Tony Dean became the all time passing leader during today's game at Oklahoma. I'll refer you to the Houston Chronicle if you want to read about Dean's pursuit of the record as team owner Cjfred has done a great job of describing it. A lot of times people like to throw out the greatest this or that, and often it's just talk but not in this case. Here are some of our all time passing leaders:
Whether you look at completion percentage, yards per attempt, sacks taken, TDs or QBR, Dean is at the top of the list of our all time great QBs, and only Hall of Famer Mario Valencia has thrown fewer interceptions. The stats back up CJ's boasts, all hail Tony Dean, the greatest USFL QB of all time. On top of all of Dean's on field accomplishments, he also routinely wins Jim Kelly look alike contests (see the Houston Chronicle for photo evidence of the resemblance).
There was a full slate of football games today, so let's get to the on field action.
Gamblers 21 Outlaws 16
The Tony Dean record was expected to happen today, but this game had a lot of importance to both teams in terms of the playoffs. Houston most likely will go, especially after today's win gives them some separation from the upstart Outlaws, and would most certainly be a wildcard should they collapse down the stretch. Oklahoma is a different story, as the loss has Memphis breathing down their neck for a wildcard spot. Moral victories are usually meaningless, but in this case, the close loss suggests that Oklahoma has closed the talent gap with the superior Gamblers, and even if the playoffs elude them this year, they have a solid foundation for the future.
The game started out as a defensive struggle as the first score came on an Oklahoma FG midway through the 2nd. Houston has scored the 3rd most points in the league, but the Outlaws defense kept the champs off the scoreboard until the final minute or so of the first half. Tony Dean's 3 yard TD pass to Jim Dallas gave Houston the 7-3 halftime lead.
Houston got the ball to start the second half and punted. Oklahoma was driving, getting a first and goal from the 8 before Thomas Snyder intercepted Robert Hill in the end zone. The Oklahoma sideline was screaming for a holding penalty on Snyder, and the game log says he got away with it, but the refs did see Charles Saner commit pass interference and the penalty negated the INT. Given new life, Robert Hill found Christopher Baker with a 1 yard TD pass to give the Outlaws the lead back, 10-7. That was our score until early in the 4th, when Houston RB Lloyd Ellis ran in a TD from 23 yards out. Two plays prior, Tony Dean broke the all time passing yardage mark on a 14 yard pass to Donald Turner and the TD made the score 14-10. A couple drives later, Oklahoma started at their own 3 following an excellent punt by A.J. Winehouse. Things went from bad to worse, as Hill threw an interception, setting up the Gamblers within inches of the goal line. One play later, Dean found Jett Black for the short TD pass, extending the lead to 21-10. Robert Hill would throw his 2nd TD pass to Christopher Baker to pull within 21-16 but the 2 point try failed. Oklahoma would get the ball one more time but they went 4 and out, turning it over on downs and allowing Houston to hold on for the win.
Houston improves to 11-0, 3 games ahead of Oklahoma. The Outlaws are 8-3, currently good for the #6 seed.
Storm 12 Gold 7
A Denver victory would have given the Gold a 4 game lead with 5 to play, making it extremely difficult for the Storm to win the division. Portland still has their work cut out for them, trailing Denver by 2 games with 5 to play, but today's win was still very important. The defensive units for both teams were strong today as this game had just 368 combined yards. Andrew Brewer gave Denver a 7-0 lead with a 25 yard TD pass to Steven Riley. Denver's defense really held Portland down, allowing just 161 yards, but a Brewer INT gave the Storm the ball in FG range and Donald Atkins made the score 7-3 with a 50 yard FG. The Gold were inside their own 20 when Andrew Brewer threw a short pass to Brian Turner. Clifton Mabon jarred the ball loose and David Jaquez scooped it up and took it 10 yards for a defensive TD to give Portland a 10-7 lead. As the game clock went under 4 minutes to play, Denver was once again backed up in their own end when disaster struck. This time it was Henry Proctor bursting through the line to sack Brewer in the end zone for a safety. Portland wins the defensive struggle 12-7 to improve to 8-3 on the year, good for the #5 seed. Denver falls to 10-1, suffering their first loss of the season but still lead the West.
SaberCats 34 Bulls 13
It wasn't a pretty game by either team, but Jacksonville was sloppier as the loss dampened the Bulls playoff hopes. San Jose QB Jake Plummer threw 2 INTs, completed just 50% of his passes and was sacked 3 times. The SaberCats also committed 8 penalties and allowed Jacksonville 4 red zone trips. The San Jose defense allowed 307 total yards, but in the red zone they allowed the Bulls just 10 points from those 4 trips, intercepting Derek Joyce 4 times and sacking him twice. Jacksonville matched the SaberCats with 8 penalties and one of the INTs was returned for a TD by Charles Sermons. Jake Plummer did throw for 3 TDs among his 14 completions and that was enough to improve to 11-0 and clinch the Pacific. Jacksonville falls to 6-5, 2 games back of the wildcard, 3 in the division.
Steamer 38 Force 17
This was one of several games with playoff implications as Georgia needed to win to force a tie atop the South. Glen Hampton is having a historic season but it's not translating into wins as the Force were 4-6 coming in. Hampton caught 7 for 122 yards and a TD but the rest of Georgia's offense did very little. The Force led 10-7 after Hampton's TD catch but Shreveport went on a 31-0 run to seize control of the game. Scott Randall ran for 132 yards and a TD while George Marcil threw for 252 yards and 3 TDs. The Steamer defense contributed to the scoring when Mathew Fisher returned an INT 49 yards for a score. Shreveport converted 9/16 on 3rd down and held the ball for almost 40 minutes in improving to 6-5 and a 2 game lead on Georgia in the South.
Blazers 16 Renegades 6
Orlando started the season 0-2, suffering 4 turnovers in each loss. Since then, the Renegades have won 8 in a row, mainly thanks to better ball security. Today they hosted Florida and the league's leading rusher Robert Romero in a battle for first place in the Southeast. Orlando did a great job limiting Romero to 22 yards on 14 carries, but they allowed Stephen Hannah to take a handoff 66 yards for a TD that gave Florida a 7-0 lead. The rest of the game was all FGs as Florida led 13-3 at halftime. The second half saw 1 FG apiece and Florida wins to take sole possession of first with a 9-2 record. Orlando turned the ball over 3 times while not forcing any and the loss drops them to 8-3, good for the #6 seed at the moment.
Federals 19 Hornets 0
Washington is not having their best year, as a loss to Charlotte today would have seen the Federals and Hornets tied atop the Atlantic with identical 5-6 records. Federals QB Tristan Arnold dinked and dunked his way to completing 33/46, 193 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT and Washington finished with 260 total yards. The Federals defense was stingy today though, holding the Hornets to 173 yards and forcing 5 turnovers while keeping Charlotte off the scoreboard. The win improves Washington to 6-5, good for a 1.5 game lead on Pittsburgh and a 2 game lead on 4-7 Charlotte.
Generals 58 Breakers 0
Boston and their banged up offense traveled to New Jersey to face the Generals and it wasn't pretty. The injury report is full of mostly offensive players, but their defensive players had their pride hurt by Generals QB Don Ferguson. The Breakers could only muster 178 total yards as all of their FB/TE were injured and inactive, while they suffered 3 more serious injuries during the game. Defensively, Ferguson passes carved the Boston defense like a hot knife through butter. Ferguson is back ahead of the record pace for TDs in a season, throwing 6 today without an INT. In all, Ferguson completed 30/46, 507 yards, with Franklin Cherry catching 3 TD passes. Cherry caught 5 for 193 yards total while Duncan Meyer caught 7 for 136 scoreless yards. It wasn't all air yards for the Generals as David Koresh ran for 106 and Kurt Cobain ran for 63 and a TD. New Jersey improves to 10-1 and have their rematch with New York next week.
Blitz 30 Panthers 14
Chicago played a ball control game, hogging it for over 44 minutes of game action. That left just 15:39 for Michigan, and while the Panthers had 288 yards, 2 lost fumbles and 0/8 on 3rd down helped them lose their 5th straight game. The Blitz took an early 14-0 lead on a pair of Ronald Brown TD passes to Jason Rambo. Chicago would add a pair of FGs for a 20-0 halftime lead and extended it to 23-0 with a 3rd qtr FG. Michigan answered with a 75 yard TD pass from Will Allison to Harvey Williams, but it was too little too late. Rambo finished the game with 13 receptions and 109 yards while John Gates ran for 94. Ronald Brown finished 29/36, 244 yards and 3 TDs as the Blitz improve to 8-3, 2 games ahead of Detroit in the Midwest.
(NY) Stars 6 Thunderbolts 0
New York might have been looking ahead to next week's game against New Jersey, but whatever the reason, they had a bad game today against punchless Cleveland. The Thunderbolts are in a serious scoring drought, suffering their 3rd consecutive shutout today. They also failed to score in the second half 4 games ago, bringing the scoreless streak to 14 quarters and counting. New York held Cleveland to 128 total yards, sacking Tony Romo 3 times and intercepting him twice. New York kicked FGs in the 1st and 3rd quarters and those 6 points stood up for the win. New York improves to 9-2, but a win over New Jersey next week would complete the sweep, putting the Stars in 1st place.
Showboats 24 Hawaiians 21
Memphis needs to keep winning and get some help if they are going to make the playoffs and Erik McNamee had the Showboats ahead 10-0 at halftime with a short TD pass to Paul Davis. That TD was set up by an Edwin Clarkson INT deep in Honolulu territory, giving Memphis an instant first and goal. Honolulu got the ball to start the second half but fumbled it away, allowing the Showboats another 1 play TD drive as McNamee found Mark Glenn for the 49 yard TD and a 17-0 lead. Clarkson brought the Hawaiians back with a pair of TD passes later in the 3rd. Midway through the 4th, McNamee threw his 3rd TD pass, second to Paul Davis as Memphis extended their lead to 24-14. Clarkson got Honolulu within 3 on a 34 yard TD pass to Anthony Davis, but that came with just 0:13 left and Memphis hangs on for victory.
Wheels 17 Wranglers 7
Detroit wins their 5th game in a row today to remain 2 games out of a playoff spot. The Wheels got out to a 7-0 lead on a Gabriel Flanagan 22 yard pass to James Fischer but Brian Carmichael answered quickly for Arizona. Carmichael found William Haubert with a 76 yard TD pass, tying the game at 7. Kent Olden made a 32 yard FG to close out the 1st qtr scoring and Flanagan made it 17-7 with a 19 yard TD pass to Matthew Houston. The second half was pretty much a punt fest. Flanagan threw a harmless INT in the 3rd qtr while Carmichael threw one on the last 2 Wranglers drive, but neither team came close to scoring.
Bell 20 VooDoo 9
Each team scored twice in the first half, New Orleans kicked a pair of FGs while Philadelphia kicked 1 and Sidney Maggard threw a 75 yard TD pass to Craig Hines as the Bell led at the half, 10-6. The score remained the same until early in the 4th, when Maggard found Hines again, this time being a 9 yard score, giving the Bell a 17-6 lead. Hines finished with 6 catches, 143 yards and those 2 TDs and Philadelphia hangs on for the win, improving to 6-5, 2 games out of a playoff spot.
Express 20 Gunslingers 6
San Antonio welcomed RB Charlie Shanks back to the lineup and he responded with 108 rushing yards, but the rest of the Gunslingers offense fired blanks. QB Robert Fanelli only threw for 145 yards and was intercepted 3 times. David Tavarez wasn't much better, throwing for 233 yards and 2 INTs. While the Gunslingers ran the ball more effectively than the Express, San Antonio only produced 6 points while Los Angeles RB Gary Sappington had 2 rushing TDs as Los Angeles gets the win.
Sun 30 Bandits 23
Tampa Bay suffered their 6th one score loss today despite rookie QB Nicholas Irvine having his best game so far as a pro. Southern California QB Sean Ogden threw 2 early TD passes to help the Sun get out to a 17-3 lead midway through the 2nd qtr. Tampa Bay cut it to 17-6 by halftime and got within 7 points in the 4th qtr. Three FGs in the 3rd, 2 by the Sun had made the score 23-9 at the beginning of the 4th when Irvine found Earl Noble with a 68 yard TD pass. Michael Johnson's 34 yard TD run sealed the win for Southern California, as the Sun led 30-16 with 3:10 to play. Irvine would throw another TD pass with just over a minute to play, but the onside kick failed, allowing Southern California to run out the clock. Sean Ogden completed 31/45, 363 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT while James Brough caught 9 for 153 yards and a TD for Southern California. Irvine completed 23/43, 317 yards and 2 TDs, 0 INTs.
Maulers 16 Stars 13
Stephen Ponder gave Baltimore a 7-0 lead with a 9 yard pass to John Gardea. Baltimore would add a FG before a Ronald Smith TD run got Pittsburgh within 10-7 by halftime. The Stars extended the lead to 13-7 with a FG but Pittsburgh K Brett Bowman booted 3 FGs, the last as time expired to give the Maulers the 16-13 win over Baltimore. Stars QB Stephen Ponder finished the game completing 14/14. The last time any QB had a 100% completion rate throwing more than 10 passes was 1981. It was done 5 times that season, 3 by Cleveland's Chester Dougherty, who completed 27/27 at Denver.
Invaders 9 Stallions 6 (OT)
Looking at this box score sort of reminds me of yesterday's real life Green Bay/Cincinnati OT debacle, with all the wasted victory opportunities. This game saw no TDs though, and we were tied at 6 late in the 4th. Birmingham had a chance to take the lead inside the 2 minute warning, but the 49 yard FG try was wide left. Andrew Moreno then drove Oakland just outside the red zone when a 3rd down pass got the Invaders down to the 5 yard line. Donald Hart coughed up the ball however, and the Stallions fell on the loose ball. Time was running out, yet Birmingham threw the ball anyway, with Norman Maldonado being intercepted. Moreno completed a pass to the Stallions 33 but the clock ran out before a FG could be kicked.
Extra football would be played, with Oakland getting the ball first. Moreno was intercepted, giving Birmingham the ball at the edge of FG range. The Stallions moved it closer but the 30 yard potential game winner went wide left. Oakland had another chance and Moreno drove the Invaders into FG range. Lawrence Linville was good from 31 yards out as Oakland wins in the final minute of overtime.
