Now that every team has a win this season, we can concentrate on which team will be the last to lose. Defending Champion Houston are now 7-0 after winning a shootout against New York. The San Jose SaberCats are also 7-0 after today's victory over Birmingham, and they host the Gamblers in Week 10. The Washington Federals have been the best National Conference team the last 2+ seasons, and they struggled against a feisty Arizona team, but they survive to go 7-0. Orlando has not won 10 or more games since finishing 11-5 in 1988, but the Renegades beat the Blitz today to run their record to 7-0 and double digit wins seem just a matter of time.
Gamblers 43 (NY) Stars 31
Houston has been struggling on defense lately, so it wasn't a good time to face the dangerous triplets of New York. The Gamblers really focused on stopping Oleary and Olson as they allowed the Stars to rush for 239 yards on 24 carries as a team, with William Hall gaining 181 yards and 1 of 2 New York rushing scores. Hall also returned a kickoff 102 yards for a score. Albert Olson got his in the passing game, catching 8 for 128 and a TD, but overall, Oleary and the passing game struggled. Oleary finished 22/51, 185 yards, 1 TD and 5 INTs. Predictably, Tony Dean and the Gamblers offense made them pay as Dean completed 31/47, 384 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. Hugh Chance caught 6 for 151 yards and a TD to lead the receivers while RB Donald Turner had a combined 143 yards (87 rushing) and a rushing TD as Houston got out to a 17-0 lead and never let the Stars get closer than 10 the rest of the game.
SaberCats 48 Stallions 13
San Jose continues to look like one of, if not the best team in the league, especially these last 5 weeks. QB Jake Plummer is 2nd in passing yards to New Jersey's Don Ferguson, but Plummer has 76 less completions and a stellar QBR of 143.09. The #2 in QBR is Tony Dean at 120.55. Plummer's TD/INT ratio is 24/3 and his YPC is 2.5 yards better than anyone else at 11.48. Today, Birmingham tried to keep up, and the Stallions had 333 offensive yards, but Plummer and the SaberCats scored early and often en route to another blowout win. San Jose "only" ran for 130 yards but they had 3 TDs on the ground, 2 by David Hartwig, and he led the RBBC with 64 yards. Hartwig also caught 3 passes for 84 yards, giving him a combined 148, but the story today was Plummer and Mark Hsu. Plummer completed 22/32, 441 yards and 3 TDs, 2 to Mark Hsu, who hauled in 5 for 148 yards in all.
Federals 13 Wranglers 3
Arizona is no longer one of the worst teams in the league, but the Wranglers have a way to go before they're ready to play with the big boys. There is no shame in losing to Denver, Portland, or Washington, and defensively, Arizona hung with the Federals, holding them to 284 total yards and 13 points. Offensively was a different story as the Washington defense stifled the Wranglers, allowing just 146 total yards. Washington had a lot of grind it out drives, as veteran QB Scott Bieber completed 25/33, 204 yards and a TD to Matthew Cuevas, while the running game gained just 2.5 ypc on 36 rushes. Five of Arizona's 9 drives were 3 and out and the Federals win the defensive struggle.
Renegades 33 Blitz 14
Orlando QB Trey Lyons completed 28/40, 285 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT to lead the Renegades to their 7th victory of the season. WR Roger Bostic caught 6 passes for 115 yards and 2 TDs to lead the Renegades skill players. Defensively, Orlando allowed Ronald Brown 2 TD passes to his favorite receiver Ian Gordon, but they also intercepted Brown 4 times. Orlando led 24-7 at the half and the Blitz could not get closer than 13 the rest of the game.
Storm 52 Sun 13
Portland did a lot of great things today, but ball security wasn't one of them, neither was punting. The Storm never punted, as every drive ended with either a score, a turnover, or the end of a half. It's probably a good thing for Southern California that Melvin Driggers threw 4 INTs and Jose Moses lost a fumble, otherwise Portland would have scored 80 or more. The Sun actually scored first, taking advantage of a short field after interception #1 with a Mark Littlejohn 4 yard TD run. Portland scored the next 28, thanks to 3 Driggers TD passes, 2 to Richard Robinson, and a rushing TD. Driggers finished the game 32/41, 476 yards, 5 TDs and 4 INTs. The Storm rushed for 244 yards as a team to give them 720 total yards today, while allowing the Sun 94. Portland's defense forced no turnovers but allowed just 2/15 on 3rd down and sacked Gary Wiggins 5 times. Jeffrey Frost had a monster game with a double triple. Frost ran 16 times for 135 yards and a TD, adding 10 catches for 224 yards and a TD. Frost's 359 total yards are the 2nd most in the league in 1995, 90 yards behind the 449 New York's Albert Olson put up earlier.
Panthers 20 Outlaws 3
Michigan pretty much won this game in the 2nd quarter. Oklahoma scored a FG on the opening drive for a 3-0 lead, then we saw several punts, and Michigan started a 2nd qtr drive from just outside their own goal line. Nine plays and 100 yards later, Larry Henderson found Kevin Terry for a 21 yard TD pass to take the lead for good. Michigan All Pro LB Miguel Lamar then intercepted John Crisp to set up a 10 yard Walter Simmons TD run and a 14-3 lead. Jonathan Ruch added a pair of FGs in the second half and the Panthers defense took care of the rest as Michigan increased their Midwest lead to 2 games.
Stars 37 Generals 34
Baltimore is having a rough 1995 and New jersey started this game like they wanted to bury the Stars, jumping out to a 24-7 lead thanks to a pair of Don Ferguson TD passes and a Kurt Cobain TD run. Jon Snow brought Baltimore back with a 63 yard TD pass to John Warkentin before Al Borland's 2nd FG gave New Jersey a 27-14 halftime lead. In the second half, Jon Snow led a 23-0 Stars run with 3 TD passes to take a 10 point 4th quarter lead. Ferguson got the Generals within 3 on a 75 yard catch and run TD pass to Kurt Cobain, but New Jersey's last 2 drives were turnover on downs as Baltimore hangs on for the come from behind win. Jon Snow completed 23/44, 351 yards, 5 TDs and 2 INTs. John Warkentin announced his presence with authority, catching 8 balls for 258 yards and 3 TDs. For New Jersey, both RBs were productive as Kurt Cobain rushed for 79 yards and a TD while catching 4 for 105 and another TD. David Koresh ran for 67 yards, with 99 receiving yards and a TD on 10 receptions. Don Ferguson leads the league in passing yards, completions, and attempts while being sacked just twice. Today, Ferguson was 36/60, 348 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT.
Force 38 VooDoo 9
Thomas Jacobi passed for 331 yards and 4 TDs to lead Georgia to a division win against New Orleans to give the Force sole possession of first. Glen Hampton caught 7 passes for 182 yards and 2 TDs to pace the Georgia skill players. New Orleans QB Joseph Jones threw a pair of 2nd qtr INTs that Jacobi cashed in for TDs to put the VooDoo in a 21-3 hole they couldn't get out of. The lack of a productive running game did New Orleans no favors.
Blazers 15 Wheels 0
Florida won despite a sluggish offense thanks to their stingy defense and 5 Gerald Harmon FGs to improve to 5-2. The Blazers are 2 games behind Orlando in the Southeast, but with a bunch of teams lumped together at 3-4, they have a 2 game lead for the top wildcard. Florida QB Sidney Maggard completed 17/20 but for just 122 yards as the Blazers converted only 3/18 3rd downs. Defensively, they forced a lot of incomplete passes as Detroit QBs combined for 21/51, 164 yards and 2 INTs and allowed no 3rd down conversions in 14 tries. The Wheels are falling off for Detroit as they lose their 3rd in a row.
Express 13 Hawaiians 10
Justin Montgomery intercepted a David Tavarez pass and returned it 26 yards for a TD to give Honolulu an early 7-0 lead. At the beginning of the 2nd, Edwin Clarkson had the Hawaiians on the doorstep of a TD with a 1st and goal from the 1, but an INT 2 plays later killed that drive and Los Angeles chipped away with a pair of FGs. Honolulu added a FG for a 10-6 halftime lead. The second half was a field position game and the Express defense forced a 3 and out after a punt pinned Honolulu deep in their own end. David Tavarez took advantage of the short field, finding Juan Nichols for the eventual game winning TD.
Gold 23 Invaders 20 (OT)
Oakland got out to an early 7-0 lead thanks to a Michael Bethea 3 yard TD run, then the teams exchanged FGs as the Invaders now led 10-3. Denver QB Andrew Brewer then threw an INT to set up Oakland at the Gold 32 yard line. It took 4 plays for Andrew Moreno to find Juan Morgan with an 8 yard TD pass and the Invaders now enjoyed a 17-3 lead. Denver cut the lead to 17-10 on a 1 yard Ray Anderson TD run, and that was it for the scoring until the 4th. Oakland got a FG early in the 4th for a 20-10 lead, then Andrew Brewer found Douglas Crowley for a 19 yard TD pass to get the Gold within 3. Crowley finished with 134 receiving yards on the day in addition to that TD, and has developed into Brewer's favorite target. Denver K Robert Deacon made a 34 yard FG in the final minute to send the game to OT, then Deacon made a 37 yard FG on Denver's 2nd OT possession and the Gold escape with a division win.
Showboats 23 Gunslingers 12
Memphis got 110 yards rushing and 3 TDs from Steve Ransome as the Showboats get a come from behind division win. Ransome's first TD gave Memphis an early 7-0 lead, then we had nothing but FGs until the 4th. There were 5 FGs kicked in the first 3 quarters, with San Antonio's Benjamin Regalado nailing 4 to give the Gunslingers a 12-10 lead entering the 4th. Ransome then took matters into his own hands, getting TD runs of 15 yards to give Memphis a 16-12 lead and a 2 yard TD inside the 2 minute warning to put the game out of reach.
Breakers 20 Bell 10
Boston played their most complete game of the season and turned the East into a 4 team jumble as a result. The Breakers were the only East team to win this week, and Boston joins New York and Philadelphia at 3-4, 1 game behind New Jersey. Boston did allow the Bell to run for over 6 yards a carry but Philadelphia only ran 14 times, while offensively, the Breakers RBBC ran 47 times for 211 yards and a TD. The passing yards were almost even, as were the completions, but while Boston's Adam Scales only needed 25 passes to get 20 completions, Joseph Serio was an inefficient 21/41 with 2 INTs and 2 sacks. Boston's defense allowed just 2/11 on 3rd down and 0/3 on 4th, 3 total points in 3 red zone trips, and the only TD for Philadelphia came on a 105 yard kickoff return by Faustino Dixon. That KO return cut the lead to 13-10 Boston, but early in the 4th, Raymond Caviness ripped off a 50 yard TD run to put the lead back to 10 points and the Bell turned it over on downs their last 3 drives.
Bulls 23 Steamer 20
I think each team's defense got stuck in traffic and arrived late because the first 6 drives of the game produced points, then the defenses took over and limited the scoring in the second half. Shreveport got the ball first and quickly jumped out 7-0 on a 67 yard George Marcil TD pass to Richard Funkhouser. Derek Joyce tied the game for Jacksonville on the Bulls opening drive with a 2 yard TD pass to Tyron Bailey. George Marcil answered with a 1 yard TD pass to David Shafer and a 14-7 Steamer lead three drives in. Jacksonville answered with a FG, Shreveport added a FG, then another Jacksonville FG and the Steamer led 17-13 at the half. The defenses started to settle in toward the end of the first half and that continued into the 3rd quarter. Derek Joyce was able to get the Bulls the lead late in the 3rd with an 11 yard TD pass to Anthony Holland, but he threw an INT early in the 4th to allow Shreveport to tie the game at 20 with a FG. George Marcil drove the Steamer into FG range but Jeffrey Smith was wide right on the 44 yard try and we remained tied with less than 5 minutes to play. Derek Joyce and the Bulls took over and used most of the remaining clock to drive to the edge of Neal Williams FG range. Williams put the 52 yard kick through the uprights as time expired to give Jacksonville the victory.
Thunderbolts 24 Bandits 17
Tampa Bay needs more consistent play from QB Antonio Martinez, good or bad, so they can decide if he is the guy to lead their offense in the future. So far in his short career, Martinez's play can best be described as mercurial as one drive he can look like Mario Valencia, the next he'll look like real life Jameis Winston. The good Martinez began this game leading a 4 play, 74 yard TD drive, ending it with a 16 yard TD pass to Earle Noble for an early 7-0 lead. Tony Romo answered on the next drive for Cleveland with a 46 yard TD pass to Shane Looney. Early in the 2nd qtr, Jameis Winston came in, I mean Martinez threw an INT deep in his own end and Romo cashed in with his 2nd TD pass to continue the Thunderbolts scoring run. Martinez bounced back on the next drive but was let down by his kicker who was wide right on a 34 yard try. Cleveland would add a FG to take a 17-7 halftime lead they increased to 24-7 early in the 4th thanks to an Evan Hershey 1 yard TD run. That score was set up by you guessed it, a Martinez INT. Fast forward to 6:13 left to play and the Bandits have the ball still trailing 24-7. The good Martinez is back and he leads a FG drive to get within 14 points, and the ensuing onside kick is recovered by Tampa Bay. Martinez then drives the Bandits to a TD with a 12 yard pass to Garry Fowler. There are still 3:03 on the clock, but the Bandits try another onside kick anyway, and this was also successful. Martinez trots back on the field for his third "drive" within a drive and got the offense in FG range, but needing a TD to tie, they went for it on 4th and failed. Cleveland ran out the remaining clock en route to victory.
Maulers 20 Hornets 17
Pittsburgh got the scoring underway with a Ronald Smith 1 yard TD run but the XP was no good, so the lead was 6-0. The Maulers played 3 and a half quarters of great defense, forcing 4 turnovers in total. Will Allison capitalized on 2 of those with TD passes in the first half to extend the Pittsburgh lead to 20-0. From that point to the middle of the 4th was mostly punts with Charlotte finally getting on the scoreboard with a FG. Robert Ament finally got Charlotte into the end zone with 4 minutes to play on a 5 yard pass to Henry Young. They decided to go for 2 and failed, so the score was 20-9. The onside kick failed but the Hornets defense forced a 3 and out to get the ball back to Ament and the offense. Ament found Jake Peralta for a 46 yard TD and this time Ament converted the 2 point try to get the Hornets within 20-17. The onside kick was successful this time but Ament couldn't move the offense and they turned it over on downs as the Maulers hang on by the skin of their teeth for their 2nd straight win.
