Going to try to make this a quick blog this week, we'll see how that goes. Washington switched QBs for their game against New Jersey, and while it didn't result in a win, the defense once again gave Don Ferguson fits. They held the former league leading passer to just 1 TD today, giving him 31 on the season which is just off the record pace. Ferguson entered the week leading the USFL in passing, but he was passed by both Damien Oleary and Thomas Jacobi after today's action. Oleary's New York Stars played Jacobi's Georgia Force today, and they combined for 131 passes and 1,236 passing yards. Of course Glen Hampton and Albert Olson got theirs. Olson has 1,425 receiving yards already, a pace that would have him barely breaking last year's record of 2,835. Hampton has been even better, with 1,812 yards and 16 TDs at the halfway point. Our four unbeaten teams remained so, and New Jersey was the only one to have to sweat the outcome as Houston, Denver, and San Jose all won by big margins. Normally I start with the unbeaten teams, but how can I not start with the Stars/Force aerial show?
(NY) Stars 38 Force 30
This game was a fantasy football player's dream unless you had any RB not named William Hall. Georgia ran the ball just 9 times for 28 yards while New York passed every down except for 3 kneeldowns to end the game. Georgia got out to the fast start, taking a 21-3 lead early in the 2nd qtr thanks to 3 Thomas Jacobi TD passes to Glen Hampton. New York would come back to go on a 20-3 run which included a pair of Damien Oleary TD passes to Albert Olson. That made the score 24-23 Georgia after 3 quarters, but the Stars took the lead on the 3rd Oleary to Olson TD pass. They went for 2 and failed, but still led 29-24. Georgia would retake the lead with Jacobi's 4th TD pass, this one to Henry Young. The 2 point try failed, but the Force now led 30-29. Stop me if you've heard this before, but Damien Oleary found Albert Olson for a TD pass as New York retakes the lead 35-30 after yet another failed 2 point try. They would add a FG inside the 2 minute warning and hang on for the victory.
Stats time. Georgia QB Thomas Jacobi completed 36/52, 472 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT. WR Glen Hampton caught 10 for 272 yards and 3 TDs, with nobody else approaching 100 yards. New York QB Damien Oleary completed 55/79, 764 yards, the 2nd highest single game total in regular season history, trailing only the 836 put up by Les Lacy for Oakland against Georgia way back in 1980. If post season games are included, Oleary's total is 3rd best as the 796 yards of David Schmitt in the 1985 playoffs would be 2nd. That gives me PTSD as the former Birmingham QB lit up my New Jersey defense that day with 11 TD passes in a 79-19 destruction. The 55 completions are 3rd most in history behind William Mauriello's 58 for Michigan in 1992 and the 57 of San Antonio's Walter Jackson in 1986. Oleary also threw 4 TD passes and 4 INTs, and managed to avoid being sacked. WR Albert Olson caught 11for 319 yards and 4 TDs to lead New York. RB William Hall had zero rushing attempts but caught 9 for 123 yards and FB Nathaniel Allen caught 10 for 104.
New York faces another potential shootout game next week as they face New Jersey for the first time this season.
Generals 16 Federals 12
Washington finally moved away from Scott Bieber as QB, something current New Jersey QB Don Ferguson had been waiting on during his time with the Federals. Ferguson moved on to the Generals, taking the job away from now Pittsburgh QB Paul Marcum and leading his new team to some success. The last 3 years, New Jersey has had a chance to get back to the World Bowl for the 7th time, only to be thwarted each time by Washington. The Federals started former Los Angeles QB Tristan Arnold, hoping to jump start their stagnant offense. It didn't really work as they could not crack the end zone, settling for 4 FGs today. Arnold played turnover free football though, a good sign going forward as Washington hopes to hold onto their division lead. The Generals had their worst offensive performance of the season, but Ferguson was able to throw a TD pass and managed to lead some FG drives when he wasn't throwing one of his 3 INTs. That was just enough to squeak by Washington and remain undefeated at 8-0.
Gamblers 30 Stars 9
The champs struggled out of the gate, with Tony Dean being intercepted on the first play from scrimmage and Baltimore kicking a pair of FGs for an early 6-3 lead. Dean threw 2 INTs in all and the Gamblers also lost 2 fumbles, which kept the game closer than it probably should have been. Houston had over 500 yards of offense to just 177 for Baltimore, yet the Stars were within 14 until midway through the 3rd. Houston was aggressive trying for big plays today, as Tony Dean had 4 TD passes and 403 yards on just 19 completions. RB Donald Turner was the offensive star with 213 combined yards, including 130 receiving with a TD. Rookie WR Jim Dallas gets a mention, catching 3 for 123 and a score.
SaberCats 51 Sun 0
This game was a tale of 2 QBs, one good and one bad. First the bad, because unless I'm missing something, I'm worried we could have a possible tanking situation. Southern California QB Harold Angulo has been bad all season, but he was especially bad today, completing just 7/28 to his own team and 5 INTs to the San Jose defense. Those 7 completions grossed 36 yards, but Angulo lost 35 yards on 4 sacks, for a net of 1 passing yard all game. Jake Plummer was good but not great today, completing 22/31, 300 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT. The SaberCats also had 234 rushing yards, led by David Hartwig's 123 and a TD. RB Rodney Richardson ran for 69 yards and led the team in receiving, catching 3 for 104 yards, scoring a TD on the ground and through the air. San Jose enjoys a 4 game division lead with 8 to play.
Gold 45 VooDoo 7
New Orleans got out to an instant 7-0 lead as Harry Charles returned the opening kickoff 103 yards for a TD. That's as good as it got for the VooDoo however, as Ellis Soza tossed 3 INTs and led the offense to zero points today. On the other side, Denver had been winning with defense and a strong running game, relegating QB Andrew Brewer to "game manager" status. Brewer has been a prolific passer in previous seasons and he must have taken the game manager stuff personally because he had his best game of the season today. Brewer finished 27/33, 428 yards and 3 TDs, connecting with Steven Riley 9 times for 188 yards and leading the offense to a perfect 5/5 in the red zone.
Renegades 51 Bandits 13
Orlando racked up 30 first downs and held the ball 44:30 in a dominant win over division rival Tampa Bay. The Renegades have now won 6 in a row after an 0-2 start and are beginning to look a lot like last year's playoff version. Trey Lyons did throw 2 INTs, but made up for it with 5 TD passes and 384 yards, while getting 184 yards of help from the running game. Orlando led 38-0 at the half as they scored on their first 6 possessions and the defense intercepted rookie Nicholas Irvine 4 times, twice in each half.
Blazers 16 Bulls 10
The winner of this Southeast division clash would stay tied for first with Orlando while the loser would be out of the playoffs if the season ended today. Jacksonville Derek Joyce only had one of his passes hit the ground, but completed just 12/15 for 57 yards and 2 INTs as their offense was truly dink and dunk with a long play of just 10 yards. Florida RB Robert Romero had 6 runs of at least 10 yards, gaining 120 yards on 19 carries to increase his league leading rushing total to 861 yards. The Blazers ran for 235 as a team and Ronald Kirby's 5 yard TD run on the opening drive gave Florida an early 7-0 lead. Fast forward to the 4th quarter and 3 FGs later Florida leads 16-0. On the ensuing kickoff, John Orozco took it 104 yards for a TD, cutting the lead to 16-7. A FG would trim the lead to 16-10 with 8:13 to go, but Jacksonville never saw the ball again. Florida took the kickoff and methodically drove 81 yards in 16 plays, draining the clock to 0:00 and getting the win.
Blitz 32 Bell 17
Good things happen when you don't turn the ball over and this game was no exception. Chicago played turnover free football, getting 3 rushing TDs and intercepting Philadelphia QB Sidney Maggard 3 times. The first half was a struggle as the Blitz kicked 3 FGs to lead 9-7 before breaking out in the second half. Ronald Brown completed 25/34 and 264 yards for the Blitz while John Gates ran for 132 yards and 2 TDs. The win improves Chicago's record to 6-2.
Outlaws 17 Maulers 10
Oklahoma out gained Pittsburgh 403-190, getting out to a 17-3 lead and pitching a second half shutout to win their 5th game in a row. The Outlaws weren't without mistakes as they suffered 2 turnovers and K Eric Chandler missed 3/4 FG tries. QB Robert Hill led the Oklahoma offense, throwing for 285 yards, 2 TD and an INT on 25/34 passing, with the yards spread among 8 different receivers. This win improves Oklahoma to 6-2, good for the top wildcard spot currently.
Wheels 17 Storm 13
Portland got out to a 10-0 lead in the first half but Detroit won the 3rd quarter 17-3 and a scoreless 4th made that stand up as the Wheels pull the upset. The box score shows a relatively even yardage game and Portland forced 3 turnovers to just 2 by their offense. The Storm got zero points from those 3 turnovers however, while Detroit got 10 points from the 2 their defense forced. Portland falls to 5-3, giving hope to the American Conference teams sitting at 3-5 and 4-4.
Steamer 13 Stallions 3
With Georgia losing the shootout to New York, this game was for first place in the South. Shreveport RB Scott Randall ran for 106 yards while George Marcil completed 26/29 for 188 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT to lead the Steamer to victory in this defensive struggle. Norman Maldonado threw 3 INTs as Birmingham was held out of the end zone and converted just 1/11 3rd downs. The win improves Shreveport to 4-4.
Showboats 13 Hornets 0
Scoring was down across the league as we had 7 games where neither team cracked 20 points. Erik McNamee tossed a 30 yard TD pass to Jeremy Wheatley in the 1st quarter and the Memphis defense made that stand up, allowing Charlotte just 158 yards of offense and 2/17 on 3rd down. No skill player produced a stat line worth mentioning.
Breakers 26 Panthers 24
This game was played inside the Silverdome, so weather doesn't explain 9 turnovers, including 6 lost fumbles. The teams also combined for 11 penalties and only 2 red zone TDs to show for 5 trips. The first half ended in a 3-3 tie before Boston came out scorching in the 3rd quarter. The Breakers got a FG and a pair of Larry Henderson TD passes to Anthony Wade to take a 20-3 lead. Michigan cut it to 20-10 on a Will Allison TD pass before a Boston FG closed out the 3rd quarter scoring. Michigan DE Jeffrey Marker finally got a chance to hit his ex teammate Larry Henderson for real, and he sacked him in the end zone, jarring the ball loose and falling on it for the TD sack trifecta, making the score 23-17 Boston. In the middle of the 4th, Will Allison's 2nd TD pass, a 12 yard toss to Billy Sim tied the game at 23 and the XP gave the Panthers a 1 point lead. Boston then punted but recovered a Michigan fumble in the red zone. Three straight runs lost yardage but Curtis Zuniga made a 41 yard FG to give Boston the lead again. There was a holding penalty though, negating the kick, then a false start on the rekick forced Boston to punt instead. The Breakers defense forced a three and out, then Henderson completed a pass to get in FG range. Curtis Zuniga was good from 51 yards out, no penalties, as Boston wins the game of hot potato.
Express 30 Hawaiians 10
Edwin Clarkson replaced the struggling Derek Henry at QB for Honolulu, and while Clarkson didn't turn the ball over and completed 24/33, he only threw for 144 yards and a TD. David Tavarez completed 25/28, 236 yards and 2 TDs to lead Los Angeles to victory. Express RB Gary Sappington didn't score, but he led the team in rushing (63 yards) and receiving (60 yards), helping the offense convert 6/13 on 3rd down. Los Angeles improves to 4-4.
Thunderbolts 10 Invaders 6
Oakland scored a FG in the 1st quarter and a FG in the 4th, but did little else in between. The Invaders had 194 total yards, converting just 3/14 3rd downs and scoring just 3 points on 2 red zone trips. Cleveland had a balanced offense, rushing and passing for 102 yards each for 204 combined yards. Tony Romo threw just 14 passes today, completing 8, but one went 57 yards for a TD to Ferdinand Lee. That score and an earlier FG gave Cleveland enough points to secure the win, improving their record to 4-4.
Gunslingers 34 Wranglers 7
San Antonio and Robert Fanelli had their best offensive game of the season, racking up 507 offensive yards as the Gunslingers broke open a low scoring game in the 3rd quarter. San Antonio took an early 3-0 lead before Brian Carmichael's 49 yard TD pass to William Haubert put Arizona in the lead 7-3. In the 2nd qtr, Carmichael was sacked in the end zone for a safety, trimming Arizona's lead to 7-5, which they took into halftime. San Antonio came out gunslinging in the second half with Fanelli connecting with Eugene Bufkin for a 74 yard TD pass, then following it up with a 14 yard TD toss to Micheal Stott. That turned a 7-5 deficit into a 19-7 lead, and the Gunslingers followed that up with back to back 90+ yard TD drives, putting the game away. Eugene Bufkin capped the scoring with an 82 yard TD pass from Robert Fanelli and Bufkin finished with 5 catches, 222 yards and 2 scores.
