The official 1991 USFL Season has gotten under way. Here's a look at Week One.
WEEK ONE NOTABLE GAMES
MONTREAL 20 PHILADELPHIA 17
The Accolades (1-0) used two picks of Jim Adair by Sammy White and 5 sacks to down the defending champs in Philadelphia (0-1). All-pro HB Sammy Morris was lost early in the first quarter to a strained MCL while veteran WR Jimmy Sykes was knocked out with a concussion. Despite all this the Warriors evened the score at 17 when Adair hit WR Devon Wright with just 1:43 left after trailing most of the nite, but a shallow kickoff by K Jeff Happe let Montreal take advantage of a short field, capped off by a relatively easy 53 yd FG by all-world kicker Ethan Insalaco for the win with only seconds remaining.
SEATTLE 16 OKLAHOMA 23
Jezzie Kilgore (17 rushes, 68 yds) and rookie John Browne (12 for 57) provided the majority of the offense as a 1-2 punch as the Outlaws (1-0) stunned the Scorpions in Oklahoma. While RB Bo Beatty had his customary yardage fest (96 rush, 40 receiving, 131 in returns), the rest of the Seattle (0-1) offense struggled against a suddenly spry Outlaw defensive unit that held QB Marcus Cone to under 50 percent passing while recording 3 sacks and a pick. It was the first opening day win for Oklahoma in 4 seasons.
OAKLAND 24 NEW JERSEY 17
QB Robbie Bosco went 20-34 for 213 yds and 2 TDs while rushing for a third as Oakland (1-0) snuffed out the New Jersey Aces (0-1) in Jersey. RB Erik Davis cranked out 137 all purpose yards (103 rush, 34 receiving with a TD catch) while his equally All-Pro counterpart George Wilson was held under 100 yds rushing for only the 5th time in his career. A surgical strike by Bosco to TE Eric Mobley early in the fourth broke a 17-17 tie to salt the game away for Oakland.
HOUSTON 18 FORT WORTH 49
The much anticipated shootout between the Gamblers and Rolling Thunder (1-0) turned into a beatdown. Jamell Forrester rushed for a league record 4 opening day TDs while amassing 132 rushing yds while QB Danny Cavanaugh missed on only 5 passes in 29 attempts with 3 scoring strikes. Houston (0-1) QB Darrin Kelly passed for 333 yds of his own, but the Gamblers failure to convert 3rd downs (1-8) proved too tough to overcome.
BIRMINGHAM 14 PITTSBURGH 35
The annual Birmingham/Pittsburgh bloodbath came early this year, with the Maulers (1-0) besting the Stallions for the 7th time in ten overall contests. Birmingham (0-1) struck first on a 5 yd sweep by RB Vincent Weathers to cap off a 15 play opening drive, but only managed 64 rushing yards for the game while Pittsburgh countered with 147. RB Marlon Charles scored twice from 9 and 4 out while Michael Floyd fans breathed a sigh of relief that last seasons playoff shoulder injury that had kept the All-Pro TE out of the exhibition season did not carry over into the regular campaign, pulling down 8 catches for a respectable 91 yds and a late touchdown for a game that had been just one score entering the 4th period.
OTHER GAMES
DETROIT 24 CHICAGO 19
CHARLOTTE 3 SAN ANTONIO 29
TAMPA BAY 31 ORLANDO 27
MIAMI 21 LOS ANGELES 16
BOSTON 24 UTAH 10
MINNEAPOLIS 19 DENVER 28
LAS VEGAS 26 BAY AREA 20 (OT)
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: QB DANNY CAVANAUGH 24-29 338 3 TDS AND RB JAMELL FORRESTER 23 132 4 FORT WORTH ROLLING THUNDER
DEFENSINVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CB SAMMY WHITE MONTREAL ACCOLADES
NEW SEASON BEGINS
Moderators: JoeMontana, Benjamin