Best USFL Week 9 mic'd up moments: 'Give me a big hug'
Week 9 of the USFL season was all over the place, as four distinct games took place. In the end, though, the weekend slate produced some humorous mic'd up moments.
Isiah Hennie reeled in five catches for the Pittsburgh Maulers en route to their 19-7 victory over the Michigan Panthers. After being pushed out of bounds upon making one of those catches, Hennie told Panthers safety Warren Saba: "That's the best thing you did all game, boy."
Pittsburgh reached the end zone once in victory, as quarterback Troy Williams hit Josh Simmons for a 17-yard score on the third play of the game. After the scoring play, Williams went into a state of ecstasy, expressing many things, among them that people need to "stop playing."
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Meanwhile, a helmet camera captured Maulers defensive end Nasir Player rushing the passer and looking for a "facemask," though, he accepted the outcome of a sack.
The New Jersey Generals got their first win in six weeks, defeating the Philadelphia Stars, 37-33. New Jersey began the game with a bang, as Cam Echols-Luper ran the opening kickoff back 85 yards for the touchdown. After the score, Echols-Luper pulled out a laugh that at first sounded like a signature Eddie Murphy chuckle.
Later in the first half, the Generals found the end zone on a trick play at the goal line, as quarterback De'Andre Johnson pitched the ball to running back Darius Victor, who then threw a touchdown to tight end Braedon Bowman. After the play, Johnson told Victor to "give me a big hug." Later in the game, Johnson took off for a gain on the ground and then exclaimed multiple times: "You know what it is."
On the other side, Stars quarterback Case Cookus produced several highlights in a losing effort, including a 28-yard scamper. The big run ended when Cookus was tripped up, which resulted in a laughing teammate telling him to "get your slow ass up."
Philadelphia trailed by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter but cut the lead to seven in the closing moments, and eventually to four. After the first touchdown that cut the deficit to 14, Cookus was encouraging his teammates to "show them who you are" on the sideline.