1952 Week 6

Providence Gold Stars - 26, Boston Independents - 14 - New Providence Stadium - August 16, 1952 - 2 PM ET
The rematch didn’t start out in the favour of the Gold Stars as the Boston Independents would go the distance on their opening drive. RB Joel Bonner punched the ball into the endzone on the 9th play of the game. QB Bruce Woodard was determined to end the 22-year drought against the Independents. He would lead the Gold Stars back down the field the other way and find TE Marion Warren for the touchdown. The defense was able to step up and slow Boston down for the rest of the first half. The Offense was able to get a couple of field goals over that time. While it seemed they would go into the half with a lead, DB Francis Veillette of Boston had other plans when he picked off Woodard’s pass and put Boston into scoring range. Bonner would finish what Veillette started by scoring the touchdown just before the half to take the 13-14 lead. The Gold Stars came out of the break with anger and determination. Woodard would lead the offense down the field regaining the lead on a field goal. Then, on Boston’s next drive DB Victor Bean would steal the ball from WR Samuel Floyd and take it back into Boston territory. The Gold Stars would then add to the lead with WR Peter Brooks. All of a sudden the Gold Stars were up 23-14 and would not look back. DB Lee Wolfe had another pick to seal the deal. The Gold Stars finally broke the curse and beat the Boston Football Club for the first time since 1930. They will also hold the tiebreaker over Boston based on point differential placing the division in their control. 

Ottawa Royals - 29, Montreal Rouge - 16 - Lansdowne Park - August 16, 1952 - 2 PM ET
The Royals came home to Lansdowne where they have not been able to beat the Rouge. However, the new-look Royals were ready this time. Out of the gate, their offense was maintaining the high level of play from last week’s game. On their second drive of the game, WR Allen Atkins broke deep for a 48-yard play that would set the Royals up at the 8-yard line. On the following play, the Rouge tried to pressure QB Jean Matieau by sending LB Quinton Brewer into the backfield but Matieau shifted and threw around him. He found WR John Osborn cutting right through the empty space Brewer had left and into the endzone. The Rouge were obviously frustrated. QB Oliver Callahan was continuing to struggle, throwing 2 interceptions in the first half. DB Michael Conner and LB Leo Davenport were the receivers of the errant throws. The Royals would add two more touchdowns in the half, one to WR Willard Brooks and another to WR Allen Atkins, and go up 21-3. The Rouge changed things up in the second half with former Buffalo QB Andrew Glover taking over. He was able to get the team moving a bit more and RB Élisée Marchal would score a touchdown. However, their defense still struggled with the Royals offense and they would allow another Willard Brooks touchdown. The game was pretty tame from then on with teams trading kicks. The Rouge would add a couple of field goals while also sacrificing a single late.  

Hartford Hawks - 13, Worcester Athletics - 18 - Arnold H. Bensen Park - August 17, 1952 - 3 PM ET
The Hawks gave QB Andrew Sexton another shot in the rematch with the Athletics. He was much better than the start of the season. He was able to throw a  touchdown to WR Robert Lang but still threw 1 interception. The offense overall was able to move the ball more, but could not score enough to keep up with Kiernan and the Athletics. QB Riley Kiernan had another strong game. He was able to set up a RB Jacque Montier touchdown and then would scramble for a rushing touchdown himself. LB Scotty Williams was also still dominating the middle of the field with 10 tackles including knocking WR Arnold Torres flat on his back while he tried to catch a pass and he also had the interception for the Athletics. The loss may work in the favour for the Hawks who are now in prime position to have the top pick in the draft, but it does not help declining attendance in Hartford.   

Toronto Tigers - 27, Buffalo Blue Wings - 20 - Toronto Municipal Stadium - August 17, 1952 - 6 PM ET
The battle between the Great Lakes rivals continues with yet another close battle. The first quarter featured both sides reaching the endzone with their star running backs. Arthur Conner opened it up first, breaking through the Tigers line and into the endzone. Then, Laurent Brazeau ran to the endzone with DL Matis Baril holding him back, but he reached the ball out and over the line. The remainder of the first half was back and forth. Neither team was able to break into the endzone again but the Tigers got a field goal. Defensively, DB Dylan Alston was able to pick off Duane Logan, but they would go 2 and out. At the start of the second half, QB Angelo Medina was able to lead the Blue Wings down the field and would get the ball to WR Joseph Barry for a touchdown and the lead. A field goal would be added to the total not long after. The Tigers had fallen behind again, but QB Duane Logan didn’t want to lose to the Blue Wings again and turned it up. He would lead the offense to field goal range and K Nathaniel would cut the lead to 4. A couple drives later, Logan would find WR Jake Hadder open to get them into Buffalo territory. Brazeau would inch their way towards the endzone where Logan would find WR Wilbert Benjamin for another touchdown. The Blue Wings would retaliate with a strong drive but DB Louie White prevented the touchdown and they would have to settle for the field goal. With time winding down with the threat of a tie, the Tigers would march downfield behind Logan and Brazeau. Eventually, the Tigers would find themselves in field goal range and would look to run down the time with Brazeau but he just broke it up through the middle and ran over LB Ben McCray to score the game-winning touchdown.  

Players of the Week

OFF: RB Laurent Brazeau TOR - 2 Touchdowns, 104 Rushing Yards 

DEF: DB Victor Bean PRO - 1 Interception, 5 Tackles, 3 Knockdowns 

Standings
NORTH
Toronto 4-2
Ottawa 4-2
Montreal 3-3
Buffalo 2-4

NEW ENGLAND
Providence 4-2
Boston 4-2
Worcester 2-4
Hartford 1-5

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

Week 7 Games
MTL (3-3) @ BOS (4-2) - AUG 22 - 7 PM ET
WOR (2-4) @ OTT (4-2) - AUG 23 - 2 PM ET
PRO (4-2) @ BUF (2-4) - AUG 23 - 6 PM ET
TOR (4-2) @ HAR (1-5) - AUG 24 - 3 PM ET

I never thought I would see the day the gold stars would be the Independence but it’s finally here and it feels great

How do we lose to Hartford? Hartford?? Really??

1952 Week 8

Montreal Rouge - 41, Hartford Hawks - 6 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 30, 1952 - 2 PM ET
After seeing the Hawks beat Toronto last week, the Rouge were not going to take them lightly. Right from the start of the game, the Rouge were dominant. In the best game for them this year, the Rouge put up 4 touchdowns in the first half. RB Élisée Marchal seemed to be back up to form with a huge 46-yard touchdown run to open up the scoring. WR John Rivera would add another, followed by DB Jean-Luc Paget picking up a fumble caused by DB Anthony Massey and taking it back to the endzone. Marchal would reach the endzone again just before halftime to go up 28-0. The second half was not quite as dominant, but the Rouge never let the Hawks recover. LB Quinton Brewer had an interception and the offense would put up 13 more points. Marchal had a third touchdown as well to add to his total. The Hawks defense had no answers even after their strong performance last week, this just proves they have a long way to go yet.  

Worcester Athletics - 10, Buffalo Blue Wings - 33 - Worcester Athletic Club Grandstands - August 30, 1952 - 2 PM ET
The Blue Wings kept up their current hot streak with another win over the Athletics. They had a strong start on offense scoring on back-to-back drives in the first to go up 10-0. WR Joseph Barry got the touchdown after pushing past DB Clifton Powers to score. The Athletics would struggle offensively and QB Riley Kiernan would throw a pick in the second to DB Oscar Patterson which would set up RB Arthur Conner for his first score of the day. The Athletics would get a solid drive in just before half and score with RB Jacque Montier. The Blue Wings would continue to add to their lead after WR Travis Gallagher cut open in the endzone behind DB Akia Harmon. RB Arthur Conner would grab a second touchdown in the fourth while the Athletics could only get a field goal over the rest of the game. Blue Wings are now right back in the hunt after winning 4 of their last 5.  

Toronto Tigers - 17, Boston Independents - 30 - Toronto Municipal Stadium - August 31, 1952 - 3 PM ET
The final game at Toronto Municipal Stadium (any playoff games are going to be played in Kitchener), was miserable. Rain drenched the field all day leaving the field a mess. By game time, the rain had eased but still a factor. Boston’s gritty style of play seemed to work in their favour with the field conditions. RB Joel Bonner was able to power through the Toronto defense and wreak havoc. Bonner would score an early touchdown which was followed up by a field goal. The Tigers were struggling again on offense and only got a field goal early on. The score would be 17-3 at halftime after Bonner added his second of the game. Toronto would manage to start to pull themselves into the game as the field got a bit better. RB Laurent Brazeau would finally break through to the endzone and give Toronto some hope. The Independents, however, would get field goals on 2 of their next 3 drives extending their lead. Brazeau would get himself back to the endzone again to bring the lead back down to 6, but Bonner would lead Boston back the other way for his 3rd touchdown of the game and another win for Boston.  

Providence Gold Stars - 28, Ottawa Royals - 32 - New Providence Stadium - August 31, 1952 - 3 PM ET
The Gold Stars returned home to a stadium they are unbeaten in this season. However, the league’s top team looked to change that. The Gold Stars would get off to a quick start, scoring a touchdown early on to WR Peter Brooks. The Royals would follow up the touchdown with one of their own to WR John Osborn. In the second, with the game tied, the Gold Stars were moving well down the field. RB Gene Fischer would take the ball up the middle but would be met by several Royals defenders. In the pile, Fischer was slow to get up. The running back, who has had injury troubles in the past, was out again. Fischer will likely miss the remaining games of the regular season. RB Clayton Owen would take over from there but Providence only got a field goal on that drive. The Royals would mimic the field goal before having a great drive that would lead to another touchdown. RB Alexei Volkov was having a blast with the Gold Stars defensive line and was able to have a successful day on the ground. This included the touchdown just before halftime. Down 13-17 coming out of the half,  the Gold Stars would find some momentum in the third. QB Bruce Woodard slowly moved the ball downfield with pass after pass. Eventually, he was able to retake the lead on a pass to WR Eugene Burns for the touchdown. Besides a single in the third, it wouldn’t be until the fourth quarter when the Royals answered back. WR Allen Atkins was finally able to escape the excellent coverage of DB Lee Wolfe and score a touchdown to give the Royals the 20-25 lead. The Gold Stars were not out, as they would go down and score another touchdown once again to WR Peter Brooks. They would also score the 2-point convert and hold a 3 point lead with just over 2 minutes left. The Royals would strike out on their next drive and give the ball back to Providence with a minute and a half left. The Gold Stars would hand the ball off to Clayton Owen, but he would be hit at the line. The Ball popped loose and former Gold Star LB Leo Davenport would recover it. The Royals had prime field position and Matieau would get the ball to WR John Osborn for his second of the game and the win. 

Players of the Week 

OFF: RB Joel Bonner BOS - 3 Touchdowns, 145 Rushing Yards

DEF: LB Quinton Brewer MTL - 1 Interception, 1 Forced Fumble, 8 Tackles 

Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 6-2
Montreal 5-3
Toronto 4-4
Buffalo 4-4

NEW ENGLAND
Boston 5-3 - x
Providence 4-4
Worcester 2-6
Hartford 2-6

Power Rankings
Ottawa -
Providence -
Montreal -
Buffalo -
Boston -
Toronto -
Hartford -
Worcester -

Week 9 Games
TOR (4-4) @ OTT (6-2) *OTT Clinches Playoff and North Division with Win*
MTL (5-3) @ BUF (4-4) *MTL Clinches Playoff with Win + TOR loss*
HAR (2-6) @ BOS (5-3)
WOR (2-6) @ PRO (4-4) *PRO Cinches Playoff with Win*

And just like that we're out of playoffs, let's stop losing Tigers.

Last edited by MyTeamIsDr.Pepper (4/28/2020 6:49 pm)