1953 Week 10

Hartford Hawks - 6, Montreal Rouge - 28 - Arnold H. Bensen Park - September 19 - 2 PM ET
WR John Rivera finally got to return to his former home in the season finale against the Hawks. With the future of the team up in the air following a major financially bad year for the Hawks, he was glad to have at least a chance to return home. The final game had the biggest turnout to see Rivera once more, which might help the Hawks. However, once the game started, The Rouge would steamroll over the Hawks. RB Élisée Marchal led the way with two touchdowns in the first half. Hartford got a bit of offense in the second quarter, but Lee Rogers could only get them close enough for a field goal. Montreal’s defense would keep up their strong play. They would shut down the Hawks in the 3rd quarter and force 4 turnovers in the game to that point. The offense would manage to score more points with WR John Rivera catching a touchdown in his old home and Marchal running in his 3rd. Rogers got the offense down for one final field goal in the fourth, but they had nothing else. Montreal would walk away with the 6-28 win to finish off their comeback season.

Boston Independents - 17, Buffalo Blue Wings - 20 - Richardson Stadium - September 19 - 2 PM ET - CBS
The McCallister Cup rematch comes in the final week of the season where the playoffs are already decided. Makes for a pretty lackluster performance especially with Medina being done for the season. Boston let QB Larry Larson have most of the game off after he played the 1st quarter. Boston would get a field goal in the opening quarter before backup QB Jordan Boyle took over. QB Maurice Norris would play well once again in this one leading Buffalo to a touchdown in the second quarter after a first-quarter field goal. WR Travis Gallagher caught the score and would take the 3-10 lead into the break. QB Jordan Boyle would be off for most of the game and would not be able to get things going for Boston. RB Joel Bonner had to be relied upon. Bonner would deliver and score a pair of 3rd quarter touchdowns to take the lead. Buffalo would counter with an RB Arthur Conner touchdown to tie it up. Shortly after, Norris would lead a game-winning drive where K Donald Brewer would kick the field goal to seal the win. The post-game brought much controversy as Buffalo finished the season with a 6-4 record and is out of the playoffs while Boston makes with a 4-6 record. This may cause the league to look into changing the playoff format, considering the consistency of the North being generally better than the New England division. 

Worcester Athletics - 3, Providence Gold Stars - 34 - Worcester Stadium - September 19 - 2 PM ET
Once again the Gold Stars opted for resting some players while also giving some playing time to get them ready for the playoffs. QB Brian Meadows was once again under center and would lead the Gold Stars to a touchdown on his first drive. WR Michael Mcleod was the receiver to get the touchdown. RB Gene Fischer would get a couple of chances alongside back RB Howard Reid. Fischer would get into the endzone for a score while Reid maxed out at 27 yards on the ground. Worcester played pretty awful and couldn’t get things going. Riley Kiernan was picked off 3 times in the first half before the team tried QB Oliver Callahan for a few drives to let Kiernan calm down. Callahan would throw a pick of his own and not get anywhere. Providence would keep adding to the score and Woodard would get a couple throws late in the game to keep him warm. Providence would get a pick 6 from Lee Wolfe on one of the many interceptions while WR John Osborn would catch another touchdown later on. Kiernan would return to the game and get the Athletics a field goal but that was all as the Gold Stars win.

Ontario Tigers - 18, Ottawa Royals - 31 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - September 19 - 2 PM ET  - CBC
Following their surprise win over Boston, the Tigers fell back to earth against the Royals. QB Jean Matieau got the first half to maintain the team’s momentum in the second half of the season. Matieau would throw for a pair of TD’s in the first half to WR Allen Atkins and WR Eugene Burns. Ontario got a touchdown with WR Wilbert Benjamin and a field goal later. The Royals would give former Tigers QB Evan Morrow the second half and he would play well. Morrow would throw a touchdown pass to Burns and then would lead another drive where backup RB Ellis Love would score. Brazeau would get into the endzone again, but the team had nothing more. The Royals would add a field goal to their strong performance and enter the playoffs at 7-3 once again. 

Players of the Week 

OFF: RB Élisée Marchal MTL - 3 Rushing Touchdowns, 187 Rushing Yards

DEF: DB Lee Wolfe - 2 Interceptions, 1 Touchdown, 3 Knockdowns, 2 Tackles

Standings
NORTH
Montreal 8-2 -y
Ottawa 7-3 -x
Buffalo 6-4
Ontario 2-8

NEW ENGLAND
Providence 9-1 -y
Boston 4-6 -x
Hartford 2-8
Worcester 2-8

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

Playoff Preview
Providence Gold Stars VS. Boston Independents - New Providence Stadium - September 26 - 6 PM ET - CBS
Gold Stars won both of the meetings this season 30-27 and 31-24Providence won their first 8 games of the season, and have been resting players here and there over the last two weeks where they were 1-1. Boston on the other hand is on a 5 game skid after starting 4-1. It’s uncharacteristic of the usually great Independents, but it might be the changing of the guard in the New England division that people have been waiting years for. Providence will have to get over their playoff demons to get into their second McCallister Cup since joining the NAAF.

Montreal Rouge VS. Ottawa Royals - Mount Royal Stadium - September 27 - 6 PM ET - CBC
The two teams split their season series this season with Ottawa winning the first 36-27 and then Montreal winning the second 34-24. The two teams have never met in the postseason, but all their battles have been great since both joining the NAAF. The top tier offense in Ottawa will have to get over the strong Rouge defense if they want to finally win a playoff game in the NAAF. They remain the only team to make the playoffs without a victory. Montreal on the other hand will be looking to return to the McCallister Cup after missing the playoffs last season. The biggest question will be can QB Andrew Glover get them over the top.  

Providence over Boston and my Royals over Montreal

1953 Semi-Finals

Providence Gold Stars VS. Boston Independents - New Providence Stadium - September 26 - 6 PM ET - CBS

1ST Q:
The Independents would start the game with the ball, but the Gold Stars would force a 2 and out. QB Bruce Woodard would then lead the Gold Stars to open the scoring with a field goal on their first drive. However, the remainder of the opening quarter ended up being slow and defensive. DB Lester Murphy came down with an interception for the Independents who would then tie the game up to end the first quarter. 3-3

2ND Q:
Providence would get the lead back a few minutes into the second frame after WR John Osborn had a big 25-yard gain. The catch would set up the field goal to make it 6-3 Gold Stars. The Gold Stars would manage to hold the lead for most of the second, but their offense was also being stuffed by the Boston defense. Boston would get a huge break in the final minute of the half when WR Samuel Floyd broke free from DB Victor Bean and took a catch 55 yards to the house to give Boston the halftime lead 6-10.

3RD Q:
The crowd was already becoming wary of the Gold Stars’ playoff woes and Boston only made it worse with a field goal to open up the half and give themselves a 7 point lead. The Gold Stars would get a big drive not long after but once again they could not get into the endzone. WR Peter Brooks had the ball in his hands, but DB Lester Murphy was able to knock it out before he could gain control. They would have to settle for a field goal to cut the lead to only 4. On the sidelines, Woodard had enough with the losing and started to try and pump up his team before their next drive, “It takes just one play to turn this around, now let's go out and make it”. DB Lee Wolfe took that message right onto the field for the following possession and made it happen. QB Larry Larson turned to throw the ball to WR Ellis Lindholm underneath, but Wolfe would leave his man anticipating the pass and would make the diving pick to give Providence the ball.

4TH Q:
The largest playoff crowd the league had ever seen came alive. Woodard would take the ball down the rest of the way and find WR Peter Brooks for the touchdown and the 16-13 lead early in the 4th. The teams would trade drives for a bit before Boston would eventually get a 43-yard field goal to tie the game up. However, the Gold Stars were not going to let this game end in another loss and would take the ball all the way down the field for another touchdown, this time to WR John Osborn. Boston would still get another chance but once again, Larson would be picked off by Wolfe and the Gold Stars would be able to run down the clock and finally defeat Boston to go back to the McCallister Cup. Boston will not be playing in the game for the first time since 1941 when the Gold Stars won their last championship.

Montreal Rouge VS. Ottawa Royals - Mount Royal Stadium - September 27 - 6 PM ET - CBC

1ST Q:
The Royals started the game well with a long drive on their second of the day. QB Jean Matieau would get the Royals into the endzone with WR Eugene Burns to give them the early 7-0 lead. Montreal would not fall too far behind. RB Élisée Marchal would make his return to the playoffs known with several big runs leading to a play-action play that would set up WR John Rivera for the touchdown and QB Andrew Glover’s first playoff TD pass. Things took a bad turn for the Royals not long after when RB Alexei Volkov lost the football and LB Quinton Brewer would pick it up and then lateraled it to LB Rusty McVee who would bring it back 20 yards the other way. The turnover would end in Marchal’s first touchdown of the game. 

2ND Q:
Ottawa would recover with a field goal to start the second. They would keep the ball moving but Montreal’s defense combined with the loud Montreal crowd slowed them down each time. The Rouge would be the next to score with a field goal and take the 7-point lead. Ottawa would get a late score before the half on a 25-yard pass to WR Allen Atkins to tie the game up at 17.

3RD Q:
The Royals came out of the half rolling, but things quickly went wrong when Matieau was stripped by DL Napoléon Chevalier. Montreal would recover. Élisée Marchal would lead the offense down the field to score his second touchdown and give Montreal the 7-point lead. They would keep the Royals at bay for the remainder of the third quarter.

4TH Q:
Montreal would strike again to start the 4th with another field goal. The Royals were not going to back down and Matieau would get the offense moving. They would eventually score another touchdown with Atkins. They would get the ball back once again and have a chance going the other way. Matieau would eventually find WR Willard Brooks open over the middle and he would catch it taking it down the field. Then, S Chester George would strip the receiver and would create yet another turnover giving the Rouge the ball. Marchal would run a lot of the clock and K Arthur Kettinger would make it a 6-point lead with a minute to go. Matieau would get the Royals back down the field, but they would run out of time with the Rouge winning and returning to the McCallister Cup for the third time in 4 years.  

Players of the Week

OFF: RB Élisée Marchal MTL - 2 Touchdowns, 194 Rushing Yards 

DEF: DB Lee Wolfe PRO - 2 Interceptions, 4 Tackles, 6 Knockdowns 

35th McCallister Cup Preview
Providence Gold Stars VS. Montreal Rouge - New Providence Stadium - October 4 - 6 PM ET - CBS
Montreal won the only meeting between the teams this season in Week 9 23-17. However, Providence was also resting players during the game while Montreal was still looking to clinch their spot in the playoffs. This should be a fairly defensive battle with the top two defenses in the league battling it out. Providence’s offense will probably have the upper hand on the other side of the ball with Bruce Woodard and the veteran receiving core. Marchal will still be very difficult for the Gold Stars to stop considering the weaknesses on the defensive line. Montreal will have to rely on their star RB and try to shut down the air attack, while Providence will have to look to the air and find a way to slow down Marchal and force Montreal to pass with Glover.  

Also to note, Montreal will be in their 3rd McCallister cup in 4 years and will have started a different QB in each game. Maurice Norris (1950), Oliver Callahan (1951), and Andrew Glover (1953).  

Finally we took out those darn Independents! Gold Stars, now's our time!

The Cup is Ours