ΧFL

McMahon set the season in motion by welcoming the crowd for the game between the Las Vegas Outlaws and New York/New Jersey Hitmen. Legendary NFL linebacker Dick Butkus then announced to the fans that possession would be determined by two players trying to grab a football stationed at midfield. Las Vegas safety Jamel Williams and New York/New Jersey's Donnie Caldwell were the participants, with Williams being the first player in XFL history to recover the opening ""jump ball"". The Outlaws took their initial possession into field goal range where Andy McCallum booted a 33-yard field goal for the first score. Ryan Clement threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and Las Vegas was never challenged as the Outlaws shut down the New York/New Jersey Hitmen, 19-0.

Orlando Rage 33 Chicago Enforcers 29 Orlando's Hassan Shamsid-Deen was knocked out before the game even started as the XFL quickly proved it is far removed from any football league seen before. The opening sprint for the ball - where two players run 20 yards then fight it out for the pigskin instead of the traditional coin toss - it was clear that the sport had taken a turn for the extreme. For the record, the Enforcers won the dash and elected to receive. Shamsid-Deen not only suffered the embarrassment of losing badly to Chicago's Troy Saunders, but also separated his left shoulder in the scrum. Jeff Brohm threw four touchdown passes, including three to Dialleo Burks, as Orlando held on for a 33-29 victory over Chicago on the inaugural night of the XFL. Brohm, a former Louisville standout and Orlando's first-round draft pick, completed 14 of 22 passes for 217 yards. Burks had five receptions for 53 yards as the Rage took advantage of their strength through the air. In the opening qua

Memphis Maniax 22 Birmingham Thunderbolts 20 Former Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam had a pair of first-half touchdown runs as Memphis edged Birmingham 22-20 in the XFL opener for both teams. Marcus Crandell and Daryl Hobbs hooked up on a 49-yard touchdown pass and Jeff Hall booted a 40-yard field goal to account for the rest of the scoring for Memphis, which held on after taking a 19-0 advantage. Salaam carried 27 times for 154 yards and opened the scoring with a 39-yard scamper just under 11 minutes into the contest. He added a one-yard score to make it 19-0 shortly after defensive back Rico Clark picked off Casey Weldon and returned it to the Birmingham 25-yard line. Weldon got the Bolts on the board with a 15-yard scoring strike to Damon Gourdine to cap a 14-play, 75-yard drive with 1:13 to play in the first half. The Bolts pulled within two points on Weldon's 33-yard TD strike to Quincy Jackson with 22 seconds remaining. But Receiver Darryl Hobbs recovered the ensuing onside

San Francisco Demons 15 Los Angeles Xtreme 13 Mike Panasuk kicked a controversial 33-yard field goal with no time left to give San Francisco a 15-13 victory over Los Angeles as the XFL made its Bay Area debut in front of a sellout crowd on Sunday. Mike Pawlawski was 31-of-47 for 288 yards and threw two touchdowns passes for the Demons in the first professional football game at Pac Bell Park. Pawlawski's 3-yard pass to Vaughn Dunbar gave the Demons a 6-0 lead with 3:31 left in the first quarter. That touchdown was set up when Eric Englund recovered an Xtreme fumble. Terrance Joseph knocked the ball loose from Maddox's hands on a pass attempt. Darnell McDonald caught a 28-yard scoring toss from Maddox late in the second quarter, and Rashaan Sheshe's run put the Xtreme in front at halftime, 7-6. Jose Cortez added a 36-yard field goal with 12:23 left to play. Pawlawski's 32-yard scoring pass to Calvin Schexnayder early in the fourth quarter erased a 10-6 deficit. San Francisco's Kevin Kaes

Los Angeles Xtreme 39 Chicago Enforcers 32 (2 OT) The game, the first pro football contest of any significance in the Los Angeles area since the Raiders and Rams left following the 1994 NFL season, had a few technical glitches. NBC, lost power to its truck -- a generator ran out of gas -- and missed televising most of the first quarter. The network lost its feed 1:45 into the contest, switched to San Francisco's game at Orlando, then returned to the Enforcers-Xtreme with 4:30 left in the first quarter when the generator was refueled. Former UCLA and NFL quarterback Tommy Maddox threw 65 passes, completing 38 for 412 yards and four touchdowns Saturday night, the last on Los Angeles' second possession of overtime, as the Los Angeles won their home debut 39-32 over Chicago. Los Angeles rallied from a 25-13 deficit in the final three minutes to force overtime. Maddox hit Damon Dunn with an eight-yard touchdown with 2:50 left to pull the Xtreme within 25-19. The extra point failed when Dunn

Orlando Rage 26 San Francisco Demons 14 Jeff Brohm completed 10 of 21 passes for 161 yards and one touchdown to pace Orlando. Mike Pawlawski was 36-of-52 for 294 yards and two TDs for San Francisco, which hurt itself with 13 penalties, a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and an end-zone interception. San Francisco drove 90 yards on its first possession to score on Pawlawski's 3-yard pass to Brian Roche, then gained only 54 yards the rest of the opening half. The Rage answered on its ensuing possession on Brohm's 49-yard scoring strike to Mario Bailey that tied it. Omar Brown gave the Rage a 13-7 lead with 80 seconds left in the first quarter, scooping up a fumble by San Francisco running back Brandon Young and returning it 20 yards for a touchdown. Orlando extended the lead to 19-7 less than five minutes into the second quarter on Brian Shay's 28-yard touchdown run. Derrick Clark, who played in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, provided the Rage with a 26-7 lead 6:48 left in the t

Birmingham Thunderbolts 19 New York / New Jersey Hitmen 12 Freezing temperatures and 22 mph wind that made it feel like 6 degrees - and that was at the start of the game -- sent most of the 36,458 fans at the Hitmen's home opener to the exits early Sunday night. Only about 5,000 hardy fans were left at Giants Stadium when Charles Puleri's fourth-and-14 pass from the Birmingham 19-yard line fell incomplete in the end zone, allowing Birmingham to beat New York / New Jersey 19-12 in a sloppily played game. Stepfret Williams, who played 26 NFL games mostly with the Dallas Cowboys, paced the Bolts' victory with eight catches for 134 yards. He caught a 70-yard second-quarter pass to set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Casey Weldon to Quincy Jackson, and gave Birmingham the lead for good with a league-best 95-yard punt return for a touchdown with 8:12 left in the third quarter. Weldon's conversion pass to Kaipo McGuire extended the lead to 13-6. Mike Archie's second 1-yard touchdown run got t

Las Vegas Outlaws 25 Memphis Maniax 3 Jason Kaiser and Kurt Gouveia scored on long fumble returns and Las Vegas' defense also set up a field goal as the Outlaws beat Memphis 25-3 on Sunday night in the XFL. Kaiser scored on an 80-yard return in the second quarter, and Gouveia had a 100-yarder in the third quarter. The victory left Las Vegas as one of only two XFL teams undefeated through the first two weeks. Orlando is the other. The two teams traded first-quarter field goals, a 47-yarder by the Outlaws' Paul McCallum and a 23-yarder by Jeff Hall. On the first play of the second quarter, the Maniax had the ball at the Las Vegas 20. But a bad handoff by Beau Morgan was picked up by Kaiser, who returned it for a 9-3 lead. With Memphis down by six early in the third quarter, Rashaan Salaam appeared to go over for a tying 8-yard touchdown run, but fumbled at the goal line. Gouveia scooped up the ball and returned it down the left sideline for a 15-3 lead. Chrys Chukwuma had a 9-yard touchd

Los Angeles Xtreme 12 Las Vegas Outlaws 9 Jose Cortez kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give Los Angeles a 12-9 victory over Las Vegas . Cortez also connected from 45, 44 and 36 yards to help Los Angeles win for the second straight week. Las Vegas, which allowed just three points in its first two games, dropped to 2-1. Xtreme safety Tinker Keck intercepted Mike Cawley's pass and returned the ball to the Las Vegas 41 with 1:11 left to set up the winning field goal. Los Angeles sacked Cawley, who played in place of injured starter Ryan Clement, seven times and limited Las Vegas to 140 yards of total offense. While the Outlaws' offense struggled, the defense held the Xtreme to 186 yards, including 39 rushing. Atendance: 26,135

San Francisco Demons 13 Memphis Maniax 6 Memphis' Jeff Hall kicked 31- and 36-yard field goals in the first half. But Mike Pawlawski threw two second-half touchdown passes to Terry Battle as San Francisco beat Memphis 13-6 in the XFL on Saturday night. Pawlawski, the league's leading passer, connected with Battle on passes of 9 and 24 yards as San Francisco overcame a 6-0 halftime deficit. San Francisco's first touchdown was set up by Emile Palmer's interception that gave the Demons the ball at the Memphis 25. The drive was helped by a pass interference call. Battle's second score came after a short Memphis punt gave the Demons the ball at the Maniax 41. The Maniax had a chance to tie it, but Jim Druckenmiller's fourth-down pass was intercepted by Wendell Davis at the San Francisco 11 with less than a minute to play. Pawlawski, who completed 67.7 percent of his passes in the first two games, was 19-of-37 for 184 yards. For the second consecutive game, the Memphis offense struggled,

Birmingham Thunderbolts 14 Chicago Enforcers 3 Duane Butler scored on a 98-yard interception return with less than two minutes to play as Birmingham beat Chicago 14-3. The interception was the third turnover by Chicago. The others also came in Birmingham territory, including a fumble by running back John Avery in the first quarter. The Enforcers' only score came on a 33-yard field goal by Andy Crossland in the first quarter. James Bostic, who played at Auburn, scored the Bolts' other touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:36 left in the first half. Bolts linebacker James Willis, the league's leading tackler, had 11 stops. Butler had nine tackles and defensive back Chris Shelling had eight. The game featured offsetting personal foul penalties that seemed to be borrowed from the XFL's relative, the WWF. After a third-quarter play, Enforcers' tackle Christopher Perez chopped Willis below the neck, almost mimicking a wrestling move. Willis stumbled backward, then shoved Perez to the ground. Atte

Orlando Rage 18 New York / New Jersey Hitmen 12 Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jeff Brohm, looking like Steve Young, scrambled 33 yards down the middle, juking three defenders on his way to the winning touchdown with 2:33 remaining as Orlando is the only undefeated team left after beating New York / New Jersey 18-12. The Hitmen began moving the ball in the second half behind backup quarterback Wally Richardson. Heeding the advice from several signs in the stands saying ""Pull Puleri,"" Hitmen coach Rusty Tillman benched struggling quarterback Charlie Puleri after another poor half. The Hitmen took the lead 6-3 when Leo Araguz, who had a 42-yard field goal in the first half, made one from 39 in the third quarter. It was set up by Damen Wheeler's interception and 12-yard return to the Rage's 29. Richardson guided New York-New Jersey 74 yards on 12 plays and a fourth-quarter touchdown. He hit tight end Marcus Hinton over the middle from the 20 and Hinton bulled into the end zone for

New York / New Jersey Hitmen 13 Chicago Enforcers 0 New York / New Jersey got the lone touchdown of a sloppily played game to slog past Chicago 13-0, leaving the Enforcers as the only team in the league without a victory. New York/New Jersey (1-3) opened the scoring on Araguz's 19-yard first-quarter field goal and survived a last-second second-period threat to preserve the 3-0 lead. Following a pass interference call that gave the Enforcers the ball at the Hitmen 1 with one second left in the half, Chicago coach Ron Meyer spurned a chance for the tying field goal and decided to go for it. But LeShon Johnson was stuffed at the line for no gain - the only serious threat for the Enforcers, who managed just six first downs. Joe Aska, activated from the practice squad for the game, scored on a 1-yard run with 2:47 left in the third quarter after Tawambi Settles' interception came after the ball slipped out of Enforcers' quarterback Tim Lester's hands near the Chicago goal line. Araguz's 37-

Orlando Rage 30 Birmingham Thunderbolts 6 Defensive end Bill Duff scored on a 48-yard fumble return as Orlando improved to 4-0 with a 30-6 victory over Birmingham on Saturday night in the XFL. Duff scooped up Casey Weldon's fumble and raced into the end zone to give Orlando a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Orlando opened the scoring early in the second quarter on Jeff Brohm's 12-yard TD pass to Brian Shay. After Duff made it 14-0, Jay Taylor added a 42-yard field goal on the final play of the half. Orlando scored again early in the fourth quarter, with Derrick Clark finishing off a 76-yard with a 9-yard run. Weldon threw a 36-yard TD pass to Quincy Jackson for the Bolts, but Mario Bailey returned an onside kick 42 yards for the final score of the game. Brohm completed 14 of 19 passes for 173 yards and no interceptions. Weldon was 26-of-36 for 249 yards and no interceptions, but surrendered the critical fumble and was sacked four times. Attendance: 21,947

Las Vegas Outlaws 16 San Francisco Demons 9 There was a lot of pushing and shoving among the players. San Francisco receiver Jimmy Cunningham and Las Vegas defensive back Kevin Scott were both penalized for their clash in the first quarter. Mike Pawlawski hit Brandin Young with a 13-yard swing-pass as the Demons took a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter. Pawlawski completed 25 of 35 passes for 223 yards. It was the first touchdown that the Las Vegas defense has allowed this season. The opposing teams scuffled briefly after the Demons failed to convert for the extra point. Las Vegas running back Rod Smart, known for his jersey moniker ""He Hate Me,"" ran 3 yards for a touchdown with just less than four minutes before the half. The Outlaws' 1-point conversion attempt also failed. Mike Panasuk nailed a 36-yard field goal just before halftime to put the Demons up 9-6. But Mark Grieb threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Mike Furrey put the Outlaws up 13-9 in the third quarter. Paul McCallum ad

Memphis Maniax 18 Los Angeles Xtreme 12 Rashaan Salaam rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown as Memphis beat Los Angeles 18-12 in rain-soaked Los Angeles Coliseum. Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner at Colorado, scored on a 21-yard run in the game that featured 11 fumbles - eight by the Maniax and three by the Xtreme. Both teams lost two fumbles. Jim Druckenmiller, starting in place of the injured Marcus Crandell, threw a 2-yard TD pass to Tre Thomas and finished 13-of-22 for 215 yards for the Maniax. Jeff Hall kicked field goals of 29 and 23 yards. Los Angeles' Tommy Maddox was clearly was affected by the weather conditions completed just 11 of 35 for 121 yards and a TD, a 6-yarder to Darnell McDonald in the third quarter. Jose Cortez kicked field goals of 40 and 47 yards for Los Angeles. Attendance: 18,341

Los Angeles Xtreme 22 New York / New Jersey Hitmen 7 Tommy Maddox threw two touchdown passes and Jose Cortez kicked three field goals to lead Los Angeles to a 22-7 victory over New York-New Jersey. The Hitmen dropped to 0-3 at home and missed on a scoring opportunity when they took the opening kickoff and drove to the Los Angeles 16 before quarterback Wally Richardson was hit by Jeff Russell and fumbled. Leomont Evans recovered at the Xtreme 11 and returned the ball to the 35. Maddox, who was 23-of-37 for 287 yards, led an 11-play, 65-yard drive capped by Maddox's 5-yard TD pass to Josh Wilcox. Maddox ran in for the point after. The Hitmen responded with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that was capped by Richardson's 8-yard pass to Zola Davis. Marcus Hinton caught Richardson's pass for the extra point. Cortez kicked field goals of 34 and 27 yards before halftime to give the Xtreme a 13-7 lead. Jermaine Copeland's 5-yard reception at 9:17 of the third quarter made it 19-7. A 27-yard field g

San Francisco Demons 39 Birmingham Thunderbolts 10 Pat Barnes threw two touchdown passes and Juan Johnson rushed for 99 yards as San Francisco beat Birmingham 39-10. The teams had difficulty consistently moving the ball in a steady rain at Pacific Bell Park, but Barnes led San Francisco to three quick touchdowns in the first half. The Demons played without starting quarterback Mike Pawlawski, who will be sidelined three weeks with a neck injury. Barnes moved the Demons' offense efficiently in his first start. He threw for 100 yards and hit Johnson and Brian Roberson with scoring passes. Barnes also rushed for 28 yards and another score. Terry Battle scored on a 3-yard run early in the third quarter that gave San Francisco a 27-3 lead. Mike Panasuk added two field goals. Birmingham lost its second straight as quarterback Casey Weldon completed just 4-of-13 passes for 35 yards. He fumbled once and threw two interceptions. Jay Barker came off the bench to throw for 106 yards -- 92 on a fo

Chicago Enforcers 15 Las Vegas Outlaws 13 Mark Grieb found Yo Murphy with touchdown passes of 19 and 7 yards in the first half for Las Vegas, but the Outlaws were held scoreless in the final two quarters. Charles Wiley scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter as the Enforcers scored their first touchdown in six quarters. Andy Crossland added a 31-yard field goal to cut the Las Vegas lead to 13-9. LeShon Johnson scored on a 2-yard run with 19 seconds left as Chicago beat Las Vegas 15-13 for their first victory of the year. Johnson's touchdown capped an eight-play, 82-yard drive. Kevin McDougal made his first start as quarterback for Chicago and completed 17 of 22 passes for 169 yards. Attendance: 15,281

Orlando Rage 21 Memphis Maniax 19 Backup quarterback Brian Kuklick threw for 207 yards and a touchdown, and Jay Taylor kicked a go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter to lead Orlando to a 21-19 victory over Memphis. The victory left Orlando as the XFL's only undefeated team, while Memphis has lost all three of its home games. Orlando's first-half touchdowns came in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Clark and a 23-yard pass from Jeff Brohm to Mario Bailey. But Brohm was knocked out of the game on a clean hit after throwing the touchdown pass to Mario Bailey late in the first quarter. He suffered a cervical sprain and was taken off the field in an ambulance but returned to the sidelines in the second half, wearing a neck brace. Memphis led 16-12 at halftime thanks to Hall's field goal and touchdowns from Rashaan Salaam, on a 5-yard run in the first quarter, and Charles Jordan, on a 44-yard pass from Jim Druckenmiller early in the second. Salaam's touchdown came after Orlando's Derr

Orlando Rage 27 Las Vegas Outlaws 15 Jeff Brohm threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns as Orlando closed in on a playoff berth, remaining the only unbeaten team in the XFL with a 27-15 victory over Las Vegas. Brohm completed 13 of 20 passes to help Orlando, the league's highest-scoring team at just over 25 per game, put up the highest point total of the season against Las Vegas, which had only allowed 39 in its first five games. Ben Snell's 4-yard touchdown reception gave Las Vegas a 6-0 lead and McCallum's 41-yard field goal, set up by Yo Murphy's 69-yard kickoff return, put the Outlaws ahead 9-7 midway through the second quarter. Brohm, meanwhile, started despite missing most of Orlando's previous game against Memphis because of a slight concussion. He threw a 7-yard TD pass to Lawrence Hart in the second quarter and the Rage took a 14-9 halftime lead on Brian Shay's 11-yard scoring run. Paul McCallum kicked a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter and added a 22-yarder to give the

Memphis Maniax 29 Chicago Enforcers 23 Jim Druckenmiller passed for 413 yards and three touchdowns, leading Memphis to a 29-23 victory over Chicago. Druckenmiller completed 26-of-40 passes and was intercepted once as Memphis amassed 513 yards of total offense and won for the second time in three games. Memphis' Rashaan Salaam, the XFL's leading rusher, was held to 35 on eight carries. But his one-yard plunge opened the scoring 4:51 into the game. John Avery rushed for 78 yards on 11 carries. His 25-yard TD gave the Enforcers a 7-6 lead with 7:59 left in the opening period. Charles Jordan caught 10 passes for 240 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown that gave the Maniax a 12-10 lead 47 seconds into the second quarter. LeShon Johnson ran for two scores, giving the Enforcers a 23-22 edge with a seven-yard scamper with two minutes left. Druckenmiller capped a nine-play, 77-yard drive with a 26-yard pass to Daryl Hobbs for the winning score with 20 seconds remaining. Attendance: 17,434

New York / New Jersey Hitmen 20 San Francisco Demons 12 Joe Aska's return to the Bay Area was an overwhelming success. The former Oakland Raider put the finishing touches on his team's victory with a 2-yard touchdown dive late in the fourth quarter as New York / New Jersey defeated San Francisco 20-12 at Pacific Bell Park. Aska added a conversion run and watched as the Hitmen recorded four sacks of the Demons' Pat Barnes. San Francisco took a 6-0 lead on 63-yard punt return by former CFL standout Jimmy Cunningham with early in the first quarter. On the next play from scrimmage, the Hitmen used a trick play to take the lead - wide receiver Zola Davis threw a 74-yard pass to a wide open Kirby Dar Dar. The Hitmen went up 14-6 with 7:46 left in the second quarter on a 2-yard scoring pass from Wally Richardson to running back Mike Archie. San Francisco closed to 14-12 with 11:24 remaining on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Barnes to Travis Moore, capping a 71-yard drive after the Hitmen's Leo

Los Angeles Xtreme 35 Birmingham Thunderbolts 26 Saladin McCullough rushed for 124 yards and scored two touchdowns as Los Angeles beat Birmingham 35-26. The win gave Los Angeles sole possession of first place in the XFL West Division. Los Angeles quarterback Tommy Maddox completed 17 of 25 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns. Jeremaine Copeland had seven receptions for 82 yards and one touchdown. There were five lead changes before the Xtreme took the lead for good on a 19-yard field goal by Jose Cortez in the fourth quarter. The kick was set up by an interception by Errick Herrin. Los Angeles added to its lead with 1:45 to play on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Maddox to Copeland. Maddox leads the XFL with 10 touchdown passes and 1,389 passing yards. Birmingham quarterback Casey Weldon completed 16 of 21 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns before leaving the game at the end of the third quarter with a wrist injury. Jay Barker - a hometown favorite who quarterbacked Alabama t

New York / New Jersey Hitmen 16 Memphis Maniax 15 Wally Richardson threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Zola Davis in the corner of the end zone with nine seconds left giving New York / New Jersey Hitmen a 16-15 victory over Memphis. After a scoreless first quarter, Leo Araguz 27-yard field goal in the opening seconds of the second gave the Hitmen a brief lead, but Jim Druckenmiller drove Memphis 59 yards for a 6-3 lead on a 5-yard TD pass to Mark Thomas. Druckenmiller hit Daryl Hobbs for a 6-yard TD at 13:10, and Jeff Hall connected with a 41-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the half to send the Maniax to the locker room with a 15-3 lead. The Hitmen pulled them within 15-10 after Richardson's 9-yard touchdown to Davis and Ryan Collins converted the extra point with 2:04 left in the third. NY / NJ down 15-10 after the third quarter, the Hitmen used a nine-play 64-yard drive over the final 1:49 of the game to take a one-point lead. After Joe Aska was stuffed for a loss with 32 seconds

San Francisco Demons 21 Memphis Maniax 12 Mike Pawlawski threw two of his three touchdown passes in the second quarter when San Francisco scored 15 unanswered points en route to a 21-12 victory over Memphis. Pawlawski completed 26 of 44 passes for 215 yards as San Francisco won for just the second time in five games and moved into a tie with Las Vegas for second place in the Western Division. Pawlawski capped a nine-play, 62-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Travis Moore with 7:40 left in the second quarter that tied the score, 6-6. On San Francisco's next possession, he directed a seven-play 52-yard drive that ended with Brian Robertson's 12-yard reception to put the Demons ahead for good, 12-6, with 1:45 left before intermission. Jim Druckenmiller, a former first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers, was 14 of 30 for 203 yards and two TDs. But Druckenmiller was intercepted by Terrell Sutton, who had a 12-yard return to the Demons 49. Eighth plays later, Mike Panasuk kic

Orlando Rage 17 New York / New Jersey Hitmen 12 Brian Shay's game-opening 95-yard kickoff return set up a touchdown and Brian Kuklick passed for another as Orlando clinched the Eastern Division title with a 17-12 win over New York / New Jersey Hitmen. Shay's return set up a one-yard TD run by Derrick Clark just 40 seconds into the game. Kuklick, starting for the injured Jeff Brohm, fumbled late in the first quarter and linebacker Ron Merkerson returned it 43 yards for a touchdown to cut the Hitmen's deficit to 7-6. But the Rage extended their advantage to 14-6 with 6:11 left in the second quarter when Kuklick connected with Dialleo Burks for a 20-yard TD. Jay Taylor's 20-yard field goal on the last play of the third quarter made it 17-6. The Hitmen got within 17-12 on a 33-yard scoring pass from Wally Richardson to Mike Archie with 5:32 remaining. They got the ball back at their own 34 with 1:46 left and got to the Orlando 46 before four straight incompletions stalled the drive and e

Chicago Enforcers 13 Birmingham Thunderbolts 0 John Avery continued his NFL audition by rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns as Chicago posted their first shutout, a 13-0 victory over Birmingham. Avery, a former NFL first-round pick, has been among the top players in the fledgling minor league. He surpassed his own league record of 157 yards against Orlando on February 3. Corey Ivy had a pair of interceptions for Chicago, which dealt Birmingham its fifth straight loss. Kerry Cooks and Dorian Brew also had pickoffs for the Enforcers, who allowed 335 total yards but kept the Bolts off the scoreboard. Chicago also knocked out Birmingham quarterback Jay Barker, who completed 13 of 17 passes for 169 yards before being drilled by defensive back Ray Austin and leaving with a concussion midway through the second quarter. Graham Leigh replaced Barker and was 9 of 27 for 102 yards and three interceptions. On the game's first play from scrimmage, Avery raced for a 73 yard TD to give the Enf

Chicago Enforcers 23 New York / New Jersey Hitmen 18 New York / New Jersey jumped to an 8-0 first-quarter lead when Kevin McDougal was called for a safety for grounding in the end zone and Joe Aska scored on a 15-yard run. McDougal cut the lead to 8-6 with a 9-yard TD pass to Luke Leverson. Chicago took a 9-8 lead on an 18-yard field goal by Andy Crosland. Leo Araguz gave the Hitmen an 11-9 lead with a 28-yard field goal with 58 seconds left in the first half, but McDougal drove the Enforcers 75 yards in seven plays, with McDougal and Leverson combining on a 16-yard TD with six seconds left in the half. Chicago did its best to give the game away, turning the ball over three times in the second half, highlighted by Joey Eloms 76-yard interception return that gave the Hitmen an 18-16 lead early in the third quarter. Needing a victory to avoid elimination, it did not look good for the Enforcers before receiving a big play from their defense. In position to run out the clock, the Hitmen pi

Memphis Maniax 27 Los Angeles Xtreme 12 Jim Druckenmiller threw three touchdown passes as Memphis beat Los Angeles 27-12. The Maniax opened the scoring on Druckenmiller's 22-yard TD pass to Charles Jordan following Corey Sawyer's interception. Ketric Sanford ran for 82 yards for Memphis, including a 30-yard scoring run that gave Memphis a 13-0 lead. Los Angeles' Saladin McCullough scored on a 14-yard run late in the third quarter, and Jose Cortez made two field goals. Druckenmiller connected with Beau Morgan on a 7-yard scoring pass to give Memphis a 20-6 early in the third quarter, and put the game out of reach with a 28-yard TD pass to Daryl Hobbs with just over 10 minutes to play. Two of Los Angeles' three losses have come against Memphis. Attendance: 21,191

San Francisco Demons 14 Las Vegas Outlaws 9 The Demons' defense scored a touchdown, set up another and sealed the game with a late takeaway gave San Francisco a 14-9 victory over Las Vegas and a spot in the XFL playoffs. The Outlaws opened the scoring in the second quarter with Ryan Clement completing five passes on an 80-yard drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by Rod Smart, who carried 28 times for 121 yards. San Francisco struck back as Wendell Davis forced a fumble on a Las Vegas punt return and Lee Cole recovered in the end zone for a touchdown with 40 seconds left before halftime. The Demons' defense came through again in the third quarter, when Dwayne Harper picked off Clement's pass and returned it 49 yards to the Las Vegas' 36-yard line. Two plays later, Mike Pawlawski connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Terry Battle for a 12-6 lead with 5:17 left in the third. Paul McCallum kicked a 32-yard field goal early in the final period to get the Outlaws within 12-9. La

Memphis Maniax 16 Las Vegas Outlaws 3 Jim Druckenmiller threw for 152 yards and a touchdown to lead Memphis to a season-ending 16-3 victory over Las Vegas. Memphis finished 5-5, while the Outlaws lost five out of their last six games for a 4-6 record. With both teams already having been eliminated from playoff contention there was nothing more than bragging rights on the line. The Maniax opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on Ketric Sanford's 2-yard run, and made it 10-0 late in the quarter on Jeff Hall's 20-yard field goal. Memphis scored on its third straight possession when Druckenmiller connected with Charles Jordan on a 5-yard scoring strike early in the second quarter. Las Vegas' Paul McCallum kicked a 34-yard field goal with three seconds left in the first half. Attendance: 15,378

San Francisco Demons 26 Orlando Rage 25 Mike Panasuk broke a fourth-quarter tie with a 40-yard field goal and quarterback Pat Barnes scored twice on 1-yard TD runs as the Demons advanced to the XFL's Million Dollar Game next Saturday. San Francisco will play a road game against the winner of Sunday's Los Angeles/Chicago semifinal contest. Early in the first quarter, Demons quarterback Pat Barnes was leveled as he threw, and the ball squirted into the hands of Orlando defensive tackle Ben Huff. Huff rumbled 17 yards for a touchdown and a 9-0 lead. On the next play from scrimmage, Orlando linebacker Sedrick Clark stripped the ball from Demons halfback Terry Battle after a short reception and recovered the ball. Aided by a 24-yard pass interference penalty, the Rage cashed in three plays later on Derrick Clark's 1-yard scoring run. The Rage, taking advantage of San Francisco's mistakes, rolled out to the 16-0 lead. But San Francisco clamped down on Orlando after the first quarter, forcing

Los Angeles Xtreme 38 San Francisco Demons 6 Former NFL backup Tommy Maddox threw for two touchdown passes, and Jose Cortez, a roofer from Oregon, kicked four field goals as the Los Angeles Xtreme beat the San Francisco Demons 38-6 on Saturday in the first XFL championship game. The ""Million Dollar Game"" drew a crowd of 24,153 to the 90,000-seat Los Angeles Coliseum. Attendance was some 10,000 fewer than the Xtreme's inaugural game at home, but almost double the gate of 13,081 for Los Angeles' semifinal victory over Chicago a week earlier. The Xtreme's defense, led by Ron Carpenter's two interceptions, shut out the Demons until the final 25 seconds after earlier blanking San Francisco in the regular-season finale. The Xtreme will split the $1 million bonus 45 ways because the 38 players on the regular roster voted to include the seven players on their practice squad. That works out to $22,222 per man, about half what each earned for the entire 10-game regular season. Maddox, a former U