ThisIsFine wrote:

Scotty Boy got his first Player of the Week!

Ahaha! Though it's really his second - Check Week 1 of this season ;)

Holy cow, my Royals are on the cusp of an undefeated regular season! As much as purple is my favorite color, I may have to find another team to root for if the Ottawa juggernaut keeps on dominating the way they are right now.

Also, it’s probably too early to expand this soon, but what are the chances of Toronto getting another NAAF team one day? I mean, it’s too big of a Canadian market to pass up (Not that I am suggesting that you have another expansion soon as I said), but I was just wondering.

Wallflower wrote:

Slapshot Kirby wrote:

Holy cow, my Royals are on the cusp of an undefeated regular season! As much as purple is my favorite color, I may have to find another team to root for if the Ottawa juggernaut keeps on dominating the way they are right now.

Also, it’s probably too early to expand this soon, but what are the chances of Toronto getting another NAAF team one day? I mean, it’s too big of a Canadian market to pass up (Not that I am suggesting that you have another expansion soon as I said), but I was just wondering.

Yea the Royals are on another level right now it is easily their decade of domination, eventually, they will likely fall off, but with the pieces they have right now, they will likely continue to be a consistent contender (frankly until Jean Matieau calls it a career).

As for Toronto, as of now the biggest chance they had in having a team was with the Tigers, which haven't moved back to Toronto (and originally moved out of Toronto) because of the Ontario Football Union's Toronto Lakers who have held most of the fan base; the Tigers have always been the secondary or worse team for Toronto so the move away was to try and expand past that label. With the Lakers still holding strong, it is quite unlikely that Toronto gets a team anytime soon, especially if the NAAF wants to keep developing the London market which they just beat out the OFU to. So to summarize, probably a few rounds of expansion will pass before Toronto gets serious consideration.

How about Hamilton, Ontario? I think that city, AND Detroit, MI, would be great expansion markets for the NAAF.

1958 Week 12 

Providence Gold Stars - 17, Buffalo Blue Wings - 10 - September 13, 1958 - 1 PM ET
1st
2nd
0-7 BUF - RTD RB Pierre LeStrange
0-10 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
3-10 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
3rd
10-10 PRO - RTD RB Johnnie Stafford
4th
17-10 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Sammy Moss 

After falling behind 10-0 in the first half, the Gold Stars put up 17 unanswered to clinch the final playoff spot in the East Division.
O’Rourke was able to find Sammy Moss in the endzone for the game-winner to finish at 6-6 on the season. Buffalo had a strong first half but after RB Arthur Conner got hurt they were not quite as effective on offence. 
Both teams would have injuries on defence, but that seemed to affect the Blue Wings more with the Gold Stars being able to get going in the second half. 

Montreal Rouge - 27, Boston Independents - 6 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 13, 1958 - 4 PM ET
1st
7-0 MTL - PTD QB Stanislav Ovechkin -> WR Derek Cross
10-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
2nd
10-3 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
17-3 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
3rd
24-3 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
4th
24-6 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
27-6 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger 

Despite their playoff hopes being shot hours before, the Rouge would come out with a strong win over the Independents to close out the season.
Scott Mallard-White had a strong game again and was able to get Montreal another win showing their potential heading into next season.
Boston did start second-year QB Terry Bourbon to see what they have in him.
Bourbon performed okay, but he would throw a pair of picks in the game and fumbled one as well.  

Ottawa Royals - 37, Worcester Athletics - 33 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 14, 1958 - 1 PM ET
1st
7-0 OTT - RTD RB Iyannough Moreland
7-3 WOR - FG K Tevoris Francis
2nd
10-3 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette10-10 WOR - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Christian Venegas
17-10 OTT - PTD QB Brian Meadows -> WR John Osborn
17-17 WOR - RTD RB Leo Ravelli
3rd
20-17 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
27-17 OTT - RTD RB Iyannough Moreland
30-17 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette
4th
30-23 WOR - RTD RB Leo Ravelli
30-30 WOR - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> TE Duane Halloway
30-33 WOR - FG Tevoris Francis
37-33 OTT - PTD QB Brian Meadows -> WR Truman Harry 

With the Athletics being knocked out of contention on Saturday before, they would turn to the younger players against the Royals who were also resting many players.
Gene Bishop returned as the starter and put on a good effort and even came back down 13.
However, Brian Meadows getting the start would prove he’s still a viable QB tossing for a pair of TDs and only 1 interception.
The Royals would go for the win on their final drive instead of settling for the field goal on 3rd and 7 at the 17-yard line.
Ottawa would finish 12-0 and become the first team to ever win all their regular-season games.

One particular play stood out to a lot of fans which was on Iyannough Moreland’s first touchdown of the game; TE Phineas Vandenlangenberg would make a huge block-rocking DL Maxime Rivard with a hit to allow for Moreland to score.
What stood out to people was the extremely long name on the jersey which required the name to be curved and squished on the back of the jersey. 

London Tigers - 28, Louisville Thunders - 9 - Western Fair Stadium - September 14, 1958 - 4 PM ET
1st
7-0 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
2nd
7-3 LOU - FG K Thomas McFadden
14-3 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Benedict Spencer
3rd
14-6 LOU - FG K Thomas McFadden
4th
21-6 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
28-6 LDN - PTD QB Christian Stewart -> WR Max Sutton
28-9 LOU - FG K Thomas McFadden 

The Tigers would go for the home field advantage starting Kiernan against the Thunder.
Kiernan would lead the Tigers to a comfortable lead in the 4th which allowed Christian Stewart to get some snaps in the 4th quarter. 
Stewart would throw a touchdown in his effort sealing the game for the Tigers and their first-ever above .500 finish in a season and home playoff game. 
Louisville would try to get things going, but they struggled against the Tigers’ defence and would fail to get to the endzone. 

Indiana Victors - 25, Long Island Raiders - 23 - Victory Stadium - September 14, 1958 - 7 PM ET
1st
7-0 IND - RTD RB Rodney Clark
2nd
7-7 LI - RTD RB Amando Amaro
10-7 IND - FG K Albert Carney
10-10 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
10-13 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3rd
17-13 IND - RTD RB Rodney Clark
4th
17-16 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
23-16 IND - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR David Burrows
25-16 IND - 2PT - RB Rodney Clark
25-23 LI - PTD RB Amando Amaro -> QB Rigobert St. Hilaire

The Victors would pull out a win in their final game of the season with rookie QB Stanley Troyer getting his first start.
Troyer was alright but threw his first career touchdown that would set up RB Rodney Clark for the game-winning 2-point convert to win.
Clark had a great game overall finishing off a tough rookie campaign, which he started with an injury, on a good note.
The Raiders seemed relaxed in their play but still pulled out a play with Amaro, a former QB, tossing a pass to St. Hilaire for a touchdown.
However, it was turnovers that became their issue with 3 fumbles and an interception thrown to DB Kelly Kirkland.

Injury Report
DB Jared Francis BUF - Day-to-Day
DB Kenneth Wade IND - 4 Weeks (Season)
DL William Sanderson IND - 2 Weeks
WR Kenny Davis LOU - Day-to-Day
DB Victor Bean PRO - Day-to-Day 

Players of the Week 

OFF: RB Rodney Clark IND - 2 Rushing Touchdowns, 145 Rushing Yards 

DEF: DL Calias McDonough PRO - 1 Forced Fumble, 3 Sacks, 7 Tackles 

Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Long Island -
3 - London -
4 - Boston -
5 - Providence +2
6 - Buffalo -1
7 - Montreal -1
8 - Indiana +1
9 - Worcester -1
10 - Louisville - 

Season Round-Up


Playoff Preview 
EAST DIVISION SEMI-FINALS
Boston Independents VS. Providence Gold Stars - Richardson Stadium - September 21, 1958 - 1 PM ET
Head-to-Head: W6 PRO 28-17 BOS; W9 BOS 13-20 PRO
A classic rivalry will kick off the playoffs as the Gold Stars visit the Independents. The Gold Stars seemed to have Boston’s number this season winning both of the matchups. However, Providence has not been good when it comes to playoff games in Richardson Stadium as they have lost their previous two playoff games in Boston. Now that was when Larry Larson was still playing for Boston, but Nathaniel Braddock is certainly no slouch and will be aiming to earn his first career playoff win just like Connor O’Rourke on the other sideline. The battle should be a tight one, but if I’m going with the hot hand I'll have to put my faith in O’Rourke and the Gold Stars this time.
My Pick: Gold Stars 

WEST DIVISION SEMI-FINALS
London Tigers VS. Buffalo Blue Wings - Western Fair Stadium - September 21, 1958 - 4 PM ET
Head-to-Head: W6 BUF 20-14 LDN; W7 LDN 21-19 BUF
Another rivalry will get to be displayed in London’s first home playoff game. The two rivals split their season series for the first time since 1952 and they seem to be pretty evenly matched. Buffalo will have DL Sean Bowen back in the line-up, and the Tigers will be back at full health heading into the game. At the end of the day, I think it will come down to the performance of London's key players like QB Riley Kiernan, RB Clifford Russell, and LB Aengus Lynch. If they fall flat, the experienced Blue Wings team will not hesitate to take advantage. I still think the Tigers will ultimately come out on top in a close battle.
My Pick: Tigers 

Who's heading to Indy for the McCallister Cup? Who do you hope takes home the championship this season?

Hype for the London Tigers postseason.