Sports Page Archive - 2006

[Imperial Sports Page]

Week 1

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        [b]Week One Offers Up Chance For Big Start[/b] </font>[/b]</div>
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      <p align="left"> <font face="arial" size="2"> </font> <font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> 
        Could Houston's Jerry Stclair finally get his team to move up in the standings 
        this year? The Renegades got a good start with a week 1 victory over St. 
        Louis.</font> 
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 With a new season is 
        a new hope for many teams. It is one more chance for teams near the top 
        to get to the Imperial Bowl. It is hopefully the begining of a string 
        of successful years for those teams who have struggled in the past. It 
        is week one, the most anticipated week of the year. This year was no different 
        in that respect to others. This year we also had some surprises from around 
        the league.</P>
      

First off is the controversy that is going on in the state of Tennessee. 
        The Murfreesboro Mules elected to start long time starter Manuel Willoughby 
        at QB instead of rookie and #1 overall pick Otis Peterson, and fans were 
        not too happy. If they had won against division rival Louisiana then perhaps 
        there would be no problem, but Willoughby dropped to 16-33 all-time as 
        the Mules lost 17-3. How long will will the Mules keep Peterson on the 
        sidelne?</P>
      

Next on the list of week 1 happenings are some of the games themselves. 
        Victories by several teams sent some waves through the league. Houston 
        upset the defending champion Cardinals in a wild game that included a 
        51 INT return and a blocked punt returned for a TD. The Cleveland Clawz 
        have new (but old) QB Loving trow for over 300 yards, only the 3rd time 
        in team history as they pound Wichita 31-11. After a league best 13 wins 
        last year, Norfolk goes down early this year to division foe West Virginia. 
        The AFC's #2 playoff seed last year, Iowa City, also lost to a division 
        opponent in Montreal. It proved to be a rough start for othe playoffs 
        teams as well, as Little Rock, Portland, and the retooled Pirates all 
        lost in week one.</p>
      

One game that should be noticed by many around the league, is the convincing 
        win of the Fresno Chaos over defending division champions Portland. The 
        Chaos put up 31 points on the arm of QB Patrick Williams, while also racking 
        up some yardage on the ground with second year back Bucky Beaver. Beaver 
        had 113 yards on 25 carries, and teammate started the year on a positive 
        note with 5 receptions for 87 yards. Another game that is to be looked 
        at is the Oakland win over Reno. Oakland, after getting rid of former 
        1.2 Wesley Connell, went out with a passing attack that was expected of 
        them. And it worked. QB Gene Hamilton had no 300 yard games after week 
        7 of last season and got one today, connecting with Gaston Lomelli for 
        2 TDs. Though Lomelli didn't do well on the ground, he did get another 
        TD via the ground.</p>
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        Assassin QB Gene Hamilton had a good start to his thrid year in the league, 
        with over 300 yards passing and a win over Reno.</font> 
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[Imperial Sports Page]

Week 2

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Steiner Sends Former 'Pack' Limping Home
[img]../images/news/ancwr.jpg[/img] Anchorage WR Brent Hafer coasts towards the endzone at the end of his run on an 85 yard touchdown reception.	Anchorage, AK. Back when the offseason began, Reno fans once again were wondering what their team would do to get them over the top and deep into the playoffs. Division winners in two out of three years, the question was what would they do to help QB Leslie Steiner? Instead of helping Steiner though, the Wolfpack traded him away to the Anchorage Lynx. Lynx fans, surprised themselves because of two 1st round QBs on their roster, viewed the trade with optimism. Fast forward to week two of the 2006 season. Reno, with new QB Milan Costanzo, travel to Anchorage to face their former leader and his new team the Lynx. Reno struck first as they put three points up on the board right away after a punt was fumbled by the Lynx return man. This gave Steiner and company a chance to go to work, and so the first quarter shootout began. The Lynx, led by some heavy passing by Steiner, scored TDs on their first three drives. The Wolfpack tried to keep pace with two of their own. At halftime the score was 21-17 in favor of he Lynx. In the second half things slowed down some as the defenses stiffened up. Anchorage and Leslie Steiner did make a big strike though that proved to be the game winner. Pinned back at their own 15 yard line he Lynx came out and on the first play of what would be a short drive, Steiner found WR Brent Hafer 20 yards downfield. With a perfectly timed pass Hafer caught the ball ahead of the defender on a sprint. He took the ball another 60 yards in a blazing run to put the Lynx up 28-17. Shortly after though Costanzo was able to lead the Pack on a drive that ended with him throwing a 31 yard TD pass to Gebhart. From that point of the game though, the story became the Lynx defense. Led by DotW Stewart Lundquist (DT), Costanzo was not given much time to lead his team on a game winning drive. Lundquist put constant pressure up the middle and finished with 3 sacks and 4 QB hurries. In the end, a 28-24 win by Steiner and the Lynx meant that Reno goes home limping, with a 0-2 record now. The Lynx move to 2-0 and fans are now happy that they have their hands on a winner like Steiner.

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[Imperial Sports Page]

Week 4

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Anchorage Continues To Surprise, Look Legit
[img]../images/news/mntlb2.jpg[/img] The Montreal defense was pushed around and shoved out of the way by the Anchorage offense most of the day	Montreal, Qbc. During the offseason when the Anchorage Lynx brought in yet another QB, this time veteran Leslie Steiner from Reno, some of us in the media and around the league may have snickered a little. Anchorage had previously drafted QB's in the first round each of the last two drafts. This time though, Steiner was a known winner in this league. And he has continued to bring that ability to the Lynx. Coming into week four the Lynx were sitting at 3-0, having already knocked off Steiner's former team Reno, and two impressive road victories over Albuquerque and Louisiana. This week was another test, against another good team on the road. Traveling to Montreal is no short trip from Anchorage. And with a quality team like Montreal sitting and waiting for them, no one could have thought too bad of the Lynx if they ended up losing. Instead, a 21-7 defeat of the Firebirds sends the Lynx back home happy, going into their bye week as one of two undefeated teams left (SLC the other). Lesie Steiner had tree touchdown passes, and passed for 221 yards. He was extremely efficient, completing 17 of 23 passes. His only major blemish was an interception with under two minutes left in the first half. Steiner wasn't alone though. Isaac Campbell put together a fine game running the ball for the Lynx. He had 104 yards rushing on 21 carries, his first 100 yard game of he year. This allowed the Lynx to control the ball nearly 8 minutes more then Montreal, a big key to victory against a team that is so good at running the ball. That combined with the early lead the Lynx had forced to Firebirds to move away from the run more then they usually like, and Montreal QB Shropshire sturggled. Anchorage could keep their undefeated record in tact for several more weeks. They have a bye week in week 5, then face off against Wichita and Iowa City in weeks 6 and 7. Those teams currently have a combined record of 1-6. Then they will face an up and coming Fresno team, expected to perhaps challenge for the division in some people's eyes. Of course, as a media hound I am hoping for them to remain undefeated, as well as Salt Lake City, until they face off against each other in week 14. Hard to think that could happen though.

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[Imperial Sports Page]

Week 5

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Mules Kick Vipers In The Ass, Get First Win
[img]../images/news/lawcb.jpg[/img] Mules players have been yelled at and pushed around all year, like against Lawrence in week 2, but they showed they can play this week..	Murfreesboro, TN. It has been another tough start to a season for the Murfreesboro Mules, losing their four first games of the year. The difference this season has been the waiting game, the waiting that has been going on as fans watch to see when rookie QB and number one overall draft pick Otis Peterson broke out. That started to happen in week 5. And he had some help. Something the fans have been waiting for for over 4 seasons now, the defense to control an opposing offense. With the Vipers coming to town people figured it would be another loss for the Mules. The Vipers have been one of the AFC's best teams since the begining of 2005 and they can control a game from the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. But the Mules stomped the snakes into the ground. Always a very talented defensive, especially the d-line, they have never had results like they did today. The front seven was responsible for eight sacks, led by Blackburn's 2.5 and Ash's 2. This hurried Norfolk's QB Lozier, leading to blocked passes, dropped balls from WRs who weren't ready, off target throws, and an INT. On offense, the Mules were just as impressive. It may not have showed by the low score of 13 points, but it was one of the best Mules offensive games in a while. Undrafted rookie RB Daniels was solid off the bench, leading the team with 50 yards rushing on 11 carries and combining with starter Carmichael and FB Spraggins to get near 100 yards. QB Peterson added 19 yards rushing of his own but was noticed more for his passing. Very effective with the short passing attack used by the Mules, Peterson was able to lead the Mules on several long drives, including 3 very impressive drives in the second half that ate up clock and produced points. Eight different receivers caught the ball, with seven having two or more receptions. The Mules may not be looking ahead to the playoffs yet, but this is a big step for this franchise. They now go on the road for the next three weeks and can use the confidence, and will look to make it two in a row as they travel to Boston in week 6.

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[Imperial Sports Page]

Week 7

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Rookie QB Leads Wolfpack To Second Straight Victory
[img]../images/news/renoqb.jpg[/img] Reno's rookie QB Duane Thompson has led the Wolfpack to two straight wins over divisional rivals, and back to a .500 record.	Reno, NV. Sitting at 1-3 and fans questioning their offseason moves, things didn't look like they could get much worse for the Wolfpack. Then word came that starting QB Milan Costanzo would miss several games due to his injury suffered in their 3rd loss. Step in rookie, second round draft pick, Duane Thompson. After a win at home in week 6 against division rival Salt Lake City, Thompson and Reno looked to have gotten a little lucky. Thompson was efficient, but was prone to those rookie QB mistakes and had 2 INTs. But sitting at 2-3 and Oakland coming into town, the Wolfpack looked forward. And they took advantage of the momentum. With all-pro RB Jacques Crosby also banged up, and a quick 14-3 lead by the Assassins, the Wolfpack battled on. Thompson teamed up with backup RB Trenton Woodcock and slowly battled their way back into the game to get it to 14-13. Then the high powered Oakland offense once again pulled the Assassins away with two third quarter TD passes by Gene Hamilton. Once again the Wolfpack fight back. Late in the 4th quarter Woodcock ran in for a TD and then Thompson passed for one to Boyce Goth. The game then went into overtime where Reno almost saw Oakland take the game from them, but their 55 yard FG attempt failed. After having failed on a couple of drives already Reno, after getting an INT off of a Hamilton pass, was finally able to get it close enough to get the game winning 46 yard FG. Reno is now up to .500 and into second place of the NFC West. Oakland falls to third as they now have four straight losses after a 3-0 start.

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[Imperial Sports Page]

Week 11

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Cleveland Misses Opportunity To Become Top AFC Team
[img]../images/news/anchrb.jpg[/img] Though the Lynx' Isaac Campbell struggle, backup Richardson (above) had a more productive day running the ball, including a TD that helped give Anchorage a 23-20 win over Cleveland.	Anchorage, AK. It was the most watched game of the weekend. One loss Cleveland traveling to Alaska to take on the AFC West leading Lynx. Cleveland, with the AFC North division all but wrapped up wanted to go in and knock off the Lynx to lay claim to homefield advantage come playoff time. Anchorage, at 7-2 going in, had more to think of with Albuquerque giving them a strong challenge for the AFC West. In fairly mild weather of 41 degrees and rain, Cleveland got things started. QB Latham moved the Clawz 80 yards on the opening drive and capped it off with a 6 yard TD pass to Williams for the early lead. Anchorage answered that TD later, after a 50 yard pass interference penalty put them on the Clawz 11. Richardson ran a draw play in from 6 yards out. Things did not slow down. Cleveland follows the Lynx TD with a FG. Then Steiner almost pulls the Lynx into the lead on their next drive, instead throwing an INT in the endzone. Steiner made up for it on the next drive for Anchorage though, as a 24 yard pass to Emerson set up a 4 yard TD pass to Hafer. Then Lynx led 14-10, and would lead at the half 14-13. The second half became more of a defensive affair. Both teams had a hard time getting close to the endzone and the game went to a battle of FG's. Cleveland took the lead in the game early in the third when a Steiner pass was intercepted and returned 42 yards by Vance. Anchorage then hit two FG's, while Cleveland missed a 52 yarder short, making it a tie game late in the fourth quarter at 20-20. Then Cleveland got another big play from Vance, who once again intercepted Steiner with 4 minutes left. Latham then had three 10+ comletions in a row before the drive stalled. On came Davis to attempt a 43 yard FG. He missed it wide right. With 1:45 left in the game Steiner and RB Richardson came onto the field. A 22 yard pass by Steiner and a 24 yard run by Richardson was all the Lynx needed. They gave way for the kicker with 9 seconds left in the game. Carter nailed the 28 yarder to seal the win for the Lynx.

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[Imperial Sports Page]

Week 12

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VooDoo Curse On Mountaineers Gets Louisiana Big Win
[img]../images/news/boswr.jpg[/img] Random picture that has nothing to do with this weeks story. This is Boston rookie WR Josh Sullivan.	New Orleans, LA. For three years the VooDoo have played second fiddle to St. Louis in the AFC South, always coming up just short if winning the division title when they lose on a tiebreaker. This year may be their year and they showed us why against Vermont this week. Rumors of curses and pins in dolls before the game are not being taken serious by league officials. Vermont, coming into town at 8-2 and argueably the best team in the league this year, were kept in check by the VooDoo most of the day. The VooDoo offense was very impressive. QB Angelo Hairston completed 18 of 23 passes for 246 yards, while RB Bennett Jones had 23 rushes for 119 yards and 1 TD. The play makers for the VooDoo were not just on the offensive side, as Louisiana's Steven Holmquist intercepter a Virgil Sepulveda pass and returned it 28 yards for a TD. Louisiana started off the scoring when Bennett Jones ran in for a 4 yard TD late in the first quarter. Vermont came back shortly into the second quarter and Sepulveda tied it up with a 3 yard TD pass to Sammy Kayser. Hairston and Sepulveda then exchanged TD passes before the VooDoo got a FG with a few second left in the half leading 17-14. The key play in the second half was the Homquist INT returned for a TD, which essentially put the game out of reach for the Mountaineers. Clay Morris ran a TD in after that but that was all the Vermont offense was able to produce the rest of the way.

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[Imperial Sports Page]

Week 13

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Time To Take Notice Of The Matadors
[img]../images/news/albcb.jpg[/img] Matador CB David Brown gets his league leading seventh interception against Boston this week. Brown is part of a strong, blue collar defense that has become one of he best in the league.	Albuquerque, NM. Ok, so maybe we all should have noticed them a while ago and we probably did. But since the Albuqueruqe Matadors have not received much press coverage they may seem like a team flying a bit under the radar. They are not. The Matadors have now won 10 straight games, tying the Imperial League record. With impressive wins against Cleveland, Anchorage, and Montreal along the way. Their latest win was this week over Boston, a 38-0 slaying of the Dragons. Over their last eight games they have now outscored opponents 182-50. This week they were led to victory by RB Kelly 'Crisp' Wheat. The running back had a spectacular day with 146 yards on only 21 carries, and ran in for two touchdowns. THis made for a fairly easy day for QB David Humphreys, who was 12 for 17 passing, for 148 yards and two touchdown passes. Also of note in the game was the appearance of rookie first round pick, QB DOnald Hanks. He came into the game late when the victory was all but sealed for the Matadors and made fans happy by going 2 for and throwing for his first IFL touchdown. Speculation has been that Hanks will take over the QB job next year. The defense was once again a strong force in this game. They had three INT's off of Boston QB Sante, and created another turnover on a fumble. THe defense was led by linebackers Murray and Weise, who both had an INT and QB sack each. The Boston offense was held to only 135 total offensive yards, and had 9 penalties for 65 yards to lessen it even more. Though linebacker Augustine Murray has always been a pretty big playmaker in this league, here really are no other major standout stars on the Matadors. They play a solid team game, and they look like the strong favorite to represent the AFC in the Imperial Bowl. QB David Humphrey, playing an injury free season so far for the first time in three years, has been solid but not spectacular. A career year for him has him putting up a QB rating of 86.8. RB Wheat should get over the 1,000 yard rushing mark for only the second time in his career, and has had a personal best 9 touchdowns. WR's Scharf, Ferreira, and Halstead, along with TE Webster have all split the workload when it comes to receiving. Perhaps the biggest offensive star right now is LT Miles Perkins who is second in the league with 40 KRBs. With only four games left this year and a two game lead over the next best AFC teams, two more wins should seal up homefield for the Matadors in the playoffs. There are no sure things in pro football, but Albuquerque is looking like one of the strongest teams in the league right now, right up there with Vermont and Little Rock.

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