DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - WEEK 7

Las Vegas Dashon Goldson picks off two Eli Manning passes

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - WEEK 7

Jonathan Stewart rushes for 153 yards and three TD's in loss to Woodbridge

WEEK 7 - GAME OF THE WEEK

Woodbridge 35 - Michiana 28

The Gunslingers came to Woodbridge fired up for their inter division game, but the Barons jumped out to an early 10-0 lead , the half ended with Woodbridge up 10-7 as the defenses rose to the challenge ... the second half was a different story . .. the Gunslingers stuck to their running game as J. Stewart continually pounded the Baron defense wearing them down .. a J. Stewart TD run put Michiana up 14-10 , the Barons answered with a Jones -Drew TD run going back up 17-14.. Michiana came right back with a L.Polite TD plunge putting the Gunslingers back in front 21-17 , so much for the defenses .... then came a break for Michiana , R.Rice fumbled the ball and J.Harrison fell on it at the Woodbridge 38 yd line ... that cumulated in J.Stewart's 3rd TD run of the game , a 26 yd burst while fatigued ... this puts the Gunslingers up by 11 , 28-17 with 7:30 left in the game ... P.Rivers leads the Barons deep into Michiana territory only to settle for a FG making it 28-20 with 4:48 left ... the Barons kickoff and are hoping to get a three and out , on 3rd and 10 J.Cutler drops backs and everyone is covered but scampers for 10 yds and a first down ,BUT wait there is a flag ...it's the ever annoying off setting penalty bringing the play back [ the Barons had a 68 yd TD pass to T.Owens brought back earlier on a off setting penalty ] on the redo J.Cutler throws incomplete to a doubled S.Jackson and the Gunslingers have to punt ... the Barons start on their own 22 yd line with with about 2 1/2 minutes left with 3 time outs, P.Rivers leads an improbable drive to the Gunslinger 8 yd line with 15 seconds left in the game .... P.Rivers then connects with T.Gonzalez making it 28-26 .... with the game on the line the Barons handed the ball to R.Rice .. he redeemed himself for the fumble running it in for 2 points and a tie game ...The Barons opt to kickoff and the Gunslingers bring it out to the 37 yd line with ONE SECOND left and overtime looming.... J.Cutler kneels down BUT WAIT it's a FAKE before his knee touches he stands back up and throws a bomb to to J.Avant , everyone in the stadium is fooled except C.Finnegan who intercepts the ball and returns it 67 yds for a game ending TD ! When questioned after the game , Baron head coach said " in all my years in this game I've never seen anything like this , have you ? "

WEEK 6 - GAME OF THE WEEK

GOOSE BAY, NEWFOUNDLAND

In the self-proclaimed game of the week, the Goose Bay Raiders held off the Las Vegas Storm 24-17 in Goose Bay. There was little scoring in the first half as both teams played the game of field position. The Storm scored first on a QB sneak by Jason Campbell with 3:36 left in the 1st quarter. The Raiders answered back with a long drive and a 16 yard run by Chris Johnson on a 3rd and 3, which sparked a heated coaching argument between Marty Schottenheimer, the Storm head coach and Defensive Coordinator Mike Stoops. Stoops had called a short yardage defense but was called off by Schottenheimer.

The Raiders would strike again on a methodic two minute drive ending with a Brees six yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen with 1:22 left in the first half. On the ensuing drive, a poor Dan Koppen snap to Jason Campbell gave the ball back to the Raiders. The Raiders were looking to take a 10 point lead, but a 3rd down pass to a double-teamed Steve Smith with 0:22 seconds left was picked off by Tracy Porter and returned 96 yards for a TD. A huge turnaround which tied the score at 14 apiece.

The second half scoring started first with the Phil Dawson hitting a 46-yard field goal, which was set up by a nifting run by Jason Campbell on a 3rd and long. As the "Other Highlights" show on the boxscore, the second half was a sparring match between two solid teams, each trying to gain field position. Time and time again the Storm would try to get to Brees (roll the D dice) and he would hit a receiver for yardage (dump pass). With six minutes left in the 3rd quarter, a 3rd and long screen pass to Fred Jackson looked to result in a first down for Las Vegas, but a bone chilling hit by Clint Session, caused the Storm fumble, resulting in a turnover. This was the second lost fumble for the Storm on the day. Goose Bay would use this fortitutious play to move down the field and score on a Chris Johnson 3-yard run. Again there was heated discussion between Stoops and Marty's son on the side line over a positioning of the safety on the key of Chris Johnson. This kind of mismanagement was a deathknell for the Storm on this day.

Stymied by the Raiders defense and solid special teams led by punter Ben Graham, the Storm were penned on their side of the field again and again. Goose Bay used this to their advantage scoring a field goal from Connor Barth with 8:24 left. The Storm gave one last push driving from their own 20 after the Goose Bay score down to the Goose Bay 10 yard line with a little under 3 minutes to go in the game. Again, a Jason Campbell scamper put Las Vegas in great field position to the tie the game. However, this was not the 2009 Goose Bay Raiders. A run stop on first down made it 2 and goal from the 11. On the next play, a swing pass to Fred Jackson was read again by the Raiders defense. Clint Session a ball hawk knocked the ball from Jackson. On 3rd and goal, the Storm called a pass play to Jackson in the end zone, but Tyson Clabo was too slow for Julius Peppers, resulting in a huge sack for the Raiders. Why Clabo was on Peppers and not Roos was another poor example of management by the Storm. On 4th down from the 17, the Storm gave one last attempt at the end zone, but failed.

The Raiders move to 5-1, tied with the Storm, atop the Landry East Division. The Storm play Alta Loma (4-1) and Raiders go to Los Angeles (2-3) in Week 7.



OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - WEEK 6

Joe Flacco leads Dallas with 431 yards passing over Arizona

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK - WEEK 6

DeMarcus Ware (1 sack and 1 int)  leads Maricopa County over Fox Valley

WEEK 5 - GAME OF THE WEEK

Dallas 20, 2009 Utica 27

Utica Coach Brian Fullem played to win. "We had a heckuva time shutting down the vaunted Dallas attack and Santonio Holmes burned perrenial ALL Pro Champ Bailey twice for 57 yarders, so we had to go for it on 4th down" The Spartans went 3 for 3 on 4th down, including a crucial 4th and goal from the 1 with under 6:00 to go in the game, up by 3 as Jerome Harrison scampered into the end zone to put the Uticians up by 10. Coach Fullem added "Tommy "The Man" Manna is one of the best coaches in TFL history and we knew a 6 point lead meant nothing" In fact Dallas marched right down but stalled and kicked the FG to get within 7 but the onside kick failed and Rodgers took a few knees to end the game.

It was a very clean game with Dallas accounting for the only 2 penalties and Utica accounting for the only turnover.

The Dallas defense harrassed Aaron Rodgers all game and they completely shut down Greg Jennings. Each team recorded three sacks. Flacco outplayed Rodgers but once again the Utica ground atttack kept the defense honest and Rodgers contributed a 35 yard scamble as the Spartans racked up almost twice as many rushing yards than the Texans. Manny Lawson was defensive player of the game as the Texan led the game in tackles and recorded 1 of the 3 sacks that Dallas put on A Rod.

Always a pleasure to play Tommy, extremely gracious regardless of the outcome.

WEEK 5 - DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Alta Loma's Andre Goodman intercepts two Assassin passes and takes one to the house.

WEEK 5 - OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Michiana's Stewart runs for 151 yards and two TD's against Pittsburgh