EPFA '73 is underway ...
 

Ed's Professional Football Association kicked off tonight, as the 1973 Steelers met the 1973 Patriots in a Week 1 battle. Denver and San Francisco await in the small season's other opener.

I picked the '73 rosters since I was born that summer, so that's my first football season. Each season will advance a year, and a couple expansion teams will be added.

I ran 22 plays tonight, and under the timing system I use, there are 5:00 left in the first quarter. Defenses dominated the first half of the quarter, but both teams are finding open spaces now.

Here's tonight's action:

FIRST QUARTER
NE 15:00
1) KOR - Herron 11 yards (Ham)
2) Ashton -8 yards catch from Plunkett (Greenwood)
3) Cunningham 0 yards catch from Plunkett (Greenwood)
4) Plunkett 2 yard run (Meyer)
5) Punt - 49 yards; Edwards 8 yard return (Rucker)

PITT 12:39
6) Bradshaw inc.
7) Harris 5 yard run (Mason)
8) Harris -6 yard run (Cash)
9) Punt - 47 yards; touchback.

NE 10:53
10) Cunningham -11 yard run (turned)
11) Tarver -5 yard run (Holmes)
12) Plunkett 5 yard run (Ham)
13) Punt - 38 yards; Edwards 0 yard return (Herron)

PITT 8:50
14) Bleier 1 yard run (Rowe)
15) Bradshaw inc.
16) Lewis 11 yard catch from Bradshaw (Chandler)
17) Pearson 8 yard run (Kiner)
18) Pearson 27 yard run TOUCHDOWN (PAT blocked by Rowe)
* The dice called for a penalty on the play, but it was against New England and declined.



NE 6:29
19) KOR Ashton 12 yards (turned)
20) Cunningham 12 yard run (OB)
21) Tarver -3 yard run (Holmes)
22) Herron 48 yard catch from Plunkett (OB)

So, with 5:00 left in the first quarter, New England is finally in Pittsburgh territory at the 31. But on the strength of the Pearson scamper, the STEELERS have a 6-0 lead over the PATRIOTS.

Hoping to get some more plays in tomorrow.

Roo wnnrcgr

Of note ... just starting small with 4 teams in the EPFA since I have a larger ECFA (14 teams) that will kick off soon. The leagues will be tied through drafts, etc.

Every team in the EPFA will play each other once (no point in doing home & away since not every team has its own board). The top 2 teams will meet in Super Bowl I. The league will expand to 6 teams for 1974 (after the college season is complete).

Here are the Week 1 matchups in the ECFA, all non-conference games:

Purdue vs. Nebraska
Florida vs. Texas
Michigan vs. Kentucky
Ohio State vs. Florida State
Illinois vs. Virginia
Syracuse vs. Oklahoma
BYU vs. Clemson

The ECFA will feature teams playing an 8-game schedule, 6 in their conference, and 2 against the other conference. The conference champions will meet in Commonwealth Bowl II for the national championship. Deserving teams with good records will meet in other bowls to be arranged as warranted.

Roo shkthbx: wnnrcgr

Had a chance to play out the first quarter:

NE 5:00 (possession continued)
23) Cunningham 2 yard run (OB)
24) Cunningham -7 yard run (Holmes)
25) Plunkett inc.
26) 53-yard FG - missed, wide left.

PITT 3:31
27) Pearson 2 yard run (Boyd)
28) Bradshaw inc.
29) Lewis 9 yard catch from Bradshaw (Anderson)
30) Bradshaw inc.
31) Pearson -4 yard run (Boyd)
32) Bradshaw inc.
33) Punt - 34 yards; Anderson 25 yard return (OB)

NE 0:34
34) Cunningham -1 yard run (Ham)

***END FIRST QUARTER***

PITTSBURGH 6, NEW ENGLAND 0

Time of Possession: NE 7:56; PITT 7:04.
Rushing: NE -6; PITT 33
Passing: NE 40; PITT 20
Total Yards: NE 34, PITT 53

Individual Stats - New England:
Rushing: Plunkett 2-7; Cunningham 5-(-5); Tarver 2-(-8).
Passing: Plunkett 3-of-4, 40 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving: Ashton 1-(-8); Cunningham 1-0; Herron 1-48.

Individual Stats - Pittsburgh:
Rushing: 2-(-1); Bleier 1-1; Pearson 4-33 (1 TD).
Passing: Bradshaw 2-of-7, 20 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving: Lewis 2-20.

Defenses are dominant early, and Bradshaw's inaccuracy has killed a couple Pittsburgh possessions. To start the second quarter, New England will have the ball at its own 40, facing 2nd-and-11.

Roo wnnrcgr shkthbx:

Nice Stats and Great Defensive Battle!!!
 

Ed,

I love the stats. They show that the defenses are ahead of the offense at this point! I forgot Preston Pearson was a Steeler back in the day too! Sam Cunningham was a beast but it seems like those Steelers are laying some wood to him!

Did you make Mini Mack Herron mini? I see he had a big reception for 48 yards. He was one heck of a player. He's often overlooked. Great to see one of my heroes, Jim Plunkett, doing his thing with the Pats. You know, he was really a great QB but injuries caused him to not do well in New England.

How are the injuries gonna work? How many plays did you get off in the 1st quarter? Can you explain your timing system because it seemed like you had quite a significant amount of plays in that opening quarter.

Let's keep the chatter going on this and devise some plan to put these solitaire results of yours, Ravenna Al's, and everyone else's writeups in some type of form.

I love this stuff! Keep doing it Ed!

Reg

Thanks Reg, appreciate the note and hope you and others will continue to follow along. I was checking out RavennaAl's thread earlier, he's getting toward crunch time!

Injuries - the funny thing is I was so amped to get into the first game, and I hadn't developed my injury chart! mgngcrz ... It will be pros only, because ECFA teams only have 11 on each side of the ball total, where as EPFA teams have 14-15. Players will miss 2-12 snaps for their side of the ball, I just have to develop a chart to use as a player identifer. The QBs and OL don't have backups, so it will only be RBs, TEs, and WRs. On defense, the DL typically don't have backups, but usually there is an extra linebacker, and a couple extra DBs, so they will be susceptible. With only playing a 3-game, or maybe 6-game season, doing multiple-game injuries seems too much.

Timing: Plays in ECFA/EPFA play are timed as follows:

Normal play, where clock would continue to run: 35 seconds.
Normal play, where clock would stop: 18 seconds.

In the last 2 minutes of the half or game, teams can use the hurry-up offense. In this situation:

Hurry-up, where clock would continue to run: 18 seconds.
Hurry-up, where clock would stop: 8 seconds.

I expect I'm going to end up somewhere between 120-130 plays each game, which is about right.

Roo wnnrcgr shkthbx:

PITTSBURGH v. NEW ENGLAND

2nd quarter action - in progress

NE 15:00
35) Ashton 1 yard run (White)
36) Plunkett inc.
37) 43 yard punt, no return

PITT 13:49
38) Harris -3 yard run (Acks)
39) Shanklin 9 yard catch from Bradshaw (Anderson) + NE 15 PEN (Facemask)
40) Pearson -6 yard run (Boyd)
41) Bradshaw INTERCEPTED (Acks - 13 yard return)

NE 11:46
42) Ashton 4 yard catch from Plunkett (White)
43) Plunkett inc.
44) Ashton 6 yard catch from Plunkett (Edwards)
45) Ashton 17 yard catch from Plunkett TOUCHDOWN - PAT GOOD.
NEW ENGLAND 7, PITTSBURGH 6



PITT 10:00
46) Pearson 23 yard KOR (Boyd)
47) Pearson 13 catch from Bradshaw (Chandler)
48) Pearson -1 yard catch from Bradshaw (Boyd)
49) Barry Pearson -7 yard catch from Bradshaw (Bolton)
50) Lewis 12 yard catch from Bradshaw (Acks)
51) 32 yard punt, no return.

When we resume play tonight, New England will have the ball 1st-and-10 at its own 28, with 7:04 to play in the first half.

I picked the '73 rosters since I was born that summer, so that's my first football season. Each season will advance a year, and a couple expansion teams will be added.

Are you sure you're not dyslexic Ed? As I recall from the last pic I saw of you, I would have sworn you were born in '37...... ;) :D :D :D

Good luck with your league. Too bad you don't have the '73 Rams in there. If I remember correctly, they had a 12-2 record that year and should have been in the Superbowl. :dohdh:

Ha. Nice. ppls$

I actually picked these 4 teams because they were the 4 that I had. I have run Pittsburgh, Denver, and San Francisco in leagues, and New England I had prepared to run in a league that never got off the ground.

I plan on adding two NFC teams for '74; I'm pretty certain the Minnesota Vikings will be one due to their Super Bowl appearance. I'm torn between the LA Rams and Dallas for the other. I'd probably go the Rams at this point, since Dallas would have an in based on their Super Bowl appearance in '75.

Ed

And now, let's close out the half between the Steelers and the Patriots:

NE 7:04
52) Ashton 8 yard run (White)
53) Ashton -1 yard run (Ham)
54) Ashton 19 yard run (Greenwood)
55) Cunningham 4 yard run (Toews)
56) Ashton -1 yard run (Wagner)
57) Ashton -5 yard run (Blount)
58) 48-yard punt, touchback.

PITT 3:16
59) Pearson 5 yard run (Chandler)
60) Pearson 29 yard run (Anderson)
* Pearson rounded right end then turned up field, only to have Anderson cross from the opposite safety position and make a key tackle. Great play.
61) Bradshaw inc.
62) Pearson 1 yard run (Kiner)
63) 57-yard field goal GOOD!
PITTSBURGH 9, NEW ENGLAND 7

NE 0:32
64) KOR - Enforced touchback, NE ball at the 25.
65) Plunkett inc.
66) Plunkett INTERCEPTED (White - 3 yard return)
* This was an honest-to-goodness horrible pass by me. White was in the passing lane, as Plunkett sought Rucker on a 20-yard route over the middle. I focused too much on avoiding White instead of hitting Rucker, and fired a softie right to White, who was tackled just about immediately, sparing disaster on the final play for the Patriots.



*** END OF 1ST HAL*************************

Pittsburgh 9
New England 7

Time of Possession: NE 15:13; PITT 14:47
Rushing: NE 19; PITT 59
Passing: NE 67; PITT 51
Total Yards: NE 86; PITT 110
Total Plays: NE 27; PITT 27

Individual Stats - New England:
Rushing: Plunkett 2-7; Cunningham 6-(-1); Tarver 2-(-8); Ashton 6-21.
Passing: Plunkett 6-of-11, 67 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Ashton 4-19 (1 TD); Cunningham 1-0; Herron 1-48.

Individual Stats - Pittsburgh:
Rushing: Harris 3-(-4); Bleier 1-1; P. Pearson 8-62 (1 TD).
Passing: Bradshaw 8-of-15, 51 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Lewis 3-32; Shanklin 1-9; P. Pearson 3-17; B. Pearson 1-(-7).

Game is likely to recommence tomorrow, with Pittsburgh getting the ball to open the second half.

Roo wnnrcgr shkthbx:

And now, the EPFA opener is in the books. And what a game!

THIRD QUARTER

PITT 15:00
67) KOR - Enforced Touchback (ball is automatically put at 25, rather than running a return).
68) Harris 4 yard run (Chandler)
69) Pearson 2 yard run (Rowe)
70) Pearson 26 yard catch from Bradshaw (Kiner)
71) Harris 0 yard run (Hamilton)
72) Pearson -1 yard run (Anderson)
73) Bradshaw INTERCEPTED (Acks - 0 yard return)

NE 11:29
74) Plunkett inc.
75) Plunkett inc.
76) Ashton 3 yard run (Toews)
77) Punt - 35 yards; PR Ham 1 yard (Vataha)

PITT 10:00
78) Bradshaw inc.
79) Pearson -9 yard catch from Bradshaw (Boyd)
80) Bradshaw -2 sacked (Hamilton)
81) Punt - 47 yards; PR Boyd 16 yards (Brown)

NE 8:14
82) Ashton -5 yard run (Greene) + PITT 15 Penalty
83) Cunningham 1 yard run (Ham)
84) Ashton -6 yard run (Holmes)
85) Windsor 32 yard catch from Plunkett TOUCHDOWN (PAT kick good)
NEW ENGLAND 14, PITTSBURGH 9



PITT 6:11
86) KOR - Pearson 17 (Boyd)
87) Pearson 2 yard run FUMBLED/LOST (Hamilton)

NE 5:35
88) Tarver -8 yard run (Holmes)
89) Ahston -2 yard run (Ham)
90) Plunkett inc.
91) FG 46 yards GOOD
NEW ENGLAND 17, PITTSBURGH 9

PITT 3:49
92) KOR - Enforced Touchback.
93) Pearson 3 yard run (Anderson)
94) Pearson 2 yard catch from Bradshaw (Boyd) + NE 15 Penalty
95) Pearson -2 yard run (Adams)
96) Pearson -13 yard run (Hoey)
97) Pearson 39 yard catch from Bradshaw
98) Bradshaw inc.
99) Bradshaw inc.
100) Pearson -1 yad run (Anderson)

END OF THIRD QUARTER

Pittsburgh 9
New England 17

Time of Possession: NE 20:31; PITT 24:29
Rushing: NE 2; PITT 53
Passing: NE 99; PITT 107
Total Yards: NE 101; PITT 160
Total Plays: NE 37; PITT 45

Individual Stats - New England:
Rushing: Plunkett 2-7; Cunningham 7-0; Tarver 3-(-16); Ashton 10-11.
Passing: Plunkett 7-of-15, 99 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Ashton 4-19 (1 TD); Cunningham 1-0; Herron 1-48; Windsor 1-32 (1 TD).

Individual Stats - Pittsburgh:
Rushing: Harris 5-0; Bleier 1-1; P. Pearson 15-52 (1 TD).
Passing: Bradshaw 12-of-23, 109 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT; 1 sack, -2 yards.
Receiving: Lewis 3-32; Shanklin 1-9; P. Pearson 5-34; B. Pearson 1-(-7).

NOTE: In the third quarter, the teams combined to gain -23 yards rushing!

Roo wnnrcgr shkthbx:

Yards on the ground are...
 

hard to come by!

You're already at 100 plays! It just tells me that even at 100 plays, scoring does not have to be off the chart. You can still have a great game and have stops.

Them backs are having a hard time of it! Keep doing what you're doing. Entertaining Roo!

Reg

FOURTH QUARTER

PITT 15:00
101) FG - 49 yards GOOD
NEW ENGLAND 17, PITTSBURGH 12

NE 14:42
102) KOR - Enforced Touchback
103) Ashton -1 yard run (Holmes)
104) Ashton 2 yard run (Holmes)
105) Plunkett -10 yards sacked (Rowser)
106) Punt - 33 yards (PR - Edwards 0 yards) (Cunningham)

PITT 12:21
107) Pearson -7 yard run (Cash)
108) Pearson 13 yard catch from Bradshaw (Anderson)
109) Pearson -1 yard run (Kiner)
110) FG - 61 yards NO GOOD

NE 10:18
111) Cunningham 6 yard catch from Plunkett (Rowser)
112) Ashton 1 yard run (Edwards)
113) Plunkett inc.
114) Plunkett inc.
* Patriots go for it on 4th-and-3 from the Steelers 42 and come up empty.

PITT 8:32
115) Bleier 0 yard run (Adams)
116) Pearson -3 yard run (Cash)
117) Lewis 13 yard catch from Bradshaw (Boyd) FUMBLED/LOST

NE 7:04
118) Ashton -1 yard run (Blount)
119) Ashton 1 yard run (Toews)
120) Plunkett inc. + PITT 15 Penalty!
121) Ashton 1 yard run (Greenwood)
122) Plunkett inc.
123) Ashton 1 yard run
124) FG - 52 yards NO GOOD

PITT 4:07
125) Davis 16 yard catch from Bradshaw (Anderson)
126) Shanklin 37 yard catch from Bradshaw
127) PITT 5 Penalty
128) Pearson 10 yard catch from Bradshaw TOUCHDOWN (run failed)
* New England's DBs had been in shutdown mode all day, but on this drive, Bradshaw had 3/4 targets to choose from each play. New England pays for not adding to the lead earlier.
PITTSBURGH 18, NEW ENGLAND 17



NE 2:38
129) KOR - Ashton 52 yards (Toews)
130) Ashton -5 yard run (Dockery)
131) Plunkett inc.
132) Plunkett inc.
133) Plunkett INTERCEPTED (Edwards - 7 yard return)
* All looked lost for the Patriots here, but they still had 3 time outs.

PITT 1:36
134) Pearson 0 yard run (Chandler) (TIME OUT - NE)
135) Pearson -13 yard run (TIME OUT - NE)
* Pearson was centimeters from breaking this, but never got off his block and finally turned at the PITT 5.
136) Bradshaw inc.
* Terry throws it away, as he had just one eligible receiver, and that was by centimeters. Otherwise, he would have had to scramble out of the end zone to avoid a safety and coverage sack (which would have been a safety, too).
137) Punt - 47 yards (PR - Kiner 5 yards (Davis))

NE 0:24
138) Plunkett inc.
139) Plunkett inc.
140) Plunkett inc,
* It was hail mary time with 8 seconds left, and amazingly, Herron had managed to wind his way through the Steelers defense to the end zone. But he was nearly 65 yards away from Plunkett, and the pass, with plenty of zip, missed Herron to the right. Ironically, both Plunkett and Bradshaw had been missing passes to the left all day. The two earlier incompletions were as a result of the dice, as Plunkett missed on chances to hit open receivers around the Pittsburgh 30, which could have set up the winning field goal. It was go for broke on the final play, however, and Plunkett nearly fractured the Steelers - but not on this day.

Pittsburgh (1-0) 18, New England (0-1) 17.

PIT 6 3 0 9 - 18
NE 0 7 10 0 - 17

Time of Possession: NE 29:01; PITT 30:59
Rushing: NE 1; PITT 29
Passing: NE 95; PITT 196
Total Yards: NE 96; PITT 225
Total Plays: NE 57; PITT 57
First Downs: NE 6; PITT 10
Turnovers: NE 2; PITT 4
Penalties: NE 1-15; PITT 3-35

Individual Stats - New England:
Rushing: Plunkett 2-7; Cunningham 7-0; Tarver 3-(-16); Ashton 18-10.
Passing: Plunkett 8-of-26, 105 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT; 1 sack, -10 yards.
Receiving: Ashton 4-19 (1 TD); Cunningham 2-6; Herron 1-48; Windsor 1-32 (1 TD).
Tackles: Rucker 1; Mason 1; Cash 3; Herron 1; Rowe 2-1 PAT block; Chandler 5; Kiner 4; Boyd 9; Anderson 7; Acks 2-2 INT (13 & 0 yards); Bolton 1; Martin 1; Hamilton 3-1 FF-1 FR; Vataha 1; Adams 2; Hoey 1; Cunningham 1

Individual Stats - Pittsburgh:
Rushing: Harris 5-0; Bleier 2-1; P. Pearson 20-28 (1 TD).
Passing: Bradshaw 17-of-29, 198 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT; 1 sack, -2 yards.
Receiving: Lewis 4-45; Shanklin 2-46; P. Pearson 7-57 (1 TD); B. Pearson 1-(-7); Davis 1-16.
Tackles: Ham 6; Greenwood 4; Meyer 1; Holmes 7; White 3-1 INT (3 yards); Edwards 2-1 INT (7 yards); Toews 4; Wagner 1; Blount 2; Brown 1; Greene 1; Rowser 2-1 sack (10 yards); Dockery 1; Davis 1.

GAME NOTES:

* New England were held to just 10 yards in the second half, on 30 plays.

* The Patriots almost must win their last two to make Super Bowl I.

* The Patriots' defense was a team effort early. The first 9 tackles were made by 9 different players. But safeties Boyd and Anderson ended up combining for 16 stops.

* I have a hard time thinking the defenses I did up for Denver and San Francisco are going to be this good. If PITT and NE avoid incompletions and killer mistakes on offense, they could well meet again in Super Bowl I.

* The timing system might need tweaking. As much as I enjoyed the game and loved having an Alcoa Fantastic Finish, 140 plays was a bit much. I'll see what the DEN/SF game runs before making any decisions.

Roo wnnrcgr shkthbx:

Great Detail
 

Wow ED that is some detailed game scoring. Good luck with your new season. Your scorkeeping is as precise as your painting. This is Mike V. known here as Dogwood 30. I am currently in my 48th Super Bowl Tournament and with your help I now have 48 teams in my league. I still have a few more teams to get done but should have them all by the end of this season.
Mike V.

Hi Mike! Thanks for checking in. I was checking out your Super Bowl 48 thread earlier. I need to get cracking more on the painting side so I don't hold you up, I appreciate all the teams you've let me put together.

The stat keeping is one of my favorite things about this venture. I was a sportswriter for 8 years way back when (and that's how I got in this hobby), so I keep stats during the games as I used to do during high school and UVA games back then. It was neat for me to go through and see that Boyd had 9 tackles for the Patriots - he was definitely one of the best bases on the field. Both Patriots safeties are really good.

It was also almost alarming to see how stingy the rushing defenses were. Fun to run off 140 plays and have the game come down to the 140th snap and be decided by a point.

Roo wnnrcgr shkthbx:

Time Keeping & Charts
 

Hey Roo,
One of the things I enjoy most about this association is the different ways the solitaire leagues are played. I actually use the electronic scoreboard that was made I guess for miggle. Its easy to operate and the clock is accurate. Games usually take between 90 minutes and 2 hours to play. I also have designed result charts that use a 30 sided dice so you can imagine the outcome possibilities. The players on the field still decide the game. The charts spped up the passing and kicking aspect of the game. The running plays are still great. Sometimes I think these little guys have minds of their own when you all of a sudden see a back cut back and turn the corner then run straight. If I actually sat down and wrote out a rule book for my league it would take hours. That's the beauty of solitaire play, the rulebook is always in my head. My system has worked so well over the years with constant modifications when necessary and it shows by the number of different champions I've had. My expansion teams are mostly modifications or duplicates of college uniforms with the exception of the Blues and the Rebels which I designed and you brought to life. I am hoping that you can do my last 2 teams which are the duplicate home and away uniforms of the Boston breakers of the old USFL and the Jacksonville Sharks of the old WFL. I also have 48 mini helmets to go with all my teams including those old defunct teams. Well Roo that's it for now. LA Rams vs Atlanta Falcons tomorrow. Gotta get some rest.
Mike V. a.k.a.....VK

I had one of those scoreboards at one point - I'm sure I still do. Haven't used it in ages.

I actually wrote up a rule book way back when. I'll have to find it and post it.

48 teams. That's awesome. I'm starting with 14 in college and 4 in pro. Plan for Season 2 is 20 in college and 6 in pro. Drawing a lot of inspiration from all the pics you've posted with the great old-style uniforms your teams have.

Ed wnnrcgr shkthbx:

13 of the 14 teams for the ECFA are now based up and ready to play. The only outlier is Syracuse, who should get their running shoes tonight.

The college teams have 11 offensive players in dark, 11 defensive players in white. Here's how the positions break down for bases:

Offense:
TTCs: QB, LT, LG, C, RG, RT, TE
Rookies: WR, WR, RB, RB/WR (depending on if team has base 2- or 3-WR set)

Defense:
TTCs: DE, DT, DT, DE, MLB, CB, CB
Rookies: LOLB, ROLB, FS, SS

I haven't come across a college team yet where its base is a 3-4 defense. Were that to be the case, both MLBs would get TTCs.

Still have to base up Denver and San Francisco for the pro league. Hoping I have enough TTCs to do that, it's going to be close!

Going to play some college games first since they have a much longer season than the pro league does - which only totals 7 games (including the Super Bowl). The college season is 63 games, so there's lots to do.

I have some pictures from Pittsburgh's win over New England last week, and will be posting those either tonight or tomorrow. I gotta get pictures up to keep up with Mike V. and Reg!! thmbsp$ ppcrn

Ed wnnrcgr shkthbx:

Finally have gotten around to getting the Denver-San Francisco game underway.

Playing a different time system here, using the scoreboard the Roller created. Using 15-minute quarters, and running the clock during plays, stopping it after each play. Ran 25 plays in the first quarter, which seemed fine by me, and the game is tied, 7-7.

Denver has shown a pretty nice running game and San Francisco is having trouble containing Haven Moses. The 49ers haven't done much, but two big plays by John Brodie (one running, one passing) got them back into the game.

Ed wnnrcgr shkthbx:

c'mon man............lol... show the teams buddy, i wanna see those broncos. its cool that you are doing the '73 season, as i like recreating/playing games from the '74 season with my hogleg teams.

49ers hold off Broncos, 16-14
 

In another EPFA game that didn't feature a ton of offense, but was close late, San Francisco defeated Denver, 16-14, scoring the only points of the second half on two field goals.

Denver grabbed the early lead on a 50-yard pass from Charley Johnson to Haven Moses late in the first quarter. The 49ers responded before the end of the period, when Ken Willard caught a pass from John Brodie and completed a 46-yard touchdown.

Denver's Gene Washington (both teams have one) put the Broncos back in front early in the second quarter, scoring on a 3-yard pass from Johnson after the quarterback had hit Otis Armstrong with a 60-yard catch-and-run to set up the score. San Francisco held the ball for much of the second quarter, culminating a 9 minute, 42 second drive with a 44-yard field goal. Denver led, 14-10, at the half.

But that was about it for the Broncos offense. Denver gained just 59 yards in the second half, and even though they held the 49ers out of the end zone, they found themselves trailing, 16-14, early in the final period. Denver's first chance to take the lead failed when the Broncos missed a 58-yard field goal. After San Francisco failed to run the clock out, Hackbart returned a punt 30 yards to the Denver 41. Not far from another field goal, and with time and time outs to use, Denver's rally ended when Johnson's pass under pressure was tipped and intercepted by middle linebacker Jim Sniadecki, preserving the 49ers' win.

San Francisco and Pittsburgh are 1-0 and will meet in Week 2. The winner will practically clinck a berth in Super Bowl I. Denver and New England will battle in the week's other game, both are 0-1. The loser will be eliminated from Super Bowl contention.

DEN 7 7 0 0 - 14
SFO 7 3 3 3 - 16

Scoring
DEN - Moses 50 pass from Johnson (kick good)
SF - Willard 46 pass from Brodie (kick good)
DEN - Washington 3 pass from Johnson (kick good)
SF - FG 44
SF - FG 48
SF - FG 39

Team Stats
Rushing: DEN 27-80; SF 25-67
Passing: DEN 14-131; SF 23-166
Total: DEN 41-211; SF 48-233
Returns: 5-160; SF 3-40
First Downs: DEN 11; SF 10
Penalties: DEN 3-20; SF 0-0
Turnovers: DEN 1; SF 0
Time of Possession: DEN 27:57; SF 32:03

Individual Stats - Denver Broncos (0-1)

Rushing: Johnson 11-23; Armstrong 15-57, Dawkins 1-0.
Passing: Johnson 6-for-13, 136 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Moses 2-70, 1 TD; Armstrong 2-66; Washington 1-3, 1 TD; Odoms 1-(-3).
Returns: Moses 3-125; Thompson 1-5; Hackbart 1-30.
Tackles-For Loss: Laskey 4-2; Smith 3-2; Thompson 1-0; Duranko 3-0; Chavous 4-0; Jackson 2-0; Hackbart 3-0; Jones 3-0; Tyler 1-0; May 1-0; Anderson 1-0; Graham 2-0; Greer 1-0; Mitchell 1-1.
Sacks: Smith 1.
Forced Fumbles-Recoveries: None.
Interceptions: None.

Individual Stats - San Francisco 49ers (1-0)

Rushing: Willard 7-(-3); Brodie 8-52; V. Washington 1-0; Cunningham 9-18.
Passing: Brodie 12-for-22, 171 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving: Willard 1-46, 1 TD; Thomas 2-21; G. Washington 2-39; Abramowicz 3-25; Kwalick 1-4; Cunningham 2-29; Witcher 1-7.
Returns: V. Washington 1-25; G. Washington 1-15; Phillips 1-0.
Tackles-For Loss: McGill 2.5-1; Phillips 5.5-1; Thomas 1-0; Krueger 3-0; Johnson 1-0; Hoskins 5-1; Sniadecki 2-0; Hardman 3-1; Wilcox 1-0; Hart 1-0; Taylor 1-0; Kwalick 1-0.
Sacks: Hoskins 1.
Forced Fumbles-Recoveries: None.
Interceptions-Yards Returned: Sniadecki 1-1.

Coming tomorrow, a photo gallery from Week 1 in the colleges and pros.

Ed wnnrcgr shkthbx:

tease.........its tommorow already..........lol. Danggit, i was goin for the Broncos.

Denver has a pretty strong rushing game from guard to guard with Armstrong. They can get good yards that way - but the receivers had trouble getting open, and the box wasn't kind to Denver in the passing game.

Their game with New England should be a good one.

Ed wnnrcgr shkthbx:

We're back!

Week 2 action between the two 0-1 teams, Denver and New England, is underway.

Patriots have a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, on a 13-yard pass from Jim Plunkett to Reggie Rucker.

Ed wnnrcgr shkthbx: $br#