We are now down to our final four teams and the divisional round produced a pair of upsets. Heading into the conference championships, the 2 road teams are the underdogs, but they have won 9 World Bowls between them, while the two favorites are each looking for their first championship. We'll have to wait to see how those two games shake out, but let's look at how the final four teams advanced.
Oklahoma Outlaws 16 San Jose SaberCats 3
Oklahoma got the ball first but had to punt. Jeffrey Richins fumbled the punt but a teammate fell on it so no harm, no foul. Oklahoma punted on their second possession and Richins fair caught it, but Richins fumbled the third punt. This time it was recovered by Oklahoma, leading to a FG and a 3-0 lead. The first quarter would end with that 3-0 score and the Outlaws made it 6-0 in the 2nd following a 15 play FG drive.
A couple of possessions later and San Jose QB Jake Plummer was intercepted and Oklahoma was in immediate scoring range. The Outlaws got the ball into the end zone on a 3 yard run by Russell Hayes for a 13-0 lead they would take into halftime.
The second half was mostly uneventful, as Oklahoma went up 16-0 with another FG, then a Ricardo Horton lost fumble set San Jose up for a FG to avoid the shutout. San Jose would get the ball again twice more but punted and had an interception as Oklahoma stays perfect.
Memphis Showboats 16 Houston Gamblers 13 (OT)
This was not a pretty game as each team turned it over 4 times, 2 by fumble, 2 by interception and a combined 9 red zone trips saw just 1 TD. Memphis got the ball first and had to punt but Jose Shea fumbled the ball away on the return. Given new life, Memphis was able to kick a FG for a 3-0 lead before the craziness started. Houston QB Bryan Franklin threw INT #1, then Kenneth Anderson of Memphis matched that with his first INT. I should mention this was all taking place inside the Houston 20 yard line, and the Gamblers took over on their 1 following the Anderson INT. Two plays later, Gus "Hightest" Gas lost a fumble, giving Memphis the ball at the 8, but Anderson was intercepted again, leaving the score 3-0 after all of that.
On the first play of the 2nd qtr Memphis fumbled it away for their 3rd turnover but no damage was done as Houston punted. Later in the quarter we had our first TD of the game as Bryan Franklin found Alejandro Campbell for a 25 yard TD and a 7-3 Gamblers lead. As the game wound toward halftime, Memphis once again had the ball deep in Houston territory but Robert Sandoval sacked Anderson, stripping the ball and recovering, keeping the score 7-3 at the half.
The 3rd quarter was a kicking contest with several punts and a Houston FG for a 10-3 lead after 3 quarters, but Memphis got a FG of their own early in the 4th to cut it to 10-6. Houston almost put the game away but Gus Gas was ruled down short of the goal line and they opted for the chipshot FG rather than go for it on 4th. The kick was good for a 13-6 lead and the defense forced a punt. The Houston offense couldn't bleed all the clock so they punted back to Memphis with 1:55 to play. Kenneth Anderson put his mistakes behind him as he led the Showboats down the field, finding Eugene Riggs for a 6 yard TD pass with 0:31 left. The XP tied the game and we seemed headed for OT. Houston would advance the ball enough to try a 61 yard FG as time expired but it was short, so we were actually headed for OT now.
The overtime period was brief, as Houston won the toss and Bryan Franklin was intercepted by Raymond Huang. Memphis took over at the Houston 28, ran three plays and sent Gary Ridgeway out for the game winning 37 yard FG, sending Memphis to the conference championship.
New Orleans VooDoo 17 Jacksonville Bulls 3
This game didn't have as many turnovers as Memphis/Houston but both teams did have multiple turnovers and red zone failures. New Orleans first two drives were a three and out and an interception while Jacksonville went three and out on their first two possessions. On the VooDoo's 3rd drive, Willie Graham got the scoring underway with a 53 yard TD pass to Benjamin Jones. Brian Sanborn ran in the 2 point conversion for an 8-0 New Orleans lead. Jacksonville drove for a FG on their next drive but took it off the board when they accepted an offsides penalty against New Orleans. The gamble did not pay off however, as Derek Joyce was intercepted by Harry Moorman to keep the score 8-0.
Early in the 2nd qtr, Jacksonville turned the ball over again when Daniel Massey fumbled gaining yards after a catch, giving New Orleans the ball in scoring range. Steven McCurdy made sure they would score with a 24 yard TD run to give the VooDoo a 14-0 lead. The score would stay 14-0 after the 2 point conversion failed. Jacksonville would be forced to punt and they pinned New Orleans at their own 5 with 6:43 before halftime. The Bulls would not see the ball again until the 3rd quarter as New Orleans went 90 yards in 17 plays, kicking a FG for a 17-0 halftime lead. The VooDoo actually scored a TD on the drive but a holding penalty wiped that out.
Jacksonville finally got on the board with a 3rd quarter FG to pull within 17-3. The 4th qtr saw the Bulls defense intercept Willie Graham and recover an Elias Williams fumble but the Jacksonville offense could not capitalize. The Bulls offense would eventually have another drive that got down to the New Orleans 6, but they turned it over on downs with the clock winding down. They would have one last crack at a miracle finish and they once again got inside the VooDoo 10, but the clock hit 0:00 and New Orleans advances.
New Jersey Generals 20 Pittsburgh Maulers 13
Pittsburgh got the ball to start the game and the Maulers got an early 3-0 lead thanks to a Tyler Garcia 55 yard FG on their second drive. New Jersey QB Antonio Martinez threw an interception on the Generals second drive which led to another Pittsburgh FG and a 6-0 lead. Al Borland cut the lead in half with a 44 yard FG and the 1st quarter ended 6-3 Pittsburgh.
The Maulers would try another 55 yard FG early in the 2nd that was no good and New Jersey capitalized on the good field position. Antonio Martinez threw a 2 yard TD pass to Ozzie Newsome to give New Jersey a 10-6 lead. Pittsburgh QB Brian White was later intercepted by Private Ryan, leading to another Al Borland FG for a 13-6 lead. Pittsburgh would tie the game inside the 2 minute warning thanks to a Brian Wright 25 yard TD pass to Agustin Fiecke.
The 3rd quarter was scoreless but New Jersey broke the tie early in the 4th on a short TD pass from Martinez to Malcolm "In The Middle" Wilkerson. The teams traded punts up to the first play after the 2 minute warning when Harry Potter pinned Pittsburgh at their own 5. The Maulers would turn it over on downs but Steve Ransome fumbled the ball back to Pittsburgh. Brian White couldn't gain a first down however, and the Maulers ran out of time, sending New Jersey to yet another conference final.
