Last week...in the West

DAL/ANC

    An early pick followed by a long carry for a touchdown by Anchorage WR Keith Simmons led to a Snow Devils touchdown, although they missed the extra point.

    Dallas kicker Victor Cryme would get them on the board with 3, but would struggle to continue scoring, getting sacked in Q2, followed by failing to turn their next run down the field into more points. The misses would also slow down Anchorage though.

    By the end of quarter 2, Dallas would be in the red zone, but denied scoring. Anchorage would also almost suffer a pick. In what they would hope would not define their final score, the Snow Devils would miss a long pass despite a good drive by #11 Sean Justice and #23 Quinn James.

    Dallas’s problems would still continue with a sack by #97 DT Tyree Wells and a successful Anchorage field goal would end the half at 9-3 Snow Devils.

    Lost opportunities would continue, with an Anchorage 1st Down turning into a huge interception by Dallas, going a long way but they would be unable to capitalize on it. Then, while Anchorage got the ball back and had a great drive thanks to plays by Keenan Kurt, Jojo Tidwell Jr., and Sean Justice again, they would only end up gaining a field goal for the effort.

    Dallas’s next drive would go similarly. QB DJ Church would have a great drive but would end it with just a field goal as well. The third ended 12-6, but Dallas was looking for a comeback, and #17 Jerry Riggs got them close with a big catch and touchdown, tying it up and the extra point put them in the lead 13-12.

    That lead would be short-lived. Despite more great plays, another field goal, and winning a fumble thanks to #29 Jon Fowler, Anchorage WR Keith Simmons would catch a huge, game-winning pass ending in a walk-off touchdown to win the game 18-16.

STL/AZ

    But the Dallas/Achorage game would not stay the only surprise ending this week. St. Louis would show good control getting started, turning a stop by Arizona into a field goal, followed by a very short Arizona possession.

    Stops were becoming the theme of the game, however. Despite great drives, stops would continue to keep the score until the end of the second quarter. Arizona started gaining momentum after this, with #82 Tamari Jones leading the drive, but St. Louis would say no and get a sack. With no score to show for it and :52 left in the second quarter they would score a touchdown.

    Arizona would push through but not see their first score until under 5:00 left in the game with a touchdown by #18 Sean Mcgowan. They got their extra point and were in the lead for __ but St. Louis would have get sacked and then a denied pass, finding themselves 3rd and 16 and possibly giving up last minute to Arizona as they gave them back the ball. BUT an almost pick by STL was followed by a score through a safety and it was STL 8 ANC 7 with 2:30 left on the clock.

    Arizona would have a great final drive, getting them into field goal range with seconds left, but would miss the kick and lose by one point.

HBV/TAC

    Both teams seemed slow to start with two quick, scoreless possessions. The Eruption’s next drive was looking evenly matched to HBV’s defense in a back and forth of plays. Ultimately, Tacoma would get the first score with a touchdown near the end of the 1st.

    But HBV would answer with two of their own. A trademark Ryan Davis long catch would get the offense rolling, and both he and TE Erik Duncan would get touchdowns in the first half. 

    Tacoma would still have some fight in them, and both they and HB would do a back and forth with sacks and scoreless drives in the 3rd, with Huntington Beach missing their field goal attempt and Tacoma achieving one near the end of the quarter, bringing the score to 14-10.

    Voyagers Duncan and Banks would answer though, with an onslaught of scores totaling three more to end on the score 49-10  and an impressive statistic of two different receivers (Davis and Duncan) getting two touchdowns in one game, and a third getting three (Banks) and top number of touchdowns total in a game this season for QB Tyler Detherage.