Our final four teams played today for the right to play in World Bowl XXVIII at an as of yet undisclosed location. We had the Memphis Showboats vying for their 6th championship against the undefeated Oklahoma Outlaws, who were seeking their first appearance in the big game. Nobody has been to more World Bowls than the New Jersey Generals and they traveled to New Orleans in search of World Bowl game #10. The VooDoo are no stranger to the big game themselves, although they have lost all four times.
Oklahoma Outlaws 19 Memphis Showboats 0
Oklahoma got the ball first and drove 68 yards in 11 plays, getting a 25 yard Gerald Harmon FG for an early 3-0 lead. The defenses settled in from there and we headed to the 2nd quarter with that same 3-0 score. Memphis was driving as the quarter flipped but Daniel Lorenz lost a fumblel as they approached FG range, and that was the end of that scoring chance. Oklahoma then went on a 15 play, 44 yard grinder drive that ended in another Harmon FG to extend the lead to 6-0. Oklahoma faced three 4th and short situations on the drive, converting all three. The rest of the quarter was uneventful and the Outlaws took that 6-0 lead into halftime.
Memphis got the ball to start the second half and despite knowing that, they still had to call a timeout after their first play. It was just one of those days I guess, and Memphis punted. The Showboats used another timeout later in the 3rd quarter, leaving just one for the final 15 minutes. The 3rd quarter saw several punts and one FG by Oklahoma, giving the Outlaws a 9-0 lead going into the 4th.
Early in the 4th Oklahoma increased their lead to 12-0 with Gerald Harmon's 4th FG of the game and salted the game away on their next drive. Raymond Settles would find Patrick Clark for a 64 yard TD, extending the lead to 19-0 and the rest of the game was a punting contest. When the clock hit 0:00, the sellout crowd went nuts, and the team stayed on the field an extra 30 minutes celebrating with their fans.
New Jersey Generals 17 New Orleans 13
This was a rematch of last season's conference championship and several New Jersey defensive players showed up to the game dressed as The Road Warriors from the WWF (they changed their name to WWE in 2002). Once the game started so did the punts as the defenses for both teams came out strong. Generals RB Steve Ransome fumbled 3 times today, twice on the same 1st quarter drive. The second one was recovered by the VooDoo, and while they didn't turn it into points, they did pin the Generals at their own 2 following a punt. Antonio Martinez then led a 12 play, 98 yard TD drive, capping it off with a 2 yard TD pass to Ozzie Newsome for a 7-0 lead. The VooDoo would get a FG later in the quarter for a halftime score of 7-3 New Jersey.
The VooDoo got the ball to start the 3rd and they booted a FG, cutting the lead to 7-6. Steve Ransome fumbled on the first Generals play of their drive but Happy Gilmore fell on the loose ball to avoid the turnover. The Generals then punted, as did the VooDoo, but Generals punt returner Malcolm Wilkerson fumbled. He recovered his own fumble and the turnover Gods were smiling on the Generals today. New Jersey would get an Al Borland FG to extend their lead to 10-6. Later in the quarter, Willie Graham found Douglas Jordan for a 59 yard pass and a facemask penalty against New Jersey set the VooDoo up with a 1st and goal. Graham gave the VooDoo the lead with a short TD pass to Philip Kellogg and the XP made it 13-10.
The score remained 13-10 New Orleans when the Generals took possession at their own 17 with 7:46 left. Antonio Martinez led a 9 play, 87 yard TD drive, completing 6/7 including the go ahead 14 yard TD to Carlos Thomas. New Orleans would have nearly 3 minutes to get their own go ahead TD but Generals MLB Kenneth Allen sealed the win with an interception of Willie Graham near midfield, and New Jersey ran out the remaining clock for their 10th World Bowl appearance.
