Usually having a home playoff game is a good thing, but not this season as 5 of the 6 road teams won and advanced to the Divisional round. Next weekend will have some intriguing games as defending champs San Jose travel to 16-0 Oklahoma, Memphis and Houston face off for the 3rd time with a combined World Bowl record of 13-0, Jacksonville travels to the bayou to face the New Orleans VooDoo, and the New Jersey Generals head to Pittsburgh to face the Maulers. Pittsburgh entered this season with new ownership and mindset, turning around a franchise that had gone 1-31 the previous two seasons.
The road to World Bowl XXVIII is a long one that started with a 6 game bonanza this past weekend.
Houston Gamblers 21 Michigan Panthers 3
The first quarter was a feeling out period for both teams as nobody scored. Michigan QB Emory Howard was intercepted by Xavier "X" Factor on the first drive but the Houston offense couldn't take advantage. Early in the 2nd quarter Howard was intercepted again, this time by David Numbers to give the Gamblers the ball in scoring position. The offense got inside the 10 but stalled, and an Earl Castro FG gave Houston a 3-0 lead. Later in the quarter Castro added another FG and a 6-0 halftime deficit wouldn't have been too bad for the Panthers. Bryan Franklin had other ideas however, finding Gus "Hightest" Gas for a 20 yard TD pass and a 13-0 halftime lead.
In the 3rd quarter Houston did not keep their momentum, fumbling the ball away on the first drive and going three and out on the next. Michigan then went on a 10 play drive but had to settle for a FG to cut the lead to 13-3. Michigan took over 6 minutes off the clock and Houston took 6 more off on their next drive following the Panthers FG. The Michigan defense couldn't keep the Gamblers out of the end zone though as Steve Austin punched in a short TD run and Bryan Franklin converted the 2 point conversion with a pass to Cecil Soto.
That TD drive came early in the 4th quarter and gave Houston a commanding 21-3 lead. Michigan would have 3 more drives, none of which crossed midfield as Houston wins and advances. The Gamblers" trio of RBs rushed for 206 yards and Bryan Franklin completed 25/29 for an efficient, move the chains performance.
Memphis Showboats 24 Los Angeles Express 20
Memphis got off to a fast start before they started allowing Los Angeles to claw back in the game in the 4th quarter. The Showboats turned it over 5 times in all, 3 in the 4th quarter alone but the Express offense wasn't quite up to the task today.
Memphis scored first, taking a 7-0 lead on a 26 yard Kenneth Anderson TD pass to Richard Harris. Early in the 2nd quarter, L.A. RB Ronnie Nix lost a fumble which led to another Memphis TD. Kenneth Anderson's 2 yard TD pass to Jeremy Wheatley gave the Showboats a 14-0 lead. Anderson would throw an interception later in the quarter, leading to a FG for the Express, cutting the lead to 14-3. Los Angeles had a chance to cut the lead further but Brian Haworth missed a 53 yard try wide right. The Express defense intercepted Anderson again, but Haworth was wide right again, this time from 45 yards out and the halftime score was 14-3 Memphis.
Memphis scored a TD on their second drive of the second half, but a holding penalty wiped that away and they had to settle for a FG. Late in the 3rd, Anderson found Richard Harris for a 56 yard TD pass, giving Memphis a 24-3 lead heading to the 4th.
Early in the 4th, Los Angeles was driving until Ronnie Nix lost another fumble but Eugene Riggs fumbled it back a few plays later. David Tavarez wasted little time, tossing a 40 yard TD to Patrick Peavey, cutting the lead to 24-10. Kenneth Anderson then threw INT #3, allowing David Tavarez to throw another TD pass. The 2 yard scoring toss to Stephen Tye cut the Memphis lead to 24-17 with 8:17 to play. The Express defense forced a three and out, leading to a Haworth 45 yard FG to get within 24-20. Kenneth Anderson promptly threw his 4th interception, giving Los Angeles a golden opportunity to steal the game, but the 2 earlier missed FGs meant they needed a TD. That was huge as they turned it over on downs in the red zone because a FG would have done no good. Memphis ran the last minute off the clock to advance to the next round.
San Jose SaberCats 17 Portland 12
If you just look at the box score, it looks like Portland won as they nearly doubled the yards of San Jose, 304-156. Portland was 5/15 on 3rd down to 1/12 for San Jose and they had 3 red zone trips to none for the SaberCats. Portland took the opening kickoff and drove 71 yards in 14 plays, getting 3 points and taking a 3-0 lead halfway through the 1st. San Jose's first possession ended with a punt on 4th and 2 from the Portland 42 a few plays after converting a 4th and 1. Portland would later fail on a 4th and 2 near midfield, leading to a San Jose FG to tie the game at 3.
The halftime score was 3-3 and San Jose went three and out. The SaberCats defense then intercepted Raymond Oswalt, setting up the offense in scoring range. Jake Plummer would throw a 28 yard TD pass to Ivan Humphrey and Darren Cotton ran in the 2 point try to give San Jose an 11-3 lead. Toward the end of the 3rd qtr, Portland was inside the red zone facing a 4th and 2. David Smith ran for the first down, but a holding penalty forced the Storm to settle for a FG, cutting the lead to 11-6.
Portland went on a long drive early in the 4th that ended with a Raymond Oswalt 8 yard TD pass to Craig Hines. The 2 point pass failed but Portland now led 12-11. San Jose then went on a time consuming drive, getting a 50 yard FG from Steve Jones just before the 2 minute warning to take a 14-12 lead. Portland would turn it over on downs, leading to another 50 yard FG for Jones to extend the lead to 17-12. Portland only had time for 2 plays to try and score the winning TD but they couldn't do it and the champions advance.
