C'mon you Gaaaels!

Wallflower wrote:

Quite the season! The bottom of the west was pretty tight.
But at the top!! Let's Go Blue Ox! 
Please, don't let us down...
.

Section30 wrote:

What a season, only losing once is really impressive if I do say so myself 
Here's to bringing it home!

Lets Go Ox!

Yep, Minneapolis pretty much ran away with the west this year, it'll definitely be exciting to see if they can turn that success into postseason wins, because they're 0-3 in the postseason right now, which has got to be rough.

Balu the Bare wrote:

Detroit just needs a little bit of a rebuild and they'll be back! 

Detroit is in a weird place right now, they're core that was dominant throughout the late 50's has aged and is holding the team back from success, but guys like Henderson and Portson, two of the main pieces of that those teams, are still a couple years from retirement, so the Bombers will have to decide if they want to try and reload that team with some talent to go at some immediate success, or blow it up and try and rebuild for another entire era of success. Either way I think it'll be a while before their in Champions Bowl conversations again.

Here's the wildcard round!

1964-65 NFA Postseason 

1964-65 NFA Wildcard - Seattle Lumberjacks at Baltimore Bulldogs
The first game of this newly renovated postseason sees the Seattle Lumberjacks take on the Baltimore Bulldogs in both of the teams first ever postseason game. Going into the game Baltimore were heavy favorites and that rung through to the end. 
The first quarter started off with Seattle trying to make their way down field but only getting a couple first downs before the Bulldogs defense forced them to punt. In retaliation rookie RB Edgar Hamm would manage to break through for a big 30 yard run which made an early statement to the Lumberjacks. It would continue to come easy for Baltimore as they quickly found their way into the endzone and would take the early 7-0 lead. It wouldn’t take long for them to get another shot at scoring either, as QB Micheal Bauer would take a big sack from two Bulldogs and fumble the ball in the process. Baltimore, who'd gained possession from the turnover, didn’t get far however as the Seattle defense would manage to soften the blow of the offense’s ineptitude and force them to kick a field goal to start the second quarter.
After fumbling away the last drive Seattle hoped to put points up on the board this go around. Their wishes however would get lost at sea as the o-line gave up another sack on Bauer who would fail to convert a long 3rd down. They would subsequently punt the ball back to Baltimore. The Bulldogs would continue to run away with the game, finding their way back into the house after only being held to 3 last go round. Seattle would manage to finally get past half field, and into scoring range on the following drive as time was running low, to only mishandle the remaining time and fail to get the field goal attempt off though. This meant we went into half with the game at a 17-0 score.
The second half wouldn’t be much better for the Jacks as on the kickoff to start the half, Baltimore would return it all the way for the score, putting them up 24-0 pretty immediately. This also had Chesapeake Bay Stadium rocking the loudest it maybe has ever been as the Bulldogs started the early celebrations. However this must’ve been motivation for Seattle as they would return to field goal range on their first drive of the half, this time properly being able to kick it through to make the game slightly less of a blowout. They would also then turn around and stop the Bulldogs for the first time this game. This thanks to two big tackles for loss by DT Glen Sawyer on Hamm. Seattle would continue to turn the tides in their favor as they completed a 29 yard pass, they’re biggest completion of the day, as the quarter came to a close.
Despite the momentum shifting in Seattle’s favor, they still would fail to break into the endzone and instead attempt another field goal, which, while the kick was good, was a puzzling decision since they were down 24-3 with just a quarter to play. Nonetheless the deficit was lowered… until Baltimore scored another touchdown. QB Grayson Little actually scored on a 23 yard scramble where he wasn’t touched once. Seattle’s very late game comeback attempts, if there were any, came up short and Baltimore would win the first Wildcard game in NFA history by a convincing 31-6 score.



1964-65 NFA Wildcard - New York Cannons at Los Angeles Tigers
The second postseason game this year is a rematch of last year’s Champions Bowl, New York vs Los Angeles. The Cannons who’ve been on a slide the past couple weeks come into Tiger Territory to try and get the upset to send them to the semifinal and a date with Minneapolis. Los Angeles have been preparing to get a true revenge for the show that New York put on them almost a year ago to the day.
The first quarter was what one might have expected, a strong defensive performance by the Cannons and a strong offensive one by the Tigers. Unlike in the Champions Bowl however, Los Angeles was able to surmount the powerful defense and score a big touchdown on their first drive of the game. New York would fail to replicate the Tigers scoring ways with QB Jim Sandusky almost turning the ball over on just his 4th play of the game. Before long the ball was punted back to LA and they were starting to make their way back up the field. New York’s defense would make up for their offense however, like they always do, and intercept a pass from QB Kieth Lincoln to give their offense another shot. They’d be looking at a 3rd down as the quarter came to a close.
The second quarter would start with RB Thomas O’Grady coming up a yard short of the first, and New York having to punt the ball again. This would be where the Tigers would start their Champions Bowl reenactment. Both teams spent the rest of the quarter exchanging punts in what the untrained eye might think is a kicking competition. The Tigers offense was especially slowed as they couldn’t get anything that they had on their first drive going. New York was much of the same, while their defense was putting up an absolute tear against a top 3 offense in the league, their offense was fiddling around like a middle school flag football team. We go into the half with LA still leading 7-0.
The third quarter, to the dismay of the fans, was much of the same of the last quarter. Los Angeles managed to pick off Sandusky half way through the quarter however, which would result in them being able to wedge themselves a long field goal that would just barely scrape by the right upright. Now down 10-0 New York would try and take their offense into another gear. This would only result in another turnover, this time O’Grady would fumble the ball on a toss that would result in OLB Donny Chandler returning it to the house. The extra point would be scuffed and far left so they’d only take a 16-0 lead. New York would try to not turn it over again and start up another drive as we entered the last quarter of the game, the game now entering blowout territory, Tigers leading 16-0.
The fourth quarter would be like the rest of the game. New York, however, would get their closest to scoring yet, when a field goal would end up an inch wide. Both teams though wouldn’t do much offense the rest of the quarter, New York would once again get close to kicking another field goal but would fumble the ball for their 3rd turnover of the game. This practically sealed the Tigers advancement to the semifinal. The final score would be 16-0.



Here's the updated bracket:


 
C&C Appreciated! How'd your teams do?

A pair of...I guess...disappointing? games. Not really close in either of them and scoring was pretty lackluster in the second, hopefully the wildcard games get more exciting as the years go on and competition picks up. 
Either way, bring it on Tigers!

Well, I suppose the Barbarians were bound to drop off their first year...when Pittsburgh gets a team back, that's gonna be quite a rivalry we'll have.

Wallflower wrote:

A pair of...I guess...disappointing? games. Not really close in either of them and scoring was pretty lackluster in the second, hopefully the wildcard games get more exciting as the years go on and competition picks up. 
Either way, bring it on Tigers!

Yeah it wasn't the best showing of the potential of the wildcard round, but having two cross continental match ups was the thing most people were excited about. The only way to get a Seattle vs Baltimore match up before was it to be the Champions Bowl.

Here's the former Conference Championships, now known as the Semifinals! (Although they are a 2 inter-conference match ups) 

1964-65 NFA Semifinal - Baltimore Bulldogs at Boston Gaels
The next round of the postseason started with Baltimore traveling up to Boston to take on the Gaels who are coming off a valuable bye week. Baltimore’s first game was heavily in their favor, this game however was much closer. The city of Boston was antsy to see their team make it back to the Champions Bowl to hopefully win their second one, and after an appearance that resulted in the teams 3rd Champions Bowl loss a few years ago, it felt long overdue for the team to win another.
The game started off with Boston on offense. RB Stevie Parks wouldn’t mess around to start, as on just the second play from scrimmage, Parks bursted through the line of Bulldogs and carried the ball all 75 yards for the TD. This would be a tough act to follow but Baltimore would try their best, QB Greyson Little would lead his team down the field and eventually find WR Wally Fields in the end zone for the tying score. And thus Baltimore kicked back off to Boston, hoping to contain Parks a bit better this time. Boston has other plans though as they quickly got a 15 yard completion which would then be followed by two quick first downs from Parks. The Bulldogs defense would finally seem to regain balance and contain the Gaels firepower a bit better, but as the quarter ended, Parks managed to convert a tricky 3rd down which put Boston nearly at the goal line. 
The Baltimore defense would put up an amazing defensive performance on the line as the second quarter started up and forced Boston into another tricky 3rd down situation. This time however the Gaels looked to QB Donald McCloud who would find his man in the back of the end zone; WR James Audrey. He would be ruled out of bounds however as he feet were along the edge of the end zone. It was an obviously bad call as even the announcers seemed confused by the ruling. The Gaels would argue tooth and nail over this call with coach Bill Montague nearly getting ejected, but it wouldn't be so. The Gaels would settle for 3 points and kick the ball back off to Baltimore. The Bulldogs would take advantage of the turn of events during the Gaels last drive and manage to get all the way down the field and in scoring position. It took them 3 tries at the line until Little found Fields in the endzone again, who, unlike Audrey, was ruled in bounds giving Baltimore a 14-10 lead with time winding down in the half. Boston wouldn’t be able to get in scoring position thanks to a powerful defensive performance on Baltimore’s side. The two teams went into the half 14-10, Boston upset, thinking the game should be tied.
The third quarter started with Baltimore getting a shot to give them a two possession lead. They’d almost get all the way down the field, Boston’s defense starting to crack, before Little would try and force a pass in between 2 defenders. The ball would be batted around before ending up in a Gael’s hands. They’d return the ball all the way for the pick 6, giving Boston the momentum and a 17-14 lead. This would be the beginning of the end for the Bulldogs, and especially for Little who seemed to be up in his own head about every throw. He would almost throw another interception on the next drive but would ultimately have to give the ball to his punting team. Boston would double down on the chance Baltimore gave them, making it down to the 17 before kicking another field goal as the quarter came to the end.
The fourth quarter would be Baltimore’s to lose. They started with the ball and attempted to try and make some ground on a comeback. With RB Edgar Hamm taking control of the drive, things seemed to be going smoother. That was until the Gaels forced a third down which led the Bulldogs to turn to Little. Little had played good the whole first half but was shaken up by his interception in the third quarter. Luckily he would convert the down and keep the drive going. Baltimore would eventually put another 7 on the board for them and take a big 21-20 lead. Boston wouldn’t have this however, Parks, McCloud and crew weren’t going to let the Gaels faithful down again. With no time to spare they started to storm down the field, Parks taking most of the snaps and adding onto his insane yardage he’s already acclimated throughout the game. With under a minute left Parks would dodge a defender and walk into the endzone untouched. He would immediately fall to his knees as his team mobbed him. Baltimore would toss one up hoping to make it to the endzone but the ball would be intercepted short of the endzone. The Gaels had did it! They’d made it back to the Champions Bowl. They won the game 27-21 on the back of MVP RB Stevie Parks.



1964-65 NFA Semifinal - Los Angeles Tigers at Minneapolis Blue Ox
In a rematch of last year’s West Championship, the Tigers travel to Minneapolis where the Ox hope to get revenge for the overtime loss they suffered the year before. However Minneapolis is still winless in the postseason, losing all 3 appearances. So despite only having one loss, being at home, and being the better team, the result of this game was still a toss up. Some said the Ox should win it easily, whereas some predicted another season going to waste for Minneapolis. Whatever the case, many looked forward to the game.
Minneapolis received the kickoff to begin. QB Eugene Addams would walk onto the field to a roar of cheers from the crowd, the Ox had huge momentum in this game as the two teams budding rivalry had already started to rear its head in the game. Addams would get the Ox started with a big couple of first downs before launching one deep for WR Elijah Wolfstein who would catch it and take it to the house for the first score of the game. LA would retaliate instantly, RB Sam Peck would receive a short pass from QB Kieth Lincoln, dodge some immediate defenders, brush off a couple more and use his incredible speed to outrun the rest and make the score for the Tigers. Just half way into the first quarter and we’re already tied up 7-7. Minneapolis would slow things down a bit but still manage a field goal with time still on the clock in the quarter. LA would receive the kickoff and take it back to midfield before finally being stopped. 5 plays and 2 first down later and they were in field goal range.
The second quarter began with the Ox defense finally getting a handle on the Tigers fast paced offense and forcing them to settle for the field goal. On the following kickoff return though, Tigers would somehow manage to score that touchdown they had hoped to score a few plays prior. WR Nicholas Van Daalen had fumbled on the return, leading to a pair of Tigers walking the ball in together to give them a 17-10 lead just a few minutes into the second quarter. On the next return Van Daalen was lined up again to return it but thankfully nothing went wrong that time. The Ox would take the next drive all the way to midfield before LA would stunningly stop them forcing the first punt of the game. Los Angeles would punch the gas on the next drive, once again making it all the way to the end zone where Peck gave them a scary 24-10 lead. Minneapolis’s field goal attempt to close out the half would be wide left, hitting off the left upright and out, leaving the score as in as we headed to the break.
The second half would be just as exciting and crazy as the first. Los Angeles would start us out with a 6 minute drive that would only result in a field goal. There was some confusion on the drive as initially the Tigers seemed like they’d go for it on 4th and 5, Lincoln had stayed on the field and so had half the offense. One timeout late though and they must’ve changed their mind. Minneapolis would score on their drive as well, they’d take almost the entire second half of the quarter to do so, but they managed to cut the LA lead to just 10. QB Kieth Lincoln would try to retaliate but the Tigers would finally be stopped on offense and a quick 3 and out gave the Ox the ball back as the quarter ended.
The fourth quarter was the quarter to decide who would face Boston in the Champions Bowl. Minneapolis was trailing LA 27-17 and had the ball. Addams would lead the way down the field, making quick work of the Tigers weak defense. Before too long he was handing the ball off to RB Kent Ross, who’s 3 yard rush would give them 24 points, cutting the deficit down to just 3. Los Angeles, on the brink of choking a 14 point halftime lead, wouldn't let Minneapolis stop them again. Time was on their side and so they used it to their advantage. A team so known for a fast paced offense had managed to wind the clock down to just over a minute remaining before delivering the final blow. Lincoln would find WR Val Goodman at the front of the endzone for the score, putting the Tigers up 34-24. Minneapolis had no response and watched as the Tigers swarmed their coach and the field. Minneapolis would remain winless in the postseason as the Tigers would advance to their second straight Champions Bowl and their 5th in team history. 



Here's the updated bracket:



C&C Appreciated, sorry to all the Ox fans out there, that's got to frustrating