XFL

Playoffs and Championships

2001

The Million Dollar Game, the XFL's championship game at the end of its only season in 2001, was thus named because one million dollars was split among the players of the winning team. The Orlando Rage finished the 10-game regular season with the XFL's best record, 8-2, and won the Eastern Division. The Los Angeles Extreme won the Western Division at 7-3, while both the Chicago Enforcers and San Francisco Demons finished 5-5 (the Memphis Maniax were also 5-5 but San Francisco won the playoff berth on a tie-breaker).

Semifinals

Los Angeles Xtreme 33, Chicago Enforcers 16

LOS ANGELES (Ticker)- The Los Angeles Xtreme are exactly where they were predicted to be.

The Xtreme secured a spot in "The Million Dollar Game" by grinding out a 33-16 victory over the Chicago Enforcers.

In the XFL's inaugural season, the Xtreme were the prohibitive favorites to win the title and will have a chance to do that when they host the San Francisco Demons in Saturday's championship game. The XFL champion receives $1 million.

"What can I say? It's what we're here for. We just came up with some plays," Xtreme coach Al Luginbill said.

"If we're on the go, nobody could stop us in the XFL," added Los Angeles wide receiver Jermaine Copeland.

Los Angeles and San Francisco split two games during the season. The Xtreme won the Western Division title with a 24-0 blanking of the Demons on April 7.

Ironically, it was a player who saw little playing until recently who helped the Xtreme reach the title game.

Saladin McCullough, who was inactive for four of the season's first five games, rushed for 154 yards on 21 carries, including a 44-yard touchdown with 7:13 remaining that gave Los Angeles (8-3) a 27-16 advantage. He also had eight receptions for 45 yards.

"I knew I would be ready to play," McCullough said. "There's pressure there, but I know how to handle it. I've been there 1,000 times."

"He just ran the ball great," said Xtreme quarterback Tommy Maddox. "He broke off a 50-yarder and those are things you have to do in big games. And he had his biggest game."

Cornerback Clifton Abraham sealed the victory with an 87-yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:21 left.

"It was 20-16 for so long," Luginbill said. "To me, it was a tough game. Two plays within a minute changed the game."

Chicago (5-6), which also lost in double overtime at Los Angeles in Week Two, reached the postseason despite an 0-4 start.

"We knew it was going to be a game of who made the mistakes," said Enforcers running back John Avery, who was held to 64 yards on 14 carries. "We made the most mistakes and paid for them."

"LA's a fine football team," added Chicago coach Ron Meyer. "We had trouble generating offense. Avery couldn't get going, Maddox was outstanding. Their defense turned it up in the last three quarters."

The Xtreme came out focused, moving 60 yards in six plays on the game's opening possession. Maddox capped the drive with a 26-yard pass to Copeland that provided a 6-0 lead.

It looked like the Xtreme would extend the lead on their next possession as they moved deep into Chicago territory. But Copeland fumbled at the 10 and linebacker Chike Egbuniwe recovered.

Copeland, the league leader in receptions, was held to four for 62 yards After Jose Cortez and Andy Crosland traded field goals, the Enforcers took the lead late in the second quarter with the help of a big play from their special teams.

Linebacker Kivuusama Mays busted through the line and blocked Noel Prefontaine's punt. Egbuniwe scooped up the ball and scored on a two-yard run, giving Chicago a 10-9 lead with 1:45 to play before halftime.

Ranked sixth in the eight-team league in total offense, the Xtreme converted on their last possession of the half and took a 17-10 lead on Maddox's seven-yard touchdown pass to Damon Gibson.

Maddox, the league leader in passing yards and TDs, went 18-of-24 for 171 yards and two scores.

Chicago appeared to take the momentum back early in the third quarter. Kevin McDougal found Aaron Bailey with a 35-yard pass, setting up a 32-yard field goal by Crosland that cut the deficit to 20-16.

McDougal, who took over as the club's starter in Week Five, completed 15-of-31 passes for 228 yards and three interceptions.

Cortez, the XFL's most accurate kicker, converted off the left upright from 48 yards with 5:50 left in the quarter to restore a seven-point lead.

Crosland kicked a 40-yarder early in the fourth quarter before McCullough provided some breathing room later in the period with his run down the left sideline.

"Chicago played above their talent level," Luginbill said. "I don't know if we played to our talent level, but we're getting there."

San Francisco Demons 26, Orlando Rage 25

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)- Down 16-0 midway through the first quarter, the San Francisco Demons had every reason to panic against the Orlando Rage on Saturday night in the XFL semifinals.

But the Demons steadied themselves because, as coach Jim Skipper explained it, they knew there was still 53 minutes of football yet to be played.

"We always say that it isn't over until it's over and it hasn't ended until it's ended," Skipper said after San Francisco's 26-25 victory. "Every game has its own personality."

Mike Panasuk broke a fourth-quarter tie with a 40-yard field goal and quarterback Pat Barnes scored twice on 1-yard dives 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.

On the first play from scrimmage after Panasuk's kick, Dwayne Harper intercepted a pass by Jim Arellanes and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. It was Arellanes' first snap after replacing Orlando starter Brian Kuklick.

The Demons needed that cushion because Orlando closed within a point with 3:32 remaining. Arellanes first hooked up with Dialleo Burks for a 55-yard touchdown pass, then found Mario Bailey from 10 yards out on the XFL's first-ever 3-point conversion, which the league instituted for the playoffs.

But San Francisco was able to run out the clock for the win.

The Rage, taking advantage of San Francisco's mistakes, rolled out to the 16-0 lead. But Orlando coach Galen Hall said he knew victory wasn't in hand by any means.

"I never felt that we had this game won," Hall said. "I did feel that we had control of the game and let it get away from us."

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.

"So we're down, but I told my guys, 'They haven't done anything,'" Demons defensive coordinator Michael Church said.

San Francisco clamped down on Orlando after the first quarter, forcing five straight punts. The Rage self-destructed after that, with back-to-back interceptions, the second being returned for a score by Harper, and a fumbled snap.

"We just shot ourselves in the foot," said Orlando starting quarterback Brian Kuklick, who completed only 5 of 16 passes for 46 yards before being pulled early in the fourth quarter.

San Francisco tied it at 16 on Barnes' run with 8:02 left in the third quarter. The 69-yard drive, aided by a 28-yard pass interference penalty, was the game's longest.

The Demons, taking advantage of an Orlando miscue, closed to 16-10 late in the first half. On a Rage punt from their own 42, the snap flew over the punter's head and was recovered at the Orlando 4. Two plays later, Barnes scored on a dive, although there were questions whether the ball had slipped out of his hands before he crossed the plane of the goal line.

"I guess if it was our quarterback, I would've agreed with the call," Hall said. "It was close and it went against us. The linesman had the call and made the call."

Million Dollar Game- April 21, 2001

Los Angeles Xtreme 38, San Francisco Demons 6

LOS ANGELES (AP)- 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 night 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.

Reggie Burden scored on a 71-yard punt return as Los Angeles took control of the title game by building a 21-0 halftime lead.

The Xtreme, which finished 9-3, 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 UCLA star who was out of football and running an insurance agency two years ago, completed 16 of 28 for 210 yards and was intercepted once.

Cortez, who finished the inaugural XFL season by making 24 of his last 26 field-goal attempts, connected from 37, 34 and 50 yards, the 50-yarder as time expired in the first half. He added a 22-yarder in the third quarter.

Saladin McCuliough rushed for 109 yards on 20 carries for Los Angeles

The Demons, who finished 6-6, were unable-to generate any offense against the Xtreme, who had beaten them 24-0 in the final regular-season game after losing 15-13 in the season opener at San Francisco.

In the rematch for the title, the Demons' Mike Pawlawkski threw for just 74 yards, completing 8 of 20, with two interceptions.

The Xtreme so dominated that their first punt of the game came early in the fourth quarter.

Until third-string quarterback Oteman Sampson ran 21 yards for a TD in the final minute, the closest the Demons had come to scoring was when Mike Panasuk's 44-yard field goal try fell short in the second quarter.

Cortez's 37-yarder gave Los Angeles the lead on its first possession. Early in the second quarter, Maddox faked a pitchout to the left, then threw back to his right to a wide-open Josh Wilcox in the end zone for a 1-yard TD.

Durden's return came on off Pawlawski's quick kick. Two Xtreme players collided and fell as they went for the ball downfield, the ball bounced free, and Durden picked it up and ran untouched down the left sideline. Cortez then tacked on two more field goals before halftime.

Maddox threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jeremaine Copeland to pad the lead to 28-0 in the third quarter.

While small, the crowd was lively and vocal. Some fans wore Xtreme jerseys, a few sported Demons jerseys, but even more wore Raiders silver and black.

The losing Demons earned $7,000 each for making it to the title game.

Vince McMahon, whose World Wrestling Federation and NBC jointly own the XFL, presented the championship trophy, giving fans handslaps as he worked his way down the stands and onto the field.

Although the XFL's TV ratings were poor this year, McMahon has said the league will be back for a second season.

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