Tough loss to the Tigers

Always love the Buffalo-London rivalry

Alright Victors! Maybe we can get hot and make a playoff push!

Bennett and Jones have to be having one of the best seasons by a WR duo in NAAF history right now. Literally it feels like they each grab at least one TD each every game. I don’t know how any team can stop the Royals right now.

1958 Week 9 

Tigers Make Surprise Late Season Coaching Change
The news just a few weeks ago was the Gold Stars firing HC Roy Aguirre after just over two years with the team. Well the week following the firing, Aguirre was reportedly in London for their rematch against the Blue Wings. GM Joseph Johnson had always wanted Aguirre to be the team’s head coach but had stuck with Lewis Gallegos which ultimately landed Aguirre in Providence. That left former Tiger DB Clifford Jacobson in charge of the team. Jacobson was not exactly feeling comfortable in the position, as he felt more confident focusing on the defence. The confidence was not helped after falling to 4-8 last season despite a 3-1 start.  With that, the Tigers made the surprise move to hire Aguirre as the team’s head coach. Jacobson would be moved back to Defensive Coordinator.  

Offensive Coordinator Clyde Wall would get the boot after a visible conflict with QB Riley Kiernan and a rough performance against the Victors. Wall was going to the extent of potentially starting Christian Stewart over Kiernan in this week's game, but even Stewart thought Kiernan deserved to be starting based on the season he was having. As for DC Ben McMillan, he would be moved to Offensive Coordinator, however, it seems to be more of a placeholder role with McMillan handling more of the player interactions on the sideline, while Aguirre will call the shots on offence. Despite being a DC, McMillan has been both a WR and DB coach in his past so he certainly has the knowledge to help all around. 

TRADE ALERT
The Royals looked to fill some needs heading into the final stretch of the season. GM Jon Weal looked to his HC Joseph Curry as well as QB Jean Matieau on players they liked. Ultimately they wanted to bring back a longtime Royal in OL Aaron Spears. Louisville was very much interested in moving their captain as he was getting on the older side, but they would want a solid piece coming back. In the end, the Royals would give up 2nd year WR Ben Roland who hasn’t fit too well behind WR Chester Bennett and WR Mackenzie Jones. Roland might be better suited to compete for a #1 spot with Marty Jay in the Louisville offence. Of course, the Royals wouldn’t give up the former 1st round pick without filling his spot hence WR Truman Harry coming back the other way. Harry has been solid for the Thunder and has made a name for himself, which grabbed the attention of the Royals. The Thunder would also pick up the Royals’ 3rd round pick in the move to compensate for the loss of two solid players, but with Louisville at the+ bottom of the standings, grabbing future assets seems like the smart thing to do. 

Also, QB Leonidas Dumont, who returns to the lineup this week, will have an “A” added to his jersey and will serve as an assistant captain with DB Jesse Scott and K Thomas McFadden.


Louisville Thunder - 19, Indiana Victors - 20 - Thunder Stadium - August 21, 1958 - 7 PM ET
1st
0-3 IND - FG K Albert Carney
2nd
7-3 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Ben Roland
7-10 IND - RTD RB Rodney Clark
3rd
10-10 LOU - FG K Thomas McFadden
13-10 LOU - FG K Thomas McFadden
4th
13-17 IND - RTD RB Rodney Clark
13-20 IND - FG K Albert Carney
19-20 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Thomas Oezescki 

Louisville would gamble for the win going for two instead of kicking the extra point, unfortunately, Dumont’s pass would fall incomplete in TE Christopher Gist’s hands. 
Indiana sneaks away with another win as they are sticking in the fight for the playoffs despite their weaker squad.
Rookie RB Rodney Clark, who has missed a lot of the early season, was able to show his abilities since returning to the lineup.

Long Island Raiders - 16, Buffalo Blue Wings - 3 - Long Island Stadium - August 22, 1958 - 7 PM  ET
1st
3-0 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
2nd
10-0 LI - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Robert Lang
3rd
10-3 BUF - FG K Donald Brewer
13-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
4th
16-3 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher 

After the Royals foiled the Raiders’ defence last week, Long Island was able to get right back to their game holding the Blue Wings to only 3 points.
Lyle Painter tossed a long TD to Robert Lang as the main excitement in the game, the rest of the game ended up being super defensive again.LB Rusty McVee and DL Tyrone Affalo had a forced fumble and S Johan Eckhart had a pick as well. 

Worcester Athletics - 18, Ottawa Royals - 31 - Worcester Stadium - August 23, 1958 - 1 PM ET
1st
7-0 WOR - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
2nd
7-7 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Chester Bennett
10-7 WOR - FG K Tevoris Francis
10-14 OTT - RTD RB Alexei Volkov
3rd
10-21 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> TE Jervonte Howell
16-21 WOR - RTD RB Marcus Devonshire
18-21 WOR - 2PT QB Gene Bishop -> WR Marqués Gardner
4th
18-28 OTT - PTD QB Jean Matieau -> WR Truman Harry
18-31 OTT - FG K Maurice Lafayette 

Jean Matieau was able to pick apart the Athletics secondary especially behind Alexander Bradley where it is very weak; Truman Harry proved to be a big help with the top two receivers being covered well by Bradley and S Shawn Jensen.
Worcester RB Marcus Devonshire had a better game than most he’s had this season, but his two touchdowns were nowhere near enough against the Royals. 
Royals join the '56 Athletics and '51 Rouge as the only teams to be unbeaten after 9 games.

Montreal Rouge - 10, London Tigers - 27 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 23, 1958 - 4 PM ET
1st
3-0 MTL - FG K Arthur Kettinger
3-7 LDN - RTD RB Clifford Russell
2nd
3-14 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Wilbert Benjamin
10-14 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallard-White
3rd
10-17 LDN - FG K Nathaniel King
10-20 LDN - FG K Nathaniel King
4th
10-27 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> WR Max Sutton 

The Tigers came through with a strong performance to get back on the winning side. 
Aguirre was still using plays from Wall’s playbook but sprinkled in some plays from his short stint in Providence and from his previous tenure with the Tigers. 
Kiernan thrived with the offence and had a pair of TDs in the win.
Montreal still struggled a lot as their playoff hopes begin to fade further. 

Boston Independents - 13, Providence Gold Stars - 20 - Richardson Stadium - August 24, 1958 - 2 PM ET
1st
3-0 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
3-7 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> WR Cedric Peterson
2nd
6-7 BOS - FG K Johnnie Berg
6-10 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
3rd
13-10 BOS - RTD RB Eddie Thompson
4th
13-13 PRO - FG K Ira Foster
13-20 PRO - PTD QB Connor O’Rourke -> TE Micheal Bowman III 

The Gold Stars fight to win the season series against Boston pushing themselves back into a playoff spot despite their rough start.
Connor O’Rourke has been a true leader in the last few weeks which have helped the team go 3-1 since the firing of HC Roy Aguirre. 
The Independents missed having WR Ellis Lindholm out there, as Braddock was unable to get Boston back down the field near the end of the game. 

Injury Report
LB Silas O’Brien LOU - 3 Weeks
DL Charles Hoover OTT - Day-to-Day
DL Alexander Miller WOR - Day-to-Day 

Players of the Week 

OFF: QB Jean Matieau OTT - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 276 Passing Yards 

DEF: DL Tyrone Affalo LI - 1 Forced Fumble, 4 Tackles, 2 Sacks

Standings
WEST
Long Island 6-3
London 5-3-1
Buffalo 4-5
Indiana 4-5
Louisville 1-7-1

EAST
Ottawa 9-0 x
Boston 6-3
Providence 4-5
Worcester 3-6
Montreal 2-7

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

Week 10 Games
LI (6-3) @ LDN (5-3-1) - AUG. 30 - 3 PM ET
*LI clinches playoff spot with Win + IND Loss*
OTT (9-0) @ BOS (6-3) - AUG. 30 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
*OTT clinches East Division with Win or Tie
*BOS clinches playoff spot with Win or IND Loss + BUF Loss
MTL (2-7) @ WOR (3-6) - AUG. 31 - 2 PM ET
LOU (1-7-1) @ BUF (4-5) - SEP. 1 - 1 PM ET - Labour Day Game
PRO (4-5) @ IND (4-5) - SEP. 1 - 4 PM ET - Labour Day Game

Crazy to think just a few years ago Worcester was 9-1 and playing for a championship. Also nice game by the boys in blue & gold. Looks like they finally started to play real football halfway through the season.....classic Gold Stars move.