Week 6 is in the books and the beat rolls on for the undefeated teams, although San Jose had a hard fought game with Memphis. On the record breaking front, Glen Hampton had 210 receiving yards to continue to be ahead of the pace of the record, while Don Ferguson threw 5 more TD passes in New Jersey's win. I want to give props to Armored Giraffe who has Oklahoma currently in the #6 seed with a 4-2 record. The once proud franchise has fallen on hard times since the CoachNorm days of the late 80's, but the Outlaws are no longer an automatic win.
Gamblers 41 Express 10
Los Angeles held their own against the champs for most of the first half before the Gamblers pulled away to remain unbeaten. Tony Dean threw 3 TD passes to Jett Black in the first half and continued the momentum into the second half as Houston scored 24 unanswered points after Los Angeles pulled within 17-10 in the 2nd qtr. Express QB David Tavarez threw 2 of his 3 INTs in the second half while Tony Dean was in MVP form. Dean completed 18/24, 395 yards and 5 TDs while Jett Black caught 7 for 258 yards and 4 TDs. After the game, Dean said "I was getting sick of all of this talk about Glen Hampton and Don Ferguson chasing records. Why don't they come chase these rings? I don't need to throw 50 passes a game to get 5 TDs and Jett Black is the best receiver in the league in my opinion." Wow, ok Tony, lighten up dude.
Generals 38 Stallions 7
New Jersey was dominant on both sides of the ball today as the Generals defense held Birmingham to 110 total yards, allowing less than 17 minutes of possession. They only produced 1 turnover and no sacks, but they held Norman Maldonado below 50% completions and allowed 1.11 ypc on the ground. Offensively, New Jersey had their average game, 512 total yards with 115 on the ground. Don Ferguson completed 45/59, 407 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT, spreading the ball to 10 different receivers. Rookie WR Happy Gilmore caught 2 TDs while RBs David Koresh and Kurt Cobain led in receiving and rushing yards, combining for 270 yards between them. Ferguson was asked after the game about Tony Dean's comments, "I'm not worried about what Tony said, I'm just trying to help my team win football games. I've been chasing a ring from the beginning, and we've been close, but we just have to keep fighting week in and week out. As far as how many passes I throw, I just run the plays coach calls. If I get the TD record, that would be awesome, but the only record I care about is making my team 3-4 in the World Bowl."
SaberCats 23 Showboats 16
Memphis and San Jose played a defensive first half, with each team getting a pair of FGs for a halftime score of 6-6. As the 3rd quarter wound down, Rodney Richardson cracked the end zone on a short run to give San Jose a 13-6 lead. Memphis would get a FG to cut it to 13-9 before David Hartwig's 3 yard TD run increased the SaberCats lead to 20-9 with 6:36 on the clock. Memphis QB Erik McNamee then threw a quick INT, allowing San Jose to add 3 more points. That FG drive drained the clock and Memphis did score a TD with 5 seconds left, but that wasn't enough to prevent the SaberCats from improving to 6-0.
Gold 20 Invaders 3
Denver was missing their leading rusher, Eric Younker, who was nursing an injury, but the Gold RBBC didn't miss a beat. Denver ran 41 times for 115 yards, and their efficient passing attack allowed the Gold to hold the ball over 39 minutes. The defense held Oakland to 185 total yards and intercepted a pair of 4th quarter passes to win a divisional game and improve to 6-0. The Gold got a 1 yard Brian Turner TD run and a 6 yard TD pass from Andrew Brewer to Gary Cortez for their touchdowns. I'd talk more about the Denver players, but they spread the ball around to several different guys so nobody stood out. All they do is win apparently.
(NY) Stars 27 VooDoo 3
New York got productive games from their big 3 of Damien Oleary, Albert Olson and William Hall while the Stars defense held New Orleans to 240 total yards and a late FG to improve to 5-1. QB Oleary completed 27/34, 352 yards and 3 TDs, 2 to Albert Olson, who caught 6 for 148 yards total. The other TD pass went to RB William Hall, who caught 8 for 94 yards. Hall had little success on the ground, 20 yards on 16 carries but that was still good to give him 114 total yards today.
Federals 24 Maulers 9
Washington's offense broke out a little today as their 24 points are a season high. The Federals ran 34 times for 142 yards and Scott Bieber had a solid game aside from an INT. Jayson Shepherd and Johnathon Fuller ran for TDs and the Washington defense made life rough for Pittsburgh QB Paul Marcum. The Federals didn't sack him, but they intercepted him twice, allowing just 9/20 passing for 56 yards. It's hard to win with passing stats like that unless you run for like 200 yards, which the Maulers did not. The win gives Washington sole possession of first in the Atlantic.
Outlaws 10 Gunslingers 7
An ugly game for both sides but there are no ugly wins for Oklahoma as far as they are concerned. The Outlaws win a slugfest despite 3 turnovers to improve to 4-2, the latest they have been over .500 since the late 80's. San Antonio RB Charlie Shanks led the Gunslingers in rushing (67 yards) and receiving (69 yards and a TD), but his TD catch was all the points they could muster. Oklahoma K Eric Chandler broke the tie with a 52 yard FG in the 4th qtr and the Outlaws defense made it stand up for the win.
Renegades 47 Bandits 26
The Southeast division continues to be a 3 team race with Orlando, Florida, and Jacksonville all 4-2. Tampa Bay is falling off the pace after close losses started turning into bigger losses the last 2 weeks. It's always tough relying on a rookie QB to win games, and even tougher when that rookie chucks up 65 passes. Nicholas Irvine completed 31/65, 332 yards, 2 TD and 4 INT while the Bandits ran 9 times all game. To be fair, Orlando built up a big first half lead, 30-6, so they were in catch up mode quite a bit. The Renegades scored the first 5 times they had the ball, although 3 of those were FGs. Orlando QB Trey Lyons completed 26/36, 345 yards, 4 TD and 2 INT, with those TDs going to 4 different receivers. Roger Bostic led the way with 6 catches, 140 yards. Orlando MLB Alton Miller put the icing on the cake with a 25 yard INT return TD late in the 4th.
Bulls 24 Hawaiians 21
For 3 quarters Jacksonville and Honolulu played a back and forth, competitive game before the 4th quarter became a comedy of errors. Hawaiians RB Anthony Davis had 181 combined yards, 95 on the ground, and his first rushing TD of the game gave Honolulu a 7-0 lead. Jacksonville came back with a FG and a 62 yard Derek Joyce TD to Leon Gutierrez for a 10-7 Bulls lead. Derek Henry got the lead back for Honolulu with a 15 yard TD pass to Pedro Main, but Joyce got the lead back in the final minute of the half. Joyce found William Morrison with a 17 yard TD and Jacksonville led at the half 17-14. Anthony Davis got the lead back for the Hawaiians with his 2nd TD run but soon after Joyce found Leon Gutirrez for another long TD. This one went 53 yards, giving the Bulls a 24-21 lead with 2:45 left in the 3rd. The 4th quarter saw Derek Henry throw 3 INTs but Jacksonville couldn't add points, losing a fumble and missing a FG when they didn't have to punt. Nobody scored in the 4th, so Jacksonville holds on for the win. Derek Joyce finished the game 28/40, 342 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT while Leon Gutierrez caught 6 for 201 yards and 2 TDs.
Blazers 31 Sun 13
Florida QB Willie Graham threw for 3 TDs, all in the first half as the Blazers got out to a 24-10 lead. Graham completed 15/23, 245 yards and 3 TDs for the game while Freddy Jones was the leading receiver with 5 catches, 121 yards and a TD. Southern California QB Harold Angulo threw back to back INTs to start the 2nd half but Florida couldn't extend their lead. The Sun got within 24-13 thanks to a FG early in the 4th but they would get no closer. Robert Romero increased his league leading rushing total with 170 yards today, and his 47 yard TD run at the 2 minute warning put the game away for good.
Storm 41 Wranglers 6
Portland continued their roll, winning their 3rd straight game, all by 20 points or more. Melvin Driggers completed 41/52, 357 yards and 5 TDs and the Storm RBBC ran for 112 as they held the ball over 42 minutes. WR Richard Robinson was the leading receiver with 95 yards and 3 TDs on 9 receptions and the Portland offense converted 9/15 3rd downs and had 5 TDs and 2 FGs in 7 red zone trips. Defensively, Portland held Arizona to 131 total yards, forcing 3 turnovers and no red zone trips. Wranglers kicker Brian Haworth made a pair of 50+ yard FGs to avoid the shutout.
Bell 23 Force 19
Georgia WR Glen Hampton continued to be the focal point of the Force offense, catching 8 passes for 210 yards and 2 TDs. The lack of an effective running game is hurting the offense however, as Georgia converted just 1/7 3rd downs and had 19 rushing yards on 12 carries. Philadelphia had their ground game working though, running for 166 yards on 37 carries. Jamie Epperson led the way with 100 yards rushing and a TD while Charles Weymouth ran for 55 and caught 6 for 88 yards to lead the Bell in receiving. Sidney Maggard completed 26/37, 306 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT for Philadelphia while Georgia's Thomas Jacobi completed 23/32, 399 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. Georgia led 16-14 at halftime on the 2 Hampton TDs and a FG, and one of the XP tries was no good. Philadelphia kicked a pair of FGs in the second half to 1 for Georgia, as the Bell took a 23-19 lead with 10:22 to play. Georgia punted and Philadelphia kept the ball the last 7:49 on a 15 play, 81 yard drive to preserve victory.
Blitz 16 Wheels 10
Detroit got a FG on their opening drive and a Gabriel Flanagan 4 yard TD pass to Matthew Houston in the final minute of the first half as the Wheels took a 10-0 lead. Chicago bounced back in the second half with a pair of long TD passes by Ronald Brown to Ian Gordon while the defense shut Detroit down. Gordon finished the game with 5 catches, 149 yards and those 2 TDs. The come from behind win gives Chicago sole possession of first in the Midwest.
Panthers 25 Thunderbolts 12
Cleveland had a miserable offensive day, amassing 131 total yards and producing just 3 offensive points. The Thunderbolts TD came on a 102 yard kickoff return by Andre King and the defense recorded a safety late in the game to round out the Cleveland scoring. Offensively, Michigan had 470 yards as Will Allison completed 30/45, 337 yards and 2 TDs while Lawrence Schroeder ran for 101. Michigan had 24 first downs to just 7 for Cleveland and the Panthers converted 9/17 3rd downs as they improve to 3-3, tied with Cleveland one game behind Chicago.
Steamer 23 Breakers 13
The Shreveport defense intercepted Larry Henderson deep in Boston territory and George Marcil put the Steamer ahead 7-0 with a 13 yard TD pass to Milton Schwab. A FG would put Shreveport ahead 10-0 before George Cade cut the deficit to 10-7 with a short TD run. Shreveport would add another FG for a 13-7 halftime lead and that was our score in the 4th after a scoreless 3rd quarter. Boston got a FG to get within 13-10 before Scott Randall took a handoff and raced 76 yards to the end zone for a back breaking TD. Each team would add a FG for our final score of 23-13 Shreveport. The Steamer had the ground game in high gear as Milton Schwab ran 20 times for 124 yards and Randall ran for 115 and that TD on 8 carries. The passing game was mostly dink and dunk for the Steamer, but that powerful rushing performance saw them out gain Boston 364-174 and their 3-3 record is good for a share of first in the South with Birmingham.
Hornets 13 Stars 10 (OT)
Both teams ran the ball quite a bit, though Charlotte had a balanced attack while Baltimore threw just 12 passes all day. The Stars got an 87 yard TD run by Wm Jones midway through the 2nd qtr for a 7-0 lead they took into halftime. Charlotte cut it to 7-3 with a 3rd qtr FG but Baltimore answered with one of their own for a 10-3 lead. The Stars held that lead until the 2 minute warning, when their offense stalled deep in their own end of the field and a 26 yard punt return set up the Charlotte offense in Baltimore territory. Jeremy McDonald threw the game tying 8 yard TD pass to William Bonner with just 0:12 seconds on the clock and we were headed for extra football. Baltimore got the ball first and punted, then Charlotte drove into FG range. Javier Gill was good from 30 yards out and the Hornets sweep Baltimore.
