|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
**REGULAR SEASON** **MFLA 2001 PLAYOFFS** AFC Wild Card Game NFC Wild Card Game AFC Conference Playoffs NFC Conference Playoffs AFC Conference Championship NFC Conference Championship MFLA SUPER BOWL III
MFLA Week One Offensive MFLA Week One Defensive (Ties MFLA Record) 2 returned for touchdowns
|
MFLA Week One Denver 34, Minnesota 31
Elam's 27-yard FG with no time remaining notches Week One victory for Denver Baltimore, Detroit, New England, and St. Louis score victories too |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
February 3, 2001 - Los Angeles MFLA Week One was one of decisive victories, broken records, and at least one contest worthy of "Fantastic Finish" status. Kevin Ham's New England Patriot defense recorded two new MFLA sack records, one team and one individual, while HB Marshall Faulk of Min "Slayer" Robertson's St. Louis Rams broke the MFLA single game rushing record. Also, SS Rodney Harrison of the Jaguars tied the record for most interceptions by one [defensive] player in a single game. The most exciting game of Week One belonged to Fred "King Mur" Castillo and DeMarrio "DMAN" Gray. Castillo's Broncos escaped with a 34-31 victory over Gray's Vikings when Kicker Jason Elam kicked a 27-yard field goal with no time left. In other contests, Ham's New England Patriots defeated Tom Bout's Washington Redskins 59-7; Jeremy "Jerm Dog" Gardner's Jacksonville Jaguars knocked off Tim "The Bevv" Beverly's Baltimore Ravens 40-35; Paul "Sweetness" Neve's Detroit Lions turned back Oscar Torres' Oakland Raiders 29-14; and the contest between Tampa Bay and Tennessee was postponed to later on in the week. Fred Castillo's Denver Broncos looked dominating in the first half, where they took a 21-7 lead into the Halftime break. It was Minnesota though that drew first blood, when Vikings WR Randy Moss caught a nice diving catch in the endzone from one yard out from QB Troy Aikman. Minnesota led 7-0. Denver came right back towards the end of the quarter, when after an interception at the Minnesota 42-yard line, the Broncos went 38 yards in four plays that was capped off by WR Joey Galloway's 19-yard reception to tie the score at the end of one at 7-7. Denver pretty much owned the 2nd Quarter. Broncos FB Jerome Bettis ran over three defenders to conclude an eight play, 72-yard drive, to give Denver the lead at 14-7. Later on in the quarter, after stopping a Minnesota drive, the Broncos |
offense went 65 yards in five plays, and it was Galloway who scored his second touchdown of the day on a 33-yard TD reception from QB Trent Green. The Broncos now led 21-7 at Halftime. The 3rd Quarter started off with a bang for Minnesota when Special Teams Linebacker Lemanski Hall scooped up a fumble by Galloway on the opening kickoff return of the 2nd Half. Hall returned the fumble for a touchdown, and the Broncos lead was cut to 21-14. After stopping Denver on the next possession, the Vikings offense was back in business. They concluded an eight play, 54-yard drive with a Gary Anderson 31-yard field goal to put a further dent into Denver's lead at 21-17. Unfortunately for Minnesota though, Denver scored on their very first play from scrimmage on the next possession. Green found a wide open Galloway for a 79-yard touchdown reception to increase their lead to 28-17. After stopping Minnesota on their next drive, Elam kicked his second field goal of the game to end the quarter with the Broncos comfortably ahead, 31-17. The Vikings made a serious comeback in the 4th Quarter. First, Aikman found a wide open Moss running down the middle of the field, and his 45-yard catch-and-run touchdown cut Denver's lead to 31-24. Then, on Denver's next drive, Vikings CB Kenny Wright intercepted an errant pass by Green, and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 31-31. But ultimately, it was Gray's former stalwart, Galloway, that did him in. On Denver's last drive of the game, Galloway made two key catches in 3rd Down situations to keep the Broncos' drive alive. Finally, the hero status belonged to Elam and his highly dependable foot. "I'm disappointed I lost" said Gray after the game. "but, I have to admit ... that was one helluva way to start the season. It was definitely an exciting game to both play in and to watch."
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In Other MFLA Action. . . Jacksonville 40, Baltimore 35
Jaguars SS Rodney Harrison intercepted Raven QB Peyton Manning four times, and returned two of the four picks back for touchdowns, to lead Jacksonville to victory. Harrison's interceptions ties FS Jason Belser of the 2000 MFLA Indianapolis Colts for the most picks by one player in one game. The Jaguars defense had a total of six interceptions and five sacks. The Ravens defense had six sacks, with Linebacker Peter Boulware recording two. Ravens QB Peyton Manning threw for 472 yards and 4 TDs in a losing effort.
Detroit 29, Oakland 14
Quarterback Charlie Batch threw for 198 yards and one touchdown to lead a balanced attack as the Detroit Lions won their home opener. WR Marvin Harrison had 4 receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown to lead the offense. The Detroit defense intercepted Raiders QB Rich Gannon seven times and sacked him twice. Lions CB Troy Vincent had two interceptions. Raiders WR Jerry Porter had 9 receptions for 199 yards receiving and two touchdowns in a losing effort.
New England 59, Washington 7
The Patriots defense set two new MFLA sack records on their way to their 17th consecutive MFLA Regular Season victory. New England's defense recorded 17 team sacks, breaking the old record of 13 held by the 1999 MFLA Oakland Raiders, who were coached by '99 MFLA Super Bowl Champ Ali Tofighi. Also, DE Willie McGinest had nine (9) individual sacks, breaking the previous single game record of 6 held by DT Darrell Russell of the '99 MFLA Raiders. HB Corey Dillon had two rushing TDs, and WR Terrell Owens had two receiving TDs to lead the offense. Redskins WR Marcus Robinson had 145 yards receiving, and CB Deion Sanders had two interceptions to lead the Washington defense.
St. Louis 38, NY Jets 3
Rams HB Marshall Faulk set a new MFLA single game rushing record when he ran for 144 yards and four rushing touchdowns to lead St. Louis to a Week One victory. Faulk broke the previous record of 115 yards, which was held by Terrell Davis of the 2000 MFLA Denver Broncos. DT D'Marco Farr had four sacks to lead the Rams defense. QB Vinny Testaverde passed for 198 yards, but was intercepted twice and sacked eight times. Jets WR Dedric Ward had 92 yards receiving in a losing effort.
Tennessee 24, Tampa Bay 13
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
