CHICAGO -- The Towers and the Vans clashing here on the frozen tundry of Wrigley Field on this, the opening weekend of the AFA playoffs. A nice job by Toronto getting into the dance, but does Lorne Clark's team have any chance of derailing the third-seeded Caravan?
Chicago starting on its own four on its first possession. Steve Young at the helm. Can you say "long drive"? Can you say "chew up some clock"? Chicago can. 17 plays. 96 yards. 8:44 consumed in the process. Charles Jones finishing it off with this 7-yard TD grab. 7-0 Vans.
Dilfer trying to get it back. Trent in the pocket. Here comes Reggie White! Dilfer hurrying the throw. The pick by Jimmy Hitchcock. Look at him go. HE...COULD...GO...ALL...THE...WAY. 87 yards to glory for the Chicago cornerback. 14-0 Vans.
It's 21-zip as we look on more first-half action. Dilfer to throw. Over the middle to Drayton. Oh my God, he's way off the mark. Hitchcock again with the INT. He scoots through the hole at the 40. What block by Mobley. Could it be? YES! Jimmy Hitchcock going to the promised land for the second time. 28-0 Chitown at the half.
At least Toronto showing a little life now in the second half. Dishman with the pick and return to the Vans 21. Oh, but Dilfer giving it right back. Darrell Green with the INT. Chicago still pitching a shutout.
Toronto now on the Vans 28. Dilfer. Over the middle. That's Bruce. Touchdown! The Towers finally get on the board, but they're still down 28-7.
And down they will stay. There's Cam Cleeland with the TD reception. Look at the big oaf try to slam dunk over the goal-post. No good! But this team is good, and they're on their way to the semifinals.
Dilfer with five INTs on the afternoon. Billy Davis with the nice numbers for Chicago -- five grabs for 122 yards. Chicago advances.
Temp:29 Wind:5-15 Toronto Towers (0-1) 0 0 7 3 10 Chicago Caravan (1-0) 7 21 0 7 35 1 Chicago TD Young,S 7 pass to Jones,C (Del Greco) (17-96-8:44) 2:28 0-7 2 Chicago TD Hitchcock 87 interception return (Del Greco) (0-0-0:00) 10: 0-14 2 Chicago TD Young,S 5 pass to Smith,R (Del Greco) (4-80-1:35) 5:10 0-21 2 Chicago TD Hitchcock 45 interception return (Del Greco) (0-0-0:00) 1:2 0-28 3 Toronto TD Dilfer 20 pass to Bruce (Vanderjagt) (7-47-2:30) 3:14 7-28 4 Chicago TD Young,S 11 pass to Cleeland (Del Greco) (6-59-4:09) 13:52 7-35 4 Toronto FG Vanderjagt 29 (3-0-0:15) 13:23 10-35 Tor Chi First Downs 17 26 Rushes 22-79 32-130 Passes 39-18-240 34-24-335 Sacked 2-15 0-0 Fumble 0 0 Penalties 7-35 7-61 Turnovers 5 2 Time 23:51 36:09 Third Down 6-14 8-14 Fourth Down 0-0 0-0 Net Offense 304 465 Injuries:Dillon(Tor- 1) 1998 Toronto Towers Rushing Att Yds Ave 10 FD Lg TD Rec Dp Yds Ave 25 FD Lg TD Dillon 14 36 2.6 0 1 9 0 Bruce 6 1 81 13.5 0 5 20 1 Dilfer 4 34 8.5 3 2 11 0 Muhammad 5 0 55 11.0 1 3 26 0 Edwards 3 7 2.3 0 0 5 0 Gadsden 3 0 68 22.7 2 3 33 0 Garner 1 2 2.0 0 0 2 0 Drayton 2 0 26 13.0 0 1 14 0 22 79 3.6 3 3 11 0 Dillon 1 0 4 4.0 0 0 4 0 Edwards 1 0 6 6.0 0 0 6 0 18 1 240 13.3 3 12 33 1 Att Cmp C% Yds Ave Lg Bd 25 In I% Sk TD TD% Rate Dilfer 39 18 46.2 240 13.3 33 4 3 5 12.8 2 1 2.6 35.1 39 18 46.2 240 13.3 33 4 3 5 12.8 2 1 2.6 35.1 XPA XPM XP% FGA FGM FG% 40+ 50+ Lg Pts Vanderjagt 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 0.0 0.0 29 4 Punts Yards Lg TB BK 20 Ret Yds Net Gross Araguz 6 231 48 2 0 2 1 15 29.3 38.5 Kick Returns No Yards Ave Lg TD Punt Returns No FC Yards Ave Lg TD Mitchell,B 6 178 29.7 79 0 Mitchell,B 1 2 8 8.0 8 0 6 178 29.7 79 0 1 2 8 8.0 8 0 Defense Tkl Sk Df Hu St Ints No Yds Ave Lg TD Fumbles No Rec TD Jones,MA 10 0 0 0 1 Jones,MA 1 12 12.0 12 0 0 0 0 Law 8 0 1 0 0 Dishman 1 46 46.0 46 0 McKinnon 6 0 0 0 1 2 58 0.0 46 0 Dishman 5 0 0 0 0 Davis,T 5 0 2 0 0 Henry 4 0 0 2 0 Brackens 4 0 0 1 0 Tillman 4 0 2 0 0 Elliss 4 0 0 0 0 Culpepper 1 0 0 2 0 Deese 1 0 0 0 0 Knight,T 1 0 0 0 0 Mitchell,B 1 0 0 0 0 Gildon 1 0 0 0 0 Bryant 1 0 0 0 0 Ellis 1 0 0 0 0 Hilliard 1 0 0 0 0 Mathis,K 1 0 0 0 0 Poole 1 0 0 0 0 Gordon 1 0 0 0 0 61 0 5 5 2 1998 Chicago Caravan Rushing Att Yds Ave 10 FD Lg TD Rec Dp Yds Ave 25 FD Lg TD Faulk 31 130 4.2 2 7 14 0 Smith,R 8 0 90 11.3 1 5 25 1 Young,S 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Cleeland 7 0 87 12.4 1 5 32 1 32 130 4.1 2 7 14 0 Davis,B 5 0 122 24.4 1 5 72 0 Jones,C 2 0 32 16.0 1 2 25 1 Faulk 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Pritchett 1 0 4 4.0 0 0 4 0 24 0 335 14.0 4 17 72 3 Att Cmp C% Yds Ave Lg Bd 25 In I% Sk TD TD% Rate Young,S 34 24 70.6 335 14.0 72 1 4 2 5.9 0 3 8.8 106.9 34 24 70.6 335 14.0 72 1 4 2 5.9 0 3 8.8 106.9 XPA XPM XP% FGA FGM FG% 40+ 50+ Lg Pts Del Greco 5 5 100.0 1 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 5 Punts Yards Lg TB BK 20 Ret Yds Net Gross Feagles 4 179 57 1 0 0 1 8 37.8 44.8 Kick Returns No Yards Ave Lg TD Punt Returns No FC Yards Ave Lg TD Dwight 2 59 29.5 34 0 Dwight 1 0 15 15.0 15 0 2 59 29.5 34 0 1 0 15 15.0 15 0 Defense Tkl Sk Df Hu St Ints No Yds Ave Lg TD Fumbles No Rec TD Gouveia 8 0 0 0 2 Hitchcock 2 132 66.0 87 2 0 0 0 Mobley 5 0 0 0 0 Williams, 1 0 0.0 0 0 Williams,D 4 0 0 0 0 Emmons 1 7 7.0 7 0 Butler 3 0 0 0 0 Green,D 1 0 0.0 0 0 Green,D 3 0 0 0 0 5 139 27.8 87 2 Bowens 3 0 0 0 0 Walker,D 3 0 0 0 0 Green,A 3 0 0 0 0 Flanigan 3 2 0 2 0 Emmons 3 0 0 0 0 Hitchcock 3 0 0 0 0 Ostroski 2 0 0 0 0 Bowden 1 0 0 0 0 Sharper,D 1 0 0 0 0 Jenkins 1 0 0 0 0 White,R 1 0 0 4 0 Neujahr 1 0 0 0 0 Dwight 1 0 0 0 0 Shaw,S 1 0 0 0 0 Jefferson 1 0 0 1 0 51 2 0 7 2 Toronto 10 Chicago 35 12-10-1999 1st Quarter KO 15:00 Tor Pen-5 KO-deep KO 14:53 Tor Mitchell,B return of 14 KO-deep 1 10 own18 14:43 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad X S-out bas-M 2 10 own18 14:39 Tor Dillon 4 offtackl pas-M 3 6 own22 13:56 Tor Pen-Chi7 M-cross bas-M 1 10 own29 13:51 Tor Dilfer to Bruce 12 M-out bas-M 1 10 own41 13:13 Tor Dillon 1 offtackl bas-Z 2 9 own42 12:35 Tor Pen-Tor10 M-slant bas-sZ 2 19 own32 12:28 Tor Pen-Tor5 M-cross pas-dZ 2 24 own27 12:28 Tor Dilfer to Bruce 10 S-out dou-dM 3 14 own37 11:56 Tor Dilfer 11 M-cross bas-dZ 4 3 own48 11:16 Tor Punt Araguz 48,Dwight 0 Pt-side 1 10 own4 11:12 Chi Faulk 1 offtackl bas-dM 2 9 own5 10:36 Chi Young,S to Smith,R X L-straig dou-M 3 9 own5 10:29 Chi Young,S to Cleeland 32 M-slant bas-Z 1 10 own37 9:52 Chi Faulk 2 sweepR bas-M 2 8 own39 9:07 Chi Young,S to Davis,B 12 S-out pas-Z 1 10 opp49 8:26 Chi Pen-Chi10 M-hitch key-Z 1 20 own41 8:22 Chi Young,S to Smith,R 11 S-cross bas-Z 2 9 opp48 7:50 Chi Young,S to Davis,B 10 S-out pas-M 1 10 opp38 7:05 Chi Young,S to Davis,B X M-straig bas-M 2 10 opp38 6:57 Chi Faulk 9 draw blz1-M 3 1 opp29 6:15 Chi Faulk 5 sweepR bas-mM 1 10 opp24 5:32 Chi Faulk 8 dive bas-M dlR 2 2 opp16 4:56 Chi Faulk 1 pitchR bas-M 3 1 opp15 4:19 Chi Faulk 7 sweepL run-Z 1 8 opp8 3:46 Chi Faulk 1 draw bas-sZ dlI 2 7 opp7 3:09 Chi Faulk 0 delaydra run-sM 3 7 opp7 2:34 Chi Young,S to Jones,C 7 TD M-fade pas-Z 0-7 KO 2:28 Tor Mitchell,B return of 19 KO-deep 1 10 own22 2:16 Tor Dilfer to Bruce 19 M-cross bas-sZ 1 10 own41 1:29 Tor Dillon 9 pitchL bas-dM 2 1 50 0:46 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad 9 M-cross bas-Z 1 10 opp41 0:12 Tor Dillon 1 sweepR run-M 2nd Quarter 2 9 opp40 15:00 Tor Dillon 4 trapR dou-M 3 5 opp36 14:20 Tor Dillon 2 sweepL dou-M 4 3 opp34 13:43 Tor Punt Araguz 34,Dwight 0 Pt-side 1 10 own20 13:37 Chi Young,S to Faulk 0 S-cross bas-M 2 10 own20 12:58 Chi Young,S to Faulk X M-cross bas-M 3 10 own20 12:52 Chi Faulk -1 dive dou-M 4 11 own19 12:16 Chi Punt Feagles 40,Mitchell,B Pt-deep 1 10 own41 12:09 Tor Dillon 0 sweepL run-M 2 10 own41 11:33 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad X M-cross pas-Z 3 10 own41 11:25 Tor Dilfer to Gadsden 33 S-slant pas-M 1 10 opp26 10:48 Tor Dilfer to Bruce INT Hitchc M-cross bas-M 0-14 KO 10:43 Tor Mitchell,B return of 27 KO-deep 1 10 own32 10:36 Tor Edwards 5 sweepR bas-Z 2 5 own37 10:00 Tor Dillon 2 sweepR run-Z 3 3 own39 9:21 Tor Dillon 5 dive run-M 1 10 own44 8:47 Tor Dillon 6 pitchR key-M 2 4 50 8:12 Tor Edwards 0 pitchR run-M 3 4 50 7:31 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad 3 S-hitch pas-Z 4 1 opp47 6:49 Tor Punt Araguz 47,Dwight 0 Pt-deep 1 10 own20 6:45 Chi Young,S to Smith,R 13 L-straig run-Z 1 10 own33 6:07 Chi Pen-Chi10 L-slant bas-M 1 20 own23 6:03 Chi Young,S to Davis,B 72 S-slant blz2-Z 1 5 opp5 5:17 Chi Young,S to Smith,R 5 TD M-cross run-M 0-21 KO 5:10 Tor Mitchell,B return of 16 KO-deep 1 10 own25 4:59 Tor Dilfer to Dillon 4 M-hitch run-M 2 6 own29 4:25 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad 26 S-cross run-M dlR 1 10 opp45 3:56 Tor Dilfer to Bruce 11 L-cross pas-Z 1 10 opp34 3:28 Tor Dilfer to Drayton X S-cross dou-M 2 10 opp34 3:21 Tor Pen-Tor5 L-cross bas-Z 2 15 opp39 3:21 Tor Dillon -1 sweepR bas-M 3 16 opp40 3:16 Tor Dilfer to Gadsden X L-hitch bas-Z 4 16 opp40 3:09 Tor Punt Araguz 36,Dwight 0 Pt-side 1 10 own4 3:05 Chi Young,S to Smith,R 15 M-cross bas-M 1 10 own19 2:22 Chi Young,S to Cleeland X L-cross bas-Z 2 10 own19 2:15 Chi Young,S to Smith,R 6 S-out dou-dM 3 4 own25 2:10 Chi Young,S to Cleeland 3 S-out dou-M 4 1 own28 2:04 Chi Punt Feagles 48,Mitchell,B Pt-deep 1 10 own32 2:00 Tor Dilfer sacked by Flanigan L-out bas-Z 2 16 own26 1:52 Tor Pen-Chi14 M-out pas-M 1 10 own40 1:44 Tor Pen-Tor5 L-out bas-Z 1 15 own35 1:36 Tor Dilfer to Drayton X S-out pas-Z 2 15 own35 1:28 Tor Dilfer to Drayton INT Hitc M-hitch bas-Z 0-28 KO 1:24 Tor Mitchell,B return of 23 KO-deep 1 10 own26 1:14 Tor Dilfer to Drayton 12 M-out dou-M 1 10 own38 1:01 Tor Dilfer 2 S-out pas-M 2 8 own40 0:51 Tor Dilfer to Gadsden 10 M-out blz3-Z 1 10 50 0:46 Tor Dilfer to Drayton X S-out dou-M 2 10 50 0:40 Tor Dilfer to Drayton INT Emmo S-out pas-sZ 1 10 own48 0:36 Chi Young,S to Cleeland 10 M-out bas-Z 1 10 opp42 0:30 Chi Pen-Chi10 S-out dou-M 1 20 own48 0:24 Chi Faulk 8 trapR blz5-Z 2 12 opp44 0:15 Chi Faulk 7 pitchL bas-Z 3 5 opp37 0:09 Chi Young,S to Jones,C 25 L-out bas-M 3rd Quarter KO 15:00 Chi Dwight return of 25 KO-deep 1 10 own35 14:48 Chi Young,S to Smith,R 10 M-slant bas-M 1 10 own45 14:05 Chi Young,S to Smith,R 5 S-slant bas-sM 2 5 50 13:15 Chi Young,S to Davis,B X L-out bas-M 3 5 50 13:08 Chi Young,S to Cleeland 10 S-flat bas-Z 1 10 opp40 12:17 Chi Faulk 4 pitchL bas-Z 2 6 opp36 11:30 Chi Young,S to Davis,B 13 M-cross bas-Z 1 10 opp23 10:36 Chi Young,S to Faulk INT Jones M-hitch bas-Z 1 10 own21 10:29 Tor Dillon 6 pitchL bas-Z 2 4 own27 9:56 Tor Dillon -3 draw pas-M 3 7 own24 9:24 Tor Dilfer to Edwards 6 B-fly pas-M 4 1 own30 8:51 Tor Punt Araguz 41,Dwight 15 Pt-deep 1 10 own44 8:45 Chi Young,S to Davis,B 15 M-cross run-dM 1 10 opp41 7:54 Chi Pen-Chi5 sweepL bas-Z 1 15 opp46 7:54 Chi Young,S to Cleeland X M-hitch dou-M 2 15 opp46 7:47 Chi Young,S to Jones,C INT Dis S-out pas-dZ 1 10 opp21 7:42 Tor Dilfer to Bruce X M-cross bas-Z 2 10 opp21 7:34 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad INT Gre S-cross dou-M 1 10 own9 7:28 Chi Young,S to Smith,R X M-cross bas-mZ 2 10 own9 7:23 Chi Faulk 1 pitchR bas-M 3 9 own10 6:37 Chi Faulk 3 dive bas-Z 4 6 own13 5:49 Chi Punt Feagles 34,Mitchell,B Pt-deep 1 10 opp47 5:44 Tor Dilfer to Drayton X L-straig bas-M 2 10 opp47 5:39 Tor Dillon 0 offtackl bas-M 3 10 opp47 5:11 Tor Dilfer 11 M-out bas-M 1 10 opp36 4:41 Tor Dilfer to Dillon X M-slant bas-M 2 10 opp36 4:34 Tor Dilfer sacked by Flanigan L-cross bas-M 3 19 opp45 3:55 Tor Dilfer to Gadsden 25 L-out bas-dM 1 10 opp20 3:27 Tor Dilfer to Bruce 20 TD M-cross pas-Z dlL 7-28 KO 3:14 Chi Dwight return of 34 KO-deep 1 10 own41 3:01 Chi Faulk 3 dive bas-Z 2 7 own44 2:17 Chi Faulk 2 sweepL bas-M dlI 3 5 own46 1:30 Chi Young,S to Cleeland 14 M-hitch bas-mZ 1 10 opp40 0:41 Chi Young,S to Smith,R 25 L-hitch bas-Z 4th Quarter 1 10 opp15 15:00 Chi Young,S to Pritchett 4 M-slant key-Z 2 6 opp11 14:04 Chi Young,S to Cleeland 11 TD M-slant bas-sZ 7-35 KO 13:52 Tor Mitchell,B return of 79 KO-deep 1 10 opp12 13:38 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad X M-cross bas-Z dlL 2 10 opp12 13:33 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad X M-cross dou-M dlI 3 10 opp12 13:27 Tor Dilfer to Gadsden X S-cross dou-M 4 10 opp12 13:23 Tor FG Vanderjagt 29 good FG 10-35 KO 13:18 Tor Pen-kick ob KO-deep 1 10 own40 13:18 Chi Young,S to Cleeland 7 M-cross bas-Z 2 3 own47 13:11 Chi Faulk 4 offtackl bas-M 1 10 opp49 12:20 Chi Faulk 5 offtackl bas-Z 2 5 opp44 11:31 Chi Faulk 5 offtackl bas-M 3 0 opp39 10:41 Chi Faulk 6 draw bas-Z 1 10 opp33 9:52 Chi Faulk 4 draw run-Z 2 6 opp29 9:02 Chi Faulk 4 sweepR bas-Z 3 2 opp25 8:19 Chi Young,S to Davis,B X B-post run-Z 4 2 opp25 8:12 Chi FG Del Greco 42 no good FG 1 10 own32 8:08 Tor Edwards 2 sweepR pas-M 2 8 own34 8:03 Tor Dilfer to Bruce 9 M-cross pas-Z 1 10 own43 7:32 Tor Dilfer to Bruce X M-hitch pas-dZ 2 10 own43 7:28 Tor Garner 2 dive pas-Z 3 8 own45 7:00 Tor Dilfer 10 S-cross pas-Z 1 10 opp45 6:33 Tor Pen-Tor5 sweepR pas-M 1 15 50 6:33 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad X M-out bas-M 2 15 50 6:29 Tor Dilfer to Drayton X M-straig pre-dZ 3 15 50 6:24 Tor Dilfer to Drayton 14 S-out pre-dZ 4 1 opp36 5:59 Tor Pen-Tor5 S-shovel bas-sM 4 6 opp41 5:59 Tor Punt Araguz 25,Dwight 0 Pt-side 1 10 own16 5:53 Chi Faulk 12 sweepR run-Z dlR 1 10 own28 5:01 Chi Faulk 4 sweepR bas-Z 2 6 own32 4:12 Chi Faulk 1 dive run-Mi 3 5 own33 3:22 Chi Faulk 7 offtackl bas-sZi 1 10 own40 2:29 Chi Faulk 0 sweepR run-dZ 2 10 own40 2:20 Chi Faulk 4 pitchR run-M 3 6 own44 2:12 Chi Faulk -1 draw bas-Z 4 7 own43 2:03 Chi Punt Feagles 57,Mitchell,B Pt-deep 1 10 own20 2:00 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad X S-shovel pas-Z 2 10 own20 1:56 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad 9 M-out pre-dZ 3 1 own29 1:52 Tor Dilfer to Muhammad 8 M-out pre-dZ 1 10 own37 1:46 Tor Dilfer to Gadsden INT Will M-out pre-dMo 1 10 own49 1:40 Chi Faulk 14 offtackl run-Z 1 10 opp37 0:53 Chi Young,S 0 qbkneel run-Mi