We've had several weeks of elimination football in the American Conference and now that the dust has settled, our playoff field is finally set. First of all, great seasons for Memphis and Cleveland, who both just missed the playoff party despite winning double digit games. They will be forces to be reckoned with the next few seasons, so this year's playoff teams will need to stay on their toes. Congratulations to Denver, Houston, Detroit, and San Jose for winning their divisions and congrats to Portland and Michigan for making it as wildcards. The 6 National Conference Teams have been known for a few games, but formal congratulations go out to Baltimore, Florida, New Jersey, and Shreveport for winning their divisions and congrats to Washington and Philadelphia for being the wildcard teams.
Gold 35 Gamblers 28
The defenses took the day off in this game that turned out to be a battle for home field advantage. Denver put up 529 yards of offense while Houston smoked the Gold defense for 420 yards. Houston took an early 3-0 lead on their opening drive but Denver answered in 1 play, a 75 yard Andrew Brewer TD pass to Douglas Crowley. Another Houston FG cut the Gold lead to 7-6, but Brewer found Brian Thornton for an 86 yard TD and a 14-6 lead they took into halftime.
Tony Dean led Houston to a TD on their first drive of the second half, cutting the lead to 1 but a pair of long Denver touchdowns gave the Gold a 28-13 lead after 3. Denver's first TD of the second half came on a Frederick Barron 74 yard TD run, then Brewer found Dennis Harris for a 66 yard TD pass. Tony Dean started the 4th quarter scoring with a 12 yard TD pass to Jett Black, and Dean also threw for the 2 point conversion to pull Houston within 7. The Gamblers defense made Denver drive for once, but the Gold still got a Brewer 9 yard TD pass to James Riley for a 35-21 lead. Dean then led the Gamblers down the field, getting a 5 yard TD pass to Jose Ridgeway to make the score 35-28 just inside the 2 minute warning. Houston would recover the onside kick but was forced to punt. The Gamblers defense forced a quick three and out but Dean couldn't produce any heroics as the Gamblers limp into the playoffs with their 2nd straight loss. The win gives Denver home field advantage throughout the playoffs while results from other games gives Houston the other BYE week.
Blitz 20 Wheels 3
Detroit just needed to beat Chicago and they would win the Midwest division while a loss meant scoreboard watching to see if they get a playoff invitation. The Wheels literally threw away their chance to win as Detroit QBs combined for 8 INTs. Backup Ellis Soza continues to make brief cameos every game, usually putting up Arizona Wrangler (Tankers) like stats and today was no exception as Soza was 0/5 with 3 INTs. Gabriel Flanagan did complete 28/40 but he was also responsible for 5 INTs. Chicago could only take advantage for 20 points, but it was enough to force Detroit into scoreboard watching. Ronald Brown threw for 2 TD passes while John Gates ran for 116 yards to lead the Blitz offense.
SaberCats 15 Panthers 10
The Detroit loss opened the door for Michigan to win the Midwest if they could beat Pacific champs San Jose. The SaberCats fate was already written prior to the game, as they would be the #4 seed, hosting the top wildcard. Michigan's offense had trouble running the ball and stopping the run as the SaberCats RBBC had 176 yards on 42 carries. The Panthers forced FGs by San Jose however, and Larry Henderson's 3rd quarter TD pass to Lawrence Dummer gave Michigan a 10-6 lead. San Jose cut it to 10-9 in the 4th before Jake Plummer found Mark Hsu for a 79 yard TD pass and a 15-10 lead after the 2 point try failed. Michigan was driving toward the San Jose red zone but Larry Henderson threw an interception that sealed the victory for the SaberCats. The Michigan loss gives Detroit the Midwest crown and now it's the Panthers that have to watch the scoreboard.
Storm 17 Gunslingers 13
Portland was hoping Houston could beat Denver to open the door for the division title, but the Gold won, which meant Portland needed to beat San Antonio to assure themselves a wildcard spot. The Gunslingers came up short today but they gave Portland all they wanted and beat them up physically, sending the Storm into the playoffs banged up. San Antonio got on the board first with a short Robert Arroyo TD run, then Melvin Driggers tied the game with his TD pass to Timothy Roquemore. Driggers threw his 2nd TD pass to David Smith and Portland held a 14-7 halftime lead. San Antonio thought they had tied it in the 3rd after Charlie Shanks 3 yard TD run but the XP was no good. Portland added a FG later in the 3rd for a 17-13 lead that held up after a scoreless 4th.
Blazers 12 Showboats 7
Florida would secure a BYE with a win while Memphis needed a win to grab a playoff spot, and each team's defense did everything they could to make it happen for their team. Memphis held Florida to 246 yards and less than 2 yards a carry on the ground, while keeping the Blazers out of the end zone all day. Florida held the Showboats to 238 yards of offense while also forcing 2 turnovers that led to 2 of the Blazers 4 FGs on the day. Those 4 FGs were enough to overcome the 1 TD Memphis scored as both teams get next week off. The Florida win gives them a BYE while Memphis goes home until 1995 begins. The Memphis loss put the Showboats into a tie with Michigan for the #6 seed which they lost due to the head to head loss to Michigan in Week 4.
Stars 16 Federals 10
It seemed that Baltimore would get the home field advantage and Atlantic division crown even with a loss, but that theory wasn't tested as Baltimore wins once again to complete a 16-0 regular season. The Stars join the 1977 Detroit Wheels and 1986 Memphis Showboats as the only 3 teams to ever finish the regular season 16-0. Can Baltimore complete the 19-0 season like the Wheels and Showboats? Time will tell. This last game was no cake walk as Washington had a 7-0 lead after Robert Trammell's 2 yard TD run in the 1st qtr. Baltimore would get a pair of Fred Boyce FGs to pull within 7-6 at the half. Washington extended the lead to 10-6 early in the 4th before Jon Snow finally got the Stars in the end zone. His 18 yard TD pass to Jeffrey Zimmer gave Baltimore a 13-10 lead and Fred Boyce added 3 points at the 2 minute warning for our final margin.
Generals 61 Bell 12
New Jersey was fighting for a BYE, trying hard to win while Philadelphia reportedly sat 7 starters and the results were predictable. New Jersey QB Don Ferguson completed 41/55, 538 yards and 6 TDs to lead the Generals offense. Only 1 receiver topped 100 yards despite Ferguson's stats and that was RB Sam Beckett, who had 199 combined yards, catching 7 for 152 yards and 2 TDs. Fellow RB David Koresh had the reverse game of Beckett, catching a TD pass among his 5 for 57 yards while rushing for 133 yards and a TD for a combined 190 yards.
Steamer 27 Maulers 3
Shreveport tuned up for the playoffs by limiting Pittsburgh to 112 offensive yards and getting 4 George Marcil TD passes in the first half to cruise to victory. Rookie WR David Shafer did most of the damage with 6 catches, 194 yards and 3 TDs while Jeffrey Morris led a productive RBBC with 87 of the team's 170 rushing yards.
VooDoo 14 Thunderbolts 12
Cleveland was 10-2 after 12 weeks only to come into this game on a 3 game losing streak (all losses to playoff teams) and finding themselves destined to go home after this game. Cleveland more than doubled the offensive yards of New Orleans but 4 red zone trips resulted in just 1 TD and 2 FGs. Joseph Jones threw a pair of TD passes to give New Orleans a 14-0 lead in the 3rd quarter before Cleveland finally scored some points. A pair of FGs got Cleveland within 14-6 and they nearly had a TD before turning it over on downs very deep in VooDoo territory. The Thunderbolts got the ball back for one last drive and Tony Romo led them to a TD with a 7 yard pass to Matthew Martin with 0:01 on the clock, but the 2 point conversion was no good and the game ended with a thud for Cleveland.
Force 22 Stallions 18
Milton People was in a giving mood today, passing for 3 TDs for Georgia while throwing 3 INTs to the Birmingham defense. People's first TD pass, a 7 yarder to Matthew Taylor gave the Force a 7-0 lead. Then 2 INTs and a lost fumble on Georgia's next 3 drives led to 13 Birmingham points and a 13-7 Stallions lead at halftime. Birmingham's defense tackled Shaun Sutton in the end zone for a safety and a FG a bit later gave the Stallions an 18-7 4th quarter lead. Milton People then threw a pair of TD passes to lead Georgia to 15 unanswered points and a come from behind victory.
Hawaiians 42 Hornets 18
Honolulu took out their playoff frustrations out on Charlotte today, intercepting 4 passes including 1 for a TD as they sting the Hornets. Derek Henry threw for 270 yards and 4 TDs to lead the Hawaiians offense. RB Anthony Davis had 129 combined yards with a rushing TD while WR Brian Vizcarra caught 5 for 127 yards and a TD.
Express 23 Sun 13
Los Angeles last made the playoffs in 1987 with the remnants of what once former/now current owner mwd65 left behind. With his return, the Express ended the season with momentum and a 4 game winning streak to put the Pacific on notice for 1995. Today, Gary Sappington scored a pair of rushing TDs to help Los Angeles get out to a 20-6 halftime lead. The Express extended the lead to 23-6 in the 4th before a late Southern California TD made the score closer.
Outlaws 24 Invaders 9
Oklahoma won despite just 132 offensive yards thanks to 3 Andrew Moreno INTs, one returned for a TD. Oklahoma QB Steven Rigney only completed 5 of 13 passes today but one went 75 yards to Craig Icenhour, who served as the Outlaws PK early this season. The Outlaws running game went nowhere, gaining 41 yards on 35 carries but Alfred Brown had a 10 yard TD run while the Outlaws defense allowed just 3 FGs all day for the win.
(NY) Stars 42 Bandits 24
Baseball teams often have fireworks shows to end wins, seasons, or to celebrate home runs, or at least they do with my local team, the Cincinnati Reds. New York and Tampa Bay did something similar to end 1994 by putting up an aerial fireworks display of footballs with a combined 932 passing yards. 118 combined passes thrown and zero sacks. Antonio Martinez was 34/66, 455 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT while Damien Oleary completed 30/51, 477 yards and 3 TD passes. Each team had just 1 receiver get over 100 but each in different ways. The Bandits spread the ball around today, with WR Richard Miller leading the way with 7 catches 131 yards while Martinez found a different receiver for all of his TD passes. Oleary focused more on one guy, WR Albert Olson, and the rookie speedster caught 10 passes for 327 yards and 3 TDs.
Tampa bay got off to a fast start, as they led early in the 2nd quarter 24-7. The Stars held the Bandits scoreless the final 42 minutes of the game and by halftime, Oleary had New York within 24-21. New York went on to win the second half 21-0 and their 35 unanswered points gave them the come from behind win.
Bulls 7 Renegades 6
Orlando controlled the action, holding the ball over 41 minutes and out gaining Jacksonville 273-219. Orlando did not turn the ball over, they converted 8/19 3rd downs, and Trey Lyons completed 22/28 passes but all of that produced just a pair of Scott Mueller FGs. Orlando also had 21 total first downs to just 5 for Jacksonville, but the Bulls actually put the ball in the end zone once, which was just enough to beat 2 FGs. In fact, their TD accounted for 41% of their total yards today as Derek Joyce found Leon Gutierrez for a 91 yard TD pass.
Breakers 63 Tankers 0
I am glad the tanking ends here because these box scores have got quite ridiculous. Arizona QBs combined for 0/55/6 with 7 sacks for a grand total of negative 58 offensive yards. James Nash led the Boston RBBC with 104 yards and a TD as the Breakers used 6 different ball carriers to rush for 287 yards and 4 TDs. QB Joseph Haight completed 22/36 for 255 yards and 3 TDs, 2 to Anthony Temple (4-112-2). Boston finishes 7-9, their best record since 1990.
