|
Still the Champs
MOOSE RIVER--It really doesn't matter what the preseason hype says, Moose River has rings to prove who the best team in the league is. Toledo, picked by pollsters to be the best collection of talent in the BFL, watched that talent dwindle away after Curtis Martin
57
|
Toledo Neanderthal | Pts | |
Brett Favre |
40 | |
Corey Dillon |
5 | |
Curtis Martin |
0 | |
Marvin Harrison |
12 | |
Plaxico Burress |
1 | |
Darrell Jackson |
3 | |
Chad Lewis |
10 | |
Jeff Wilkins |
12 | |
Rams |
19 |
| 
88
|
Moose River Mounties | Pts | |
Kurt Warner |
35 | |
Fred Taylor |
20 | |
Jamal Lewis |
12 | |
Peerless Price |
12 | |
"Angry Ed" McCaffrey |
11 | |
Joey Galloway |
10 | |
Stephen Alexander |
0 | |
Brett Conway |
7 | |
Titans |
26 |
|
left the playing field with a leg injury. X-rays came back negative, but Martin didn't return to the game and neither did the Neanderthal's hope of winning.
Moutie running back Fred Taylor rushed fo 83 yards and was active in the passing game after watching Martin leave the field. "I figure that'll probably be me in a week or two or whenever a stiff breeze blows past me at the wrong angle so I'd better get my scoring done early in the season," Taylor explained.
Corey Dillon was perhaps most hurt by Martin's absence. Without his backfieldmate to draw the attention of the Titan defenders, Dillon was shut down, held to only ten yards rushing. Brett Favre actually outplayed counterpart Kurt Warner, but couldn't lift his team to victory, rekindling memories of why he was traded by Toledo two years ago. "I don't know what it is," Favre wondered aloud, staring at a clock on the wall. "For some reason when I do well, the team does poorly and vice versa. Hey, do you think I could make a necklace out of--um, never mind."
Twelveth Night
BOSTON--Shakespeare may be considered the masterof crafting the dramatic form, but West Virginia's twelveth straight night with a win held all the drama of a Steven Segal flick. The Woolfs pounced on the Lagers early and didn't let up even after Priest Holmes crossed the goal line for a fourth time.
Holmes tied a BFL record, scoring four touchdowns in one game, and set a record for rushing TDs. Fred Taylor rushed for three touchdowns and caught one in 2000. "One year wonder?" asked Holmes of the seven teams that passed him over in the draft. "I've got your one year wonder right here."
Holmes got some help on his way to the record book from David Boston's seven catch for 138 yard day spreading the defense. Surprisingly, Selmon Award winner Ahman Green wasn't pushed to the sidelines as Holmes ran wild. Green rang up 155 yards on the ground.
Boston's defense had no answer for the Woolfs, frustrating linebacker Dwayne Rudd. Rudd was penalized fifteen yards for taking off his helmet on the field celebrating a sack of Donovan McNabb. The only catch was McNabb got off a pass to Chris Chambers for touchdown before going down.
136
West Virginia
Woolfs | Pts | |
Donovan McNabb |
20 | |
Priest Holmes |
44 | |
Ahman Green |
20 | |
David Boston |
23 | |
Chris Chambers |
11 | |
Johnny Morton |
2 | |
Todd Heap |
6 | |
Ryan Longwell |
14 | |
Dolphins |
28 |
| 
51
Boston
Lagers | Pts | |
Jeff Garcia |
19 | |
Anthony Thomas |
15 | |
Jerome Bettis |
0 | |
Derrick Mason |
14 | |
Troy Brown |
7 | |
Moose Muhammad |
4 | |
Tony Gonzalez |
16 | |
Mike Vanderjagt |
4 | |
Browns |
4 |
|
|
Close Encounters
MAYBERRY, NC--Signs seemed to indicate the Grifters would leave Mayberry with a blow out victory, but the difference between perception and reality was as great as the corn field ruined by Otis Campbell earlier in the week.
"A win is a win," conceded Marv Levy, "but I'd feel a little more secure if this one hadn't been as tough to get." Mayberry hung with Sin City, making a second half run at victory, overpowering the seemingly over-rated Packers defense.
Levy, who has never lost a BFL game as a head coach (3-0 regular season, 3-0 playoffs), pulled away from the Fifes with a new vertical game. "Until our rushers get where we want them, we're going to put the saddles on our receivers and ride them to the wins," offensive coordinator Brian Billick admitted, but wasn't worried about revealing too much of his game plan. "If someone wants to draw up a plan to stop Randy [Moss], KJ [Kevin Johnson], and [Rod] Gardner, I'd love to see it."
The Fifes proved themselves capable of hanging with the rest of the league after being voted almost universally last in the preseason polls. "Eddie [George] has really been a force in the the locker room," coach Vince Dooley praised the running back who returned to the team this year. "We were considered a last place team in 2000 also." George brought the Bucco Bruce Bowl title to Mayberry that year.
110
Sin City
Grifters | Pts | |
Drew Bledsoe |
27 | |
Deuce McAllister |
14 | |
Edgerrin James |
8 | |
Kevin Johnson |
23 | |
Rod Gardner |
22 | |
Randy Moss |
16 | |
Bubba Franks |
1 | |
Joe Nedney |
8 | |
Packers |
12 |
| 
102
Mayberry
Fifes | Pts | |
Brad Johnson |
30 | |
Eddie George |
24 | |
Michael Bennett |
5 | |
Curtis Conway |
15 | |
Tim Brown |
13 | |
Keyshawn Johnson |
10 | |
Frank Wychek |
6 | |
Martin Gramatica |
11 | |
Redskins |
9 |
|
|
"Hole" Lotta Glory
ASBURY PARK, NJ--Killah Bees owner Jack Sanders declared his team the best in BFL
 history. Prairiedogs owner Brian Birch was upset with the lack of credit given his team in preseason talk. After Sunday, it all seems justified.
Aaron Brooks outplayed his much-hyped counterpart Daunte Culpepper, while Ricky Williams and Shaun Alexander took to heart the pregame trash talk saying they'd be outscored by Duce Staley and Tiki Barber. Alexander and Williams scored a combined three touchdowns while outrushing Staley and Barber by one hundred yards.
93
Pueblo
Prairiedogs | Pts | |
Daunte Culpepper |
18 | |
Tiki Barber |
15 | |
Duce Staley |
15 | |
Joe Horn |
15 | |
Hines Ward |
20 | |
Terrell Owens |
6 | |
Alge Crumpler |
8 | |
Sebastian Janikowski |
7 | |
Eagles |
18 |
| 
101
East Coast
Killah Bees | Pts | |
Aaron Brooks |
30 | |
Ricky Williams |
23 | |
Shaun Alexander |
17 | |
Jimmy Smith |
16 | |
Torry Holt |
11 | |
Isaac Bruce |
9 | |
Freddie Jones |
1 | |
Jason Elam |
12 | |
Buccaneers |
11 |
|
|
Marcus Helps
BAKERSFIELD, VT--"I don't like to brag," Marcus Robinson laughed as he blocked reporters' path to Peyton Manning's locker, "I mean it's really a team effort. No one player is more important than any other."
Robinson caught a pass for ten yards in his team's "to the wire" win over West Coast. As Marshall Faulk waited patiently for post-game interviews, Robinson thanked his coach for providing inspiration. "I could never have caught that pass if my shoes weren't tied." Robinson spoke at length about the advantages of tying the two bunny ears together over the bunny going around the tree and through the hole.
Meanwhile, Keenan McCardell apologize silently behind him, pointing to his watch and shrugging to indicate he had to leave. Faulk offered a similar apology as McCardell was his ride.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Circus Bears owner Robert Baker lamented the close nature of the game, assuring everyone it wouldn't be in doubt if Steve Young had started Stephen Davis over Emmitt Smith. Mennonites owner Greg Hulke offered to replay the game with Davis in the lineup as long as he could replace the flat Steelers defense with the Patsies.
97
West Coast
Mennonites | Pts | |
Trent Green |
28 | |
LaDainian Tomlinson |
23 | |
Lamar Smith |
8 | |
Eric Moulds |
22 | |
Rod Smith |
14 | |
Laveranues Coles |
6 | |
Marcus Pollard |
2 | |
Adam Vinatieri |
13 | |
Steelers |
8 |
| 
99
Bakersfield
Circus Bears | Pts | |
Peyton Manning |
35 | |
Marshall Faulk |
27 | |
Emmitt Smith |
8 | |
Keenan McCardell |
16 | |
Terry Glenn |
6 | |
Marcus Robinson |
1 | |
Shannon Sharpe |
5 | |
Mike Hollis |
8 | |
Raiders |
19 |
|
|
|
Priest Holmes
West Virginia Woolfs
|
Week One Team |
Pts | |
Brett Favre, TOL |
40 | |
Priest Holmes, WV |
44 | |
Marshall Faulk, BAK |
27 | |
David Boston, WV |
23 | |
Kevin Johnson, SIN |
23 |
Rod Gardner, SIN
Eric Moulds, WC |
22 | |
Tony Gonzalez, BOS |
16 | |
Ryan Longwell, WV |
14 | |
Dolphins, WV |
28 |
|
Disappointments of the Week |
Jerome Bettis
Boston Lagers
|
All-Dissappointment Team |
Pts | |
Daunte Culpepper, PBLO |
18 | |
Curtis Martin, TOL |
0 | |
Jerome Bettis, BOS |
0 | |
Plaxico Burress, TOL |
1 | |
Marcus Robinson, BAK |
1 | |
Johnny Morton, WV |
2 | |
Stephen Alexander, MOOS |
3 | |
Mike Vanderjagt, BOS |
4 | |
Browns, BOS |
4 |
|
