Here are my predictions

Louisville over Buffalo
Boston over Providence

London over Louisville
Montreal over Boston

London over Montreal

Go Rouge

 

Captain Mort 3D wrote:

While I really like Louisville and Montreal, I think London will cruise to the title just because of how good they have been this year. Its really hard to see them struggle or fall off in the next two games. Also what is the record for worst point differential in NAAF history since the 12 game schedule started? Worcester at -166 has to be up there.  

Worst Point Differentials (12-games):
Indiana - 1960: -193
Worcester - 1961: -166
Indiana - 1959: -144
Worcester - 1959: -125
Indiana - 1958: -98

Dang sorry Indiana and Worcester...

Tho the 1949 Toronto Tigers have by far the worst -192 in only 8 games... there are several others in the -170s over the 10 game era as well.

I hate Boston.

1961 Division Finals 

East Division Final
Montreal Rouge VS. Boston Independents - Mount Royal Stadium - September 23, 1961 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Clear - 28ºC | 84ºF
1st Q
The Bishop-Braddock battle was the talk of the media for the week leading up to the game between the Rouge and Independents. It was Braddock who would get his team going early. On the team’s opening drive, he would march Boston down to the Montreal 33 before K Johnnie Berg put the first points on the board. The Rouge would not be able to match on their first drive, but their defence would pick it up after the score. HC Dean Reed, former head coach of the Independents, would target some of Braddock’s weaknesses. Nathaniel Braddock would face a lot more pressure from the Montreal D-line and would be sacked twice in the quarter. The offence would feed off the defence and QB Gene Bishop would look to make a play. Bishop would find WR Derek Cross for a 38-yard gain that would set up RB Scott Mallard-White for a touchdown to put the Rouge on top 7-3.
MTL 7-3 BOS 

2nd Q
The pressure was constant for Braddock, but he started to adjust and get settled again. He started making plays again, and Montreal would start sending a little more pressure. On a 2nd and 7, Braddock would aim to get the first down through the air. Montreal would send a blitz that would immediately collapse the pocket. Braddock felt it closing in so he scrambled and managed to escape and see WR Paul Franklin. He would turn and make an impressive throw on the run hitting Franklin perfectly for a 16-yard gain. The Independents would find the endzone a couple of plays later with RB Kendall Morgan taking in a touchdown. Montreal would answer back with a field goal before the half to tie the game up.
MTL 10-10 BOS 

3rd Q
The game kept going back-and-forth in the 3rd. Boston would get a strong drive early, however, they would not be able to score when DB Quentin Xavier would pick off Braddock. QB Gene Bishop and the Rouge would look to counter the drive, but they were stalled out at midfield. Neither team was able to score until late in the quarter. Gene Bishop would finally find a way to get into Boston territory. He just had to do it on his feet. Bishop would scramble out of the pocket and pick up 23-yards on the ground to get down to the 36. It would take a few more plays for Bishop to then fire a pass to WR Robert Lang to make it 17-10. Boston would try to get it back and were moving down the field with the quarter coming to an end.
MTL 17-10 BOS 

4th Q
Boston was ready to make the push to start the quarter, but their drive would be cut short after RB Kendall Morgan took a big hit from DL Hubert Tessier that would knock the ball loose. Boston would recover the ball but had to punt it away instead of kicking a field goal as the play took them out of range. The offence would recover on their next attempt following a defensive stop and would move the ball down the field. QB Nathaniel Braddock continued to dish out pass after pass as he methodically brought the Independents into range. Finally, he would connect with WR Clyde McIntosh to get down to the 1. QB Randy Sellers would take a QB sneak into the endzone to tie the game back up at 17. Time wound down as the teams traded a couple of drives. Neither team wanted to head to an extra frame. The Rouge had the ball with just 2:34 left in the game. QB Gene Bishop was doing a good job of keeping the drive alive. The game was falling onto his shoulders for Montreal. He would pull through by marching the Rouge down into the redzone. From 15 yards out, Bishop would look to fire to the endzone on 2nd and 10. Bishop would throw the ball to WR Derek Cross who had found some space in the endzone. The ball would land in Cross’ hands, but S Drew Porter would be able to get in there at the last second to knock the ball loose and cause an incomplete pass. Despite the miss, Montreal was still able to kick a field goal to retake the lead with 1:16 left. Boston would take over and now the game was on Braddock’s shoulders. The young QB would start the drive with a couple of passes to WR Ellis Lindholm and TE Tanner Tint. Then he would hit WR Clyde McIntosh who would break a tackle and pick up 21 yards to get into Montreal territory. The Rouge would tighten up on defence, but Boston kept the ball moving down to the 10-yard line. Time was also getting tight with 12 seconds to go. Braddock would have one last chance to try and win the game. He would drop back from the 10 and would sit in the pocket. The Rouge started to pressure him and Braddock shifted and he would have to take a shot. He would fire towards WR Ellis Lindholm who had 2 guys on him. The WR would find a way to get his hands on it and would hold on for dear life. He would maintain possession and the referee raised his arms to signal the touchdown. The Rouge had no time left and the Independents would be heading back to the McCallister Cup for the first time since 1954 (which also was in Ottawa). 

MTL - 8 QB Gene Bishop
BOS - 13 QB Nathaniel Braddock

West Division Final
London Tigers VS. Louisville Thunder - Western Fair Stadium - September 23, 1961 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Clear - 18ºC | 66ºF
1st Q
Offence was the name of the game early between the London Tigers and the Louisville Thunder. London would make noise on their opening drive with QB Riley Kiernan tossing a 42-yard shot to WR Max Sutton which would then set up WR Jack Duncan for a touchdown to put the Tigers up quickly 7-0. The Thunder would look to counter on their next drive with RBs Stavros Black and RB Rodney Clark both getting the ball moving on the ground. It would eventually be RB Rodney Clark who would score a touchdown to knot the game up just 6 minutes in 7-7. The teams would trade a couple of drives, but the Tigers would soon find the endzone again with Kiernan connecting with WR Max Sutton for a score and a 14-7 lead after the first.
LDN 14-7 LOU 

2nd Q
London would keep up the pressure in the second with the defence coming up with a fumble. DL Olympus Heights would manage to get his hand on the ball and knock it loose from RB Rodney Clark. The Tigers would take over at the Thunder 40 and would turn that into a field goal to make it 17-7. The Thunder would bounce back from the mistake a little bit later and would put together a strong drive. QB Leonidas Dumont would find WR Piers Key for an 8-yard pass, which Key would manage to turn into a 19-yard play. The Thunder would find the endzone a couple of plays later on the legs of RB Stavros Black to make it 17-13 following a missed convert from K Theodore Provost. Louisville would continue to ride the momentum with their defence making a play on the ensuing drive. The Tigers were only a couple of plays into their drive when TE Kent Moller would be targeted for a quick pass. LB Benjamin Pittman, a former Tiger, anticipated the play and broke it up. The ball was deflected up off Pittman’s shoulder and LB George Yokoi would come down with an interception. Louisville would capitalize on the play and Dumont would take a shot at the endzone for WR Ben Roland who would score to put the Thunder up 17-20 at the break. 
LDN 17-20 LOU

3rd Q
The Thunder would come out of the break looking to add to their lead. RB Rodney Clark would make up for his earlier fumble and would help get the Thunder down into Tigers’ territory on the first drive of the half. The Tigers’ defence would hold strong and force Louisville to kick a field goal instead, but it was now a 17-23 lead for the Thunder. With the Tigers going from a 10-point lead to a 6-point deficit, Riley Kiernan would come on to the field swinging with a superb drive that marched the Tigers down the field. The team would get all the way down to the 2 before RB Eric Sydney punched it in to make it 24-23. Louisville’s offence was still able to move the ball well throughout the quarter but was struggling to finish with the Tigers’ defence making some strong stops. DB Jackson Miles would reel in a pick for the Tigers which stopped the Thunder on one of their better drives. Louisville would eventually get another field goal, but the Tigers would match it to make it 27-26 heading into the 4th quarter.  LDN 27-26 LOU 

4th Q
The final quarter of play would continue the high-paced play. The Thunder would be aiming to get back on top early, but they would fail to do so after Leonidas Dumont took a sack from DL Richard Blunt. The Tigers would get the ball back and once again K Nimrod Handsworth would add to the lead to make it 30-26. It was starting to become make-or-break time for the Thunder with the clock slowly ticking away. Leonidas Dumont would need to come up with a big play. Dumont would follow through finding WR Truman Harry for a 23-yard gain and then another play to WR Ben Roland to put the Thunder into scoring range. The Tigers’ defence would tighten up to try and slow down the Thunder offence. They would be successful and forced the Thunder to a 3rd and 2. Louisville would go for it and they would give RB Stavros Black the ball. The RB would be met with a stiff D-line, but with a helpful block from OL Taylor Forbes, he would get just enough for the first. The Thunder felt like they had a chance. Dumont kept dishing the ball and they inched closer. However, they would find themselves on 3rd down again. This time they needed 6 yards so Dumont went to the air. He would look around for a target with some pressure coming. Eventually WR Piers Key would slip off a defender into some open space. Dumont would throw it at him, but the ball was a wobbler and Key just got his fingers on it. The ball would flutter into the arms of LB Aengus Lynch who would grab the ball and take it back a few yards before being taken down. The Tigers would run down the clock and grab another field goal to clinch their 3rd straight McCallister Cup appearance.  

LDN - 11 DL Olympus Heights
LOU - 23 RB Stavros Black

Injury Report
LB Dallas Dillard LDN - Day-to-Day
TE Christopher Gist LOU - 6 Weeks
LB Sebastian Andrews III - 4 Weeks 

Players of the Week 

EDF: QB Nathaniel Braddock BOS - 1 Passing Touchdown, 313 Passing Yards 

WDF: DL Olympus Heights LDN - 1 Forced Fumble, 2 Sacks, 6 Tackles

43rd McCallister Cup Preview
London Tigers VS. Boston Independents - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - October 1, 1961 - 6 PM ET
Head-to-Head: Did not play
For the second time in NAAF history, the two teams meeting in the final did not face each other during the regular season. Their last battle had the Tigers winning 26-23. The Tigers have been the toughest team to shake this season with their only loss being to the Blue Wings (27-28) in week 7. However, Boston has looked like one of the best teams since the playoffs have started. QB Nathaniel Braddock has turned it up a notch with back-to-back strong games. It will be his first shot at the McCallister Cup, which will be something new for a game that has not had a QB playing in their first Championship since Riley Kiernan in 1956 with Worcester. Both defences have shown their strength as well in the playoffs so this game should be a fairly close match that should lead to another great McCallister Cup. This was my predicted McCallister Cup match-up so I’m going to stick with the team I picked from the start and go with the Independents to win this game. 
My Pick: Independents 

Last edited by Wallflower (3/14/2021 5:30 pm)

I’m taking London in this one but since Boston has the hot hand I think they will get off to a good start that’ll force the Tigers to battle back for the victory.