Now let's take a look at the 3 wildcard games from the National Conference.
Washington Federals 13 Georgia Force 9
The first quarter was a defensive struggle as the first four drives ended with a punt. On the fifth drive, Georgia had a 3rd and 11 from their own 20. Glen Hampton ran for 13 yards but lost the ball on a fumble, giving Washington the first break just before the end of the 1st quarter. The Federals promptly lost 12 yards on first down, and they ended up having to punt. Georgia finally put a drive together after the punt, getting a FG for a 3-0 lead. Washington answered with a FG of their own to tie the game, then the Federals defense got the ball right back, intercepting Robert Hernandez. That lead to another FG and Washington led 6-3 at the half.
The 3rd qtr started with a couple of punts before Tristan Arnold threw an INT. Robert Hernandez and the running game drove Georgia to the cusp of the end zone but the Federals defense hung tough, forcing a FG and we were now tied at 6. More punts followed until 9:07 left in the game when Georgia kicked a FG to take the lead, 9-6. Each team then had a three and out before Tristan Arnold came up with the play of the game, finding Roy Montanez for an 82 yard catch and run TD to give the Federals a 13-9 lead. Georgia drove near the Washington red zone where they faced a 4th and 8 from the 27. A FG would only cut the lead to 1 point and there was less than 3 minutes to play, so they went for it. The Washington defense held but Georgia would get a final chance. That didn't work out as the coaching staff ran the ball the final 2 plays with no timeouts and needing a TD. The fact Robert Hernandez and Marvin Reyna botched the handoff is immaterial as they should have been airing it out. Washington hangs on for the victory, advancing to the Divisional Round.
Charlotte Hornets 22 Jacksonville Bulls 19 (OT)
The game started with a pair of three and outs before Jacksonville scored first with a FG. Charlotte tied the game at 3 on a Fred Boyce 52 yard FG early in the 2nd quarter. Jacksonville followed that with an 11 play drive that ended in a FG and a 6-3 Bulls lead. Charlotte answered with an 8 play drive that ended with a 15 yard TD run by David Delgadillo and a 2 point run by William Bonner to give the Hornets an 11-6 halftime lead.
Charlotte punted on their first drive of the second half, while Jacksonville needed but 1 play to take the lead back. Derek Joyce found Johnny Pritchett for a 65 yard TD pass and the XP made the score 13-11. There were more punts until the middle of the 4th when Salvador Denison nailed a 51 yard FG to give Jacksonville a 16-11 lead. Charlotte's offense went three and out but the defense got the ball right back. Rodney James intercepted Derek Joyce, setting up the Hornets inside the red zone. Three plays later, Dennis Baird ran it in from 9 yards out and Mark McDuffie ran in the 2 point conversion to give Charlotte a 19-16 lead. Derek Joyce threw another INT on the following drive but Robert Ament returned the favor with an INT of his own. That led to a Salvador Denison 49 yard FG with 1:42 left and we were tied at 19.
Regulation time ended in a 19 all tie so we had overtime. Jacksonville won the coin toss but went three and out, never seeing the ball again. That's because Charlotte drove the ball into the red zone and Fred Boyce booted the game winning 34 yard FG, sending Charlotte to the Divisional Round for the first time in franchise history.
Shreveport Steamer 20 Florida Blazers 17
Shreveport began the game with a three and out before Florida went on an 11 play FG drive to take an early 3-0 lead. Shreveport followed that up with a 13 play FG drive to tie the game at 3 early in the 2nd. With about 5 minutes left in the half, Guillermo McDaniel scored on a 6 yard TD run to give Shreveport a 10-3 lead they took into halftime.
Florida got the ball to start the second half and on the 3rd play of the drive Mathew Fisher intercepted Willie Graham to give Shreveport the ball in Florida territory. Seven plays later Scott Randall scored on a 5 yard run, pushing the Steamer lead to 17-3. Florida went three and out then Shreveport drove for a FG and a 20-3 lead late in the 3rd. Florida had another three and out but the Blazers defense got the ball right back on a Guillermo McDaniel fumble. It took Willie Graham 2 pass plays to get into the end zone and the 13 yard pass to Vicente Martinez made the score 20-10 entering the 4th.
Midway through the 4th, Willie Graham threw his 2nd TD pass, this one covering 12 yards to Perry Salgado to get the Blazers within 20-17. Florida got the ball back after a three and out but the Blazers could not cross midfield and Shreveport ran out the clock to win and advance.
