[b10b6545]Seattle[/b10b6545] (5-3) retained sole possession of 1st place in the Ring of Ice division with a solid 24-10 win over [b10b6545]Anchorage[/b10b6545] (3-5). Seattle's defense forced three turnovers and the Dever/Liszkiewicz tandem put forth their usual good efforts to secure the win. Poor Lane Manuel continues to look lost out there...

[b10b6545]El Paso[/b10b6545] (4-3-1) reached up from the depths of 4th place (they are, by the way, clearly the best 4th place team in the league) and knocked defending champs [b10b6545]Denver[/b10b6545] (5-3) from their 1st place tie with Tulsa by the score of 17-10. Dustin Hayes' 258 passing yards and 1 TD sparked the Rockets' offense, and the Rockets pass defense kept Marcus Garibaldi frustrated all day (18/37, 148 yds, 1 INT). The Rockets were also 10/17 on 3rd-down conversions. A nice win for them.

It appears that [b10b6545]Santa Cruz[/b10b6545] (1-6-1) ate their Wheaties this morning and very nearly knocked off a superb [b10b6545]Fargo[/b10b6545] (5-3) team. The Privateers led 10-6 entering the 4th quarter, and the heavily-favored Boxcars needed 17 4th quarter points to lock up a 23-17 win. The key play in this game was a 4th-quarter 75-yd catch-and-run TD pass from Hedges to Eklund (74 YAC!). Santa Cruz outgained Fargo 408-259, and Quentin Larrabee showed that he might just belong in this league with a 22/33, 273 yd, 2 TD performance. However, his 3 INTs contributed to a whopping 5 turnovers on the day for Santa Cruz, and spelled their doom. Credit goes to Fargo for pulling out a win when they weren't playing their best.

James Oberg threw for 3 more TDs in a 34-12 [b10b6545]Hartford[/b10b6545] (6-2) romp over [b10b6545]Albany[/b10b6545] (4-4). Alan Spearman chipped in 122 rushing yards. Albany picked up quite a few passing yards in garbage time to make this one look statistically closer than it was (396 yds for Hartford to 356 for Albany). The Norm Fisk Development Project continues though, and he looks to be ready for a breakout next year.

[b10b6545]Boise[/b10b6545] (5-3) rolled to an easy 33-17 win over a Kranz-less [b10b6545]Honolulu[/b10b6545] (8-1) squad. Without their star QB, Honolulu struggled to get just 223 yds of offense and was 10 of 29 passing with 3 INTs. Boise, on the other hand, gained 453 total yards, including 308 yds passing and 3 TDs from Branden Lin. Look for Kranz to miss at least one more game.

The down-and-out [b10b6545]New York Knights[/b10b6545] (2-6) pulled off the upset of the week at [b10b6545]Atlantic City[/b10b6545] (5-3) by the score of 19-7. New York won with a solid ground game (128 yards) and a stingy defense (201 yds allowed, 3 INTs, 1 INT returned for a TD). Colin Sawyer threw all 3 of his INTs in 4th quarter, and two were from deep in their own territory. Bad day for the Phantoms.

[b10b6545]Durham's[/b10b6545] (3-5-1) struggles continued in a 31-16 loss at home against [b10b6545]Shreveport[/b10b6545] (5-2-1). Edward Kimber was forced to sit this one out with a pulled groin, and his backup Kenneth Lester was not up to the task today. On their first drive of the day he fumbled the ball at their own 24, and then he threw two 2nd-quarter INTs from deep in Durham territory to give Shreverport excellent field position (avg. start: OWN 47). Shreveport took advantage of Lester's generosity and rolled up a 24-6 halftime lead.

[b10b6545]Tampa Bay[/b10b6545] (7-2) started off their game with [b10b6545]Baltimore[/b10b6545] (3-4-1) in style, with Josh Urrutria connecting with Trent Muir on a 79-yd TD on the first play from scrimmage. But Baltimore answered immediately and ultimately forced the game into OT. Baltimore won the coin toss, but Jonathan Sill fumbled away the ball on the first play of OT, at their 30. Tampa immediately scored on a 19-yd Artie Randle scamper. Final score: Tampa Bay 26, Baltimore 20.

The first half of the [b10b6545]Tulsa[/b10b6545] (6-2) - [b10b6545]Long Beach[/b10b6545] (2-6) game went according to script, with Tulsa holding a 14-3 halftime lead. Long Beach scored a FG and a TD + 2pt conversion in the second half while holding Tulsa scoreless to force OT. Tulsa nearly wrapped it up with :10 left in the 4th quarter, but K Schanding had a 27-yd FG attempt blocked. His teammates picked him up, though, by capping off a 71 yd drive with a 1-yd George Welton TD plunge for the win in OT.

Elsewhere in the CFL this week:
[b10b6545]Oregon[/b10b6545] (3-6) 24, [b10b6545]Arizona[/b10b6545] (3-5) 13
[b10b6545]Boston[/b10b6545] (6-2) 28, [b10b6545]Cleveland[/b10b6545] (1-7) 3
[b10b6545]Charleston[/b10b6545] (7-2) 7, [b10b6545]Memphis[/b10b6545] (1-6-1) 6
[b10b6545]New Orleans[/b10b6545] (3-5) 27, [b10b6545]San Antonio[/b10b6545] (4-5) 22
[b10b6545]Tucson[/b10b6545] (6-3) 27, [b10b6545]Las Vegas[/b10b6545] (0-9) 7

_________________

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