Saturday, June 20
Houston Exacts Revenge on Denver, 31-20
By Dave Chen, Midwest Analyst
Jim Kelly showed again why he’s one of the best quarterback in football today with a surgical performance against the Denver Gold. Kelly completed 21 passes on 27 attempts for 301 yards and 1 touchdown. Both teams struggled to run the ball, so Kelly’s performance proved the difference in the game. While Sam Herrell added a touchdown, he rushed for only 40 yards on 14 attempts.
Meanwhile, the Gambler defense brought the heat against a Denver run and shoot that had no answer for Bill Johnson gaining only 43 yards and one touchdown. They teed off against Bob Gagliano and forced him into 5 interceptions on the game. The first interception ended a promising opening drive by Denver. Gagliano, who threw two touchdowns never fully recovered.
Kelly and Houston await the winner of Los Angeles-Las Vegas in the semi final round.
Birmingham outlasts Boston to end the Repeat Bid
By Linda Castillo, Southern Correspondent
The Stallions went down 21-3 in the first quarter and it looked like Boston would cruise to the win and a spot in the semis. The Breakers, undefeated champions from last year, then went three and out in their next two possessions. Cliff Stoudt and Birmingham took advantage of the extra posessions and closed the lead to 4 at the half. Birmingham’s defense continued the onslaught in the second half, limiting Boston to a missed field goal, punt, punt, and interception before the final touchdown to bring it to 31-28.
Stoudt and the Stallions, who quietly built their team around boring efficiency, came up short in the last few seasons. This year, they showed that, even in the flashy USFL, efficiency and good defense can still win. Even though they allowed Dunigan the four touchdowns, they limited him to less than 200 passing yards, sacked him twice, and intercepted him once.
Birmingham will host the winner of Tampa Bay and New Jersey in the semi finals next week.
Sunday, June 21
New Jersey wins an ugly one over Tampa Bay, 19-13
By Linda Castillo, Southern Correspondent
Without their perennial MVP candidate, Herschel Walker (game time decision), the Generals had just enough fire power to beat the Tampa Bay Bandits. In his place, Maurice Carthon ground out 82 yards on 26 carries. Quarterback Doug Flutie added only 178 yards, but threw a touchdown to tie the game. Two Roger Ruzek field goals closed out the scoring and the game.
The real story was New Jersey’s defense. They sacked Reaves 3 times and intercepted him 4 times. Tampa was only 4-13 on third down. They gained less than 250 total yards of offense. While Spurrier is no doubt glad to be in the playoffs, he must be fuming that his offense looked so inept in this game.
New Jersey travels to Birmingham next week for the semis.
Las Vegas Ace Win a Wild One to advance to the Semifinals
By Ryan “Scoop” Harrison, West Coast Insider
The Ace, led all season by megastar quarterback Randall Cunningham, needed some special teams magic to defeat Los Angeles and advance to the semis. After Los Angeles took a 48-42 lead on a Steve Young touchdown pass, Marcus Bonner returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The extra point put Vegas up 49-48.
Young threw a pick on the first play of the next drive and Vegas knelt down for the victory. With both teams combining for almost 100 points, and over 800 yards of total offense, the game reminded us of the offensive explosions from last year. The quarterbacks threw 8 touchdowns together, but also 6 interceptions. While Young put his stamp again on the Express, Cunnigham showed why he belongs in the NFL. He signed with Philadelphia and will move to the Eagles next year. Vegas hopes to send him there a champion.
They go against Kelly and the Gamblers next week.