Week 9 found four teams trying for 9-0 and one team looking for their first win. It wasn't easy for any of the unbeaten, as San Jose's 13 point win was the widest margin among them. Southern California made a QB switch and came within a missed 2 point conversion from sending the champs to OT. Speaking of OT, Denver needed it to get past Chicago to maintain their perfect record. New Jersey was looking to beat New York to take control of the East, but the Stars had other ideas. The anticipated shootout never materialized as neither QB topped 300 yards, but New York held the Generals scoreless in the second half, winning the game and creating a division race.
Oakland was 0-8 coming into this game against Glen Hampton and Georgia's aerial assault and the Invaders offense had scored 56 total points all year, 7 per game. So of course Oakland explodes for 45 points and holds Hampton to "just" 117 yards, his second lowest output of the season. Lawrence Linville tied a league record with 8 made FGs and the Invaders win means every team in the league has now won at least 1 game. Oklahoma used to be one of the last teams to drop the zero from their win column, but not this year. The Outlaws shutout Cleveland to win their 6th in a row and would be challenging for the division if Houston ever loses. The Gamblers have a 2 game lead on them, while Denver enjoys a 3 game lead, San Jose 4 in their respective divisions. Chicago and Washington also have 2 game leads, Shreveport and New Jersey have 1 game leads while the Southeast is a 3 way race, with Orlando and Florida tied at the top, 1 game ahead of Jacksonville.
Gamblers 28 Sun 26
Southern California finally listened to all the media and fans clamoring for Sean Ogden to start, and they gave the undefeated champs everything they had. Ogden hasn't seen action in awhile, and he didn't get warmed up until the second half, but he kept the Sun in the game with help from the defense. Tony Dean led Houston down the field on their opening possession for a 7-0 lead, but the Gamblers offense wouldn't score again until the 3rd quarter. Meanwhile, Ogden led the Sun to a pair of FGs before Christopher Do pulled the sack trifecta for Houston. Do sacked Ogden at the 5 yard line, causing a fumble which rolled into the end zone. Do fell on the loose ball for a TD and a 14-6 halftime lead for the Gamblers.
The second half saw alternating scores, with Southern California going first on a 54 yard Ogden TD pass to Brian Dow. Tony Dean would answer with a short TD pass to Jim Dallas before Ogden answered back with an 11 yard TD pass to Matthew Tripp. That made the score 21-20 Houston entering the 4th, and the Gamblers extended it to 28-20 on a short Dean TD pass to Francisco Snow. Ogden then found Mark Littlejohn with a 67 yard TD pass, making the score 28-26. The 2 point try failed and the Sun kicked away with 3:35 to play. Tony Dean and the Gamblers offense bled the remaining clock, holding on for the slim 2 point win.
Ogden was 27/38, 337 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT and 4 sacks, spreading the ball to 8 different receivers. Tony Dean also threw 3 TDs, but was intercepted twice, and also completed 27/38 like Ogden. WR Jett Black led the skill players with 6 receptions, 143 yards and a TD.
Gold 23 Blitz 20 (OT)
Chicago traveled to Denver for a game between division leaders. Ronald Brown got the Blitz out to a 7-0 lead thanks to a 27 yard TD pass to his favorite target, Ian Gordon. Andrew Brewer brought the Gold offense down the field to tie the game on a 6 yard TD pass to Steven Riley. Ronald Brown threw an interception on the next drive, allowing Brewer and Riley to hook up again, this time for a 23 yard score. Denver took a 14-7 lead into the 2nd quarter, but Chicago took the lead by halftime with a FG and a 2nd Brown to Gordon TD pass. The 3rd quarter saw an exchange of FGs, and Denver tied the game at 20 with a FG early in the 4th. Neither offense came close to scoring and we were headed for extra football. Chicago got the ball first in overtime and punted, while Denver also punted their first drive. Ronald Brown then threw another INT, allowing Denver to take over at the Chicago 41. A few plays and 23 yards later, Robert Deacon made a 35 yard FG for the win as Denver improves to 9-0.
SaberCats 19 Hawaiians 3
Neither offense was particularly sharp today, especially in the red zone. San Jose got there twice, kicking a pair of FGs while Honolulu failed to score on 3 red zone possessions. The first two were missed FGs while the third was late in the game, down double digits. David Owen did make a 49 yard FG for the Hawaiians in the first half, cutting the SaberCats lead in half, 6-3. The 3rd quarter saw the game's only TD as Jake Plummer found Harold Marshall with an 80 yard TD pass for a 13-3 lead. San Jose would pad that lead with a pair of FGs and go on to win the game.
(NY) Stars 24 New Jersey 17
Everyone thought we'd have a ton of passing yards in this game, but neither QB topped 300 yards. WR Albert Olson still had a big game, more on him later. New Jersey got out to the fast start, taking a 17-3 lead late in the 2nd qtr, thanks to a pair of Don Ferguson TD passes. The Stars cut the deficit to 17-6 with a FG at the end of the first half, then out scored New Jersey 10-0 in the 3rd to get within 1. For most of the game, the Generals defense did a good job limiting Albert Olson and his big plays, but Damien Oleary found Olson for an 85 yard catch and run TD with just over 6 minutes to play, and an Oleary pass was good for the 2 point conversion as the Stars took their first lead 24-17. New York continued to hold New Jersey scoreless in the second half, winning the game to hand the Generals their first loss of the season. More importantly for New York, the win puts them just 1 game behind New Jersey in the East.
Renegades 26 Stars 3
Orlando continues to be the hottest team in the league if you don't count the undefeated teams, and the Renegades beat Baltimore for their 7th straight win. Orlando racked up 417 yards, making 6 red zone trips, but just 2 went for TDs as they had to settle for FGs 4 times. The Renegades defense limited Baltimore to just 166 yards to mitigate the red zone failures and 2 lost fumbles. QB Trey Lyons threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs to lead the victorious Orlando offense.
Blazers 31 Bandits 14
Florida's RBBC ran for 255 yards, Willie Graham threw for 3 TDs and the offense was on the field for 42 minutes as the Blazers get a divisional win and remain tied atop the Southeast with Orlando. RB Robert Romero led the RBBC with 161 yards and a TD, pushing the league's leading rusher over 1,000 yards already. It's not quite a record pace but Romero is on pace for one of the top 10 rushing seasons in league history. The Blazers defense intercepted rookie QB Nicholas Irvine 3 times and allowed 0/11 3rd down conversions. Irvine did throw a pair of TDs to Garry Fowler after Florida had a 31-0 lead for some garbage time fantasy points.
Outlaws 33 Thunderbolts 0
Oklahoma won their 6th game in a row with both an offensive outburst and a strong defensive effort. I've been writing this blog for awhile, and I hardly ever mention the Oklahoma offense, especially before this season. I usually wrote about what other offenses did to their defense, but this team has completely turned their fortunes around. The newest craze in Oklahoma is giraffe dolls dressed as Outlaws, in honor of ArmoredGiraffe, the man responsible for the franchise fortune reversal. They were all over the stadium today, and perhaps that played a part in Tony Romo's horrible game. Romo completed 9/25, 41 yards, 3 INTs and 3 sacks for minus 30 yards. The running game was productive for Cleveland, but Romo's ineffectiveness resulted in no red zone trips and a paltry 1/13 on 3rd down.
Offensively, Robert Lee ran for 117 yards and a TD while Robert Hill completed 25/35, 375 yards and 2 TDs. The Outlaws also had a pair of 100 yard WRs today, Craig Icenhour (3-107-1) and Steve Haywood (5-103).
Storm 33 Wranglers 7
The Portland offense moved the ball but missed a pair of FGs and suffered an INT as they floundered around for most of the first half before finally scoring with a FG. Arizona had trouble moving the ball most of the game, finishing with 169 total yards, but Brian Carmichael gave the Wranglers a 7-0 2nd quarter lead, driving Arizona 77 yards in 10 plays. David Miesner got the score with a 10 yard TD run. Portland got their FG inside the 2 minute warning, and a lost Wranglers fumble gave the ball back to the Storm. Melvin Driggers then found Richard Robinson for a 16 yard TD pass to take a 10-7 halftime lead. That momentum carried over into the second half, as Driggers threw 3 more TD passes, including a 74 yard TD to Richard Robinson. Driggers finished with 312 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT with Robinson catching 4 for 114 yards and 2 scores. The win makes Portland 6-3, currently good for the #6 seed. The Storm trail the Gold by 3 games in the West with 7 to play.
Federals 17 Steamer 10
Two weeks in with Tristan Arnold at QB, and the passing offense still isn't clicking for Washington. The Federals hosted South division leaders Shreveport and the defenses controlled the game, ultimately deciding it. Washington scored first on a Timothy McVeigh 9 yard TD run for a 7-0 lead in the 2nd qtr. The Steamer tied the game thanks to Herbert Young's 5 yard TD run, and took the lead into halftime with a FG. Washington would tie the game with a 3rd qtr FG, then the Federals defense produced the eventual game winning play. Jeffery Welch intercepted George Marcil, returning it 19 yards for a TD and a 17-10 Washington lead. Neither offense had any scoring chances the rest of the game as Washington holds on for the win.
Invaders 45 Force 21
In a score nobody saw coming, Oakland nearly doubled their season point total today, exploding for 45 points. The Invaders could have scored a lot more points as Lawrence Linville converted all 8 of his FG attempts, tying a league record achieved 4 times previous. Georgia scored first on a Thomas Jacobi 32 yard TD pass to Daniel Franks, then Oakland scored 24 unanswered points on a FG and 3 Andrew Moreno TD passes. Georgia cut it to 24-14 on a Thomas Sanchez 8 yard TD run before Oakland closed out the first half with 2 more FGs for a 30-14 lead at the break. Oakland was now finished scoring TDs today, but the Invaders scored on every possession the entire game except their last one. Linville kicked 5 more FGs in the second half as Oakland built their lead up to 45-14. Jacobi finished the scoring with a garbage time TD to Frederick Sharp, marking the first game this season that Glen Hampton didn't score. Hampton was held to his second lowest output of the season, 117 yards, and he has now gone over 100 yards in 10 consecutive games dating back to last season. Oakland got 195 total yards from RB Dale Wild, 130 rushing on 30 carries. Ronald McDevitt added 65 yards on 16 carries to help the Invaders control the ball over 43 and a half minutes. Andrew Moreno completed 22/28, 334 yards and 3 TDs, spreading the ball around to 9 different receivers.
Bulls 24 Express 14
Jacksonville got a 30 yard Derek Joyce TD pass to Albert Bergstrom on their opening drive, then Tyron Bailey had a 37 yard TD run early in the 2nd quarter for a 14-0 lead. Los Angeles had to punt on their first 5 drives before getting a FG as the first half expired to make the score 17-3, as Jacksonville kicked a FG with 1:10 to go in the half. Los Angeles would cut it to 17-6 in the 3rd, but a pair of fumbles were costly. The first fumble thwarted a promising drive while the second provided the Bulls with an instant red zone opportunity. Joyce threw his 2nd TD pass to extend the lead to 24-6. David Tavarez tried to bring the Express back, but a pair of INTs killed any comeback hopes. Tyron Bailey and Jason Grande were a nice 1-2 punch on the ground today, combining for 31 carries, 180 yards and a TD.
Showboats 13 Panthers 9
Memphis and Michigan are having disappointing seasons by their standards and they faced off today to determine which team's playoff chances take another hit. This game matched their seasons in many respects, as they combined for 6 turnovers, all INTs, and a combined 5/25 on 3rd down. Memphis QB Erik McNamee's 3 yard TD pass to Robert Richey was the only first half score, but the Showboats could have had more. Memphis missed a FG and McNamee was intercepted in the end zone inside the 2 minute warning. Michigan got on the board early in the 3rd when McNamee stepped out of the back of the end zone dropping back to pass. That goes in the books as a "team sack" and the Panthers now trailed 7-2. Will Allison then led Michigan to a TD, a 6 yard pass to Harvey Williams and the Panthers had the lead 9-7. McNamee would find Thomas Ballard for a 10 yard TD pass midway through the 4th to give Memphis the lead back at 13-9 after the 2 point try failed. The Memphis defense held and the Showboats improve to 5-4.
Maulers 17 Gunslingers 17 (OT)
San Antonio got the ball first, driving 75 yards in 7 plays to take a 7-0 lead on Robert Fanelli's 18 yard TD pass to Micheal Stott. Pittsburgh had seen enough of Paul Marcum under center, so they opted for former Bandit Thomas Lawson. His first drive of the game was a 13 play, 75 yard scoring drive, ending on a 1 yard Ronald Smith TD run. Fanelli then led the Gunslingers on a 10 play, 80 yard TD drive. RB Roy Johnson got the 1 yard TD run, and he finished the day with 111 rushing yards in place of injured starter Charlie Shanks. Three drives in and it was 14-7 San Antonio. Thomas Lawson would tie the game with an 8 yard TD pass to Nelson Vazquez inside the 2 minute warning. Pittsburgh got the ball to start the second half, going on a time consuming FG drive that took nearly 8 minutes off the clock. San Antonio would tie the game with a FG just before the 2 minute warning, and Pittsburgh had a chance to win at the end of regulation but the 51 yard FG try went wide right.
Pittsburgh got the ball to start overtime and went three and out, as did San Antonio. Pittsburgh followed that up with another three and out, then San Antonio actually put a decent drive together, getting a first down in the red zone. With time running out in the extra session, the Gunslingers opted to try the game winning kick right away. The 35 yard FG was wide right and we had this season's first tie after the clock hit 0:00.
Bell 23 Hornets 21
The first quarter was wild, with each team scoring a pair of TDs for a 14-14 score. Charlotte scored first on a short William Bonner TD run, then Sidney Maggard answered for Philadelphia with a 4 yard TD pass to James Jones. Charlotte retook the lead on a David Delgadillo 4 yard TD run before Timothy Roquemore tied it on a short TD run for the Bell. Philadelphia kicker Steve Matthews made a 41 yard FG in the 2nd quarter to break the tie and a 56 yard FG in the 3rd for a 20-14 lead after 3 quarters of play. Just before the 2 minute warning, Jeremy McDonald threw a 23 yard TD pass to Edward Meister and the XP gave Charlotte a 21-20 lead. Philadelphia then drove into FG range and Matthews was good from 52 yards out as time expired to give Philadelphia the win.
Wheels 31 Breakers 13
Detroit got 292 yards passing and 4 TDs from Gabriel Flanagan while the Wheels defense intercepted 3 passes, had 2 sacks, and held Boston to 195 total yards. Detroit RB James Fischer had a double triple, rushing for 103 yards and catching 5 for 122. Gabriel Flanagan's first TD pass gave Detroit an early 7-0 lead, then Boston tied it on a 44 yard Larry Henderson TD pass to Anthony Wade. Flanagan broke the game open with 3 TD passes in the 2nd qtr, the last 2 going to Thomas Barrera. The Breakers chipped away, getting within 28-13 early in the 3rd, but that's as close as they would get as Detroit wins their 3rd in a row.
VooDoo 13 Stallions 3
New Orleans got on the scoreboard first, culminating a 5 play, 91 yard drive with a 52 yard Ellis Soza TD pass to John Gill. That 7-0 VooDoo lead stood up until the 4th as both offenses punted a few times, Birmingham lost 2 fumbles and Soza threw an INT. Birmingham finally scored on a 45 yard FG only to see New Orleans answer with their own FG to lead 10-3 late in the 4th. Birmingham needed a TD so they went for it on a 4th and 2 from their own 33. They turned it over on downs and New Orleans added another FG to put the game away.
