CANTON CLINCHES PLAYOFFS
There are still five games remaining in the regular season, but the Canton Crush began the postseason party by clinching a playoff slot with a 31-14 win over the Hefty Buffalo. The Crush uncorked a 24-point second quarter to secure the victory. Keith Scott had 206 yards and a pair of TD’s in the win. Elsewhere…
Wild 57, Bandits 10…It was all Milwaukee, early and often as the Wild posted a 27-0 first quarter split on the way to a 41-0 halftime lead and a cruise to victory. The team scored touchdowns on their first five possessions. John Richardson was good for 573 yards slinging the rock and 7 TD passes. Mitchell Taylor was on the receiving end of four of those, finishing with an unheard of 333 receiving yards.
Wallabies 36, Bombers 13…Perth cashed in on four Brooklyn turnovers and used a 75-yard James Hennessey touchdown reception to put down a second-half Bomber surge. The score came after the Bombers had trimmed Perth’s 19-0 halftime lead down to 19-10 in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Jeff Brewster ran for a pair of TD’s for the Wallabies.
Phantoms 26, Cobras 12…Parlor City reeled off 16 unanswered points to close out the game and defeat a spirited Rancho Cucamonga squad. Tony Strait finished with 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Leroy Rivera added 101 yards of receptions.
Talons 48, Golden Pterodactyls 20…James Herrin threw for 380 yards and 6 TD’s as Tallahassee overpowered Star City and sent the Golden Pterodactyls to their third consecutive defeat. Robert Hayden and Anthony Dunn each topped the century mark and hauled in two touchdowns apiece.
Burn 17, Stampede 14…Jose Engelhardt’s short flip to John Grossman at the goal line lifted Boise above St. Louis in a 17-14 battle. Grossman finished with eight receptions, but none bigger than the catch with 63 seconds remaining. Engelhardt finished with 171 yards and two TD’s.
Crusaders 34, Witches 13…Duncan Meyer ran for three touchdowns as the California Crusaders outdistanced Salem on the scoreboard. Edmond Walker had 157 receiving yards and a TD in the loss for the Witches.
Assassins 29, Wampas 14…Columbus City used a 16-0 second half to pull away from Aspen’s upset bid and score a 29-14 win. Ralph Blake ran for 122 yards while Michael Hardnett threw for 334 yards in the contest for the Assassins.
Spartans 21, Kings 9…Willie Coyne threw for three first-half touchdowns, including two to Forrest Martin to open a 21-0 first-half lead. From there, the defense did its job, keeping Lyon out of the end zone. Shane Payne’s 29-yard interception return accounted for the Kings’ only touchdown of the night.
Geechee 23, Riptide 20…Charleston used strong defense to turn away San Diego on two fourth-quarter chances to preserve a 23-20 victory. Edwin Merrill’s 14-yard reception pulled San Diego within a field goal, but the Geechee stopped San Diego on downs just outside of kicking range once and coming up with a game-clinching interception on the second. Edward Jackson finished with 256 yards and a TD for Charleston.
Coyotes 9, Thunder 5…Charles Gonzalez’s three field goals were enough to lift Mt. Washington to a 9-5 victory. Andrew Canup’s sack of Fred Coleman in the end zone provided a defensive score for Tacoma.
Red Rocks 16, Bulldogs 3…Coos Bay broke open a 3-3 tie with 13 fourth quarter points to lift the Red Rocks to a win. Mark Smith’s 31-yard TD run wound up being the game-winner before Robert Ponce added two clinching field goals in the final 2 minutes. Bennington was held to just 143 yards of offense in the contest.
Twisters 9, Marauders 0…Andrew Matthews’ three field goal kicks were the only points of the game the defenses dominated. Jasper Sheppard managed the game to move Arkansas into scoring position with 138 yards of passing without a turnover. Reno struggled to 138 yards of offense (compared to Arkansas’ 206) and only crossed midfield twice.
Islanders 6, Snappers 6 (OT)…The Islanders and Snappers played to a draw in a contest that saw just 367 yards of total offense, despite the extra period. Natchitoches missed on a 54-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation to see the game plunged into OT, then dodged a major bullet when they lost a fumble on the second play of overtime, only to hold Hawai’I to a minus-2 yards and keep the Islanders out of field goal range. The turnover was the fifth of the game for the Snappers.
Americans 23, Tennessee 6…Alexander Thomas had 131 passing yards and a TD to help direct Rochester to the win. Kerry Elmore hauled in the touchdown pass as Daniel Dehner added five field goal kicks to the Americans’ side of the scoreboard.
Dragons 34, Event 13…David Puddy threw for 340 yards and 4 TD’s as Glendora pulled away from Maine after a 7-7 first quarter. Brenton Pena had 118 yards and one of the scoring receptions for the Dragons.
