We had two records broken today, three if you count Glen Hampton adding on to his own record. Way back in 1980, Portland's William Hill set the standard for passing yards and TDs with 7,803/63. Hill still owns the yardage mark, but New Jersey QB Don Ferguson threw 7 TD passes today, giving him 64 and a new league record.
Damien Oleary and the New York Stars have been throwing every down the last 4 games, and today Oleary set one record and came within 38 yards of breaking another. Oleary threw for 799 yards, second most all time and 11 TDs, which breaks the record of 10, done 5 times previous. In 1985, Birmingham QB David Schmitt threw 11 TD passes in a playoff game against my Generals, but this was the first time anyone broke 10 in the regular season.
The playoffs are almost here and normally I rundown what each team needs to make it, but this year has proved too difficult and frustrating in the American Conference. In the words of the late Al Davis, "just win baby".
Generals 52 Force 38...I'm still behind so I will try to be brief. This game was an offensive showcase with 90 combined points and over 1200 yards, and featured two players who are having record breaking seasons. Georgia's Glen Hampton had his biggest yardage game of the season, catching 12 for 468 yards and 5 TDs. Thomas Jacobi threw for 678 yards and those 5 TDs to Hampton, but only completed 31/60 with 5 INTs. Georgia got out to an early 17-7 lead but Ferguson and the Generals ended up ahead at the half 35-24. Ferguson "only" threw for 408 yards but he was much more efficient than Jacobi, completing 32/45 with 7 TDs and no INTs. Franklin Cherry had 130 yards receiving with 2 TDs while David Koresh just missed a double triple. Koresh caught 9 for 111 yards and a TD, adding 96 on the ground. Georgia tried to keep up with New Jersey, but the Generals have too many weapons while the Force mainly have Hampton.
(NY) Stars 80 Bell 23...Philadelphia stayed close in the first half but Damien Oleary was too much for the Bell today. The Stars throw every down and Oleary completed 53/78, 799 yards and 11 TDs, breaking the single game TD record for the regular season and fell just 1 yard short of what would have been the second 800 yard game in league history. Albert Olson didn't even get half of the TDs, "only" getting 5 on 17 receptions and 413 yards. Six different players caught scores as New York puts the league on notice they can air it out just as well as Georgia and New Jersey.
SaberCats 16 Renegades 13 (OT)...This was a tale of two halves plus an overtime and the first half belonged to Orlando. The Renegades got a Trey Lyons 28 yard TD pass to Anthony Milan and a pair of FGs for a 13-0 lead at the break. In the second half, Renegades mistakes led to San Jose tying the game. Lyons was intercepted 3 times in the second half and the defense got burned on a blitz by a hot read 81 yard Jake Plummer TD pass to Dave McEntee. San Jose would tie the game with 2 FGs and Robert Rodriguez would make another one in OT. The SaberCats got the ball first in extras, so Orlando would get the ball. The Renegades went four and out and the loss relegates them to the wildcard round. The win keeps San Jose perfect at 15-0, and they may need to complete the 16-0 just to play all playoff games at home.
Gold 27 Wranglers 9...Andrew Brewer completed 21/29, 346 yards and 3 TDs, focusing on Steven Riley, who caught 11 for 236 yards and a score. The Gold RBBC had 122 yards, helping convert 9/14 3rd downs and keeping the ball nearly 35 minutes, but the Wranglers wouldn't go away. Denver led 13-3 after 3 quarters before outscoring the Wranglers 14-6 in the 4th to put the game away.
Gamblers 22 Showboats 21...Memphis really needed this win and through 3 quarters, the Showboats led 21-13. Erik McNamee threw 3 TD passes and Matthew Royster ran for 139 yards to lead the Showboats offense. Memphis benefited from a pair of Tony Dean INTs in building their lead while also overcoming a pair of McNamee INTs. Things fell apart in the 4th quarter as McNamee threw 3 more INTs, giving him 5 for the game. Tony Dean led Houston to a TD and a FG to take the lead 22-21, then the defense made that stand for a come from behind victory.
Invaders 17 Blitz 13...Chicago is trying to win the Midwest division, but losing to a 2-12 Oakland team isn't the best way to accomplish that. The Blitz got the ball first and went on a 13 play, 75 yard drive that took more than 8 minutes off the clock with Ronald Brown throwing a short TD pass for a 7-0 lead. Oakland answered right away with a 75 yard Andrew Moreno TD pass to Charles Brockman, tying the game at 7. Chicago would get an Evan Joseph FG while Dale Wild had a TD run for Oakland and the Invaders had the halftime lead 14-10. Each team would get a 2nd half FG and Oakland holds on to upset Chicago.
Wheels 30 Panthers 23...Detroit overcame 6 INTs to beat cross town rival Michigan as they find themselves tied with Chicago for the division lead. Gabriel Flanagan played most of the snaps and he completed 32/48, 475 yards, 3 TDs and 3 INT while backup Ricky Copeland completed 1/9 with 3 INTs. Michigan had 320 yards of offense themselves and they cashed in on some of those turnovers for a tie game at the 2 minute warning. Detroit had Flanagan in the game when it mattered, and his 7 yard pass to James Fischer with 1:47 left broke the 23 all tie, giving the win to the Wheels.
Storm 41 VooDoo 20...Portland QB Melvin Driggers had an odd game, completing 15/35, 267 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs as the New Orleans defense had no answer for Guadalupe Navarette, who torched them for 152 yards and 3 TDs on 5 catches. All of Driggers' TD passes covered at least 36 yards and the Storm also had a 62 yard TD run by Jeffrey Frost as Portland led at the half 31-13. Portland won the second half 10-7 to cruise to victory.
Outlaws 13 Stars 2...Oklahoma got a TD pass from Robert Hill and a pair of FGs, but only had 231 offensive yards. That was enough to get their 10th win though, as the Outlaws defense allowed Baltimore just 132 total yards and allowing just 1 trip across the 50 yard line. This is Oklahoma's first 10 win season since 1987 and will make the playoffs with a win next week.
Blazers 33 Express 14...Los Angeles started the game hot, getting a Herman Stevens TD run and a David Tavarez TD pass to take an early 14-0 lead. Things fell apart quickly though, as Tavarez and the Express were done scoring for the day thanks in large part to 6 INTs. Robert Romero ran for 93 yards and a TD while Willie Graham threw for 312 yards and 3 TDs to lead Florida to the come from behind win. Freddy Jones caught 2 TDs with 147 receiving yards for the Blazers.
Federals 38 Maulers 16...Washington had 506 yards of offense with 349 of that coming on the ground. James Dunn led the way with 231 yards and 2 TDs, one for 61 yards and one for 75. Dunn also caught 1 of Tristan Arnold's 3 TD passes for a combined 252 yards and 3 scores. Pittsburgh actually had a 14-13 lead just after the 2 minute warning of the first half, but the Maulers went three and out the rest of the game as Washington punches their playoff ticket finally.
Steamer 20 Stallions 3...South champs Shreveport used a stingy defense and a ball control offense for their 10th win of the year. George Marcil completed 17/21 for 106 yards and a TD while Guillermo McDaniel ran for 135 yards to lead the Steamer offense today. Defensively Shreveport held Birmingham to 186 total yards and Leo Jackson's 32 yard INT return in the 4th qtr sealed the Steamer win.
Bulls 37 Hornets 16...Charlotte got aggressive today, going for 2 after touchdowns and throwing the ball 49 times. The Hornets got 2 early TDs and made one of two 2 point conversions to go with a sack of Derek Joyce in the end zone for a 16-0 lead they took into halftime. All 7 Charlotte turnovers came in the second half as Jacksonville scored 37 unanswered points to win going away.
Hawaiians 13 Bandits 10...Much like Dwayne Byrd when he first got the starting job, today the Bandits started out hot as Garry Fowler took the opening kickoff 104 yards for a TD and an instant 7-0 lead. A FG pushed the lead to 10-0 by halftime but that's as good as it got for the Bandits. Byrd wasn't great last week and he was downright bad today, completing 12/28 for 96 yards and 4 INTs and as a whole, Tampa had just 172 yards. Honolulu wasn't great offensively, but with 6 total turnovers (Tampa Bay also lost 2 fumbles) they took advantage of 3 short fields to score a TD and a pair of FGs to win 13-10.
Sun 13 Gunslingers 9...Yet another game with scoring runs as San Antonio kicked 3 first half FGs to take a 9-0 lead. Southern California got a Sean Ogden TD pass in the 3rd quarter and a FG midway though the 4th to take a 10-9 lead. Robert Fanelli tried to lead the Gunslingers back, but an INT gave the Sun the ball in FG range and they extended the lead to 13-9 with another FG. On the final drive the Gunslingers were able to cross midfield but the clock ran out, giving the win to Southern California.
Thunderbolts 17 Breakers 3...Evan Hershey ran for 102 yards and a TD while John Crisp threw a 26 yard TD pass to Shane Looney as Cleveland led 14-3 at the half. The Thunderbolts defense held Boston to 185 yards and allowed just 3/15 3rd down conversions, along with holding on 4th down 3 times late in the game. Boston didn't turn the ball over, but they only ran for a little over 2 yards a carry and 30 completions netted just 165 yards. Three Thunderbolt sacks of Larry Henderson didn't help the Breakers offense either as Cleveland wins a low scoring game.
