We had some important games in Week 14 but we aren't much closer to answering the questions we had coming in. We still have no American Conference teams in the playoffs for sure yet and only 2 divisions in the entire league have a champion already. We know the 6 National Conference teams but only Shreveport at #4 is locked into a seed.
Panthers 17 Thunderbolts 16
I don't have all the stats but Michigan had one of the longest drives ever to start the game. The Panthers went on a 19 play, 79 yard drive, scoring a FG after having the ball 10:01. Cleveland's defense was in good shape though as they blanked the Panthers until the 4th quarter. The Thunderbolts got a pair of Carlos Reed FGs before Tony Romo found Mark Howe for a 13 yard TD to give Cleveland a 13-3 lead. That TD drive was just 37 yards thanks to a Larry Henderson INT, and Reed would later add a FG for a 16-3 lead early in the 4th. Miguel Lamar returned the favor, intercepting Romo and Henderson capped the 2 play, 60 yard drive with a 28 yard TD pass to Harvey Williams. Following a Cleveland three and out, Henderson again led a time consuming 79 yard drive. This one only took 6 minutes but it ended with a TD as Henderson found Kevin Terry for a 14 yard score. The extra point was good and Michigan takes the lead with just under 2 minutes to play. The Panthers defense held and the offense drained the clock as Michigan maintains a share of first place in the Midwest. The loss has Cleveland currently on the outside looking in and they will have one eye on the scoreboard of other games.
Wheels 23 VooDoo 21
There were 4 lead changes and 6 turnovers in this game Detroit needed to win to keep pace with Michigan. Detroit got out to a 10-0 lead thanks to a Kent Olden FG and a Gabriel Flanagan 18 yard TD pass to Timothy Richardson. New Orleans answered with a pair of 2nd quarter TD passes from Joseph Jones for a 14-10 lead. The first TD was 19 yards to Jose Little and the second TD went for 8 yards to Thomas Thomas. Detroit wouldn't stay down long as Olden made a FG just before the end of the first half and in the 3rd quarter, backup QB Ellis Soza threw a 63 yard TD pass to Thomas Love. Soza comes in for a few plays every game, I don't know why, maybe fatigue settings, but I never mention it because he usually does nothing. Including today, Soza is 2/30, 65 yards, 1 TD and 4 INTs.
RB James Fischer caught 7 passes for 115 yards but didn't run the ball well, gaining 20 yards on 8 carries. His fumble in the 4th quarter set up the VooDoo with an instant red zone opportunity which Joseph Jones cashed in with a 6 yard TD pass to Noel Bray, giving New Orleans a 21-20 lead. Detroit immediately answered with a FG for a 23-21 lead and were driving for more when New Orleans got their 3rd INT of Detroit QBs to keep the deficit at 2. The offense couldn't take advantage and their last drive of the game ended with an INT as the VooDoo approached the red zone. The wild win allows Detroit to keep a share of first place in the Midwest.
Gold 24 Invaders 22
Oakland gave Denver a run for their money but the Gold eventually pulled ahead enough that the late Invaders comeback fell short. Oakland out gained Denver 410-321 but Andrew Moreno threw an INT and 5 red zone trips produced just 2 TDs and 3 FGs. Moreno was 34/46, 354 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT but his most important pass of the game was a late, 1 yard completion. Denver QB Andrew Brewer only threw for 178 yards, but had 3 TDs and 0 INTs plus 107 rushing yards from Frederick Barron to build a 24-13 4th quarter lead. That was our score with 4:34 left, the last time Denver possessed the ball. Oakland took over and drove for a FG to pull within 8. There was just 2:02 left to play so they opted for an onside kick, which they recovered. Moreno drove the Invaders down the field, ending the drive with a 5 yard TD pass to Kenneth Hill and a successful 2 point conversion could force overtime. Moreno found Scott Stillings, but he got stuffed at the 1 and Denver keeps the lead 24-22. Time was running out and despite another successful onside kick, Oakland had time for just 1 play that did not get into FG range.
Storm 74 Tankers 0
Arizona continues to try to field the worst team ever as they end the game with zero positive plays all game. I take that back, zero positive offensive plays as they had 2 kickoff returns for 54 yards. They did not attempt to run the ball and out of 52 pass attempts, they completed zero to their own players and 7 to the Portland defense. Add in 3 sacks and the Wranglers had negative 24 yards of offense. Jose Moses led the Portland RBBC with 108 yards and 3 TDs and the team as a whole ran for 284 yards and 5 TDs. Melvin Driggers threw for 271 yards and 2 TDs and the offense as a whole had 8 TDs and 6 FGs.
Gamblers 37 Blitz 21
Tony Dean threw 4 TD passes on the day, all in the first half as Houston built a 31-0 halftime lead before cruising in the second half to their 12th win of the season. Dean found Hugh Chance on the first play of the game for a 75 yard TD and an instant lead. Chicago was moving the ball on their first drive until Ronald Brown threw an interception. Dean worked a little slower this time, taking 8 plays to go 77 yards for his 2nd TD pass that gave the Gamblers a 14-0 lead. Following an exchange of punts, the Blitz found themselves starting a drive on their own 7 where Brown promptly threw interception #2. Tony Dean then found Lloyd Ellis 3 plays later for the first of 2 TD passes for a 21-0 lead. The 2nd Dean to Ellis TD pass was a 51 yarder for a 28-0 lead and an Earl Castro FG rounded out the first half scoring.
Chicago could have easily threw in the towel at this point, especially given their lack of a playoff situation, but the Blitz fought back and won the second half 21-6. The first half deficit was too much to overcome however, and despite the sloppy second half, Houston never let Chicago get closer than 13.
Bandits 17 Showboats 16
This week saw several non playoff teams give playoff caliber teams a lot of trouble and two of them even won. This was the first such upset, as Tampa Bay ekes out a win in a turnover filled game. Memphis forced the first turnover, a Bandits fumble that Norman Maldonado took advantage of. Maldonado found Matthew Royster for a 39 yard TD pass and a 7-0 lead. A little later, Maldonado threw the first of his 2 interceptions deep in Memphis territory and Antonio Martinez threw a 7 yard TD pass to Wm Jones to tie the game. Memphis would get the next 3 scores, all field goals following an interception, a punt, and another interception by Martinez. That gave the Showboats a 16-7 lead before martinez struck again with a 46 yard TD to Garry Fowler in the final minute of the half to pull within 16-14.
The second half was mostly scoreless as each offense continued making mistakes as Maldonado threw his 2nd INT while Martinez threw 2 of his own for a total of 4 INTs today. The last mistake came on the first play following the 2 minute warning as TE Jason Laughlin fumbled running after the catch and James Ware returned it all the way to the Memphis 13. Martinez couldn't get the Bandits in the end zone but he also did not throw INT #5, allowing Edward Walter to kick the go ahead 21 yard FG and the defense held Memphis in check on the final drive to put a serious hurt on the Showboats playoff hopes.
Stars 47 Steamer 23
Shreveport has clinched the South and is locked into the #4 seed, meaning they will host the top wildcard in the conference. That will mean either a rematch with Baltimore or a game against a Washington team who has beaten everyone on their schedule except Baltimore. Speaking of beating everyone on their schedule, that's exactly what the Stars have done in 1994. Baltimore got off to a slow start today as the game was tied at 6 in the 2nd quarter before the Stars ripped off 34 of the next 37 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to seize control of the game.
QB Jon Snow threw for 447 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs as he welcomed WR John Warkentin back. Warkentin led the receivers with 5 catches, 109 yards and a TD while RB William Halford had 213 combined yards, rushing for 126 and adding 87 receiving yards. After the Stars led 40-9, Shreveport QB George Marcil closed out the scoring with 3 passes that turned into points. Two of the scores were too little, too late TD passes to make the score look closer and the other one was a pick six by CB Edwin Tillis.
Federals 27 SaberCats 10
Washington leaned on their defense and running game against San Jose today as the Federals hand the SaberCats their first loss of the pronfl51 era. Robert Trammell had 74 yards rushing and a TD while James Dunn also ran in a score as Washington built a 14-3 halftime lead. Scott Bieber finally threw a TD pass late in the 3rd quarter to extend the lead to 24-3 with a 58 yard strike to Ronald Matthews. San Jose would cut the lead to 14 entering the 4th but their last 3 drives ended on an INT, downs, and a punt.
Hawaiians 28 Sun 10
Honolulu QB Derek Henry completed 34/48 for 198 yards and 3 TDs as the Hawaiians score 25 unanswered points to seize control of this game and force a tie atop the Pacific. Honolulu struck first with a FG before Gary Wiggins found James Brough for a 6 yard TD for Southern California. The Hawaiians would trim the deficit to 7-6 before the first of Henry's TD passes gave them the lead for good. Henry threw a 3rd quarter TD pass to Delmar Moeller to extend the lead to 20-7 and the pair hooked up again in the 4th. RB Anthony Davis ran in the 2 point conversion and he finished with 140 combined yards, 95 rushing.
Blazers 13 Generals 9
We had a battle of first place teams in New Jersey and the winner would have the upper hand for the #2 seed in the playoffs. The Generals out gained the Blazers, ran the ball twice as well and won the turnover battle 2-1, so they won right? Wrong. New Jersey only converted 3/15 on 3rd down, allowing Florida to convert on 6 of their 15. Al Borland missed a FG and New Jersey did not put the ball in the end zone all game, settling for the 3 FGs Borland did make. Sidney Maggard didn't play well either but he did manage to throw a TD pass, 16 yards to Ronald Kirby and the Blazers defense made that hold up as Florida slides into the #2 spot.
Bulls 16 Bell 15
Philadelphia had a chance to tie New Jersey atop the East with a win over Jacksonville, but someone forgot to tell the Bulls they were supposed to lose. Jacksonville took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays, with Derek Joyce's 1 yard TD pass to Ken Robinson giving the Bulls the 7-0 lead. Philadelphia would fumble on their first possession, setting up a Bulls FG for a 10-0 lead. Philadelphia started to turn it around on both sides of the ball as the offense was moving and the defense was forcing punts. The Bell couldn't crack the end zone though, settling for 4 Robert Albertson FGs and a 12-10 lead. Jacksonville would retake the lead on a Neal Williams 40 yard FG only for Albertson's 5th FG gave the lead back to Philadelphia. A Joseph Serio INT set up the Bulls for the go ahead FG, which Williams hit from 40 yards again and the Jacksonville defense forced 2 punts to hang on for the win.
Renegades 13 Gunslingers 9
Ben Dehaven had 87 rushing yards and a 2 yard TD run on the opening drive to lead Orlando to victory. That was the only TD of the game as the defenses were on top of things today. San Antonio managed to keep plugging away, cutting the lead to 7-3, then 10-6, and finally 10-9 early in the 4th. That's as close as the Gunslingers would get as they added a FG for a 4 point cushion and the defense did the rest.
Breakers 22 (NY) Stars 16
Boston defeated New York in a mistake filled game. The Breakers got out to a 13-0 lead thanks to a pair of Curtis Zuniga FGs and a 31 yard TD pass from Adam Scales to Anthony Temple. Damien Oleary brought the Stars back with a 59 yard TD pass to Stanley Hart, then Ed Jetton booted a FG to pull within 13-10. The rest of the game the teams traded FGs as Boston went up 6 then New York cut it to 3, up 6, cut to 3, up 6, end of game. Both QBs threw 2 INTs and both teams fumbled twice although Boston recovered all 4. They combined to go 6/33 on 3rd down and 5 combined red zone trips produced 4 FGs.
Express 33 Outlaws 10
Los Angeles got a David Tavarez 3 yard TD pass to Sidney Chavis on the opening drive for a 7-0 lead before the Express started making mistakes. Their next 3 drives ended with a missed FG, interception and a fumble, but Oklahoma could only take advantage once, tying the game with a Douglas Arnold 1 yard run. Gary Sappington's 2 yard TD run gave Los Angeles the lead back for good, and after the Outlaws got within 14-10, Los Angeles ripped off 19 unanswered points to win going away. Jeffrey Chartier ran for 98 yards and a score while Sappington ran for 95 yards and a score, adding 58 receiving yards to pace the Express offense.
Stallions 10 Force 7
Georgia started off the game with mistakes on 3 of their first 5 drives with a missed FG and a pair of interceptions. The first INT by Thomas Jacobi was almost returned for a TD by Lamont McCarthy who was brought down at the Force 2 yard line. Willie Benge found Francis Schultz on the next play for a 7-0 Birmingham lead. Birmingham got aggressive, going for a 4th and 2 from the Georgia 41, failing and turning it over on downs. Jacobi then led Georgia 59 yards for a TD to tie the game with Willard Brekke on the receiving end of the 15 yard TD. The score would remain 7-7 until 2:20 left in the game when Birmingham finally got into FG range where Gerald Hinton's 43 yard kick gave Birmingham the lead for good.
Maulers 7 Hornets 3
Pittsburgh was one of the last 3 teams without a win before the Toilet Tank Game between Oklahoma and Arizona, and the Maulers are a prime example of how I think struggling teams should play things. He tried Ernest Simmon at QB and it didn't work out so he went back to Will Allison, the veteran QB who led Pittsburgh to the playoffs previously. He has also been using a real placekicker all year. If there was a way for me to manipulate who picks where, I would give the #1 pick to Pittsburgh for having integrity. The Maulers played badly again today but the Hornets played worse. Charlotte held a 3-0 lead for most of the first 3 quarters until Allison found Franklin Cherry with a 2 yard TD pass early in the 4th. That gave Pittsburgh a 7-3 lead and the Maulers defense made sure that held up as they finally break into the win column.
