[b10fc3cf]Chicago[/b10fc3cf] (0-5) threatened to upset the balance of the cosmos when they took a 10-3 lead over [b10fc3cf]Boston[/b10fc3cf] (4-1) in the 2nd quarter, but then the universe righted itself and Boston scored 20 unanswered points to win 23-10. Boston won with a balanced attack, but the 10 penalties have to be a concern for the coaching staff.

Roman Grigg's second start in place of Douglas Hartman came against much tougher competition in [b10fc3cf]Charleston[/b10fc3cf] (4-1), who were ultimately too much for Grigg and [b10fc3cf]Shreveport[/b10fc3cf] (2-2-1). Final score: Charleston 17, Shreveport 9. Shreveport led 3-0 for most of the 1st half, but Landon Hurst nailed a 6-yard TD pass with 1:00 left to take a lead that Charleston never relinquished. Charleston was fortunate that Shreveport's offense is in disarray, as that helped them to overcome three Toothpick Lang fumbles.

A preseason favorite to at least make the playoffs, [b10fc3cf]Durham[/b10fc3cf] (2-2-1) was frustrated by an inferior opponent in [b10fc3cf]Baltimore[/b10fc3cf] (1-3-1) and had to settle for a 17-all tie. Edward Kimber eliminated his turnover-proneness, but the passing game stalled for Durham and their pass D allowed Baltimore's Phillip Barbieri enough space to throw for 294 yards and a TD.

[b10fc3cf]El Paso[/b10fc3cf] (2-3) made a statement with their 35-20 win over [b10fc3cf]Tulsa[/b10fc3cf] (3-1). Dustin Hayes was an efficient 30 of 37 for 297 yardsa and 4 TDs, and Jeff Reid had his first career 100 yard rushing day. Tulsa, meanwhile, converted one of just three 3rd-down attempts (is that a record low for attempts?), and lost three turnovers to short-circuit their offense.

[b10fc3cf]San Antonio[/b10fc3cf] (4-1) took a nifty 24-7 lead into the last of the 4th quarter, then had to hold on for dear life as [b10fc3cf]Memphis'[/b10fc3cf] (0-4-1) Blaine Hoffman engineered two TD drives in the last 5 minutes. Memphis ultimately came up three points short in a 24-21 Stingers win. Carson Blume missed his only FG attempt for Memphis.

Randolph Kranz continued to set the WFC on fire with his 18 of 28, 260 yd, 4 TD performance, which led [b10fc3cf]Honolulu[/b10fc3cf] (5-0) over [b10fc3cf]Oregon[/b10fc3cf] (1-4). The final score was 38-13. Kranz now has 18 TDs vs. just 2 INTs. Despite the lopsided score, there was one bright spot for Oregon: their running game. They rushed 41 times for 187 yards on a Honolulu defense that can be soft against the run.

[b10fc3cf]Tampa Bay[/b10fc3cf] (5-0) was able to remain one of two undefeated teams in the CFL, but just barely. They needed a 50-yd Felton Cooper FG with :06 left to pull out a 22-21 victory over the surprising [b10fc3cf]New Orleans Raging Horde[/b10fc3cf] (1-4). Tampa's offense racked up plenty of yards (451), but they nearly killed themselves with a whopping 13 penalties for 104 yards. The coaches will have to clean up their play if they're to keep winning.

[b10fc3cf]Seattle[/b10fc3cf](3-2) got a field goal with 1:29 to go to lift them to a 16-14 win over [b10fc3cf]Tucson[/b10fc3cf] (4-1). Both offenses were a bit listless in the rainy weather, but Dever's feet (5 carries, 60 yards) were the difference in this one. Rubin Castorena's two missed field goals also torpedoed Tucson's hopes to pull off a road win.

Elsewhere:

Atlantic City (3-1) 19, Cleveland (0-4) 14
Fargo (4-1) 22, Huntington Beach (3-2) 10
Arizona (3-2) 20, Las Vegas (0-5) 13
Sacramento (2-3) 13, Long Beach (1-4) 6
Detroit (4-1) 17, New York (1-4) 6
Denver (4-1) 20, Santa Cruz (1-3) 10

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Ring of Fire Division Champions - 2009, 2011-2026, 2028-33
Western Conference Champions - 2011-2013, 2016, 2017, 2019-2022, 2024, 2025, 2028, 2033
CFL Champions - 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025

I was surprised to see Seattle take down Tucson. It looks like they are going to be tough to overtake in the Ring of Ice.

Great work on these weekly writeups. It makes it a lot easier to follow what's going on in the rest of the league.

[quote6cc03ad="timmynausea"]I was surprised to see Seattle take down Tucson. It looks like they are going to be tough to overtake in the Ring of Ice.

Great work on these weekly writeups. It makes it a lot easier to follow what's going on in the rest of the league.[/quote6cc03ad]

Thanks timmy.

I, unfortunately, wasn't too surprised at the result of our game with Seattle. Dever is preposterously dangerous, and I really don't get how Seattle ever loses with him at the helm. We did a great job gameplanning for Seattle, as we controlled both their running backs and their passing game, but Dever's scrambles killed us in the end. If not for that, we probably win that game.

Seriously, how does Seattle ever lose? With FOF's emphasis on dominant quarterbacking, Dever should have racked up a couple of championships by now. Or, at the very least, a playoff berth. Weird.

_________________

Ring of Fire Division Champions - 2009, 2011-2026, 2028-33
Western Conference Champions - 2011-2013, 2016, 2017, 2019-2022, 2024, 2025, 2028, 2033
CFL Champions - 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025

What is your definition of a "Key Game", Fonzo?
Just out of curiosity.

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[quote1af2e1b="P. Luxx"]What is your definition of a "Key Game", Fonzo?
Just out of curiosity.[/quote1af2e1b]

The games I choose to highlight typically involve a division title contender (or one that was supposed to be a division title contender). Often there are more "key games" than I care to write about, so I opt for the games with the most interesting (to me, at least) stories to tell.

_________________

Ring of Fire Division Champions - 2009, 2011-2026, 2028-33
Western Conference Champions - 2011-2013, 2016, 2017, 2019-2022, 2024, 2025, 2028, 2033
CFL Champions - 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025