Denver edges Michigan and Tampa comes back against Philadelphia as the USFL Championship is set.
Denver Thrills Home Crowd with 20-17 Victory in USFL Playoffs
Fans of the USFL in Denver have been supporting the new league all season, and this week, in the league’s first playoff week, the Denver Gold paid them back with an exciting 3 point win. Over 51,000 eager football fans packed Mile High Stadium to watch the 9-7 Pacific Division Denver Gold take on the 12-4 Wild Card Michigan Panthers. With the news that Michigan Panther QB Bobby Hebert would be playing, despite a recent jaw fracture that kept him out of the final week of the regular season, Las Vegas made the Panthers an 8 point favorite over the homestanding Gold. Apparently no one told Denver.
The Gold opened the game with a long, methodical drive that killed off 8 minutes of the opening period and ended when Harry Sydney plowed through the Panther LB’s and into the endzone to give Denver a 7-0 lead. The drive showed the balance and patience which Denver would display for the entire game, as the Gold mixed 7 runs with 6 passes to work their way down the field.
Michigan would answer with a drive of their own, this one taking little over 3 mintues. Bobby Hebert missed on a couple of passes, but found Anthony Carter on a beautiful crossing pattern that gained 32 and brought the Panthers to the gate, on the 3 yard line. It took two plays to score after that, with John Williams running the ball in from the 1 to equalize the score.
The turning point of the game came soon after. Denver went 3 and out on their next possession, failing to convert a 3rd and 7 from their own 26. Michigan took over on their 40, but when Denver’s Francis Murphy, clipped Bobby Hebert just as he threw, the ball fluttered in the air and was picked off by David Martin, who ran it all the way in for a score, giving Denver a 14-7 lead and significant momentum.
The second quarter was a back and forth of short, unsuccessful drives by both teams. The only score in the quarter was a 43 yard field goal by Denver’s Brian Speelman to build the lead to 17-7 at the half.
Michigan would come back strong in the 3rd quarter as Hebert consistently found Carter and Derek Holloway on medium and short routes. It was clear that Denver’s strategy was to avoid the big play that had defined much of Michigan’s offense for the year. Michigan followed a 46 yard Kevin Shea field goal with a second long drive, moving the ball 73 yards down the field before Derek Holloway slipped past his coverage on a 3nd and goal from the 3 yard line and Hebert found him along the backline of the endzone for the tying score.
After allowing the Panthers to claw their way back into the game in the 3rd quarter, the Gold defense stiffened in the 4th. The first Panther drive was stopped short when Murphy sacked Bobby Hebert on a 3rd and 6 at their own 47. On another drive, a deep ball for Carter was just inches too long and Michigan again failed on 3rd down. But, the biggest play, the one which led to the winning score, was a costly fumble by the Panthers. Having moved the ball from their own 22 to the Denver 44, a basic dive right play on 1st and 10 for the Panthers went horribly wrong when Bobby Hebert and Ken Lacy could not complete the handoff, leading to the ball hitting the turf, only to be recovered by everpresent defensive ace Putt Choate for Denver. The Gold took advantage of the timely takeaway, and while their offensive engine was not fully revving the entire second half, they rode the legs of Harry Sydney and Larry Canada close enough for Speelman to hit on a 49 yard field goal to take the 20-17 lead.
Michigan would have two more shots at equalizing the score, but Denver’s defense shut down both drives before the Panthers could reach comfortable field goal range. On the game’s final play Michigan kicker Novo Bojovic attempted a 57 yarder. The ball fell well short and the fans in Denver celebrated a hard-fought win, knowing that they would again have a chance to root for the Gold a week later in the Denver-hosted USFL Championship game.
Tampa Bay Bandits Outpace Philadelphia to Reach the USFL Championship
In a game that saw a little of everything, the Tampa Bay Bandits, led by Head Coach Steve Spurrier and USFL MVP QB John Reaves outpaced the Philadelphia Stars to advance to the USFL Championship. Both teams demonstrated the talent that won them their divisions, but in the end the 14-2 Bandits and their high-flying Bandit Ball Offense were just too much for the more cautious Stars.
All season long, QB John Reaves has sacrificed pass efficiency for long ball excitement, and that formula paid off again for the Bandits. Reaves hit Eric Truvillion for 3 scores, including a 54 yarder in the 4th quarter to take the lead in the game. A late Gary Anderson TD run salted away the victory and sent Tampa off to Denver to face the Gold in the first USFL Championship.
Philly was certainly game, as the combination of RB Kevlin Bryant’s 18 carries for 71 yards and QB Chuck Fusina’s 65% completion rate helped Philly build a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter. The Stars doubled up, scoring on the last drive of the first half, a Kevlin Bryant plunge from the 2, and then on the first drive of the 2nd half, with Fusina hitting Willie Collier for the score. But, after that, it was all Tampa as the Bandits scored 17 unanswered points and held Philly without a trip into the Tampa Red Zone for the rest of the game.
Reaves finished the day with 318 yards in the air, with 148 going to Truvillion. RB Gary Anderson also had a strong day with 81 yards rushing and another 22 on 2 catches, including a key 3rd and 13 grab on the drive that would lead to the third Truvillion touchdown and the lead.
The Bandits have looked like the best team in the league all season, and this game was no different. They head off to the USFL Championship game next week, where they are likely to face not only the Pacific Champion Denver Gold, but also as many as 60,000 crazed Denver fans in Mile High Stadium.
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