World Bowl XXVII: San Jose SaberCats USFL Champions

 I couldn't think of a snazzy headline so I went generic, sorry. For the second consecutive season the World Bowl was played in New Orleans, a fortuitous break for the New Orleans VooDoo, or was it? Two previous World Bowls were played in a team's home stadium and both times the "home" team lost, Tampa bay in World Bowl V, and Washington in World Bowl XVII. The San Jose SaberCats and the VooDoo were both #1 seeds but only one would hoist the trophy at the end of the game.

San Jose SaberCats 16 New Orleans VooDoo 7

Defense ruled the day today as neither team surpassed 280 yards of offense. San Jose got the ball first and punted, as did New Orleans. On the Sabercats second possession Jake Plummer was intercepted by Kevin Higgs, setting up the VooDoo in scoring position. The offense then faced a 4th and 1 from the 19 and failed to convert, turning it over on downs. We then had a punt, the end of the 1st quarter, and another punt before San Jose's first scoring chance. The SaberCats like to go for it on 4th down, but on a 4th and 10 from the VooDoo 31 they opted for a FG try but Robert Rodriguez was wide left and we were still scoreless. 

New Orleans took over after the missed FG and went on a 13 play TD drive that ended on a Steven McCurdy 1 yard run and a 7-0 New Orleans lead. Two more uneventful drives bled the clock and our halftime score was 7-0 VooDoo.

I would have liked to be a fly on the wall during halftime because the San Jose defense came out for the 3rd quarter with their pants on fire. First, Wendell Vaughn intercepted Charles Crase to give San Jose great field position. Facing a 4th and 1 from the 29, and with a kicker who already missed a FG, the SaberCats went for it but failed, giving the ball back to New Orleans. This drive, it was Christopher Miller intercepting Crase to give San Jose the ball in New Orleans territory. It took San Jose 11 plays, but Craig Icenhour finally got the SaberCats on the board with a 3 yard TD run. Frank Huber ran in the 2 point try and San Jose took the lead 8-7. San Jose would get the ball back after a punt and went on another long drive that took us to the 4th quarter.

San Jose's drive lasted 15 plays, covering 75 yards and took more than 8 minutes off the clock, and John Gates extended the lead with a 2 yard TD run. Craig Icenhour ran in the 2 point try and the SaberCats lead was now 16-7. New Orleans had time for a comeback, but Frank Donald lost a fumble and Christopher Miller intercepted Crase for the 2nd time as the San Jose defense held up, giving the SaberCats their first ever championship. 

Christopher Miller was named World Bowl MVP thanks to his 2 interceptions and 5 tackles. Miller drives away in a brand new 2001 Chevrolet Corvette convertible.

 

2000 Conference Championships: First Time Champ Coming

 Each conference final featured a previous league champion against a team without a championship, and now we'll have a first time champion after the World Bowl. The San Jose SaberCats got a last second FG to defeat the Portland Storm, and they advance to play the New Orleans VooDoo, who outlasted the New Jersey Generals. 

San Jose SaberCats 20 Portland Storm 18

Portland got the ball first and punted, then we had a wild play on San Jose's first snap from scrimmage. Jake Plummer was intercepted by Wade Mullinix, who returned it 9 yards before Plummer hit him and knocked the ball loose. LG Dalton Risner fell on the loose ball and it's 1st down all over again. That drive ended with a punt that pinned the Storm at their own 2, and a few plays later the SaberCats defense intercepted Raymond Oswalt. Raymond Moore got the interception which led to a Craig Icenhour 1 yard TD. The 2 point run failed, keeping the score 6-0 San Jose. Oswalt would be intercepted again on Portland's next play, leading to a FG and a 9-0 SaberCats lead early in the 2nd quarter.

The balance of the half was mostly punts, but Portland did convert a 4th and 1 to keep a drive alive that ended with a 42 yard FG and a halftime score of 9-3 San Jose.

San Jose got the ball to start the 3rd quarter and drove for a TD thanks to Eric Tanner's 17 yard run. Tanner also ran in the 2 point conversion, pushing the SaberCats lead to 17-3. Portland would answer with a FG to cut the lead to 17-6, but it wasn't easy as they had to convert two more 4th and 1 plays to get these 3 points. The Storm defense got the ball back for the offense, and they were driving as we switched to the 4th quarter. 

Early in the 4th, Raymond Oswalt's 1 yard TD pass to Guadalupe Navarrette cut the deficit to 17-12, and the 2 point pass failed. Portland's next drive ended with Oswalt's 3rd INT of the game and San Jose was already in scoring range. Their drive stalled and the 37 yard FG try was wide left, leaving the score 17-12 with just under 7 minutes to play. Each team then went three and out before Portland started driving toward a score. At the 2 minute warning Portland faced a 2nd and 8 from the San Jose 10, and eventually faced a 4th and 2 from the 4. John Gill got the first down and almost a touchdown, but he was marked short of the goal line. Robert Byrd ran in the score on the next play and the 2 point pass failed, but Portland now had the lead 18-17. Jake Plummer had a little more than a minute to get into FG range and he wasted little time, finding Craig Icenhour for 13 yards, then David Barfield for 51. That set up a first and ten from the 11 and a few runs set up the game winning 19 yard FG by Robert Rodriguez to send San Jose to their first ever World Bowl.

New Orleans VooDoo 31 New Jersey Generals 24

New Jersey had more yards (412-383), more time of possession (+ 17 minutes), the better rushing attack and a better 3rd down rate (7/18 vs 2/11), yet they still lost the game. Turnovers were even as both QBs threw 3 INTs, but the Generals defense had no answer for Benjamin Jones today. Jones caught 6 passes for 256 yards and 3 TDs to single handedly lead the VooDoo to the World Bowl. 

There were other contributors of course, but there is no doubt who got the game ball. New Jersey got the ball first and were just outside the red zone when Don Ferguson threw interception #1. The rest of the quarter was punting until the Generals defense intercepted Charles Crase to start the 2nd.That drive started just inside VooDoo territory and David Koresh finished the drive with a short TD plunge for a 7-0 New Jersey lead. A couple of punts later, Charles Crase found his man Benjamin Jones for a 68 yard TD to tie the game at 7 midway through the 2nd quarter. Don Ferguson would then throw interception #2 but the Generals intercepted Crase for the 2nd time, leading to an Al Borland FG and a 10-7 lead. On the Generals next drive, Ferguson threw interception #3, leading to a Harry Charles 1 yard TD run and a 14-10 halftime lead.

New Orleans got the ball to start the 3rd and wasted little time extending their lead, as Crase hit Jones for another long TD, this one 75 yards on the first play of the drive. Crase would throw interception #3 on the next drive, which led to another FG for New Jersey to make the score 21-13 VooDoo. New Orleans would add a FG in the quarter for a 24-13 lead entering the 4th.

With about 10 minutes to go, Ferguson threw a 4 yard TD pass to Paul Cox and a David Koresh 2 point run made the score 24-21. The New Jersey defense got to sit for 12 plays while the offense ground out a drive, but the VooDoo offense also got to rest, meaning Benjamin Jones had fresh legs. Those fresh legs took a Crase pass 75 yards for a TD on the very next play to kill any momentum New Jersey had just gained. The lead now 10, New Jersey went on a 10 play FG drive to get within 31-24 with 5:32 to play. The Generals defense would hold to give Ferguson a chance to tie the game, and after the first play, things were looking good for New Jersey. Ferguson found Anthony Booker for a 52 yard gain and the clock was not a factor yet. The Generals would only gain 5 more yards however, turning the ball over on downs. They would have one last, desperate chance at the end, but they went nowhere and New Orleans hold on to advance to the World Bowl.

2000 Divisional Round: Road to World Bowl XXVII

 Our Divisional Round is now complete and we have our final 4 teams. In the American Conference we have the Portland Storm looking for their 4th World Bowl title traveling to San Jose, where the SaberCats are trying to reach their first ever World Bowl. In the National Conference we have New Jersey trying to even up their World Bowl record and if they do it will be the Generals' 5th title. They have to travel to New Orleans to play the VooDoo who are looking for their first World Bowl title after losing their first 3 times there.

San Jose SaberCats 27 Los Angeles Express 13

San Jose QB Jake Plummer led the league in passing yards (5,490) and TD passes (47) so of course the SaberCats ran the ball 59 times versus 17 pass attempts. On their 3rd play from scrimmage, David Hartwig lost a fumble, leading to a Los Angeles FG and a 3-0 Express lead. On San Jose's 2nd drive, they went for it on a 4th and 12 in their own end and turned it over on downs. That led to another Express FG and Los Angeles led 6-0 after 1 quarter. 

Before the end of the 1st, San Jose started their 3rd possession and kept running the ball. In fact they went the whole 1st quarter without attempting a single pass. Jake Plummer's first pass came early in the 2nd quarter and the SaberCats got a FG to cut the lead in half. San Jose forced a three and out before Jake Plummer gave the ball right back to L.A. with an interception. David Tavarez completed the drive with a 9 yard TD pass to Sidney Chavis to take a 13-3 lead. That would be our halftime score as Jake Plummer threw his 2nd INT and the other drives ended in punts.

San Jose got the ball to start the second half and it looked like they were going to keep the ball the entire 3rd quarter. The SaberCats kept the ball nearly 8 and a half minutes, using 17 plays to go 88 yards with Craig Icenhour getting the TD run from 1 yard out. Icenhour also ran in the 2 point try and the Express lead was now just 13-11. Los Angeles finally got the ball in the 3rd, but promptly gave it back 2 plays later as Ryan Greenway fumbled trying for yards after the catch and San Jose recovered. Jake Plummer would cash that in for an 11 yard TD pass to John Gates and another 2 point run gave San Jose a 19-13 lead. Los Angeles went three and out on their next drive and would only run 5 offensive plays the entire 3rd quarter. 

Early in the 4th, David Tavarez threw an interception deep in his own end which led to a Harold Hedberg 4 yard TD run. David Barfield ran in his 2nd 2 point run of the game and the SaberCats lead was now 27-13. Los Angeles would get the ball 2 more times, punting once and turning it over on downs as San Jose advances to the Conference Championship Game.

Portland Storm 33 Memphis Showboats 24

This game was an odd one for version 4.6. Neither team ran the ball well as they averaged less than 3 yards a carry, but both teams had 300 yard passers. Portland built a 30-0 lead through 3 quarters plus before Memphis stormed back to make a game of it. 

Portland got the ball first but was forced to punt. Patrick Buck fielded the punt but fumbled, giving the ball back to Portland. The Storm then marched to the end zone where Robert Byrd ran in the TD from 2 yards out and a 7-0 lead. Memphis QB Kenneth Anderson was intercepted on the next drive, leading to a Raymond Oswalt 17 yard TD pass to Guadalupe Navarrette and a 14-0 lead. Memphis then went three and out before intercepting Oswalt on the Storm's next play, leading to a FG attempt. Gary Ridgeway was wide right on the 40 yard try and the score remained 14-0. 

In the 2nd quarter Portland would add a FG for a 17-0 lead, force a three and out, then add another FG for a 20-0 lead. Three more punts and Portland had the ball inside the 2 minute warning. Raymond Oswalt drove the Stom down the field and completed the drive with a 22 yard TD pass to Perry Salgado for a 27-0 halftime lead. 

The 3rd quarter was uneventful and scoreless, the exact opposite of the 4th quarter. Portland kicked a FG early in the 4th to take a seemingly insurmountable 30-0 lead. Kenneth Anderson finally got Memphis on the scoreboard with a 69 yard TD pass to Wayne Ross to trail 30-7. The Showboats defense forced a three and out but Anderson threw an interception to kill the drive. Memphis held on defense again and the offense would add a FG to trail 30-10 with 8 minutes to play. When Memphis got the ball back again, Anderson threw a 76 yard TD pass to Daniel Lorenz and now they only trailed 30-17 with over 6 minutes to go. Memphis forced another punt and could have used another quick strike score. Instead, the Portland defense forced Memphis to use clock. Kenneth Anderson would find Jeremy Wheatley for a 38 yard TD, and the score was now 30-24 with 1:40 to play. The onside kick failed, leading to a Portland FG and a 9 point lead 33-24. Memphis would get the ball back but there was too little time to overcome the deficit and the game clock ran out. Portland hangs on to face San Jose for the right to play in World Bowl XXVII.

New Orleans VooDoo 24 Charlotte Hornets 0

Charlotte got the ball first but a fumble by William Holmes gave the ball to New Orleans in good field position. The VooDoo faced a 4th and 1 from the Charlotte 22 where Harry Charles fumbled. New Orleans would recover their own fumble and Charles Crase threw a 20 yard TD pass to Mitchell Allen on the next play for a 7-0 lead. Early in the 2nd quarter New Orleans took possession at their own 17 yard line. Thirteen plays and 7:20 later, Harry Charles 1 yard TD run gave the VooDoo a 14-0 lead they would take into halftime.

New Orleans got the ball to start the 3rd quarter and Crase led another TD drive, ending it with a 25 yard pass to Mitchell Allen, the pair's 2nd scoring connection of the game. Charlotte had success running the ball today, but trailing 21-0 they needed Robert Ament to complete some passes, and he wasn't up to the challenge. The 4th quarter was basically running out the clock as the Hornets never even reached the red zone or tried a FG the whole game. New Orleans added a FG for a final score of 24-0 and the VooDoo stay at home for the Conference Championship to play the winner of our next game. 

New Jersey Generals 16 Orlando Renegades 7

New Jersey got the ball first with Don Ferguson leading a FG drive for a 3-0 lead. The Generals second possession ended with Ferguson tossing a 3 yard TD pass to Malcolm "In the Middle" Wilkerson and a 10-0 lead. New Jersey's 3rd possession took the game into the 2nd quarter and another Al Borland FG gave the Generals a 13-0 lead.

Orlando would answer with a 13 play, 75 yard drive that ended on a 17 yard TD pass by Trey Lyons to Lyle Opitz, cutting the lead to 13-7 and it looked like we might have a shootout on our hands. In fact New Jersey drove deep into Orlando territory looking for more points when William Kimble intercepted Ferguson to keep the score 13-7 New Jersey.

Any thoughts of a shootout quickly died as the teams opted to have a punting competition in the second half. They exchanged punts through the entire 3rd quarter and most of the 4th before Al Borland's 3rd FG of the game gave New Jersey a 16-7 lead inside the 2 minute warning. Trey Lyons tossed an interception in hurry up mode, then New Jersey ran out the clock to advance to play New Orleans for a chance at their 10th World Bowl.  

2000 Wildcard Round: Road to World Bowl XXVII

 Fourteen teams started out with dreams of getting to and winning World Bowl XXVII but for most it will remain just a dream. Wildcard Weekend is now over and we must say goodbye to six teams, one of which is our defending champs Houston. The American Conference had all 3 favorites lose as Houston, Chicago, and Oklahoma were all 7 point betting favorites. The National Conference went about as expected with the 2 favorites winning and the 3rd game had an even point spread. 

Portland Storm 29 Oklahoma Outlaws 24

Portland was the home team but they were 7 point underdogs against Oklahoma and the Storm seemed to take that personally. Portland got the scoring started with a FG on their second possession, then followed that up with an interception of Oklahoma QB Raymond Settles. Wade Mullinix did the honors, returning it to the Outlaws 15, setting up the Storm inside the red zone. It took Portland all of 1 play to increase their lead to 10-0 as John Gill ran it in for the TD. It didn't take long for the Outlaws to get back in the game as Ricardo Horton took the kickoff 110 yards for a TD, cutting the lead to 10-7. The 110 yard return ties the all time post season record first set by Pittsburgh's John Murray way back in 1978. This was the first 110 yard return since then. Oklahoma would add a FG to make the score 10-10 as we entered the 2nd quarter.

Portland would take a 13-10 lead with a 2nd qtr FG before Oklahoma went on a long, time consuming drive to take the lead inside the 2 minute warning. Raymond Settles found Paul Wicklund for the 5 yard TD for a 17-13 lead. Portland had a little more than a minute to work with and they would settle for a 52 yard FG to make the halftime score 17-16 Oklahoma.

Oklahoma would get the ball to start the second half but Raymond Settles threw his 2nd INT on the first play of the drive, and Jesse Marshall returned it to the Outlaws 9 yard line. The Oklahoma defense knocked down 3 straight passes, forcing a FG. The kick was good and Portland now led 19-17, although it could have been worse for Oklahoma. Midway through the 3rd, Raymond Settles threw his 3rd INT of the game, and this time Portland cashed it in for a TD. Raymond Oswalt found Steve Haywood for a 25 yard TD pass and the XP made the score 26-17 Portland. As the 3rd quarter was winding down, Wade Mullinix struck again for his 2nd INT of the game and the 4th thrown by Settles. That led to another FG and a 29-17 lead entering the 4th. 

Early in the 4th following a punt inside the 10, Raymond Oswalt returned the favor with an INT deep in his own end. Michael Brown was the culprit and he returned it 4 yards to the Storm 5. It took Settles 1 play to get the Outlaws back in the game with a 5 yard scoring toss to Patrick Clark, and the XP made the score 29-24. Several punts followed until Portland faced a 4th and 2 from the Oklahoma 41 with less than 4 minutes to play. The Storm were too far for a FG so they opted to go for it rather than punt. It didn't work but it also didn't hurt as the Storm defense forced a 3 and out. Portland was once again pinned inside their own 10 and on the first play after the 2 minute warning, Richard Robinson fumbled. Just like the previous 2 fumbles by teammate David Smith, this one was recovered by the offense, denying Oklahoma a golden opportunity to win the game. The Outlaws would get the ball back near midfield following the punt, but Settles was intercepted for the 5th time today, 3rd time by Wade Mullinix. That would seal the deal as Portland ran out the clock to advance to the next round.

Memphis Showboats 36 Chicago Blitz 10

Memphis kicked 2 early FGs for a 6-0 lead before the Showboats QB Kenneth Anderson got sacked by Philip McCray and fumbled, with McCray falling on the ball at the Memphis 25. Chicago QB Dwayne Byrd found Ian Gordon for a 10 yard TD to give the Blitz a 7-6 lead after a quarter. Early in the 2nd, Chicago punted, pinning Memphis at their own 11. Kenneth Anderson then hit Paul Davis as he got behind the defense and raced to the end zone for an 89 yard TD to retake the lead 13-7. Memphis got the ball back and went on a 14 play drive that seemed destined to end in points for the Showboats until Anderson was intercepted by Abdul Strout, keeping the score 13-7 as we hit halftime.

Memphis took control of the game in the 3rd quarter, going on a long FG drive to lead 16-7, intercepting Byrd which led to another FG, and a 14 play TD drive capped off by a Clyde Belcher 2 yard run for a 26-7 lead early in the 4th. Patrick Buck put the final nail in the coffin with an 87 yard punt return TD, making the score 33-7. Buck's return was the 3rd punt return for a TD in league postseason history and it was the longest ever. Each team would add a FG for a final score of 36-10 as Memphis advances to play at Portland next week.

Los Angeles Express 13 Houston Gamblers 10

This game was a defensive struggle and the first half ended in a 3-3 tie. Houston QB Bryan Franklin led the Gamblers to a FG on their opening drive, but also threw 2 INTs, one of which set up Los Angeles for their first half FG. The Express couldn't run the ball all game long and they only had 64 total yards at halftime.

Early in the 3rd Express QB David Tavarez was intercepted by Robert Davis to set the Gamblers up with a short field at the L.A. 25. Gary Sappington ran it in from 2 yards out for the game's first TD and a 10-3 Houston lead. Several punts followed until the middle of the 4th, when Brian Haworth's 28 yard FG cut the Gamblers lead to 10-6. As time wound down, Los Angeles went for a 4th and 1 from their own 35 where Tavarez was sacked, giving Houston the ball just outside the red zone. Bryan Franklin and the running game pushed the ball toward the goal line before Franklin was intercepted in the end zone by Richard Blanco. Los Angeles took over at their own 20, needing a TD in 1:45. They almost got the TD real quick as Tavarez completed a pass to Sidney Chavis, who raced toward the end zone before getting caught from behind at the Houston 1 by Robert Patton. The Express were out of timeouts and they committed a false start, pushing the ball back to the 6. A completion on 1st down got the ball just short of the goal line and 2 knocked down passes set up a 4th and goal with 0:14 left. Tavarez completed the 4th down pass to Herman Stevens and the short TD gave Los Angeles the upset win against the defending champs. The Express now have a date with division rival San Jose.

Charlotte Hornets 20 Jacksonville Bulls 10

Jacksonville got the game's first big break, recovering a William Holmes fumble to set up a FG for an early 3-0 lead. Holmes would lose another fumble in the first quarter as the Hornets were approaching FG range and the quarter would end 3-0 Bulls. Early in the 2nd, Anthony Gray's 5 yard run gave Charlotte a 6-3 lead and the 2 point try failed. Derek Joyce would give Jacksonville the lead back before halftime with a 2 yard TD pass to Johnny Pritchett to make the score 10-6.

Late in the 3rd quarter, William Bonner ran in a 3 yard TD and a 2 point pass gave Charlotte the lead back, 14-10. We had an exchange of fumbles soon after which resulted in no points, then Charlotte tacked on a pair of FGs in the 4th and the Hornets win 20-10 to advance.

Orlando Renegades 36 Birmingham Stallions 3

This game was competitive in the first half as they exchanged FGs at the end of the first/beginning of the second quarters for an early 3-3 tie. Orlando took the lead for good with a 1 yard George Hogue TD run and the Renegades led 10-3 at the half.

Nothing went right for Birmingham on either side of the ball in the second half. Orlando got the ball first and needed 1 play for a 75 yard TD pass from Trey Lyons to Jason Amen. Birmingham's second half possessions ended with a punt, INT, INT, punt, INT and end of the game. Orlando would go on to score on every second half drive, with Scott Mueller adding 4 FGs after the long TD and Anthony Graves getting a 2 yard TD run as Orlando advances to the next round. 

New Jersey Generals 23 Boston Breakers 0

Boston won the first ever East Division title back in 1974, but since then the Breakers have had to watch the playoffs every year after until now. Their reward was a trip to face division rival New Jersey, the franchise with the most playoff games in the league, and a team who has had the Breakers number time and time again. It went about as expected, as Boston had trouble moving the ball and stopping the move the chains Generals offense. 

New Jersey got a 14 yard TD pass from Don Ferguson to Steve Ransome on their opening drive for a 7-0 lead, then added a FG on the next drive. Boston's defense would settle down for a bit after this, but the Breakers offense couldn't sustain drives. New Jersey would add a 2nd quarter FG for a 13-0 halftime lead and the score would remain that way until the 4th. Don Ferguson's 2nd TD pass came with 5:18 left, a 21 yard pass to Franklin Cherry and the 2 point run made the score 21-0 Generals. The scoring ended with a sack in the end zone by an undisclosed Generals defensive player inside the 2 minute warning and New jersey will host Orlando next week.