Glen Hampton broke the single season receiving yards record with his first catch of the game, then followed it up with a TD reception 2 plays later. Hampton finished with exactly 200 yards and 2 TDs, pushing the new record to 3,019 yards and counting. His 2 TDs give him 28 for the season, 1 short of Mark Hsu's record of 29 set in 1993. The receiving mark was set at 2,113 yards by New Orleans WR Thomas Canale in our league's first season in 1974. The next season, San Antonio's Donnie Baker raised the bar to 2,223 only to see Oklahoma's Dusty Heckman post 2,548 yards in 1976. Heckman's mark stood until Mark Hsu's 2,745 in 1993 while Hsu only held the record until Albert Olson had 2,835 last year. Who knows how long we'll be in version 4.6, but it's pretty safe to say Glen Hampton will keep this record for awhile.
I have been keeping you guys up to date on the playoff races in the league forum, and I'm still behind, so I'm going to concentrate on the game itself and stats.
Stallions 38 Force 34...Glen Hampton set the record with the help of QB Thomas Jacobi, who threw for 422 yards, 4 TDs and an INT in leading Georgia to 34 points. The Force defense allowed 501 yards to Birmingham though, as Norman Maldonado completed 23/32, 393 yards and 3 TDs with Joseph Oliver catching 2 of the scores. Oliver finished with 193 yards on 6 catches and RB Francis Schultz ran for 101 yards and 2 scores to lead the Stallions to a wild win over Georgia.
SaberCats 21 Gamblers 15...I wish I had more time to write about this heavyweight fight. These teams are offensive juggernauts at times, capable of hitting big plays but those were hard to come by today as both defenses brought their "A" games. Tony Dean and Jake Plummer each threw a first half TD pass and we were tied at 7 after 30 minutes. The Gamblers defense gave Houston the lead when Allan Schulte sacked Plummer in the end zone. Earl Castro booted a pair of FGs, extending the Houston lead to 15-7. Jake Plummer got San Jose within 15-13 on a 20 yard TD pass to Dave McEntee with 1:01 to play. David Hartwig ran in the 2 point conversion and we were headed for OT. In the extra session, Houston had LT Greg Locke in at FB and he fumbled after a reception, giving the SaberCats the ball near midfield. San Jose drained the clock and Rodney Richardson's 5 yard TD run gave San Jose the win to improve to 13-0.
Gold 27 Storm 15...Max Ellis had 2 TD runs, Andrew Brewer threw for 265 yards and a TD while the Denver RBBC had 140 yards on the ground to lead Denver to victory over Portland. Denver's defense held Portland to 204 yards until they struck for an 80 yard Melvin Driggers TD pass to Richard Robinson on their final drive.
Renegades 16 Blazers 13 (OT)...Orlando and Florida have been battling for the Southeast division all season and this game certainly was a fight. Through 4 quarters, each team had 1 TD and 2 FGs, so we needed overtime. Orlando got the ball first in OT and punted then Florida went backwards before they punted. Orlando punted again and so did Florida, after also going backwards. The Renegades kept getting better field position thanks to the Blazers going backwards, and they were able to drive into FG range where Scott Mueller's 40 yard FG at the gun gave Orlando the win.
Federals 49 Bandits 43...Tough to be brief with this game. Dwayne Byrd got the start again for Tampa Bay and he finished with 491 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. Byrd had the Bandits out to a 30-7 lead in the 2nd qtr and the halftime score was 40-21 as Luis Dean caught all 3 Byrd TD passes as part of his 10 catch, 242 yard game. Tristan Arnold brought Washington back, throwing 5 TD passes and 446 yards, although 3 INTs hurt. The Bandits actually scored first in the 3rd qtr, extending their lead to 43-21 before the Federals scored the last 28 points the hard way, 3 TDs with 2 XP, a 2 point conversion to go with a pair of FGs. Byrd had the Bandits driving toward a score at the end of the game but the clock ran out on them as Washington holds on for the wild, come from behind win.
Wheels 34 Blitz 18...Gabriel Flanagan threw for 319 yards and 4 TDs to lead Detroit to their 7th straight win. This win was especially important as the Wheels are chasing the Blitz for the Midwest division title, and Detroit now finds themselves 1 game behind while also putting pressure on the wildcard teams.
Maulers 15 (NY) Stars 12 (OT)...New York threw every down again as Damien Oleary completed 42/65 for 360 yards and an INT. Albert Olson caught 9 for 158 yards but all of this passing didn't help the Stars cross the goal line as they settled for 4 Ed Jetton FGs today. Pittsburgh QB Paul Marcum didn't throw a TD pass either, but he completed 20/23 for 193 yards and he led a short TD drive after New York lost a fumble on the opening drive. The XP was no good but Brett Bowman made 3/4 FGs to help Pittsburgh upset New York.
Generals 20 Breakers 0...Don Ferguson threw for 348 yards and a TD to Kurt Cobain and the Generals defense pitched a shutout as New Jersey marches toward the East division title. Cobain caught 11 for 105 yards and the aforementioned TD, and he also led the Generals rushing attack with 80 yards. The defense forced no turnovers but they did force a punt after every drive except the last one, when Boston turned it over on downs. Good thing the Generals defense was so stingy given their red zone struggles and 2 missed FGs by former All Pro kicker Al Borland.
Steamer 31 VooDoo 9...George Marcil only completed 10/16 for 186 yards, but he threw 3 TD passes to 0 INTs, leading the Steamer to victory. The Shreveport defense intercepted Ellis Soza 3 times and held them to a pair of FGs in 2 red zone trips. New Orleans kept the ball 34 minutes, yet it was Shreveport controlling the game on the ground as Guillermo McDaniel ran for 117 yards and a TD.
Wranglers 16 Thunderbolts 13...Cleveland started John Crisp at QB again but the turnovers continued for the Thunderbolts as they lose their 5th in a row. Crisp threw 2 INTs and was just 1/3 in the red zone while Cleveland runners lost 2 fumbles. Arizona QB Brian Carmichael threw 2 TD passes, and his 4 yard TD pass to Adam McClure early in the 4th was the game winning TD.
Hornets 16 Outlaws 10...These long suffering franchises find themselves playing each other in a meaningful, late season game for the first time in awhile. Charlotte rookie RB Kenneth Olson only ran for 39 yards today but he caught 7 passes for 171 yards and a TD, including a 73 yard TD at the beginning of the 2nd qtr. Oklahoma tied it on a Gene Collins 25 yard TD run, then the Hornets out kicked the Outlaws 3 FGs to 1 the rest of the game. Charlotte keeps the pressure on Washington in the Atlantic while the Outlaws loss opens the door for the other wildcard contenders.
Bulls 34 Stars 10...Derek Joyce threw for 303 yards and 3 TD passes as Jacksonville got out to a 34-0 lead. WR William Morrison caught 6 passes for 147 yards and 2 TDs to pace the offense while the Bulls defense made life rough for Baltimore. The Stars only turned the ball over once but the running game produced 1 yard on 19 carries and Stephen Ponder completed just 14/33 passes, as the offense did nothing until they were down 34-0.
Sun 20 Invaders 10...Southern California QB Sean Ogden's day started out bad, but he would bounce back to throw for 303 yards and 2 TDs to lead the Sun to victory. Oakland got a FG on their opening drive, then an Ogden INT gave Oakland the ball near midfield. Andrew Moreno promptly threw a 48 yard TD pass to Donald Hart for a 10-0 lead. Ogden then led the Sun to TD drives of 75 and 91 yards, taking a 14-10 lead in the 2nd qtr. RB Matthew Tipps didn't score for the Sun but he had 194 combined yards on 57 rushing and 137 receiving, leading the team in both. The Sun defense kept the Invaders scoreless after the long TD pass and added a pair of 2nd half FGs for the win.
Panthers 30 Bell 29...These former playoff teams are struggling in 1996, but they had an exciting back and forth game today. Philadelphia had 467 offensive yards but only got in the red zone once, getting two long TD passes from Sidney Maggard and 5 Steve Matthews FGs to take a 29-17 lead with 3:39 to play. Will Allison then led Michigan to a TD at the 2 minute warning with a 13 yard pass to William Hutchings. The Panthers recovered the onside kick and Allison drove the offense toward the end zone again. With 0:12 left, Allison found Hutchings again for a 2 yard TD pass. The 2 point conversion was no good, but with 13 points the final 2 minutes, Michigan gets the come from behind victory.
Express 28 Showboats 24...Memphis started out slow before Erik McNamee led two long scoring drives in the 2nd qtr to take a 17-13 halftime lead. The first drive was a 1 play, 93 yard TD pass to Paul Davis and the second score was 43 yards to Thomas Ballard. Memphis continued the momentum in the 3rd qtr as McNamee found Mark Glenn for a 76 yard TD pass to extend the lead to 24-13. Los Angeles came back with a pair of David Tavarez 4th qtr TD passes for the come from behind win to put a damper on the Memphis playoff hopes.
Hawaiians 14 Gunslingers 10...There wasn't a whole lot of yards today, but once they got into the red zone, they scored. San Antonio got on the scoreboard first with a 53 yard FG in the 1st, then Phillip Wood ran in an 11 yard score in the 2nd to give Honolulu a 7-3 lead. RB Roy Johnson had 5 yards rushing on 5 carries today, but one resulted in a short TD in the 3rd as the Gunslingers retake the lead 10-7. RB Anthony Davis led the Hawaiians in rushing with 88 yards, and receiving with 78 yards on 7 catches. Davis caught a 19 yard TD pass from Edwin Clarkson late in the 3rd and the defense held firm in the 4th for a Hawaiians victory.
