1955 Week 9

Providence Gold Stars - 9, Worcester Athletics - 10 - New Providence Stadium - September 10, 1955 - CBS
The Athletics were rolled into Providence with what could be a final chance to get into the playoffs. The game would end up being quite a defensive showdown. Providence was the first team to grab some points. They would score a field goal following a DB Victor Bean interception. Worcester’s defense would manage to stall the Gold Stars for the rest of the half and would even get their own turnover with LB Scotty Williams. The second half would be much the same with neither team getting to the endzone. Both defenses were playing at their best. Eventually, Providence would get a second field goal to make it 6-0. Worcester’s offense would finally gain some ground after a S Shawn Jensen interception. QB Riley Kiernan would be able to get the ball to the endzone with WR Christian Venegas. This would give them the 6-7 lead heading into the final quarter. Providence’s defense would get a turnover with LB Roger Morrow getting it out of WR Michael Mcleod’s hands. However, the offense would be stuffed by Worcester’s defense. It would be the final 5 minutes where Providence would take back the lead on K Bernard Barnett’s 3rd of the day. Worcester was at risk of being knocked out of the playoffs, and Kiernan would have to get them back to score. It would take a couple of attempts, but as time winded down, Kiernan was able to find WR Clyde McIntosh to get them into field goal range. K Tevoris Francis would kick the game-winner to keep the Athletics alive and in the hunt.  

Long Island Raiders - 16, Boston Independents - 20 - Long Island Stadium - September 10, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
With Worcester beating Providence earlier in the afternoon, Long Island had officially claimed top spot in the New England Division. The sold-out Long Island Stadium cheered at the announcement. The Raiders had officially gone from laughing stock to division champs in just a season. However, the celebration may have left them a bit out of focus as Boston would get off to a quick lead on the Raiders. RB Joel Bonner would run through the entire defense to go up quickly 0-7. The Raiders were slow to respond, getting a field goal several drives later. Boston would then match the field goal to lead 3-10 after 1. Boston would add another touchdown after DB Lester Murphy came down with an interception that would lead to a WR Ethan Walters score. Long Island regained some focus in the second half with QB Lyle Painter getting them back to the redzone. Unfortunately, on 2nd and 8 from the 11-yard line, WR Robert Lang would try to reel in a pass for the touchdown but he would land awkwardly causing an injury and for him to drop the ball. They would settle for another field goal instead. Boston would match the field goal before the Raiders would finally get to the endzone with WR Travis Gallagher. They would only be able to get one more field goal as Boston would win their second game of the season.  

Buffalo Blue Wings - 28, Ottawa Royals - 34 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 11, 1955 - 3 PM ET
A playoff preview and could-be division deciding game. The red hot Blue Wings hosted the division-leading Royals for a chance to tie them for the division lead. Buffalo would be the first to score on a RB Arthur Conner touchdown early in the game. Ottawa would be quick to retaliate on a big touchdown from WR Allen Atkins. The game would remain tied heading into the second quarter where Ottawa would get their second touchdown of the game with WR Willard Brooks. Buffalo would get back the touchdown not long after with QB Angelo Medina finding WR Samuel Floyd for 6. The game would be tied heading into the second half. Ottawa would look to pull away with another touchdown with WR Chester Bennett scoring. Buffalo would still be able to match with Arthur Conner’s second of the game. The Blue Wings would then turn the game around with DL Sean Bowen stripping RB Alexei Volkov which would set up Conner’s third of the game. 28-21 would be the score for Buffalo going into the final frame. It would be up to Matieau to come back for the Royals. He would play the final quarter perfectly. He would march the Royals down early connecting with TE Jervonte Howell for the game-tying score. Buffalo would look to retain the lead but they would fall short with DB Mingan Oliver making a great stop on an attempt to DB Joseph Barry. Matieau would then lead the offense back to the endzone one more time for the game-winning touchdown to WR Allen Atkins. The Blue Wings couldn’t answer as the Royals clinch their second North Division title. 

Montreal Rouge - 3, Ontario Tigers - 37 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 11, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBC
The Tigers were looking to finally drop their 4-game losing skid against the division worst Rouge. The Tigers would get off to a great start to get them going in that direction. QB Duane Logan would get the Tigers into the endzone with former Rouge WR John Rivera. They would then get some help with DL Napoléon Chevalier stripping RB Pierre LeStrange. The Tigers would turn it into a RB Laurent Brazeau touchdown to give them a 0-14 lead. Montreal was struggling a lot in the game as Rogers continued to slip. He would throw a pair of picks in the first half to DB Louie White and then S Mason Parker. The Tigers would eventually get up to a 0-21 lead with Brazeau’s second of the game. The second half would be more interesting with a small battle of the backups with QB Rigobert St-Hilaire coming in for Lee Rogers and QB Christian Stewart playing for Logan. It was reported later that Logan had suffered a minor injury on a hit from DL Zakary Turbide. The backups would give a show though with St-Hilaire getting Montreal on the board with a field goal before Stewart would lead the Tigers to another touchdown. He would make his first career passing touchdown to WR John Rivera. Stewart would shine in the half leading the Tigers to another touchdown with WR Wilbert Benjamin. The Tigers would hold off the Rouge in a dominant win keeping their slim playoff hopes alive with a big game against the Gold Stars next week.  

Players of the Week 

OFF: QB Jean Matieau OTT - 5 Passing Touchdowns, 415 Passing Yards 

DEF: LB Scotty Williams WOR - 1 Forced Fumble, 13 Tackles 

Injury Report
QB Duane Logan ON - Day-to-Day
WR Robert Lang LI - 1 Week 

Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 8-1 - y
Buffalo 6-3 - x
Ontario 4-5
Montreal 2-7 - e

NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 5-3-1 - y
Worcester 4-4-1
Providence 4-5
Boston 2-7 - e

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

Week 10 Games
ON (4-5) @ PRO (4-5) - SEP 17 - 1 PM ET - CBS
*PRO clinches playoff spot with Win + WOR loss or tie - or Tie + WOR loss
*ON clinches playoff spot with Win + WOR loss
BUF (6-3) @ WOR (4-4-1) - SEP 17 - 1 PM ET - CBS
*WOR clinches playoff spot with Win - or Tie + PRO loss or tie
LI (5-3-1) @ BOS (2-7) - SEP 17 - 1 PM ET
MTL (2-7) @ OTT (8-1) - SEP 17 - 1 PM ET

1955 Week 10

Providence Gold Stars - 16, Ontario Tigers - 6 - New Providence Stadium - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
Winner stays alive, loser goes home. Simple stakes for the Gold Stars and Tigers season finale. It would be a tight start to the game but the Gold Stars would find themselves in a good position after QB Duane Logan was picked off by DB Victor Bean. The interception would set up a great field position for QB Connor O’Rourke to strike. He would find WR John Osborn in the endzone for the early 7-0 lead. The Tigers would look to RB Laurent Brazeau to get them going, but the Gold Stars would be able to hold the running back to minimal yards. The Gold Stars would eventually extend their lead to 10-0 before Ontario would get on the board just before the half with a field goal of their own. The Gold Stars continued to control the game in the second half adding a second field goal. Ontario would try to make a push and would match the field goal, but they were still down by 7 heading into the final quarter. QB Duane Logan would give it his all to try and get the Tigers to the endzone but he would continuously fall short. The Gold Stars defense would hold strong against the onslaught preventing the Tigers from breaking into the endzone. O’Rourke would get the Gold Stars back for another field goal to extend the lead and seal the win for Providence. The Tigers would leave the field getting ready for yet another early offseason. 

Worcester Athletics - 27, Buffalo Blue Wings - 17 - Worcester Stadium - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics would enter their season finale hoping to grab their 4th straight win and possibly their first playoff appearance. All they needed to do was beat the Blue Wings who were playing several backups as they already had second in the North locked up. Worcester would take advantage. QB Riley Kiernan would get going early jumping to a 7-0 lead with WR Christian Venegas scoring a touchdown. Buffalo would still manage to counter with a field goal on a strong drive led by RB Lawrence Sharp. The Athletics would start the second quarter with a long drive. Unfortunately, the drive would be the final one for RB Marcus Devonshire who would be shut down for the season with a major leg injury. RB Timothy Weeks would take over and he would impress early taking over the drive and getting into the endzone. Buffalo was still playing well and would keep pace with Worcester. QB Maurice Norris would connect with WR Clifford Church to get into the endzone. 14-10 at the break. Worcester’s defense would be a big help in the second half with DB Alexander Bradley reeling in a pick to set up a field goal before LB Scotty Williams would rock RB Sharp for another forced fumble. The Williams turnover would turn into WR Christian Venegas’ second touchdown of the game and a 24-10 lead. Buffalo would still manage to keep themselves in the game with Norris leading them to a second touchdown drive finding WR Nathan Green open in the endzone. After the touchdown, the Athletics defense would crack down and hold off any more Buffalo attempts clinching the win and their first playoff berth in franchise history.  

Boston Independents - 10, Long Island Raiders - 24 - Richardson Stadium - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET
The other games on the final day of the NAAF season didn’t have the stakes of the first two which lead to more backups making their mark on the final week. Boston would go to former 4th round pick QB Alex Agramonte in the final game of the season. Agramonte would show some flashes of talent, especially with some mobility. However, the Charlotte-native would end up throwing an interception on his opening drive. DB Slay Mitchell would come down with it setting a QB Lyle Painter touchdown pass to WR Darryl Duke. Agramonte would get some redemption on the next drive leading the offense to a field goal. Long Island would continue to put up points. RB Conner Riley would show his young talent leading the Raiders to their second touchdown of the game. The second half would feature QB Andrew Glover getting some reps for the Raiders. He would get them to the endzone with a connection to former Buffalo teammate, WR Travis Gallagher. Boston would go back to Brian Meadows for parts of the second half and would find the endzone with WR Ellis Lindholm, but that would be all as the teams wrapped up their season.  

Ottawa Royals - 32, Montreal Rouge - 28 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBC
An interesting situation was in place for the Royals final game of the season as veteran QB Bruce Woodard would take some snaps in a purple uniform for the first time. He would be a little uncomfortable at first resulting in some early mistakes. DB Quentin Xavier was all over the mistake taking a misthrow back to the house for a touchdown giving Montreal the early 0-7 lead. QB Lee Rogers would be splitting time with the younger Rigobert St-Hilaire on Montreal’s side, but he would make the most of his time jumping Montreal to a 0-14 lead on a deep shot to WR Ray Lopez. Ottawa would finally break their silence with Woodard getting the team into field goal range and then a couple drives later the endzone. Woodard would connect with WR Chester Bennett for his first touchdown pass in Ottawa. Montreal would look to extend the lead with another strong drive and they would with Rogers connecting with WR Marty Jay in the endzone. Montreal would be up 10-21 at the break but Ottawa would cut that lead down early. Woodard would throw his second touchdown to WR Willard Brooks to cut it to just 3 after Montier put in the 2-pointer. Montreal would look to climb back on top with St-Hilaire leading the way but DB Mingan Oliver would cut the drive short and give Woodard a chance for TD #3 to WR Mackenzie Jones. Montreal would shift back to Rogers who would manage to get them back to the endzone, running it in himself to give them back the lead. Ottawa, however, still had some juice left and Montier would score the game-winning touchdown.  

Players of the Week 

OFF: QB Bruce Woodard OTT - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 309 Passing Yards 

DEF: LB Scotty Williams WOR - 1 Forced Fumble, 10 Tackles 

Injury Report
DB Ryan Landry BUF - Day-to-Day
OL Randy Booker MTL - 3 Weeks
OL Pierre-Louis Trouvé ON - 2 Weeks
DL Richard Hodges OTT - 1 Week
DL Joseph McMillan PRO - Day-to-Day
RB Marcus Devonshire WOR - Season 

Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 9-1 - y
Buffalo 6-4 - x
Ontario 4-6
Montreal 2-8

NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 6-3-1 - y
Worcester 5-4-1 - x
Providence 5-5
Boston 2-8

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

Playoff Preview
NORTH DIVISION SEMI-FINAL
Ottawa Royals VS. Buffalo Blue Wings - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 24, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
Head-to-Head: W1 - OTT 28-17 BUF, W9 - BUF 28-34 OTT
The Royals and Blue Wings will square off in their third semi-final meeting in 4 years. Both teams have had extreme hot streaks this season with Buffalo going 6 in a row to climb out of a 0-2 hole while Ottawa started the year 6-0 before finishing 3-1. The Royals seem to have the apparent upper hand with not only having 3 more wins than the divisional foe but also having beaten the team in both meetings this season. Buffalo is going to have to rely on their defense to slow down the Royals' powerful offense if they want to be able to find their way back to the McCallister Cup. 

NEW ENGLAND DIVISION SEMI-FINAL
Long Island Raiders VS. Worcester Athletics - Long Island Stadium - September 25, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS
Head-to-Head: W4 - LI 27-14 WOR, W5 - WOR 24-24 LI
It's a breath of fresh air in the New England division with two teams who are brand new to the playoffs. Their two matchups this season happened early on so much has changed since then. The Athletics are currently riding a 4-game win streak that got them to this game and they hope they can keep it up. Long Island has been good all year but there is no telling what may happen when the pressure is on in the playoffs with a young team still led by a rookie QB in Lyle Painter. The key for Long Island will be to not let the Athletics get comfortable early. If they keep up their momentum, there’s almost no chance for the Raiders, while the Athletics will likely be aiming to pressure Painter and try to force him into making mistakes. It will be a tight duel for the New England division, but with the hot streak, Worcester looks to be the favourites.  

Who is moving on? Who takes home the McCallister Cup?

Last edited by Wallflower (7/22/2020 5:05 pm)

It appears that we have another classic Gold Stars moment on our hands. Starting to get real tired of promise ruined by late season slides or no shows in the playoffs. At least my boys Scotty and Chester are balling out this year.

Looks like Montreal may have found a QB

This is just me being curious and all, who's got the first overall pick? Boston or Montreal?