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.
