I usually start early season blogs with the defending champs, but the Washington/New Jersey game was the most compelling of the week. Not only was it a wild finish, the Federals have beaten the Generals in the last 2 National Conference Championship games. On top of that, New Jersey QB Don Ferguson used to be the backup to Washington QB Scott Bieber, and these losses are making the chip on Ferguson's shoulder get bigger. We have a total of 10 teams sitting 2-0, and the biggest surprise of that group of teams is Arizona. Their 2 wins is as many wins as they had in the previous 4 seasons combined and they should match their win total for the decade if they keep playing like this. Prior to this season, the Wranglers were 5-75 in the 1990's, and taking away 1990, they were 2-62 the last 4 seasons. Even Cincinnati Bengals fans can feel empathy for Arizona fans.
Federals 34 Generals 30
Not much defense was played in this game as New Jersey had 529 offensive yards and Washington had exactly 500. Don Ferguson and Scott Bieber each threw for 417 yards and were not sacked, although Ferguson also threw 2 INTs. In the first half, the Generals moved the ball at will, scoring on all but 2 drives as they took a 24-10 lead into halftime. Washington chipped away at the lead in the second half, finally tying the game on the second Bieber to Ronald Matthews TD pass with just under 5 minutes to play. Matthews only caught 3 passes today, but 2 went for TDs and he had 160 receiving yards to show for it. Ferguson then drove the Generals deep into Federals territory, but a 4th and goal situation popped up very late in the game, so Al Borland kicked a short FG. That seemingly gave New Jersey the win, as they had a 30-27 lead with 0:12 left and Washington had no time outs. Two swing passes later, the Generals and their fans were stunned as Oliver Jeter took the swing pass 52 yards for the game winning TD as time expired.
Gamblers 35 Thunderbolts 12
Tony Dean and the Gamblers rolled to another win and even improved on something from Week 1. Unnoticed in Houston's 50-0 win last week was red zone deficiency, scoring just 2 TDs and 4 FGs in 8 trips. Today, Houston scored TDs on all 4 red zone possessions while the defense allowed Cleveland just 4 FGs all day. Dean threw for 377 yards and 3 TDs with Hugh Chance leading the receivers with 158 yards and 2 TDs on 5 catches.
Blazers 23 Steamer 20
This was another game between 1994 division winners and it ended eerily similar to the Federals/Generals game. Florida had a 9-7 lead at the half thanks to 3 Gerald Harmon FGs, then Shreveport briefly took a 10-9 lead with a FG in the 3rd. Sidney Maggard then found Richard Carstens for a 54 yard TD pass and a 16-10 lead. George Marcil had a solid game, completing 32/43 for 268 yards and 2 TDs, and he led a FG drive early in the 4th to cut the lead to 16-13. Marcil then got the ball with 4:11 to play, leading a 7 play, 81 yard TD drive, finishing it off with a short scoring toss to Richard Wise with 1:11 to play. Florida had plenty of time until they faced a 4th and 6 from their own 47 with time running out. The Blazers were out of time outs, yet they threw a short pass to Richard Carstens, who broke a tackle and burst down the sideline. A Shreveport DB seemed to have the angle to stop the TD but Carstens beat him to the pylon and Florida snags victory from the jaws of defeat.
Stars 38 Gold 20
For 3 quarters, Denver played good football offensively and defensively, as they led Baltimore 20-14. The Gold had a 13 minute advantage in time of possession and converted 11/19 3rd downs, while holding the Stars to 2/9 on 3rd down. Baltimore QB Jon Snow threw an INT early in the 4th, but Denver couldn't take advantage, missing a FG. That started a series of unfortunate events for Denver that ultimately cost them this game. Snow rebounded, leading the Stars to the go ahead TD to Glenn Sprinkle. Denver got the ball back and promptly fumbled it away, leading to a Snow TD pass to John Warkentin, extending the lead to 28-20. Denver got the ball back and promptly fumbled it away, again, this time leading to a FG and a 31-20 lead. Denver then turned it over on downs, leading to a William Halford TD run and Baltimore explodes for 24 4th quarter points for the come from behind win.
Storm 45 Invaders 26
There were a whopping 48 first downs in this game, 26 for Portland, 22 for Oakland. Oakland had nearly 400 yards (394) against the usually stout Storm defense as Andrew Moreno finished the game 28/43, 329 yards and 2 TD passes to Juan Morgan, who caught 8 for 112 yards. Good thing for Portland that their red zone defense came through and Melvin Driggers was nearly perfect. Oakland scored on all 4 of their red zone trips, but 2 were just FGs while Driggers converted 4 of 5 red zone trips into TDs, with a FG thrown in on the other. Driggers finished the game 27/31, 307 yards and 6 TD passes and zero INTs. No receiver had 100+ yards for Portland but Richard Robinson caught 4 TD passes. Portland's RBBC rushed for 223 yards with Jeffrey Frost's 110 yards leading the way.
Wranglers 17 Maulers 10
While the Wranglers and their fans are excited about the 2-0 start, there is still much work to do, as Brian Carmichael was intercepted 5 times. Arizona had 139 rushing yards from their deep RBBC and a pair of TDs as they had the back of their young QB. The Wranglers defense allowed 350 yards to the also rebuilding Maulers, but they were able to force 3 INTs and a fumble, which lessened the damage of Carmichael's INTs.
Showboats 14 Blitz 10
For the second straight week, Memphis QB Norman Maldonado threw 2 INTs and the Showboats lost a fumble just like last week. The Memphis defense also failed to create a turnover just like last week, yet they won just like last week. That also meant that Chicago did not repeat last week, where they cane from behind late in the game. Memphis led 14-7 at the half but Chicago would cut the lead to 14-10 in the 3rd quarter. From that point onward, the Showboats kept the Blitz offense on their own side of the field, ensuring there would be no comeback for Chicago.
Express 17 Gunslingers 9
Los Angeles got the ball to start the game and David Tavarez capped off an 11 play, 75 yard drive with a 4 yard TD pass to Raymond Straight. The second Express drive ended abruptly thanks to a lost fumble, and the good field position allowed San Antonio to score 3 points. The Gunslingers would return the favor as Robert Fanelli threw an INT, leading to a Juan Nichols 1 yard TD run and a 14-3 Los Angeles lead. The rest of the game saw San Antonio get 2 more FGs while Los Angeles added 1 for a 17-9 lead as the Gunslingers began their final drive near midfield following a missed FG by the Express. Fanelli was driving the Gunslingers but his 2nd INT of the game derailed the drive just short of the red zone, allowing Los Angeles to run down the remaining clock for the victory.
Force 32 VooDoo 15
Georgia QB Milton People had one of, if not the best game of his career today, completing 26/30 for 323 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT to lead the Force to the win. Georgia WR Glen Hampton caught 6 for 132 yards and 2 of the TDs, and the Force converted 7/15 3rd downs. The only negative for Georgia was fumbling 4 times, losing 3. Those didn't hurt too much though, as Georgia's 407 offensive yards was more than double the 193 by the VooDoo offense.
Breakers 20 Hornets 3
Boston didn't run the ball very well while the Hornets had some ground success, and the passing games were the opposite. Charlotte QB Robert Ament completed 27/39 which looks nice, but those 27 completions only covered 153 yards and Ament threw 2 INTs as well. Boston QB Adam Scales was just 15/26, but he had 235 passing yards with a TD and the Breakers played turnover free football. Boston RB Raymond Babbitt barely had any yardage, gaining 10 yards on 12 carries and 5 yards on 4 receptions, but Rain Man scored a rushing and a receiving TD to help pay off WR Anthony Temple's big game with 138 yards on 4 catches.
SaberCats 17 Sun 10
San Jose QB Jake Plummer completed 19/24 for 175 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT to lead the SaberCats to a 14-0 halftime lead. The San Jose defense intercepted a pair of Gary Wiggins passes in the first half and to make matters worse, the SaberCats would get the ball to start the 3rd. Plummer led the offense to a FG, taking nearly 7 minutes off the clock in the process. Southern California pretty much shut down the San Jose offense after that, and Gary Wiggins tried to bring the Sun back, pulling them within 17-10 with 5 minutes to play. The Sun defense allowed too much time to come off the clock, getting the ball back inside the 2 minute warning. San Jose held defensively and they come away with a divisional victory.
Renegades 34 Bandits 13
There were similarities in each teams box score and their were some polar opposites as well. Orlando had 19 first downs, Tampa Bay 17. Orlando gained 345 total yards, Tampa Bay 336. The Renegades converted 7/17 3rd downs while the Bandits were 7/15 and both teams had 3 red zone trips. Orlando got all TDs from their trips, 21 points, while the Bandits had just 2 FGs in the red zone. The Renegades ran for 134 yards, the Bandits 34, and with a halftime lead of 24-6, Orlando was able to sit back in coverage during the second half when they got 4 of their 5 INTs. Antonio Martinez has been known for games like this throughout his short career, and the Bandits coaching staff has to hope he'll turn the corner soon.Martinez did throw for 302 yards to his own team and seems to really like throwing to Luis Dean. Tony's brother from another mother caught 4 passes for 119 yards and a TD. Orlando was led offensively by their RBBC, and the running success opened up passing lanes for Trey Lyons, who completed 23/31 for 220 yards, 4 TDs and an INT.
Wheels 19 Outlaws 9
Detroit QB Gabriel Flanagan completed 26/35 for 289 yards, and while he threw no TDs, he also threw no INTs, allowing Kent Olden to boot 4 FGs. Carlton Allen had a 5 yard TD run in the 1st quarter and the Wheels led 19-3 over a pesky Oklahoma team late in the 4th. If the Outlaws could have ran better than 2.26 ypc, they might have had a chance for victory as QB John Crisp completed 24/32 for 201 yards and a TD.
Bell 40 (NY) Stars 28
Philadelphia came out of the tunnel ready to play, determined not to fall to 0-2 and the Bell defense wasted no time getting the ball for Joseph Serio and the offense, intercepting Damien Oleary on the 2nd play from scrimmage. It took 7 plays to travel 36 yards, but Serio got a TD pass to Daniel Franks for a quick 7-0 lead. Philadelphia had 6 drives in the first half, and only a missed FG prevented the Bell from scoring on all 6, but they still led at the half 30-14. Philadelphia got the ball to start the 3rd and they picked up right where they left off, ripping 75 yards down the field in 8 plays, taking just 2:45 off the clock. Oleary brought the Stars back within 37-28 with 6 minutes to play, but New York would get no closer. Oleary finished 34/51, 345 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT while Serio completed 28/37 for 357 yards and 3 TDs. New York RB William Hall had 142 combined yards with a rushing and receiving TD while Daniel Franks had 2 TD receptions for the Bell. Craig Hines chipped in 118 yards and a TD on 6 receptions while the Philadelphia RBBC had 151 yards on 37 carries.
Hawaiians 17 Stallions 3
Honolulu got a combined 177 yards and a TD from RB Anthony Davis as the Hawaiians survived 3 turnovers to defeat Birmingham. Derek Henry threw 2 INTs and the offense lost a fumble but Henry also threw a TD pass to best Willie Benge, who threw 3 INTs with no scores for the Stallions. The 4th quarter was sloppy for both teams, but Honolulu did more than enough during the first 3 quarters to earn the victory.
Panthers 23 Bulls 6
Michigan QB Larry Henderson has some of the same problems as Tampa Bay's Antonio Martinez, and maybe they are planning on alternating performances this year. In Week 1, Martinez played well while Henderson threw 5 INTs in a loss to Detroit. This week Martinez threw 5 INTs while Henderson completed 22/36 for 292 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT. The Panthers offense still needs to do better in the red zone after getting 2 TD and 3 FG in 5 trips today as Michigan can't rely on their red zone defense being so stout, allowing Jacksonville just 6 points from 3 trips. That was the biggest difference in the game as the Bulls were only out gained by 68 yards.
