We almost made it to a possible 9-0 vs 9-0 game in a couple weeks but Denver beat San Jose to give the SaberCats their first loss of 1995. It should still be an entertaining game when they host Houston, but at most just one team will be undefeated. Houston, Orlando, and Washington all won to keep the zero in the loss column and the Federals enjoy a 4 game lead on Baltimore. Could Baltimore be getting their mojo back? One week after a comeback win over New Jersey, the Stars hang 73 on Charlotte and find themselves 4-4, right in the middle of the wildcard race. A lot of other things happened in Week 8 and the playoff races should be exciting, so let's check out the action.
Gamblers 48 Blitz 20
Tony Dean and the Gamblers offense got out to a 24-0 lead and the leaky defense gave up a lot of yards, but never let Chicago get closer than 13 the rest of the game. Tony Dean threw for 357 yards and 5 TDs, with Hugh Chance catching 7 for 170 yards and 2 scores. Chicago was able to run for 214 yards with John Gates leading the way with 148 and a TD, but Houston ran the ball almost as well. The Gamblers rushed for 231 yards, but they had 5 more carries than the Blitz for a slightly lower yards per carry. Houston was led on the ground by Lloyd Ellis, who had 143 yards and a TD on only 9 carries. Donald Turner did the heavy lifting, carrying 16 times for 62 yards and adding 83 yards and a TD on 7 catches. Houston's next 3 games are against Memphis, San Jose, and Memphis again. It's party time.
Federals 26 Force 13
Washington got out to a 10-0 lead after 1 quarter on a John Bazile FG and a short James Dunn TD run. The 2nd quarter belonged to Georgia as Thomas Jacobi fired 2 TD passes, but just 1 XP was good as the Force led 13-10 at the half. Washington struggled on offense all game long, especially Robert Trammell and the running game. Trammell rushed 25 times for 17 yards, with 2 yards on 3 catches. It was revealed after the game he had a serious foot injury, so that was a likely factor in his performance. The 3rd quarter saw just a John Bazile FG and we were knotted at 13 for the 4th. The Federals defense did a great job of shutting down the Georgia offense after their 2nd quarter outburst, and they forced a fumble toward the end of the 4th. Scott Bieber immediately found James Larson for the game winning 38 yard TD. Georgia's next 2 drives were 4 and outs, turnover on downs, and Bazile added a FG after each one for the final margin as Washington remains unbeaten.
Renegades 17 Blazers 3
Orlando got 287 yards and a TD from QB Trey Lyons and the Renegades defense held Florida to exactly 200 as they win for the eighth time in eight tries. Orlando got a FG on their opening drive, then had a 15 play, 83 yard drive for a TD that took nearly half the 2nd quarter. Rookie RB Anthony Milan capped that drive with a 1 yard TD run to give the Renegades a 10-0 lead they would hold until mid 4th quarter. That's when the Blazers finally got on the scoreboard with a FG, but Lyons answered on the next drive with a 35 yard TD pass to Jesse Carr and Florida's final 2 drives ended on downs.
Gold 25 SaberCats 22
Denver and San Jose are serious playoff contenders, and the TV networks can only hope January football is full of games like this. We had 5 lead changes, 778 offensive yards and 10 scoring plays. San Jose dominated the action, possessing the ball for 36:36, had 26 first downs to 8 for the Gold, out gained Denver 421 to 357, had 4 red zone trips to 1 for Denver, and converted 7/18 3rd downs while Denver was 3/12. Denver won the game however, by forcing FGs instead of allowing TDs while also hitting big plays on offense. Jake Plummer was 25/42, 357 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT with 3 sacks allowed, while the yards were spread out among several players. Andrew Brewer was just 14/25, 269 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT while his favorite target was once again Douglas Crowley, who caught 4 for 196 yards and all 3 Brewer TD passes.
San Jose scored first for a 3-0 lead before Denver scored 2 TDs to take a 14-3 lead after 1. The 2nd qtr belonged to San Jose, as they scored 13 unanswered points for a 16-14 halftime lead. Each team kicked a FG in the 3rd, with Denver going first to retake the lead, but of course the SaberCats FG gave it back and San Jose led after 3, 19-17. That lead was increased to 22-17 with under 5 minutes to play, but Brewer to Crowley TD #3 on the next drive gave Denver a 23-22 lead and Fredrick Whidden ran it in for 2 points. Plummer had plenty of time to drive for the tie or win, and the SaberCats had a 1st and goal from the 9. Plummer completed a pass down to the 2, but the Gold were flagged for pass interference, so they opted to accept the penalty to make it first and goal from the 2. On first down, Plummer was sacked by Walter Pearson, second down David Squires sacked him. Now they faced 3rd and goal from the 20 and Jerry Hyder got the game clinching INT for Denver, handing San Jose their first loss of the season.
Storm 38 Hawaiians 6
Portland and Honolulu continued going opposite directions today as the Storm win handily for their 5th straight win, while the Hawaiians lost their 6th straight after a 2-0 start. Honolulu did not turn the ball over, but the Portland defense was stingy with the yards, allowing 245 on the day. The Hawaiians defense did a good job against the Storm running game but they had no answer for Melvin Driggers on this day. Driggers finished 33/39, 436 yards and 5 TDs, 2 to Richard Robinson. Jeffrey Frost didn't score today but he had a combined 180 yards to help set up his teammates. Frost had 61 rushing yards to lead the committee and he led the receivers with 119 yards on 5 catches.
Panthers 12 Thunderbolts 3
Michigan continued to be the toughest team in the league to score against, as they've allowed just 84 points in 8 games, 21 less than 2nd place San Jose and Washington. Offensively, the Panthers still need some work, especially in the red zone. Michigan out gained Cleveland 319-210, but only converted 1/15 3rd downs and were 0/4 in the red zone, settling for FGs each time. The Panthers defense intercepted Tony Romo 4 times, and a few more games like this and the MFN Romo might follow his real life namesake into the announcing booth. Neither team could crack the end zone, but the 4 red zone FGs by Michigan were more than enough to beat the Thunderbolts today.
Generals 48 Maulers 7
The last 3 games for Pittsburgh have been close, one score games, and they've won the last 2 where the game script was a tale of 2 halves. New Jersey still leads the East, but the Generals were pretty salty about giving up a 17 point lead and losing to Baltimore last week and they took it out on the Maulers today. Defensively they held Will Allison to 17/37, 140 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and sacked him 4 times, shutting the Maulers out until the 4th quarter when they had a 38-0 lead. Offensively, New Jersey had it working today, except on 3rd down, where they converted just 3/12. RB David Koresh ran for 109 yards and caught 9 passes for 55 more yards and 3 TDs. Don Ferguson threw 6 TDs in all against 1 INT, completing 37/54 for 362 yards. WR Duncan Meyer caught 5 for 137 yards and 2 scores to lead the receivers.
Steamer 10 Stallions 7
Shreveport had 2 long drives in the first half, one ending on a Jeffrey Morris 2 yard TD run and the other with a FG as the Steamer took a 10-0 lead into halftime. Birmingham came out of the locker room and it seemed like they had the ball the entire 3rd quarter, as they took the second half kickoff and drove 75 yards in 15 plays, taking 9:10 off the clock. Willie Benge got the short TD pass to Joseph Oliver and the Stallions trailed 10-7. The end of the game saw bad FG kicking as Birmingham's Gonzalo Burgess was wide left on a potential 37 yard tying FG and Shreveport's Jeffrey Smith was wide right from 44 on the next drive. Time was running out at this point, but Benge had Birmingham in FG range again, albeit a 54 yard try, and Burgess was short. Shreveport ran the last 1:12 off the clock for the victory that ties them for first in the South with Georgia.
Express 20 Sun 6
Los Angeles demoralized Southern California early, then the defense ended a late rally for the division victory. David Tavarez led the Express on a 15 play, 75 yard game opening drive that ended with a short TD pass to Corey Gibbons. That drive took 9:03 off the clock, then the Los Angeles defense got Tavarez the ball back with an INT. Juan Nichols had a short TD run for a 14-0 Express lead. The defense intercepted Gary Wiggins again on the second drive and turned that into 3 points for a 17-0 lead. Fast forward to the 4th and the Express now led 20-6 but Wiggins had the Sun inside the red zone, looking to cut the deficit. Interception #3 happened though, and Los Angeles wins.
Showboats 32 Outlaws 16
The first half of this game was tight, as Memphis kicked 2 FGs for an early 6-0 lead before Oklahoma tied it on a short John Crisp TD pass to Clarence Murphy and a missed XP. The Showboats got 3 before half for a 9-6 lead at the break, which was no break since the coach spent the entire time chewing rear ends. Whatever was said, it worked as Norman Maldonado throws 3 TD passes in the half, including 2 long ones to Thomas Ballard covering 76 and 82 yards. In all, Memphis went on a 26-0 run after the Outlaws tied the game at 6 before Oklahoma scored 10 late points for a closer final margin. Maldonado finished 25/41, 417 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT and Thomas Ballard caught 3 for 193 yards and 2 scores. RB Steve Ransome didn't score but he had a combined 221 yards, rushing for 164 and catching 3 for 57 yards. Memphis gets division rival Houston 2 of the next 3 weeks.
Stars 73 Hornets 10
Baltimore struggled early in the season, but if they rebound to make the playoffs, last weeks come from behind win against New Jersey is the likely catalyst. Jon Snow was on a roll to end that game and that continued against Charlotte today as he ties a regular season league record with 10 TD passes.
The above is the list of QBs who have thrown 9 or 10 TD passes in a single game. The overall record I don't like to speak about, because Birmingham's David Schmitt threw 11 against my Generals in the 1985 playoffs. Back to today, and Jon Snow completed 34/40, 685 yards, 10 TD passes and 0 INT. John Warkentin caught 8 for 326 yards and 4 TDs and Glenn Sprinkle caught 8 for 170 and 3 scores. The only possible negative is bad blood between these division rivals as Snow kept throwing in the 4th qtr, getting 5 TDs after already being ahead 38-7 after 3.
Bandits 33 Bulls 7
I think if given a choice, Tampa Bay would like to see this Antonio Martinez every week. Martinez seems to have some Brett Favre in him, with his big arm trying to force passes and getting some picked off, yet still capable of going off for a ton of yards. Martinez was 21/35, 231 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT, and having a productive running game took some pressure off as well. Charles Granier ran for 71 yards to lead the bandits RBBC that gained 179, and that success was the key to victory. Derek Joyce matched Martinez yard for yard but the Bulls ran for just 24 yards and Tampa Bay went on a 26-0 run after Jacksonville tied the game at 7.
Breakers 17 VooDoo 7
Each team punted on their opening drive before each team's second drive combined to take 17:21 off the clock. New Orleans started their second drive on their own 10, and Joseph Jones led an 18 play, 90 yard scoring drive that took 11:10 off the clock. The 18th play was a 3 yard Jones TD pass to Charles Danielson for a 7-0 New Orleans lead. Boston and Adam Scales answered with an 11 play, 74 yard TD drive that took 6:11 off the clock. RB Ralph Harris finished the drive with a 5 yard TD run. The first half would end 7-7, then Adam Scales threw a 7 yard TD pass to Emanuel Adams on the first drive of the second half for a 14-7 Breakers lead. New Orleans had chances to tie, but Joseph Jones threw two 4th qtr INTs in Breakers territory and Boston hangs on to even their record at 4-4.
Bell 13 (NY) Stars 9
I have spent some time talking about the New York playmakers, and deservedly so, but Philadelphia has some of their own. Scoring was at a premium today, but yards were plenty as New York QB Damien Oleary completed 30/43, 279 yards, Albert Olson caught 10 for 92 yards and RB William Hall had a combined 105 yards, but the Bell defense came up big in the red zone, allowing just 2 FGs and forcing a fumble in the Stars 3 trips. That fumble was huge, as it came with 1:09 left as the Stars were closing in on the potential game winning TD. Philadelphia trailed 9-3 at the half, but Joseph Serio gave Philadelphia the lead in the 3rd when he found Craig Hines for a 35 yard TD. A FG early in the 4th extended the lead to 13-9, forcing New York to get the ball in the end zone on their last minute fumble drive. RB Jamie Epperson led the Bell offense with 157 combined yards, 76 rushing and 81 receiving.
Invaders 20 Wranglers 7
Arizona got the ball first and drove 75 yards in 11 plays with Robert Woolford getting a short TD run for a 7-0 Wranglers lead. Andrew Moreno led Oakland on a 75 yard drive and they answered the score with a Ronald McDevitt 2 yard run. Oakland then intercepted Brian Carmichael and the Invaders took the lead on Frederick Barron's 1 yard TD run. A 2nd qtr FG gave Oakland a 17-7 lead, then the Arizona defense settled down, allowing just 3 points the rest of the game that was set up by a lost fumble. Officially, Arizona had 4 turnovers, a pair of INTs in the first half and a pair of lost fumbles in the second, but they also turned it over on downs twice in the 4th.
Wheels 21 Gunslingers 17
Detroit got the ball first and drove 75 yards in 11 plays, taking 8:09 off the clock as Carlton Allen's 1 yard TD run gave the Wheels a 7-0 lead. Four punts later and it was San Antonio's turn for a long drive, going 88 yards in 13 plays, taking 7:50 off the clock. They tied the game on an 8 yard TD pass to Charlie Shanks. A Gabriel Flanagan fumble on a sack gave the Gunslingers an immediate first and goal situation and Randy Leger finished this drive with a 1 yard TD run. Detroit tied it in the 3rd on a 90 yard catch and run TD pass to Carlton Allen before San Antonio took another 7:12 off the clock with a 14 play, 57 yard FG drive to give the Gunslingers a 17-14 lead. Gabriel Flanagan then threw what turned out to be a meaningless INT as San Antonio punted it back still leading. Some punts happened, then Fanelli threw an INT to give Detroit the ball 16 yards away from paydirt. Three plays later, Carlton Allen scored his 3rd TD, 2nd rushing to give Detroit the lead. The Gunslingers had plenty of time left, but turned it over on downs and the Wheels ran out the clock for the victory.
