1964 Division Semi-Finals

EAST DIVISION SEMI-FINAL
Boston Independents VS. Long Island Raiders - Richardson Stadium - September 20, 1964 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Clear 18ºC | 65ºF - TV: Benjamin O’Donnell and William Arland
1st Q
The battle between Boston and Long Island started very defensive. Both opening drives ended with 2 and outs. The Raiders would be the first team to take a big step forward on an explosive 32-yard run from RB Dareion Fields. The Raider would be able to get into field goal range and would be the first to score with a K Henderson Schumacher field goal. Boston would look to counter, but the pressure from the Raiders’ defensive line was very difficult to manage and they would remain behind 3-0 after the opening quarter.
BOS 0-3 LI

2nd Q
The Raiders would look to add to their lead early in the second with QB Stanley Troyer finding WR Casey Coleman for a pick-up of 28 to put the ball into the redzone. RB Dareion Fields would take care of the remaining work and would take in the touchdown a couple of plays later to give the Raiders a 0-10 lead. Boston was hoping to rebound, but Braddock was still struggling with the pass rush. However, he would be able to improvise and escape the pressure and find WR Chester Bennett for a big play that would allow the Independents to finally get on the board with a K Johnnie Berg field goal. In the remaining minutes of the quarter, the Raiders continued to push the ball down the field themselves and would get a late field goal to take a 10-point lead into the break, much to the displeasure of the Boston faithful.
BOS 3-13 LI

3rd Q
It was all about getting the Independents back into the game early in the second half for QB Nathaniel Braddock. He looked like a man on a mission early, being more decisive with every throw. He would turn the game around quite quickly on the opening drive by taking the team down to the redzone. He would then connect with WR Ellis Lindholm in the endzone to cut the Raider lead down to just 3 points. The Raiders would look to be right back on the offensive, but Boston’s defence was stepping it up. LB Konrad Aust would step up and grab an interception off of QB Stanley Troyer. Boston felt the momentum shifting, however, only a few plays later, DB Alexander Bradley would get the ball right back with an interception of his own. He almost got into open field to potentially bring it back for a score, but WR Alexei Dubois was able to get to him first. The Raiders’ offence would return to the field and would score a field goal a couple of plays later to extend their lead to 6. Braddock rebounded from the interception on the next drive. The drive resembled the first drive of the half with Braddock methodically marching the offence down the field. He would find WR Alexei Dubois open for a big score to give them a lead heading into the final quarter
BOS 17-16 LI

4th Q
The final quarter was intense with both teams going all out on both sides of the ball. Early on the Raiders would get a break with a big run from Dareion Fields that would set up K Henderson Schumacher to retake the lead 17-19. Boston would follow up the score with a field goal of their own on the ensuing drive following a great play from WR Chester Bennett to get them into range. It was now 20-19 for Boston and time was running out for the Raiders. They have relied a lot on RB Dareion Fields all season, however, with limited time they were going to need QB Stanley Troyer to step up. The Independents’ defence was tough to break, but a couple of runs from Fields would help loosen them up and allow for Troyer to make a couple of passes. They would get into Boston territory, but they still needed several yards to get into field goal range. Boston would lock them down on first down with DB Lawrence Ralph batting away a pass to WR Larry Mossholder. Troyer needed to make a play on 2nd and he would drop back and scan the field. Unfortunately, DL Timmy Kerr came flying through the line. Kerr got a hand on Troyer’s back but the QB was able to slip away. Troyer had more pressure coming, but he would see an opening and would make a huge throw down the field. WR Casey Coleman had been able to get loose and he would be open to make a grab downfield. DB Lawrence Ralph had gotten caught behind, and Coleman was able to easily outrun him to the endzone to score and give the Raiders a 20-25 lead. Boston would be able to stop the 2-point attempt to give them a chance to win with a touchdown. Braddock would step onto the field determined and started to push the Independents down the field. With a last-ditch effort, Braddock would see WR Chester Bennett open and would get the WR the ball, however, he was not close enough to score and the Raiders would make the stop to hold on for their first playoff win since their 1958 McCallister Cup win. 

BOS - 13 - QB Nathaniel Braddock
LI - 22 - RB Dareion Fields

WEST DIVISION SEMI-FINAL
Toronto Steelheads VS. Louisville Thunder - Anderson Stadium - September 20, 1964 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Mostly Cloudy 15.5ºC | 60ºF
1st Q
The Steelheads’ NAAF playoff debut got off to a solid start on their end. QB Todd Baker was able to push the offence down into the redzone on their opening drive, which was quite surprising considering how good the Thunder defence can be. Luckily for Louisville, that defence would stand strong with their backs against the wall and they would force a field goal. The Thunder were aiming to counter quickly, and they would with RB Rodney Clark breaking loose for a couple of big gains. Clark would eventually punch it in from 3 yards out to make it a 3-7 game.
TOR 3-7 LOU

2nd Q
The Steelheads were able to knock down another field goal to start the second quarter and cut the lead to just 1. However, on their next drive, they ran into, or rather threw, into trouble as DB Oliver Langstrom, who was finally back in the lineup, would grab an interception to set Louisville up nicely. The Thunder continued to push the ball with RB Rodney Clark and RB Greg Dix before QB Leonidas Dumont would find WR Darryl Duke open in the endzone to give them a 7-point lead. With some confidence, the Thunder would go for 2 to make it a 2-score game early. RB Rodney Clark would take in the sweep to score the 2-pointer. Toronto was starting to feel the pressure, but QB Todd Baker would stay calm. With RB Max Tracy struggling early on, RB Tommy Allen would step up with a couple of strong runs. Eventually, Baker would then find WR Edmund Landry open from 15 yards out to pull within 2 heading into the break.
TOR 13-15 LOU

3rd Q
The Steelheads were hoping to maintain momentum out of the break. Their defence would step up to stop Louisville’s opening drive with LB Rusty McVee getting to QB Leonidas Dumont on the surprise blitz on 2nd down. The offence would get the ball back and would add 3 more points to their total to take the lead 16-15. The Thunder offence was quick to counter with a field goal of their own to retake the lead. The defence would come to play a vital role down the stretch for the Thunder as LB Scotty Williams would manage to punch the ball loose from RB Tommy Allen near the end of the quarter. The ball flew right over to S Johnny Berger, who would return it into Steelheads’ territory. The ensuing drive would end with RB Rodney Clark taking in his second score of the game giving Louisville the 9-point lead heading into the final quarter.
TOR 16-25 LOU

4th Q
It was looking pretty dire for the Steelheads, who were struggling to move the ball against the Thunder defence. Baker was running out of time to make something happen, so he would get a bit more aggressive. It initially did not pay off with the QB throwing a second pick to DB Jayden Mills, however, he would not be deterred and would breakthrough on the next time out. Baker would find WR Samuel Petri for a score at the end of the drive to cut the lead back down to two. The Thunder offence was certainly playing it safe, but their defence continued to pile the pressure on. Eventually, DL Clyde Dale was able to get around the Steelheads’ pass protection and chase down Baker for a loss of 12. The loss would pin Toronto inside their own 10. They would have to gamble on 3rd, but Bakers’ pass attempt would be knocked away by DB Oliver Langstrom. The Thunder would try to kill the clock before adding 3 more to their total sealing the win 23-28.
TOR - 10 - QB Todd Baker
LOU - 24 - RB Rodney Clark

Injury Report
DL Sammy Pickett BOS - 2 Weeks
DL Vernon Spears LI - 1 Week

Players of the Week

EDSF: WR Casey Coleman LI - 1 Receiving Touchdown, 102 Receiving Yards

WDSF: DB Oliver Langstrom LOU - 1 Interception, 3 Passes Defended, 3 Tackles. 

Division Finals Preview
East Division Final - Montreal Rouge VS. Long Island Raiders
Head-to-Head: W2 LI 10-20 MTL, W13 MTL 30-27 LI OT
If week 13 proved anything, it's that this could be a close duel. The Rouge enter this game on a 4-game win streak and looked to be the hottest squad heading into the playoffs. The Raiders on the other hand had a lot of questions about playing the better teams, but they silenced those critics last week. The game should be a hard-fought duel with the league’s top offence taking on the league’s top defence. In the end, I am going to take the experience advantage and say that the Rouge will return to the McCallister Cup.
My Pick: Rouge

West Division Final - Buffalo Blue Wings VS. Louisville Thunder
Head-to-Head: W3 LOU 23-13 BUF, W5 BUF 30-10 LOU
Neither of the first two matchups between Buffalo and Louisville were particularly close, however, entering the playoffs there is certainly hope that both of these teams will be able to rise to the challenge. The Thunder defence looked strong against the Steelheads, but they certainly will have to find a way to manage RB Jimmy Golden. Buffalo will be hoping that both Golden and QB Charles Lemieux show up and perform. The Golden factor seems to be the most important in this matchup and I’m betting on Golden to perform. I’ll maintain my preseason prediction and have the Blue Wings get back to the Cup.
My Pick: Blue Wings. 

My predictions for the rest of the playoffs:

BUF over LOU
MTL over LI

BUF over MTL

Let's go Rouge and Blue Wings

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (8/03/2021 12:04 pm)

Please, anyone beat Buffalo.

ItDoesntMatter wrote:

QCS wrote:

>Boston loses

now that's what i call faltering

 
>Providence 5-7

Not to mention no McCallister Cup wins so far.

I am disappointed that Montreal lost, but what can you do against the second-best running back in the league. I am thrilled that Buffalo won. Now that Montreal is out, I place myself fully behind Buffalo to win this year's McCallister Cup.