1952 Week 1

Montreal Rouge - 26, Buffalo Blue Wings - 21 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 11, 1952 - 7 PM ET
The Rouge and Blue Wings opened the season with a back and forth battle. However, it was all Montreal in the first quarter. The Rouge had the ball first and they would slowly march their way down the field with short passes to Rivera and Fontaine and of course runs from Marchal. The 3-time MVP would take in the score to end the first drive. The Blue Wings would have a solid drive right after but it didn’t end the way they wanted it too. QB Angelo Medina was under pressure on a 2nd and 6, and he thought he had a hole to run for the 1st down, however, DL Napoléon Chevalier would get his arm on the ball as Medina tried to tuck it. The ball would pop loose and the Rouge would take over. Their second drive would end the same way as the first with Marchal bursting through to the endzone. The second quarter was much better for the Blue Wings as Medina moved the ball around through the air. WR Travis Gallagher would have a huge pickup of 24 yards that would set up the RB Arthur Conner touchdown. After Montreal got a field goal, the Blue Wings marched again and scored a second touchdown this time on an over the shoulder catch by WR Joseph Barry. The second half started with several stops for both teams but it was Buffalo who broke through in the third. This time it was Angelo Medina scampering in form 11 yards out. Montreal would retaliate with a huge run from Marchal. The Rouge running back escaped up the middle and was about to hit the open field. The only player back was rookie Fraizer Brooks who would hold Marchal up just enough for DB Dylan Alston to catch up. The player prevented a field goal and maintained the lead. Unfortunately for the Blue Wings, a great play from the Rouge defense would change the tide. Medina passed the ball towards Travis Gallagher but Jean-Luc Paget got to him and was able to hit the ball. The ball deflected up and allowed S Chester George to get under it for his first interception. George was only stopped by Medina, but Marchal would finish off the job securing the Rouge another win.  

Ottawa Royals - 20, Boston Independents - 16 - Lansdowne Park - July 12, 1952 - 2 PM ET
The Royals started a new era on the right foot with a huge win over Boston. Boston was in control early scoring a touchdown on their second drive to RB Joel Bonner and were able to come up with stops on the Royals offense. The Royals would find a way through late in the first half with the help of the two running back system. Volkov was not particularly great today but had a burst of speed on a 14-yard gain that would set up Jean Matieau’s first TD pass of the season to WR Willard Brooks. The second half started with Boston scoring back-to-back field goals to reclaim the lead. They would maintain it throughout the rest of the game until the final minutes of the game. With his first chance to lead a 2-minute drill, Jean Matieau was unstoppable. Connecting on 4 consecutive plays and then getting an assist from Volkov. The Royals were in the redzone. On second and 8 from the 11-yard line, Jean Matieau dropped back and shifted to his right looking off the defenders. At the last second, Matieau shifted back to the left and saw WR Allen Atkins with a step in DB Lester Murphy. The pass window was tight but Matieau got it there and Atkins reeled in the game-winning catch tapping toes just in-bounds. It might go down as one of the greatest catches/plays in NAAF history (well at least to this point). 

Worcester Athletics - 3, Toronto Tigers - 31 - Worcester Athletic Club Grandstands - July 12, 1952 - 2PM ET
Was not the start QB Riley Kiernan was looking forward to. On his first throw, he was looking for WR Clyde McIntosh to the outside. Kiernan rushed the throw and DB Louie White jumped the route, easily taking it back for 6. Kiernan would shake it off for the next drive getting a first down but was stopped shortly after. Finally, it was time for Duane Logan to take his first snap in a new uniform. He would have a solid first drive ending in a field goal to add to the early lead. In the second, RB Laurent Brazeau was the next to show up rumbling up the middle where he would make first contact with 1st overall pick LB Scotty Williams. Williams would go for the big hit and Brazeau would lower his shoulder as well. They collided with a gasp from the crowd. Somehow, Brazeau was able to take the hit and spin-off of it gaining about 4 more yards and the first down before he lost balance and fell to the ground, but it immediately made Williams’ presence known. The Tigers would continue the drive and Brazeau would cap it off with a touchdown. The second half continued to go in the Tigers direction as QB Duane Logan would find a wide-open WR Wilbert Benjamin streaking down the right side of the field. Benjamin would catch the ball and take it in the rest of the way to extend the lead. The Athletics were able to have a decent drive late, but only mustered a field goal. As the game came to a close the Tigers rookie LB Aengus Lynch made a huge tackle on RB Jacque Montier and knocked the ball loose. The turnover would give Brazeau another touchdown.   

Providence Gold Stars - 30, Hartford Hawks - 0 - New Providence Stadium - July 13, 1952 - 3 PM ET
The Gold Stars put a lot of the worries that many had about them to bed in the opening game. The offense seemed to be rejuvenated with RB Gene Fischer finding his feet and getting into the endzone twice. WR Peter Brooks also broke out for a 25-yard touchdown catch in the second half. On defense, they were even better, completely stopping all attack from the Hawks. They ended up taking home 5 interceptions in total with DB Victor Bean leading the way with 2. Their DL created lots of havoc for QB Andrew Sexton and didn’t let rookie RB Johnnie Stafford gain any sort of traction. The Gold Stars will have a true test next week against the Tigers. On the other side, Hartford looked awful, Sexton could complete only 6 passes and there was no run game. Their defense had some moments stalling the Gold Stars and holding them to field goals but it was far from fantastic play. DB Slay Mitchell was beaten by Peter Brooks and Eugene Burns on multiple occasions but he adjusted and made some plays late.  

Players of the Week

OFF: RB Élisée Marchal MTL - 3 Touchdowns, 187 Rushing Yards 

DEF: DB Victor Bean PRO - 2 Interceptions, 4 Knockdowns, 1 Tackle 

Standings
NORTH
Toronto 1-0
Montreal 1-0
Ottawa 1-0
Buffalo 0-1

NEW ENGLAND
Providence 1-0
Boston 0-1
Worcester 0-1
Hartford 0-1

Power Rankings
Montreal - 
Ottawa +2
Buffalo -
Boston -2
Providence +1
Toronto -1
Worcester -
Hartford -

Week 2 Games
OTT (1-0) @ HAR (0-1)
BUF (0-1) @ BOS (0-1)
WOR (0-1) @ MTL (1-0)
PRO (1-0) @ TOR (1-0)

MyTeamIsDr.Pepper wrote:

Man, good game Tigers, nice way to start the season. There for a second, i was scared Brazeau would be injured. Scotty Williams sure did make his presence known sounds like.

Outside of Toronto, big surprises by Ottawa and Providence. Providence makes more sense but I'm still surprised they beat Hartford that bad. Ottawa beating Boston though, what a game, came right down to the last second! Congrats to the Royals, maybe, hopefully this will set something in motion.

I am really excited about this season, the top 6 teams are all close in overall which means the season will be quite unpredictable. It is hard to call who will make the playoffs. Week 2 already brings more surprises and close games.

The "North" division should just be called the "Montreal" division. My Wings think they are participating in a pro football league, but they and everyone else just have a front row seat to see Montreal run through the league.

Hey, Ottawa is 2-0! But the Blue Wings are 0-2 (Any chance for a NYC or Halifax team in the future?) Just re-name the New England division Boston Independents vs New England division because it seems like Boston beats everyone from the NE every single (explitive deleted) season...

Last edited by Rugrat (4/22/2020 9:48 pm)

Wow that Ottawa win over Boston has to be one of the NAAF’s biggest week 1 wins in league history. Also Toronto looking like early title contenders perhaps? I’m really excited to see where this season ends up!