World Bowl XXIX is set as the Pittsburgh Maulers face our defending champs, the Oklahoma Outlaws. This is the second World Bowl appearance for each, as Oklahoma's first was last season's championship. Many of you weren't even around, or owned a different team the last time Pittsburgh was in a World Bowl, as their appearance was way back in World Bowl II.
Neither team had much trouble in tonight's games as their defenses were on point. Oklahoma jumped out to a 21-0 lead after a quarter and a half while it took until the 4th quarter for Pittsburgh to feel comfortable with their lead. Let's check out the action.
Oklahoma Outlaws 31 Memphis Showboats 14
Memphis got the ball first and punted, as did Oklahoma on their first drive. Memphis punted again on their second drive while Oklahoma needed just four plays to dent the scoreboard first. Paul Wickland caught an 8 yard TD pass from Raymond Settles for the 7-0 Outlaws lead. A few more punts followed and the first quarter ended 7-0.
Early in the 2nd, Settles was at it again, this time connecting with Ronald Dingle for a 76 yard TD pass and a 14-0 lead. Settles almost had his 3rd TD pass of the first half on the next drive as he hit Andrew Rossi with a pass near the goal line, but Rossi fumbled. He would recover his own fumble in the end zone for a TD and a 21-0 lead. The remaining first half drives ended with a punt or the end of the half as the Outlaws took that 21-0 lead into the locker room.
Oklahoma got the ball to start the second half and they went three and out. Memphis would finally get on the scoreboard with a FG, then tack on another FG after a Raymond Settles interception but they still trailed 21-6. Oklahoma would keep the ball the rest of the 3rd quarter but were forced to punt soon after the 4th quarter started, pinning Memphis at their own 4. Daniel Lorenz would lose a fumble a couple plays later, giving Oklahoma an instant 1st and goal. On the next play, Raymond Settles finally got his 3rd TD pass, 4 yards to Arthur Reina and a 28-6 lead.
Memphis got back into the game with a 75 yard TD drive, finished off by a 5 yard TD pass from Norman Maldonado to Michael Larson. Frank Huber ran in the 2 point conversion to make the score 28-14 Outlaws with 10:39 to go. The Showboats defense did their job, forcing a three and out but the Outlaws defense returned the favor. Memphis forced another punt but this drive took some time off the clock, as Memphis got the ball back on their own 7 with under 4 minutes left. Maldonado would be intercepted by James Harris, leading to a FG, extending the lead to 31-14. Memphis would get the ball back, but trailing by 3 scores inside the 2 minute warning, only the 2022 Las Vegas Raiders defense could save Memphis now. Maldonado led the Showboats inside the red zone before being intercepted again, sealing the victory for Oklahoma.
Pittsburgh Maulers 26 New Orleans VooDoo 3
The first quarter would be scoreless as the teams combined for 3 punts and a Willie Graham interception, although that led to a Pittsburgh 41 yard FG early in the 2nd. On the next Maulers drive, Brian White was intercepted by Edmund Sprague, who then fumbled during the return, giving the ball back to Pittsburgh. The Maulers didn't score on this drive, but they got a 2 yard TD run from Larry Martinez on the next drive to take a 10-0 lead. That left New Orleans a little over 2 minutes before halftime and they were able to get a 32 yard FG, cutting the lead to 10-3 at the half.
The VooDoo got the ball to start the second half but promptly punted to Pittsburgh. Brian White completed a 55 yard catch and run pass to Jorge Brown on 1st down, leading to another Larry Martinez TD run and a 17-3 lead. A few punts later and the Maulers went on a 13 play FG drive to extend the lead further. This drive also took us into the 4th quarter, where we had more punts after the Pittsburgh FG. Midway through the 4th, Mark Adams was wide left from 48 yards out, keeping the score 20-3. Neither offense did much the rest of the game, as a pair of interceptions by New Orleans QBs (Graham threw his 2nd, then backup Charles Crase threw one) led to a pair of FGs to give us a final score of 26-3.
