Today was Conference Championship day with the winners advancing to World Bowl XXV at an undisclosed location. Three of the four teams are here from last season as Shreveport was once again playing in New Jersey while Portland returns, hosting the game this time against newcomer Oklahoma. The Steamer and the Outlaws are knocking on the World Bowl door, but nobody answered them yet, as World Bowl XXV is a rematch of XXIV. The future is bright for Shreveport and Oklahoma, but they will have to wait their turn for a title at least one more season.
Portland and New Jersey were both 15-1, #1 seed in their conference, and they had the top 2 offenses and defenses in the league in 1998. The American Conference is 20-4 all time in the World Bowl and had won 13 in a row between New Jersey's last 2 titles. The Generals will be making their 9th World Bowl, extending their league record in the process.
So how did Portland and New Jersey reach the big game?
Portland Storm 18 Oklahoma Outlaws 13
This was a defensive struggle as neither team topped 300 yards, both teams had 2 turnovers and no offensive play was longer than 19 yards. Oklahoma went three and out their first possession and Portland faced the same fate, except they opted to go for a 4th and 1 from their own 39. The pass was incomplete, though it didn't matter since the Storm were also flagged for holding, so Oklahoma took over with great field position. Gerald Harmon's 42 yard FG gave Oklahoma the early 3-0 lead. The score remained 3-0 until the middle of the 2nd quarter when Raymond Settles threw a 19 yard TD pass to Eric Doyle. That gave the Outlaws a 10-0 lead and it looked to get bigger when Raymond Oswalt was intercepted. Oklahoma once again took over in Portland territory but Settles promptly gave the ball back with an interception of his own. Portland would drive for a 51 yard Donald Atkins FG and they would add a 39 yard FG inside the 2 minute warning to chip into the Outlaws lead.
The halftime score was 10-6 Oklahoma and the 3rd quarter saw 6 punts until Atkins 3rd FG made the score 10-9 in the final seconds of the quarter. Patrick Clark then lost a fumble, giving the ball back to the Storm. Three plays later, Jeffrey Frost fumbled but the ball went out of bounds and they kept possession, with Frost finishing the drive with an 8 yard TD run. That gave Portland a 15-10 lead so they went for two but failed. Oklahoma then went on a 14 play, 8 minute drive that came down to a decision on 4th and 2 from the Portland 14. There were just 3:29 to play and they were down 5, yet they opted for a FG to cut the lead to 15-13. It looked to be a bad decision as Portland was driving for a score, but Rigoberto Swanson lost a fumble, allowing Oklahoma to take over at their own 28. Four straight incompletions gave the ball back to Portland however, leading to another Atkins FG and an 18-13 lead. Oklahoma had enough time for 3 plays but they didn't get anywhere and Portland holds on to advance.
New Jersey Generals 23 Shreveport Steamer 9
This game was opposite of the American Conference as both offenses put up yards and had some big chunk plays. Shreveport had 383 total yards, New Jersey 457 with both QBs topping 300 yards. The first quarter actually started out as a punt fest, with New Jersey starting their 2nd and 3rd drives inside their 10. On that 3rd drive, Don Ferguson found Franklin Cherry for an 80 yard catch and run to get into the red zone. The drive stalled from there but Al Borland made it a 3-0 game with a 25 yard FG. Borland would add a 33 yard kick for a 6-0 Generals lead after 1. The 2nd quarter was also a punt fest, though they came after a few first downs in a field position type game. Inside the 2 minute warning, New Jersey popped another big play to take a 13-0 lead as Don Ferguson found Happy Gilmore for a 62 yard TD. Shreveport had a chance to get on the scoreboard but Jeffrey Smith was wide left on a 47 yard FG try.
Shreveport got the ball for the start of the 3rd and drove for a 48 yard FG to cut the lead to 13-3. The Steamer defense got the ball back but Scott Randall lost a fumble trying for yards after the catch and the Generals took over. Four Don Ferguson passes later and the score was 20-3 after Franklin Cherry's 40 yard TD catch. Randall made up for his fumble with a 1 yard TD run early in the 4th to get within 20-9. They opted to go for 2 points but failed. New Jersey then drove for a 35 yard FG, taking over 5 minutes off the clock. Shreveport followed that with a 10 play drive but was forced to punt with 4:05 to play. They never saw the ball again as New Jersey drained the clock to advance to their 3rd straight World Bowl.
Some stats to talk about for a change. George Marcil completed 30/37 for 316 yards with Eric Bryant catching 5 for 127 yards in a losing effort. Don Ferguson was 26/38, 396 yards and 2 TDs with Franklin Cherry catching 7 for 169 yards and a TD.
