Memphis 24 at Jacksonville 14

1985 Week 2 - Monday, March 4, 1985
Memphis Showboats(1-0)(-1) at Jacksonville Bulls(1-0)
Attendance: 40,112, TV: ESPN

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Memphis Showboats quarterback Walter Lewis, who was neutralized in the first half, turned his team around after intermission, passing for one touchdown and running for two more to spark a 24-14 victory over the Jacksonville Bulls.

In the first 30 minutes of the United States Football League game Monday night, Lewis was 1 of 5 for 8 yards passing, although he scrambled six times for 52 yards. He finished the game with nine completions on 18 attempts for 117 yards, and added 76 yards on 11 rushes.

The Showboats trailed 7-0 at halftime, but Lewis wasted no time evening the score after intermission.

The Showboats took the second half kickoff and used five plays to move 81 yards -- scoring on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Lewis to wide receiver Greg Moser The quick drive was highlighted by a 37-yard gallop by running back Leonard Williams.

The Showboats capitalized on two Jacksonville fumbles in the third quarter to set up their second and third scores.

Nose tackle Paul Hanna grabbed a fumble by Bulls quarterback Buck Belue on the Jacksonville 4-yard line, and Lewis scored on the next play with a run around left end.

On the ensuing kickoff, a fumble by return specialist Reggie Butts was pounced on by Showboats defensive back Doran Major at the 25. Five plays later, Lewis scored on a 1-yard plunge.

"We made too many mental mistakes and errors to win. We are a solid football team, but not good enough to do the things we did. It was a fairly close game, but the 14-point swing hurt us," Bulls' coach Lindy Infante said of the Showboats' two quick scores following fumbles

Belue, getting his first professional start because Brian Sipe is injured and Robbie Mahouz is ill, put together a six-play, 46-yard drive in the second quarter Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier capped the march by breaking 11 yards up the middle to score.

Early in the final period, Belue tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to split end Aubrey Matthews to close the gap to 21-14.

The victory gives Memphis a 2-0 season record, which pleased Showboats' coach Pepper Rodgers.

"We never won two road games back to back before and this gives us a great boost going into our home opener," said Rodgers His team plays host to Baltimore on March 9.

The Bulls dropped to 1-1.

Complete Game

Highlights

	1	2	3	4	F
MEM	0	0      21	3   -   24
JAX	0       7       0       7   -   14

Scoring

JAX:Rozier 11 run(Franco kick) - JAX 7, MEM 0

MEM:Moser 22 pass from Lewis(Duncan kick) - JAX 7, MEM 7

MEM:Lewis 4 run(Duncan kick) - MEM 14, JAX 7

MEM:Lewis 1 run(Duncan kick) - MEM 21, JAX 7

JAX:Matthews 2 pass from Belue(Franco kick) - MEM 21, JAX 14

MEM:Duncan 24 FG - MEM 24, JAX 14

Box Score

                             MEM            JAX
First Downs    		      15	     15               
Rushes-Yards              37-211         26-133
Passing (A-C-Y-I)     18-9-117-0    31-16-118-1
Sacked-Yards Lost           4-16           3-31
Total Plays-Yards         53-328         57-251
Fumbles-Lost                 2-1            2-2
Penalties-Yards             6-40           5-35
Turnovers                      1              3
Time of Possession         31:00          29:00

Attendance = 40,148 

AWAY					     HOME
Passing     Att Cmp Yds In Td  Rate          Passing     Att Cmp Yds In Td  Rate
Lewis        18   9 117  0  1  89.35         Belue        31  16 118  1  1  58.27

Rushing     Att Yds  Ave TD                  Rushing     Att Yds  Ave TD
L.Williams   14  93  6.6  0                  Rozier        8  81 10.1  1
Lewis        11  76  6.9  2                  Belue         6  47  7.8  0
Sydney        9  29  3.2  0                  Griffin       2   5  2.5  0
Porter        3  13  4.3  0  

Receiving   Rec Yds  Ave TD                  Receiving   Rec Yds  Ave TD
Moser         5  72 14.4  1    		     Kemp          4  42 10.5  0
Raugh         2  56 28.0  0                  Alexis        4  39  9.8  0
Crawford      2  20 10.0  0                  Matthews      3  26  8.7  1
					     Rozier        2  14  7.0  0
					     Griffin       2  12  6.0  0
  					     Clark         1   1  1.0  0                               

Kick Returns   No Yds  Ave TD                Kick Returns   No Yds  Ave TD
H.Williams      1  31 31.0  0                Butts           3  56 18.7  0
Crawford        1  19 19.0  0                Kemp            2  38 19.0  0                

Punt Returns   No Yds  Ave TD                Punt Returns   No Yds  Ave TD
H.Williams      5  61 12.2  0                Butts           3  28  9.3  0
Crawford        1   3  3.0  0               

Kicking          Fg  Lg   Xp  Pts            Kicking          Fg  Lg   Xp  Pts
Duncan          1-2  24  3-3   6             Franco          0-1  --  2-2   2
                miss: 48                                     miss: 39

Punting        No Yds  Ave                   Punting        No Yds  Ave
Miller          7 323 46.1		     Swider          7 308 44.0

Sacks          Sk Yds                        Sacks          Sk Yds
White           2   8			     Dykes           1  14
Corker          1   7			     Nelson          1   9    
Hanna		1   1                        Dinkel          1   8                

Interceptions  No Yds  Ave TD                Interceptions  No Yds  Ave TD
Coleman         1   0  0.0  0                None

Archived news report

Supplemental information courtesy of Chris Blackburn

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