Washington Federals 20 Baltimore Stars 7
Washington and Baltimore have likely played more games against each other than any 2 other teams in the league, as the division rivals have played twice a year for 22 seasons and this is the 8th time they have played a 3rd time in the post season. Baltimore had won the first 5 playoff games against the Federals, but Washington has now won the last 3 in a row, including last season when they spoiled the Stars run for perfection. Baltimore owner/GM 4343 was not available to the media after the game, and it was later learned he turned control of the Stars over to the league office after the defeat.
Washington got the ball first and had to punt and Baltimore did the same following their first drive. Washington had to punt again on the next drive, pinning Baltimore at their own 12. Jon Snow then led the Stars on a 10 play, 88 yard drive, cashing in the TD with a 9 yard pass to Jerome Kelly. A few punts later and Scott Bieber had the Federals driving for points with a first and goal from the 3. A run and 2 passes went nowhere and Washington had to settle for a short John Bazile FG, cutting the lead to 7-3. Baltimore's next drive looked like it was going to produce points as Snow converted a 3rd and 5 with a pass to Glenn Sprinkle, but Hans Gruber knocked the ball loose and recovered the ball for Washington. Baltimore's next drive also looked promising for points but Jon Snow was intercepted in the red zone. The Stars led at the half 7-3, but were kicking themselves over the two missed opportunities.
The 3rd quarter started with multiple punts from both teams until James Dunn broke free with a 74 yard TD run to give the Federals their first lead, 10-7. Washington then got a 5 yard TD run early in the 4th by Jonathon Fuller to increase the lead to 17-7. With about 5 minutes left, Baltimore faced a 4th and 10 from the Washington 42 and opted to punt, pinning Washington at their own 11. Scott Bieber then led a FG drive that took the clock inside the 2 minute warning and the Federals advance.
Baltimore QB Jon Snow finished 24/47, 238 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT and John Warkentin was held to 3 catches for 69 yards. Scott Bieber completed just 14/33 for Washington, good for 154 yards, but the running game picked up the slack. James Dunn led Washington with 135 rushing yards and a TD while Robert Trammell chipped in 69.
New Jersey Generals 44 Orlando Renegades 36
Orlando hosted New Jersey in the Renegades first playoff game since 1990. The Generals got the ball first and Don Ferguson gave New Jersey the early 7-0 lead on a 14 yard TD pass to Franklin Cherry. Orlando's first drive lasted 7 plays, 5 of them runs, but the Renegades settled for a short Scott Mueller FG, cutting the lead to 7-3. New Jersey's next drive covered 81 yards in 10 plays, with Ferguson finding Sam Beckett for a 9 yard TD pass and a 14-3 lead. Trey Lyons and the Orlando offense answered with a quick TD drive as Lyons found Jesse Carr for a 39 yard TD pass. The Renegades finally stopped the Generals offense only for Lyons to give them the ball right back with an interception. That short field turned into an Al Borland FG extending the lead to 17-10. Mueller matched Borland's FG before David Koresh scored on a 75 yard pass from Ferguson for New Jersey's second 11 point lead of the first half. Trey Lyons matched that TD with a 16 yard scoring toss to Roger Bostic to pull Orlando within 24-20. Ferguson then led New Jersey on their second 81 yard TD drive, finding Cody Schiavo with a 6 yard TD pass. That score gave New Jersey their 3rd first half lead of 11 points and the Generals took that 31-20 lead into halftime.
Orlando got the ball to start the 3rd and Trey Lyons found Jesse Carr for a 64 yard pass, setting up 1st and goal from the 10. The Renegades couldn't crack the end zone and the Mueller FG made the score 31-23. New Jersey was forced to punt, then Lyons found Bostic again for a short TD and Orlando was now within 1 point, 31-30. Toward the end of the 3rd, David Koresh had another long TD, this one on the ground. The 72 yard run pushed the Generals lead up to 8 points and the quarter ended with the score 38-30.
Early in the 4th, Ferguson was intercepted, leading to a FG for the Renegades to trim the lead to 38-33. Sam Beckett fumbled the ensuing kickoff which led to yet another Renegades FG and a 38-36 score. After trailing by 11 points at 3 different spots in the first half, Orlando was putting pressure on the Generals. The Renegades would have 3 drives left in the game, and the first drive started at their own 4. That drive ended with a punt and a Borland FG gave New Jersey some breathing room, 41-36. Orlando's next drive was three and out, allowing Borland to push the lead back to 8 with a FG. The last drive, inside the 2 minute warning, ended with a Lyons INT and New Jersey ran out the remaining clock.
Plenty of stats to talk about in this game, even for the kickers. Orlando's Scott Mueller was 5/5 on FGs and punter Dustin Soares averaged almost 54 yards on 5 punts. New Jersey punter Clark W. Griswold had 3 of his 4 punts land inside the 20 while also averaging almost 52 yards a punt, while former All Pro K Al Borland made all 3 of his FG tries. Trey Lyons completed 26/46, 427 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT for Orlando, producing a pair of 100 yard receivers. Jesse Carr caught 10 for 164 yards and a TD while Roger Bostic hauled in 7 for 135 yards and 2 TDs. For New Jersey, Don Ferguson was 27/52, 341 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INT, with the scores all going to different receivers. Normally the Generals spread the ball around to several weapons, but today was Waco Day as David Koresh had a double triple. Koresh ran for 118 yards and a TD, catching 9 passes for 173 yards and another TD.
