Just one regular season game left and 10 of 12 playoff spots are spoken for. Week 16 will feature 5 teams fighting for 2 spots, details here. Let's dive right into Week 15 action.
Storm 10 Gold 7
Denver and Portland met for the second time this season with the West division title on the line. The loser will still be a wildcard, but not having a chance at a BYE week hurts in this loaded playoff field. The Gold got on the scoreboard first after a Max Ellis 6 yard TD run. That capped a 10 play, 90 yard drive for Denver, but any thoughts of a shootout wild, wild, west style were quickly dissipated as the defenses took over. The 7-0 Gold lead held up until midway through the 3rd, when Denver went for a 4th and 1 from the Portland 4 yard line. The measurement was short and replay confirmed it, and Portland took over, still down 7-0. Fast forward to the 4th, 9:15 to play, and Denver faced another 4th and 1, this one from the Storm 14. Just like before, Ray Anderson ran the ball, the measurement was short, and replay confirmed it.
Melvin Driggers led a 10 play, 66 yard drive and Donald Atkins got Portland on the board with a FG. Trailing 7-3 with less than 4 minutes to play, some teams might try an onside kick but Portland kicked away and the Storm defense forced a three and out. This time Driggers led a 10 play, 71 yard drive that ended with a short TD pass to Jeffrey Frost. Denver would have had 41 seconds for a tying FG drive if Jerry Murphy didn't fumble the kickoff return. He did though, and the Storm nearly added another TD, losing a fumble on 4th and goal from the 1, which Denver recovered in the end zone. Andrew Brewer completed 2 passes but ran out of time and Portland wins the West.
Panthers 19 Blitz 10
Michigan faced a must win game against Chicago and the Panthers defense keyed on the best Blitz playmaker John Gates. They held Gates to 43 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards and a TD on 5 receptions. Michigan's offense struggled in the red zone, getting FGs on all 4 trips, with a Larry Henderson 33 yard TD pass to Lawrence Schroeder thrown in. Schroeder led Michigan with 69 rushing yards and 83 receiving yards on 6 receptions as the Panthers led at the half 16-0. They exchanged FGs in the 2nd half before Ronald Brown found Gates for a short TD pass to make the final score closer, but Michigan hangs on for the important win.
Steamer 17 Express 16
Los Angeles traveled to rainy Shreveport to face the South division champs. With the division wrapped up, the Steamer started James Wright at QB, and he played decent. It's hard to match the 7 TDs in his previous start as he had 0 today, but he also didn't turn the ball over, completing 28/37 for 194 yards. Los Angeles scored first, taking an early 3-0 lead before Orville Barker's short TD run gave Shreveport a 7-3 lead. In the 2nd qtr, David Tavarez connected with Patrick Peavey for a 20 yard TD pass as the Express took the lead back, and they extended it to 13-7 with a FG at the end of the half. Orville Barker ran for 65 yards and his 2nd short TD run gave the Steamer the lead again 14-13. Los Angeles would get a FG late in the 3rd for yet another lead change, then mid 4th, Jeffrey Smith made the score 17-16 with a 44 yard FG. The Express offense couldn't get in FG range the rest of the game as the Steamer hold on for the narrow victory.
Gamblers 34 Outlaws 7
Houston said they changed their gameplan, but the box score shows the same old Gamblers. Tony Dean threw for 276 yards and 4 TDs while the defense held Oklahoma to 209 total yards and the Outlaws only score came late in the game down 34-0. The star of the game for the Gamblers was RB Donald Turner, who had a double triple. Turner ran for 114 yards and caught 3 passes for 107 yards and 2 TDs. Dean's other 2 scores went to Anthony Fulks, who caught 6 for 113 yards overall.
SaberCats 22 Hawaiians 14
This game took place December 10th, but with this being the last time they see San Jose, QB Edwin Clarkson played Santa a little early. Clarkson gift wrapped 6 INTs for the SaberCats defense, but the game was in doubt until the last 2 presents. Clarkson gave 3 first half gifts that San Jose only turned into 3 points, but the SaberCats scored 10 more first half points thanks to a FG and a Jake Plummer TD pass to Mark Hsu. That 13-0 lead lasted until the 4th, when Clarkson found Michael Argueta for a 46 yard TD pass. Plummer responded with another TD pass to Hsu, this one for 73 yards. That gave San Jose a 19-7 lead as the 2 point try failed. Clarkson got the Hawaiians back in the game with a 41 yard TD pass to Luis Martinez. San Jose responded with a FG for an 8 point lead but Honolulu's last 2 drives ended with Clarkson gifts.
Showboats 34 Gunslingers 3
Memphis continues their playoff run by doubling the rushing attempts of San Antonio but gaining almost 10 times as many yards (210-22). Norman Maldonado played decent, completing 25/38, 255 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT and the Showboats converted 12/17 3rd downs. USFL leading rusher ran for 132 yards and 2 TDs and caught 4 for 44 yards and another score. Erik McNamee has been back at RB now and he chipped in 72 yards and a TD as Memphis got out to a 20-0 halftime lead, then continued the momentum in the second half.
Wheels 38 Bandits 7
Detroit won the game going away as the Wheels had much better QB play than Tampa Bay. The yardage was similar for both, but Gabriel Flanagan tossed 5 TD passes while Antonio Martinez threw 4 INTs. Tampa Bay ran much better than Detroit, 5 ypc to less than 2, but the Bandits had slippery fingers, fumbling 3 times, losing 2. Gabriel Flanagan spread the passing yardage around to several different receivers, but Matthew Houston caught 3 of his 5 TD passes. Tampa Bay cut Detroit's lead to 14-7 early in the 2nd, then the Wheels went on a 24-0 run to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Federals 27 Maulers 0
The first half was a struggle for both offenses as Washington had the only 3 points before the break. Edwin Clarkson wasn't the only QB to play Santa Claus as Will Allison threw 4 INTs, all in the second half. The first 2 enabled the Federals to begin those drives in the red zone. It didn't take very long for Robert Trammell to find the end zone either time, scoring on a 15 yard run and a 20 yard TD catch. Just before the 3rd qtr ended, Allison threw INT #3, and Billy McCaa figured he'd save Trammell the trouble of scoring a 3rd TD by returning it 13 yards for a TD.In the 4th qtr, Allison threw INT #4, which led to a FG and Washington earns home field advantage.
Blazers 24 Renegades 13
Orlando out gained Florida 412-284 and had a better 3rd down conversion rate (6/21 vs 1/15), yet the Renegades lost by double digits. The main reason for the yards discrepancy is Orlando ran 28 more plays than Florida, and actually had a slightly lower yards per play average. The Renegades offense sort of looked like New Jersey, peppering the defense with a ball control passing attack, as Trey Lyons completed 36/71, 343 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT and they scored the first 6 points of the game with a pair of FGs. Florida's defense was more all or nothing, and it was all nothing until Sidney Maggard connected with Richard Carstens for an 80 yard TD pass and a 7-6 lead. Orlando rookie RB Anthony Milan had a combined 161 yards, including 7 catches, 109 yards and a TD from Lyons to answer the Blazers big play. Orlando now led 13-7, but they were done scoring for the day. Maggard gave the Blazers the lead inside the 2 minute warning with a TD pass to Perry Salgado and increased it in the 3rd with his 2nd long TD pass to Richard Carstens. The rest of the game was mostly punts, with Orlando turning it over on downs a couple of times, allowing the Blazers to increase their lead to 24-13. Sidney Maggard only completed 12/25, but those 12 went for 230 yards and 3 TDs. Richard Carstens ended with a stat line of 3-149-2.
Generals 27 Bell 21
Speaking of New Jersey, the Generals offense out gained Philadelphia 427-290, but had a slightly lower yards per play as they ran 79 plays to the Bell's 53. Don Ferguson completed 40/50, 344 yards and 2 TDs while Joseph Serio was 15/34, 268 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT for Philadelphia. The Generals had been having injury issues at RB, having to resign rookie RB Timothy McVeigh. They got David Koresh back for this game, but sat Cobain and Beckett for injuries. Koresh responded with 17 carries for 60 yards and a TD to go with 10 receptions covering 82 yards while McVeigh had a combined 112 yards and a receiving TD, leading the Generals with 86 yards through the air. New Jersey led 24-7 at the half but had to hold on at the end as Philadelphia mounted a late comeback that fell short.
Stars 34 Invaders 3
Oakland had the more efficient QB while Baltimore had the more productive one. Andrew Moreno completed 26/33, 143 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT for the Invaders while Jon Snow completed 24/43, 395 yards, 3 TD and 3 INT. John Warkentin caught 2 of Snow's scoring tosses as part of his 4 catch, 123 yard game. RB William Halford had a combined 132 yards with 62 rushing and 70 receiving as the Stars gear up for their January trip to Shreveport or New Jersey.
Breakers 29 (NY) Stars 27
New York is out of the playoffs but WR Albert Olson is having a terrific season, and his 12 catches for 294 yards and 3 TDs today give him 2,501 yards for the season. Olson needs 245 receiving yards against New Jersey to break Mark Hsu's record 2,745 yards from 1993, and he torched the Generals for 228 last time. On a side note, how in the hell do the New Jersey Generals keep popping up in seemingly every game thread?
New York only had the ball 17:35 but they gained 459 total yards as the Stars called just 1 running play all game. Damien Oleary was 36/65, 463 yards, 4 TD and 2 INT and Olson wasn't the only big play receiver for New York today, catching 4 for 101 yards and a TD. RB William Hall was upset at not getting any carries but he did get 13 catches for 57 yards.
All of this New York talk and they didn't even win the game. Boston's offense moved the ball well, gaining 373 yards, including 123 on the ground and the Breakers were turnover free. They couldn't crack the end zone however, settling for 2 FGs in 3 red zone trips and overall, K Curtis Zuniga made 5/6 FG tries. Boston might have been buried in the beginning as Oleary had 2 early TD passes but Boston KR Gregory Williams returned each kickoff for a TD. When the Stars went up 7-0, Williams added his name to the list of players with the maximum 110 yard return, then not learning their lesson, kicked off to Williams again after going up 14-7. He made them pay with a 106 yard TD to tie the game at 14. Over the next 3 quarters, Boston would add 4 FGs for a 26-14 lead, with the last FG coming just inside the 2 minute warning. Oleary then found his boy Olson for a 74 yard TD pass to make it 26-21. New York recovered the onside kick and Oleary promptly found Olson again, this time for 53 yards to take the lead. The 2 point try failed, then Boston drove into FG range where Zuniga made FG #5 at the gun to give the Breakers a victory.
Thunderbolts 13 Bulls 6
Tony Romo completed 23/29 for 210 yards and he threw for the game's only TD. Romo found Bobby Colley for a 5 yard TD late in the 3rd to break a 6-6 tie. The rest of the game was mostly punts while Jacksonville missed a FG and had the clock run out on them with the ball in Cleveland territory.
VooDoo 33 Sun 13
New Orleans RB Thomas Thomas didn't score but he led the VooDoo with 92 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards while as a whole, the RBBC had 40 carries, 173 yards and 2 TDs. New Orleans did turn the ball over 3 times, with two coming on Joseph Jones INTs, but the VooDoo defense forced 5 by Southern California. Red zone was not a happy place for either team as New Orleans had just 2 TDs in 6 trips (2 FGs, 2 nothing) while the Sun had 1 TD and 2 FGs in their 3 trips. New Orleans led 13-3 at the half, then scored the first 17 points of the second half for a commanding 30-3 lead.
Force 20 Stallions 19
Georgia got a Paul Meade TD run and a FG for a halftime lead of 10-3. Force QB Thomas Jacobi found Glen Hampton for a 76 yard TD pass early in the 3rd for a 17-3 lead. Willie Benge then mounted a comeback, firing a pair of TD passes to Felix Nguyen, but the XP was missed after the second score, leaving Birmingham trailing 17-16. The Stallions then took the lead on a FG with 4:42 to play but Jacobi led Georgia to a FG of their own in the final minute for a come from behind after a comfortable lead was blown victory. They all count the same in the standings though.
Wranglers 7 Hornets 6
Charlotte took the lead in the middle of the 2nd on a FG then Brian Carmichael answered with a 13 play, 75 yard TD drive. TE Daniel Lorenz was on the receiving end of Carmichael's 6 yard scoring toss and Arizona took that 7-3 lead into halftime. As the 3rd quarter changed to the 4th, Charlotte was in the middle of their best drive of the game, going 77 yards in 14 plays, but the 14th play was an INT, thwarting the scoring opportunity. Charlotte did get a 55 yard FG inside the 2 minute warning but the onside kick failed. The Wranglers had to punt but they pinned the Hornets at their own 6 and left them just 0:49 to get into FG range, but Charlotte couldn't get across their own 30. Arizona hangs on for their 6th win of the season, which is one more win than they had in the 1990's heading into this season (5-75 from 1990-1994).
