The United States Football League Week 7 contest at Tempe , Arizona
The Breakers, coached by Dick Coury, had a potent offense
directed by 35-year-old QB John Walton, who came out of retirement following
previous stints in the Continental, World, and National football leagues. WR
Charlie Smith, formerly of the NFL Eagles, combined with rookie wide receivers
Nolan Franz and Frank Lockett to provide good targets and the running game was
paced by HB Richard “Fast” Crump (pictured above). A solid linebacker corps, led by rookie Marcus
Marek, anchored the defense. Boston was a game
behind the division-leading Philadelphia Stars coming into the contest in Arizona .
Head Coach Doug Shively’s Wranglers had less talent across
the board. The roster was undistinguished, but the team was holding its own in
a mediocre division and had put together two exciting come-from-behind wins in
doing so. Rookie QB Alan Risher played well and had a big-play wide receiver
available in Jackie Flowers. Another ex-Eagle, Calvin Murray, was the top running
back.
There were 20,911 in attendance at Sun Devil Stadium, and
they had little to cheer about. Boston got the
first big break early in the first quarter as Arizona punter Jim Asmus fumbled a snap and
was tackled at his own two yard line. Walton promptly fired a pass to Crump for
a touchdown.
The Wranglers immediately turned the ball over again thanks
to a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The Breakers came away with a 38-yard Tim
Mazzetti field goal and the score was 10-0 with 7:21 left in the opening
period.
In the third quarter, Boston
put together a seven-play, 58-yard drive that resulted in FB Tony Davis running
for a six-yard TD. The score was 20-7 with just under nine minutes remaining in
the period. It got worse for the home team three minutes later when Breakers
safety Joe Restic intercepted a Risher pass which resulted in Mazzetti adding
to the margin with a 50-yard field goal.
Before the period was over, Arizona
scored again, this time on a one-yard touchdown run by Murray that was followed by a successful
two-point conversion on a throw from Risher to WR Neil Balholm. It was 23-15
after three quarters of play and Arizona
was still within striking range.
However, there would be no late-game heroics for the
mistake-prone Wranglers in this contest. The Breakers put it away with three
fourth quarter touchdowns, the first two on four-yard runs by Crump and the
last a fumble recovery by Lockett in the end zone. Arizona scored once more on
a two-yard pass from backup QB Todd Krueger to Balholm, and the two connected
again on a successful two-point conversion, but by then the outcome had long
been decided. Boston
came away with a convincing 44-23 win.
The Breakers outgained Arizona ,
325 yards to 253, while the Wranglers had the edge with 19 first downs to Boston ’s 18. Time of
possession was nearly equal – the Breakers held the ball for 30:26 to Arizona ’s 29:34.
However, turnovers put the Wranglers in an early hole and sealed their fate –
they gave up the ball five times to Boston ’s
one.
John Walton had an efficient day, completing 20 of 26 passes
for 183 yards with one touchdown and none intercepted. Richard Crump rushed for
an even 100 yards on 21 carries that included two TDs and caught 5 passes for
17 yards and one score. Nolan Franz had 6 receptions for 63 yards and Charlie
Smith gained 66 yards on his 4 catches. Tim Mazzetti’s three field goals gave him 12 straight and,
together with five extra points, he took over as the USFL’s scoring leader with
56 points.
For the Wranglers, Alan Risher was successful on 13 of 26
throws for 123 yards with a TD but two intercepted; Todd Krueger tossed 11
passes in relief and completed 6 for 55 yards with a touchdown and an
interception. Calvin Murray was the leading rusher with 77 yards on 19 attempts
and a TD. Neil Balholm pulled in 7 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown while
Jackie Flowers caught 5 for 35 yards.
The Breakers remained in contention throughout the season,
finishing second in the division with an 11-7 record and barely missing a wild
card spot in the postseason. Arizona, however, completely collapsed, winning
one more game the rest of the way and ending up tying Washington for the USFL’s
worst record at 4-14.
John Walton missed time due to injury but still managed to
throw more passes (589) than any other USFL quarterback and completed 56
percent of them for 3772 yards with 20 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Richard
Crump was the league’s seventh-ranked rusher with 990 yards on 190 carries,
giving him a 5.2-yard average. He also scored a total of 12 TDs. The ex-Falcon
Tim Mazzetti (pictured below) ended up second in scoring (119 points) and field goals (27).
