Another week, another Glen Hampton record. Hampton caught 3 TD passes, 2 in the 1st quarter and the 2nd one was the record breaker. Mark Hsu of San Jose held the record previously with 29 in 1993. This is where I would normally expound on what happened with respect to the playoffs and such, but that's been covered in the forums and I'm still behind on the blog, so I'll just cut to the chase.
Force 23 Wranglers 6...Glen Hampton finished the game with 9 catches, 3 for TDs and 251 yards as he continues to push the receiving record to new heights. Thomas Jacobi threw for 469 yards in all, but also threw 4 INTs. Arizona couldn't take advantage of the gifts though, and the Force hold on for the win to go with Hampton's records.
Gamblers 38 Outlaws 10...Tony Dean threw for 408 yards and 5 TD passes as Houston beats Oklahoma to clinch the Southwest. Jett Black caught 5 for 211 yards and a TD while Donald Turner caught 2 TD passes and 178 combined yards. The Gamblers defense was strong, forcing a pair of turnovers as Houston built a 28-0 lead. Oklahoma committed 5 turnovers in all, 4 INTs as Houston made it known the division still belongs to them.
SaberCats 19 Express 15...Los Angeles scored first on a safety, sacking Jake Plummer in the end zone, then following an exchange of FGs, David Tavarez fired a 26 yard TD pass to Corey Gibbons. That gave Los Angeles a 12-3 halftime lead that Plummer cut to 12-10 with a 19 yard pass to Harold Marshall to start the 3rd. Los Angeles added a FG, then so did San Jose, making our score 15-13 Los Angeles early in the 4th. San Jose had a chance at the lead in the middle of the 4th but the 36 yard FG was no good. They got the ball back at their own 18 with less than 5 minutes to play, and Jake Plummer led a 14 play, 82 yard TD drive. David Hartwig plunged in from the 1 yard line with 12 seconds to play to give San Jose the come from behind win to remain undefeated.
Steamer 23 Renegades 6...In a possible playoff preview, it was Orlando gaining the yards and Shreveport turning them over and playing ball control. Trey Lyons completed 24/50, 288 yards and 4 INTs for Orlando, and Jose Rush lost a fumble as the Renegades turned the ball over on each of their first 3 drives. One turnover gave the Steamer an instant red zone possession which George Marcil turned into a TD pass, then later in the 1st, Herbert Young had a 75 yard TD run. Shreveport led 17-0 after 1 and they rode that wave to victory.
Gold 30 Wheels 13...This game was an INT contest between 3 QBs. Detroit threw 5, 3 for starter Gabriel Flanagan and 2 for backup Ricky Copeland in just 7 passes. I still don't get why Detroit almost always sees their backup QB play, it probably costs them a game or 2 a season. Denver QB Andrew Brewer threw 4, to win the individual competition. In between all the turnovers, Brewer threw for 306 yards and 2 TDs and the Gold RBBC ran for 142 as Denver halts Detroit's 7 game winning streak.
Federals 19 Stars 3...Tristan Arnold led Washington to a TD on their opening drive and Steve Jones booted 4 FGs as Washington beat their rivals from Baltimore. The Federals defense allowed the Stars just 106 total yards and 4 first downs all game long as they get 1 step closer to winning the Atlantic.
Thunderbolts 20 Generals 19...New Jersey had 479 yards of offense and made 5 red zone trips, but they were undone by several mistakes. The Generals got just 2 TDs from those 5 red zone trips as Don Ferguson threw 4 INTs. Usually reliable K Al Borland missed a pair of FGs and an XP, Despite all of that, New Jersey had the lead at the 2 minute warning 19-14. John Crisp changed that with a 58 yard TD pass to Ferdinand Lee, giving Cleveland a 20-19 lead after the 2 point try failed. Ferguson got New Jersey in position for a 54 yard FG try at the gun but Borland missed wide right, and Cleveland gets the win.
Storm 24 Panthers 0...Melvin Driggers threw for 243 yards and 2 TDs while Jeffrey Frost ran for 73 yards and a score to lead Portland over Michigan. The Storm defense held the Panthers to 134 total yards and the Panthers never threatened to score as Portland's playoff push continues.
(NY) Stars 48 Blitz 24...New York continued their aerial assault as this was their 3rd straight game without a rushing attempt. Damien Oleary threw 83 passes, 4th most in history, completing 48 for 611 yards, 6 TDs and 4 INTs. Albert Olson and Nathanael Allen caught 11 passes and 2 TDs each, with Olson gaining 274 yards, Allen 100. Ronald Brown (35/61, 322 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT) and Ian Gordon (5-205-2) tried to keep Chicago in the game, but they couldn't quite keep up with New York as the Stars win a shootout.
Showboats 26 Gunslingers 4...If anyone follows scoragami, we have a new entry as I'm pretty sure this is the first time someone has scored 4 points in a game. Steve Ransome ran for 108 yards for Memphis and Erik McNamee threw 2 TD passes, but he was also sacked in the end zone twice to account for San Antonio's point production. Memphis scored on all 5 red zone trips, though 3 were FGs while the Showboats defense allowed just 205 yards and intercepted Robert Fanelli twice.
Blazers 13 Hawaiians 10...Florida's RBBC ran for 124 yards but the passing game struggled as Honolulu led 7-6 at the half. Florida had scored first with a pair of FGs, but Edwin Clarkson led a 2 minute drill for a TD to take that halftime lead. Florida QB Willie Graham had 173 yards passing and 2 INTs, with 63 coming on one play. Graham's 63 yard TD pass to Douglas Jordan gave the Blazers a 13-7 lead. Honolulu got within 13-10 with a 4th qtr FG by David Owen and had a chance to tie inside the 2 minute warning. Owen was wide right on the 54 yard kick and Florida ran out most of the rest of the clock for the win.
Bulls 23 Sun 9...Tyron Bailey ran for 85 yards and Derek Joyce threw 2 TDs as Jacksonville led 17-9 after 3 quarters. Sean Ogden tried to bring Southern California back, but he threw two INTs in the final 3 minutes, allowing the Bulls to tack on a FG each time. The Jacksonville win keeps them alive for the playoffs.
Stallions 20 Hornets 13...Charlotte had 489 yards of offense and made 5 red zone trips, yet only had 13 points to show for it, thanks to several mistakes. Jeremy McDonald led the Hornets down the field on their opening drive only to be intercepted in the end zone. On Charlotte's second drive they once again drove deep in the red zone only to end up missing a FG, for zero points despite 153 yards of offense. Meanwhile, Norman Maldonado led a pair of long TD drives, finishing the first one with a 12 yard score to Robert Lerma. The second drive consisted of one play, a 77 catch and run TD pass to Joseph Oliver and Birmingham led at the half 14-0. The second half scoring started with 3 FGs, 2 by Charlotte to make the score 17-6 Stallions after 3. Early in the 4th McDonald was intercepted for the 2nd time, leading to a Birmingham FG to extend the lead to 14 points. McDonald would bounce back with a 50 yard TD to Randall Liles and the Hornets last drive got inside the red zone before the clock ran out, leaving Charlotte 7 points shy.
VooDoo 20 Invaders 6...Scott Stillings was recently signed by New Orleans and the 13 year vet ran 20 times for 92 yards, adding 23 receiving for over 100 combined yards, impressive given he's had a season off. VooDoo QB Ellis Soza threw for 223 yards and a TD while the New Orleans defense held Oakland to 130 yards. New Orleans scored the first 20 points of the game before the Invaders booted FGs their last 2 drives to avoid the shutout.
Bandits 16 Maulers 15...Through 3 quarters this was a 7-6 game, with Tampa Bay getting their 7 on a Dwayne Byrd 7 yard TD pass to Willie Dubreuil. Pittsburgh took a 9-7 lead on Brett Bowman's 3rd FG with 9:06 to play and that was our score until the 2 minute warning. That's when Edward Walter booted a 32 yard FG to give the Bandits a 10-9 lead. It didn't take Paul Marcum long to answer and his 45 yard TD to Arthur Thompson gave Pittsburgh a 15-10 lead after the 2 point try failed. Dwayne Byrd completed less than half his passes today and he threw 2 INTs, but he led the Bandits down the field and into the end zone with a 46 yard TD pass to Garry Fowler. Their 2 point try failed as well, and we now had a 16-15 game with 1:23 to play after the 3 scores within a minute. Pittsburgh had plenty of time but Marcum was intercepted and Tampa Bay ran out the clock for their 2nd win of the year.
Bell 26 Breakers 20...Philadelphia and Boston combined for 806 yards but a pair of lost fumbles helped the Bell get out to a 16-0 lead. Boston won the toss and elected to receive, but Anthony Wade fumbled, giving Philadelphia an instant red zone opportunity. Two Jamie Epperson runs later and the Bell led 6-0 after the XP missed. The next kickoff was a touchback, but Ralph Harris fumbled to give the Bell the ball at the Breakers 30. Jamie Epperson, who ran for 106 yards today, scored his 2nd TD on the ground, increasing the lead to 13-0. Boston quit turning the ball over after that, and Harris made up for that fumble with a TD run, narrowing the gap to 16-7 at the half. early in the 4th, Boston had clawed to within 19-17, but Sidney Maggard found Craig Hines for a 79 yard TD to extend the lead. Boston would get within 6 points with a FG and their last drive began with 2:09 on the clock. Larry Henderson led the offense down the field and they were so close to scoring, but Anthony Wade was tackled at the 1 yard line as time ran out as the Bell literally hang on for the win.
