Slapshot Kirby wrote:

Oh geez, Ottawa at this point looks to be this league's equivalent of the Marvin Lewis era Bengals so far in which they do pretty well in the regular season, but come playoff time, they find some way to screw up. Oh well, here's hoping Providence can win it all. Will there also be any updates on the Hawks' future in Hartford in the offseason? Considering how they continued to struggle this year, something tells me they will be moving. 

Anyhoo, let's go Providence!

The Royals just need a defense, their offense is the best by about a full overall point, but their defense is the worst of the top 6 teams.

There will be plenty of news on the Hawks and other team changes. As of now, the future of the Hawks is up in the air, the owner Jonathan Sampson is looking to sell the team after losing lots of money this season. If there is no buyer the league will have to purchase the team from him.

Also as a note to everyone, I have closed the Scouting Report Form for the time being, I want to make some notes about it which will happen following the award vote.

1953 - 35th McCallister Cup
Providence Gold Stars VS. Montreal Rouge - New Providence Stadium - October 4 - 6 PM ET - CBS

1ST Q: 
The Rouge started the game off with a heavy run game, as expected. RB Élisée Marchal was seeing the field really well and found a bit of space on each play. They would be stopped short of the endzone by the Gold Stars defense, but K Arthur Kettinger would open up the scoring with a field goal. Providence would find success on their second drive with QB Bruce Woodard connecting with WR John Osborn and TE Marion Warren which would lead to a touchdown pass to WR Peter Brooks to give Providence the early lead. Montreal would not slow down too much countering with a second field goal on the ensuing drive. 7-6 after the first.

2ND Q:
The second quarter became very defensive. Both teams traded several 2 and outs with a first down here or there. Marchal was being slowed down while Woodard was getting more pressure from the Rouge defensive line that was finding its way past the weaker O-line. Eventually the Gold Stars would make a mistake and the Rouge would take advantage. Bruce Woodard would drop back and was about to pass the ball. Pressure was coming so he tried to pull it back down, but he lost grip and was hit and couldn’t recover. DL Zakary Turbide would pick it up for Montreal which would set up a 3rd field goal. That would be all that either team could get in the remainder of the first half. 

3RD Q:
The second half would start with more defense. Turbide seemed to find a rhythm on back-to-back plays knocking RB Gene Fischer on his back and then sacking Woodard. Montreal would take over and Glover would make a few passes to move Montreal down the field where Marchal took the sweep to the right side into the endzone to extend their lead to 7-16. Providence only continued to struggle as Woodard’s next pass was popped up by Quinton Brewer and LB Rusty McVee would come down with the interception and would set up another Montreal field goal to now lead 7-19 with 15 minutes to go. 

4TH Q:
The final quarter finally had a moment for the Gold Stars to catch a break. They were able to manage Marchal and finally forced Glover to throw more which ended in a Lee Wolfe interception. The play would set up the Gold Stars to score. Woodard would find WR Michael Mcleod in the endzone for a touchdown and would cut the lead down to only 5. They would get the ball back not long after and would find some space, but the O-line was really starting to struggle under the pressure. DL Zakary Turbide got back to Woodard again for yet another sack and would then teamed up with DL Napoléon Chevalier to add another. Montreal was not giving Providence a chance. Eventually, Woodard would find Peter Brooks for a large gain. They would seem to get some breathing room, but they were stopped once again turning the ball over on downs. Marchal would take Montreal back the other way to get another field goal and seal the win for their second McCallister Cup in 3 years, upsetting the heavily favoured Gold Stars. 

McCallister Cup MVP

DL Zakary Turbide MTL - 8 Tackles, 3.5 Sacks, 1 Fumble Recovery

1953 McCallister Cup Champions


1953 Season Recap

Congrats Montreal, but next year the Royals will make it 4 in a row for the North

As disappointing as this loss is for me I got to think us Gold Star fans will remember this season fondly. I’m excited for the future of this team and our excellent defense. Also a quick question that I may have missed about the trophy. Is this the back side of the trophy that doesn’t have the names of the previous NAAF champions on it and which league are the other champions from? I know it’s a league that eventual became apart of the NAAF but which one exactly is what I’m asking about.

Thanks Wallflower for clarifying the cup for me and also you did a great job with it. I don’t even know where I would start to make something like that. I can imagine it took some time to make it then put all the names on it and what not.