yard drives to start the game. New Jersey got the ball first and drove 75 yards in 9 plays, capping the drive with a 7 yard Don Ferguson TD pass to Duncan Meyer. It took Joseph Serio 2 plays to match that with a 75 yard TD pass to Craig Hines. New Jersey then took 11 plays to drive 75 yards with a Ferguson 1 yard TD pass to Sam Beckett breaking the tie. Al Borland was wide right on the XP and the Generals led 13-7 after a quarter.
Philadelphia's 2nd drive also went 75 yards, with Jamie Epperson's 3 yard TD run tying the game at 13. Robert Albertson made the XP for a 14-13 Philadelphia lead. Ferguson led the Generals down the field on their next drive, finding Kurt Cobain for a 46 yard TD and a 20-14 lead. The defenses finally settled down and we had some punts and an Al Borland FG to close out the first half with New Jersey enjoying a 23-14 lead.
In the 3rd quarter Philadelphia was driving in New Jersey territory when Charles Weymouth lost a fumble on a hit by Michael Nieves and Martin Riggs fell on the loose ball for the Generals. Don Ferguson then led New Jersey on another TD drive, with a 9 yard pass to Redd Foxx giving the Generals a 30-14 lead. It only took Philadelphia one play to get those points back as Joseph Serio found Craig Hines for their 2nd 75 yard TD hookup of the game.
That made the score 30-21 entering the 4th, and early in the final quarter, the Bell had a first and goal from the 8 yard line. Three runs netted just 1 yard and a Robert Albertson FG cut the lead to 30-24. New Jersey would punt on their next drive and time was running out for Philadelphia. The Bell went for a 4th and 8 from their own 22 with less than 4 minutes to play but Martin Riggs knocked down the pass and the Generals offense took over. They took a couple minutes off the clock and added a FG by Al Borland for a 9 point lead, 33-24. Michael Nieves then intercepted Serio, sealing the game for New Jersey as they advance to face the Florida Blazers.
Don Ferguson completed 32/39, 330 yards, 4 TD and 0 INT, with the TDs all going to different receivers while Beckett and Cobain combined for 121 rushing yards. WR Craig Hines led the way for Philadelphia with 4 catches, 191 yards and 2 TDs.
