Around the League: Wrapup of Week 4 Action

East Division

Fujitsu Frontiers 37, Nojima Sagamihara Rise 10: Colby Cameron threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns and Shuhei Takeuchi returned a fumble for a touchdown as defending champion Fujitsu contained Nojima and its new American quarterback Ben Anderson in their East Division showdown at Fujitsu Kawasaki Stadium. Wide receiver Jumpei Yoshimoto, who had a game-high six receptions for 57 yards, threw a touchdown pass on a trick play and Gino Gordon added a short rushing TD in the fourth quarter for unbeaten Fujitsu. Anderson completed 18 of 29 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown while being held to minus-5 yards rushing on 19 carries. Cameron completed 26 of 39 passes, but also had a pass picked off in the end zone for his first interception of the season.

Obic Seagulls 53, All Mitsubishi Lions 9: Takushiro Hata completed 16 of 20 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score as Obic routed All Mitsubishi at Fujitsu Kawasaki Stadium to keep its division title hopes alive ahead of the key clash with Fujitsu on Oct. 17. Shun Sugawara and rookie Tsubasa Takagi also threw one touchdown pass each, and Takuto Hara, who had a TD reception, returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. Tight end Akimitsu Mori caught four passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions got all of their points in the fourth quarter on Hiroaki Wakamatsu’s 45-yard field goal and a 3-yard touchdown pass from Shoma Taniguchi to Takato Kurihara on the final play of the game.

Meiji Yasuda PentaOcean Pirates 24, Metropolitan Police Dept. Eagles 0: Shotaro Tanoue threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Meiji Yasuda won a clash between winless teams at Fujitsu Kawasaki Stadium. Tanoue completed 15 of 22 passes for 111 yards and ran for 72 yards on 12 carries. Yuhei Yamaguchi gained 117 yards on 10 carries for the Pirates, who turned two interceptions into touchdowns and compiled 358 yards of offense. After a scoreless first quarter, Tanoue threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Ryo Kimura and Hiroyuki Akatsu kicked a 43-yard field goal for a 10-0 halftime lead. In the second half, Tanoue scored on a 7-yard run and connected with Takumi Takahashi on a 14-yard score.

Central Division

Lixil Deers 40, Tokyo Gas Creators 6: Shinichi Maekawa ran for two first-half touchdowns and Shohei Kato completed 14 of 17 passes for 158 yards as Lixil improved to 3-1 to assure itself at least a third-place finish by routing winless Tokyo Gas at Tokyo’s Amino Vital Field. Yasuhiro Maruta and Tomoya Okabe each had a rushing touchdown and backup QB Shotaro Owada threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Kento Suzuki, while sure-footed Daisuke Aoki kicked a pair of field goals. Tokyo Gas avoided a shutout when Hiroki Nakamoto scored on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Bulls Football Club 41, Hurricanes 19: Shunsuke Kikuchi rushed for two touchdowns and Keita Fujiwara passed for one score and ran for another as the Bulls routed the winless Hurricanes at Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki to record a second win in division play for the first time since 2009. Fujiwara completed 14 of 26 passes for 242 yards. The Hurricanes, who were dealt a record-setting 117-0 loss by IBM in the season-opener and had been outscored 292-3, scored their first touchdown of the season after kicker Seitaro Iwasaki, lined up for a field goal, picked up the ball after a bad snap and ran for a first down. Ryohei Sasaki then scored on a 2-yard run for the first of his two rushing touchdowns. He also passed for another.

IBM BigBlue 35, Asahi Beer Silver Star 18: Kevin Craft completed 18 of 23 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns and IBM returned two interceptions of Mason Mills passes for scores as the BigBlue moved into the driver’s seat for the Central title by winning the battle of unbeatens at Fujitsu Kawasaki Stadium. With Asahi Beer relying almost solely on its passing game, Mills threw 62 times, completing 33 for 462 yards and two touchdowns, but also had five interceptions. The first was returned 99 yards for a TD by Koji Hoshida. Asahi Beer, which trailed 14-10 at halftime, pulled to within 21-18 late in the third quarter on Mills’ second TD pass to Roman Wilson, but IBM pulled away on Ryo Takagi’s 17-yard touchdown run and James Brooks’ 8-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.

West Division

Panasonic Impulse 69, Nagoya Cyclones 0: Benjamin Dupree rushed for three touchdowns and returned a punt for a score as undefeated Panasonic overwhelmed winless Nagoya at Kobe’s Oji Stadium. Tetsuo Takata threw two touchdown passes to Tatsuya Tonka and the Panasonic defense held Nagoya to 78 total yards and four first downs. Hayato Araki added a rushing touchdown, backup QB Takashi Ohara threw a touchdown pass and Emory Polley had a punt return for a touchdown in the second half. Dupree, who had a 47-yard touchdown run, finished with 130 yards on 13 carries, giving him a league-leading 435 yards through four games.

Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers 18, Elecom Kobe Finies 15: Wide receiver Hiroki Maruko threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Donnie King off a reverse and Yuya Makino had a 1-yard touchdown run as Asahi Soft Drinks took an 18-0 lead and held on to defeat Elecom at Kobe’s Oji Stadium. The Challengers got their first points on a safety when Elecom was flagged for a below-the-waist block in its own end zone. Shinji Kageyama kicked a 35-yard field goal as the Challengers dealt the Finies’ hopes of repeating as West champions a major blow heading into their final divisional game against Panasonic. Keijiro Kasuya threw two touchdown passes in the second half, but it was too little, too late for the Finies, who had three turnovers but were helped by the Challengers’ 95 yards in penalties.

As One Black Eagles 52, Fuji Xerox J-Stars 0: Koji Tachikake rushed for two first-half touchdowns and Kohei Tahara, playing the second half, completed 10 of 11 passes with two third-quarter scores, as As One dealt winless Fuji Xerox its third shutout loss of the season at Kobe’s Oji Stadium. Koji Kato ran for a touchdown after the J-Stars were flagged for offsides on a missed field goal attempt, and Ryo Sakamoto also had a short touchdown run. Atsushi Hayashi returned one of three interceptions 32 yards for a touchdown as the As One defense held Fuji Xerox to 55 total yards and four first downs.