1953 Week 3

Buffalo Blue Wings - 17, Providence Gold Stars - 27 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 31 - 7 PM ET - CBS
The Gold Stars keep their unbeaten season alive with an upset in Buffalo. The game started well for the Blue Wings, as they would score early in the first with QB Angelo Medina finding WR Joseph Barry in the endzone for the 7-0 lead. Providence would get a field goal back before their defense stepped up. DB Victor Bean would pick off Medina, and set up a Gold Star touchdown to WR John Osborn. With the 7-10 lead, the Gold Stars would keep up the pressure and got another pick from Lee Wolfe. This would set up a field goal and a 7-13 lead heading into the second half. Buffalo would take back some momentum out of the half scoring a quick field goal. Providence would not let up though and got it back downfield for another field goal to extend their lead. Not long into the final quarter, it seemed like Buffalo got a break with DB Dylan Alston picking off Bruce Woodard. RB Arthur Conner would score another touchdown to reclaim the lead. Providence would not give up and Woodard would lead another great drive ending in a touchdown to WR Peter Brooks. WR Michael Mcleod would also add the 2-point convert to make it a 7-point game. With time running down the Blue Wings tried moving quickly but they would turn it over once again with LB Roger Morrow punching it loose. Bernard Barnett would add a field goal following to all but seal the win.

Ontario Tigers - 31, Hartford Hawks - 6 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 1 - 5 PM ET
The Tigers finally have their first game in Kitchener since it officially became their home. They put on a show for the home crowd. QB Duane Logan led an excellent opening drive going 4 for 4 and connecting with WR Marqués Gardner for the touchdown and the quick 7-0 lead. The defense would stand strong and gave the offense a chance to increase the lead which they did on a field goal. QB Lee Rogers was continuing to make mistakes, but it didn’t seem to bother the QB as he kept taking shot after shot. It would end up in the hands of DB Louie White twice in the first half and would set up a Laurent Brazeau touchdown to make the score 17-0 at halftime. The Hawks would get a little back in the third as both teams traded field goals, but the Tigers kept the pressure on and Brazeau found the endzone again to extend the lead. The Hawks would add a late field goal but Brazeau would tack on a third touchdown to finish off the game. 

Boston Independents - 20, Worcester Athletics - 10 - Richardson Stadium - August 2 - 3 PM ET
The Independents defense shined in their first matchup against the Athletics this season. The Athletics were unable to move the ball at all throughout the first half. They only got 2 first downs which both were in the second quarter. Boston was able to defend anything that was thrown at them. Their defense would also come up big with 3 turnovers. DB Lester Murphy had a pick as well as DB Clinton Benton and DL Fred Clark forced a fumble on RB Jacque Montier. The offense was also playing well putting up 17 points in the first half. RB Joel Bonner had both touchdowns for the Independents. The Athletics would find some space to open the second half. They would get into scoring range and get a field goal to finally get on the board. After Boston added one of their own, the Athletics would find the endzone with RB Jacque Montier from 5 yards out. The Independents would be able to shut the Athletics down from there adding another couple turnovers to their total and would win 20-10. 

Ottawa Royals - 36, Montreal Rouge - 27 - Lansdowne Park - August 2 - 3 PM ET - CBC
A rivalry renewed in the nation's capital would lead to another close tilt. Montreal would surprise coming out quickly. RB Élisée Marchal would lead the offense down the field, and eventually, he would score on an 11-yard run. Montreal would keep up the pressure and stop Ottawa on their following drive. The Rouge would then add a field goal to take the 0-10 lead. Ottawa would finally kick into gear following the back-to-back Montreal scores. QB Jean Matieau would go 7 for 7 on the next drive and find WR Allen Atkins in the endzone to cut the lead to 3. A couple of drives later the Matieau would connect with TE Jervonte Howell to take the lead 14-10. Montreal would strike next with Marchal’s second of the game to lead 14-17 at halftime. The second half turned up the offense. Ottawa would roll on their second drive of the half, led surprisingly by RB Alexei Volkov, and would cap it off with WR Eugene Burns catching another touchdown and reclaiming the lead. Montreal would counter with another touchdown this time, QB Andrew Glover would throw his first TD of the season to WR John Rivera. Matieau would once again lead the offense to score with Atkins finding the endzone after making an unreal catch over DB Jean-Luc Paget. The fourth started with a 28-24 game in Ottawa’s favour. Montreal would only get a field goal on their next drive making it a one-point game. The defensive stop helped Ottawa and they would find the endzone again. RB Alexei Volkov scored this time and Atkins would make it a 9 point game on the 2-pointer. The Rouge ran out of gas at this point and could only get to midfield before being stopped. 

Players of the Week

OFF: QB Jean Matieau OTT - 4 Passing Touchdowns, 387 Passing Yards

DEF: LB Roger Morrow PRO - 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Knockdown, 10 Tackles

Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 3-0
Buffalo 2-1
Ontario 1-2
Montreal 1-2

NEW ENGLAND
Providence 3-0
Boston 2-1
Worcester 0-3
Hartford 0-3

Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa +1
2 - Providence +3
3 - Buffalo -2
4 - Montreal -1
5 - Boston -
6 - Ontario - 
7 - Worcester -
8 - Hartford -

Week 4 Games
WOR (0-3) @ ON (1-2) - AUG. 7 - 7 PM ET - CBC
OTT (3-0) @ PRO (3-0) - AUG. 8 - 2 PM ET - CBS
BUF (2-1) @ MTL (1-2) - AUG. 8 - 6 PM ET
HAR (0-3) @ BOS (2-1) - AUG. 9 - 3 PM ET

Still unbeaten let's win it all this year Royals!

1953 Week 4

Ontario Tigers - 17, Worcester Athletics - 20 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 7 - 7 PM ET - CBC
The Athletics stunned the Tigers on the road to grab their first win of the season. RB Laurent Brazeau got things going early for the Tigers, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter, the team seemed to sputter after that. Worcester, on the other hand, seemed to be getting all the lucky bounces. After Brazeau’s touchdown, the running back would cough up the football following a LB Scotty Williams hit, which would set up a Kiernan touchdown pass to WR Christian Venegas. Not long after, S Shawn Jensen would pick off a deep Duane Logan pass and take it back into Tigers territory. Jacque Montier would grab the TD. The Tigers were stunned to be down 7-14 at halftime. The Athletics continued to put on the pressure and would score a field goal out of the half. The Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight with Brazeau marching the team down the field for a field goal of their own. The final quarter started with the Tigers moving the ball well and getting into range to score again, but once again they lost the football on Scotty Williams’ second forced fumble of the day. This time he hit WR Jake Hadder and knocked it loose. The Athletics would march the other way and tack on a field goal to extend their lead. The Tigers would get back on the field and get down the field where Duane Logan would find WR Wilbert Benjamin on a deep shot to the endzone to cut the lead to 3. However, the Tigers were not able to get back into range and the Athletics would take the win. 

Providence Gold Stars - 31, Ottawa Royals - 20 - New Providence Stadium - August 8 - 2 PM ET - CBS
The last two unbeaten teams squared off in Providence. While Ottawa’s offense had been unstoppable all season, the Gold Stars seemed to find a trick to it all. They were able to shut down the Royals first two drives before they let up a field goal, but over that time QB Bruce Woodard was able to give Providence the lead finding WR Peter Brooks in the endzone. Ottawa would continue to struggle when DB Lee Wolfe picked off QB Jean Matieau and took it back to the 12-yard line which set up WR Michael Mcleod for a touchdown and Providence was up 14-3. They would add a field goal before Ottawa found some rhythm and got down the field. Matieau would find former Gold Star WR Eugene Burns for the touchdown to give the Royals a fighting chance heading into the half. Providence came out strong again as their first drive of the half was yet another touchdown this time former Royal WR John Osborn scored giving Providence the 24-10 lead. Ottawa would not go away easy as Matieau would lead the comeback over the half. RB Alexei Volkov would score the first touchdown and the only, as their next drive ended in DB Victor Bean taking back a pick to Royals territory. Woodard would connect with TE Marion Warren to give the team the comfortable lead. All Ottawa could manage was another field goal as the Gold Stars become the first team since Montreal in 1949 to start 4-0. 

Montreal Rouge - 16, Buffalo Blue Wings - 11 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 8 - 6 PM ET
The rematch of week 1’s tilt would go a much different way this time. The Rouge got off on the right foot as DB Jean-Luc Paget would intercept QB Angelo Medina’s pass and take it back to the house for 6 on the 3rd play of the game. The Blue Wings couldn’t seem to shake off the early mistake and fell behind further after a 2 and out and Montreal adding a field goal. The Rouge defense did not let Buffalo get anything going early on, tightening up a lot after being blown up by Ottawa’s offense last week. They would continue to add points with another field goal before the half. Buffalo had gotten their first points just before the half but had nothing out of the gate. The Rouge would stop the Blue Wings drive after drive with two more turnovers coming from a LB Quinton Brewer interception and a DL Napoléon Chevalier strip-sack. The turnovers led to another field goal. The Blue Wings would get a late single before finally breaking free to the endzone. RB Arthur Conner would score the pull Buffalo to a 5 point game down 16-11. However, that was all they could get as the Rouge win their second of the season on a strong defensive performance.  

Hartford Hawks - 13, Boston Independents - 24 - Arnold H. Bensen Park - August 9 - 3 PM ET
The crowd at Arnold H. Bensen had continued to shrink game after game, even with Boston in town which usually brought some of their fans out to the game, it was clear the city was losing most interest in the team. On the bright side, the Hawks seemed to be getting better on the field and QB Lee Rogers was able to lead them to an opening drive field goal to give them the 3-0 lead early. Boston would get stuffed on their drive, but the Hawks could not take advantage. After a small stalemate QB Larry Larson would find WR Samuel Floyd who would take it 50 yards down the field which would set up WR Ellis Lindholm’s first career TD. Boston would add a field goal a little later, but Hartford was still willing to fight with Rogers finding WR Robert Lang in the endzone on a 40-yard bomb. The game was tied at halftime. The Independents wouldn’t go easy out of the half and would score twice in the third. RB Joel Bonner had one with WR Ethan Walters grabbing the other. The Hawks could only get one more field goal before the game ended with Boston on top once again.  

Players of the Week 

OFF: QB Bruce Woodard - 4 Passing Touchdowns, 365 Passing Yards 

DEF: LB Scotty Williams - 2 Forced Fumbles, 1 Fumble Recovery, 13 Tackles 

Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 3-1
Buffalo 2-2
Montreal 2-2
Ontario 1-3

NEW ENGLAND
Providence 4-0
Boston 3-1
Worcester 1-3
Hartford 0-4

Power Rankings
1 - Providence +1
2 - Ottawa -1
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Buffalo -1
5 - Boston -
6 - Worcester +1
7 - Ontario -1
8 - Hartford -

Week 5 Games
HAR (0-4) @ PRO (4-0) - AUG 14 - 7 PM ET
BOS (3-1) @ OTT (3-1) - AUG 15 - 2 PM ET - CBC
MTL (2-2) @ WOR (1-3) - AUG 15 - 2 PM ET
ON (1-3) @ BUF (2-2) - AUG 16 - 3 PM ET - CBS
 

Any Given Sunday

MyTeamIsDr.Pepper wrote:

I'm at a loss for words. The Athletics? We lost to the Athletics? Really? Just trade Brazeau already, if all you want to do is waste his talent so much. C'mon Tigers, we're better than this. 

At least it's not Hartford?