The 1954 season kicked off with an all Canadian matchup, a first for the NAAF. The two rivals were ready for action to begin the journey to Lansdowne in October. Montreal would be the first to get the ball. After a short 3-yard run from RB Élisée Marchal, Ottawa would show a flash of their new might. QB Andrew Glover dropped back to pass but as he went to throw, DL Olaf Viktorsson would hit him. The ball would fly incomplete but the Rouge were shocked. The Royals would take the momentum onto the offensive side and score a touchdown to WR Allen Atkins not long after. The Royals would continue to control the game with TE Jervonte Howell adding his own TD not long after. Just before the half, DB Uzzia Hayes would pick off Glover and set up RB Alexei Volkov’s first of the season to go up 0-21. The Rouge would finally get on the board with a field goal, but WR Allen Atkins would strike once again to make the score 3-28. Montreal would find the endzone eventually with Marchal, but it was all they could get with Ottawa adding a field goal late to win 10-31.
Boston Independents - 13, Ontario Tigers - 17 - Richardson Stadium - July 17, 1954 - 1 PM ET
The Independents opened up, what they hoped to be a redemption season against the Tigers who were hungry for success. Boston would start off pretty strong with a good opening drive. While they didn’t score, the Tigers were pinned deep. Tigers would have to give the ball back and the Independents would score a field goal to open it up. After Boston got their second field goal, the Tigers turned things on. QB Duane Logan started to get the team moving down the field. WR Wilbert Benjamin would make a play, catching the ball just 6 yards from scrimmage but turning it upfield for 27 yards. Former NYFL WR Daniel Hubbard would score the touchdown to give the Tigers the lead. Boston would get a touchdown back with RB Joel Bonner, who led most of the drive, but it came at the cost of young TE Richard Stewart. The TE would make a catch but was hit hard by LB Aengus Lynch. Stewart would be knocked out and could have to be taken off with a stretcher. Lynch felt terrible for the hit and took several plays off. The second half would begin with Boston up 13-7, but the Tigers would turn it around early with another touchdown and field goal. Logan would find Wilbert Benjamin for the touchdown and RB Laurent Brazeau would set up the field goal with a long run. Boston was struggling to move the ball and would be shut down by the Tigers defense. Ontario would hold on for the win to start the season 1-0.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 23, Worcester Athletics - 14 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 17, 1954 - 4 PM - CBS
QB Angelo Medina returned to the field for the season opener and immediately made an impact. The QB would move the Blue Wings down the field twice in the opening frame to score a touchdown and a field goal. WR Joseph Barry would grab the touchdown after RB Arthur Conner had a 23-yard run. The Athletics wouldn’t back down as QB Riley Kiernan would get a touchdown back on the following drive. WR Christian Venegas would make the touchdown grab in the back of the endzone to make the score 10-7. The score would remain for the rest of the half as both defenses stepped it up. DL Sean Bowen would make his presence known to start the 3rd with 2 sacks on Kiernan. After Buffalo extended their lead with a field goal. DB Alexander Bradley would show up with his first career interception. Unfortunately, the ball would be lost after RB Jacque Montier fumbled it a couple of play later. Buffalo would add a second touchdown, this time to RB Arthur Conner. Worcester would find the endzone again as well with WR Clyde McIntosh, but it was all they had before Buffalo got a final field goal to seal the win.
Long Island Hawks - 21, Providence Gold Stars - 29 - Long Island Stadium - July 18, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBS
The first game on Long Island was surprisingly high scoring. QB Lee Rogers entered his second season and caught the Gold Stars sleeping. Rogers would find WR Robert Lang up the sideline where he would take it in for the score on just the third play of the game. Providence would retaliate with a touchdown of their own to WR Peter Brooks and a field goal not long after. The Hawks kept their early momentum and moved the ball down the field again. This time led by former Gold Star RB Gene Fischer. Fischer would get the Hawks to the endzone and would give them the 14-10 lead. Providence would add a field goal just before the half. QB Bruce Woodard would try to get things going to start the second, but he would be picked off by DB Amyre Rouleau who would take it back deep into Providence territory. Once again the Hawks would find the endzone with WR Robert Lang. The crowd on Long Island was on their feet for their new team. However, Woodard would silence the crowd. He would lead the Gold Stars back the other way to score a touchdown with WR John Osborn. After the missed 2-point try, they would get the ball back with DB Lee Wolfe and take the ball in for yet another touchdown. This time former Hawk RB Johnnie Stafford scored. The score was now 21-26, and the Hawks were still able to move the ball, but they would lose both TE Johnny Mantle IV and rookie WR Darryl Duke to injury on the drive. It would stall and the Gold Stars would take over. They would cap off the win with another field goal.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
TE Richard Stewart - BOS - Season
WR Darryl Duke - LI - 1 Week
TE Johnny Mantle IV - LI - Day-to-Day
S Mason Parker - ON - Day-to-Day
LB Willie Baxter - OTT - 3 Weeks
OL Ethan Watson - PRO - Day-to-Day
OL Cliff Strauztenberger - WOR - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 1-0
Buffalo 1-0
Ontario 1-0
Montreal 0-1
NEW ENGLAND
Providence 1-0
Boston 0-1
Long Island 0-1
Worcester 0-1
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo -
2 - Ottawa -
3 - Providence -
4 - Montreal -
5 - Ontario -
6 - Boston -
7 - Long Island -
8 - Worcester -
The Athletics came home to face off with the Rouge. QB Riley Kiernan was continuing to show his growth with another quick start. The offense got rolling in the first with a field goal and then followed it up with WR Clyde McIntosh’s second touchdown of the season. Montreal did counter with a field goal, but once again the offense was struggling. Following a second Athletics field goal, Montreal would start to turn the tide with a forced fumble from LB Rusty McVee. Montreal would not score, but momentum seemed to be tipping back into their favour. The Rouge would start the second half strong with another turnover. This time it was LB Quinton Brewer with a forced fumble. RB Élisée Marchal would get into the endzone to cut the lead to 3. The Athletics would get back to the endzone again with WR Christian Venegas to make it a 10 point lead. The Rouge would get their offense going with Marchal returning to the endzone. Worcester would not get very far on their next drive before DB Jontray Cox would nab an interception to set Montreal for a go-ahead score. QB Andrew Glover would find WR Ray Lopez in the endzone for the score and the win.
Ontario Tigers - 38, Long Island Hawks - 6 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - July 24, 1954 - 7 PM ET
The Long Island Hawks were hoping to build on the momentum they gained in the season opener against the Gold Stars, but the Tigers had other plans. QB Duane Logan has seemingly found his All-Star level of play from his Ottawa days. He would lead the Tigers down the field early in the first for a touchdown with WR Marqués Gardner, which he would then follow up with another great drive ending in RB Laurent Brazeau’s first of the season. The Tigers took a quick 14-0 lead. The Hawks would come back with some strong plays but Lee Rogers would be hit hard by former Hawk LB Roland Hensley and would have to leave the game. The Hawks would settle for a field goal. The Tigers added a field goal before another touchdown to WR Wilbert Benjamin. QB Andrew Sexton made his return to the field for the Hawks and would get the Hawks into scoring range, but DB Louie White would pick him off and take it back to the Hawks 24-yard line where Brazeau would nab his second of the game. Logan would add one last touchdown to Benjamin to seal the win at 38-6.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 17, Boston Independents - 17 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 24, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
Boston was looking to bounce back from yet another loss last week to Ontario. QB Larry Larson was able to get going early on with a touchdown to WR Ethan Walters. Buffalo was able to grab a field goal and then a touchdown back with RB Arthur Conner. The defenses traded a couple of turnovers over the remainder of the half, but no one was able to capitalize. At the half, WR Samuel Floyd had to leave the game due to the birth of his second son thus leaving Boston without their second receiver. Boston’s gameplan shifted to a heavier load of RB Joel Bonner. The plan seemed to work as Boston started to take over the field position battle. Buffalo would end up scoring a touchdown with RB Arthur Conner breaking free for a huge run. The Independents would not back down and Bonner would lead the team to score a field goal before a DB Lester Murphy interception would set up a Bonner touchdown to tie the game up. Buffalo would not be able to score and the Independents would manage to get close to scoring but the game would end before they could score.
Ottawa Royals - 24, Providence Gold Stars - 11 - Lansdowne Park - July 25, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The Royals continued to show their dominance in their home opener against the Gold Stars. It was RB Alexei Volkov that exploded right off the start of the game. He took home a 74-yard touchdown run that the Gold Stars were not prepared for. The Gold Stars would recover well with a field goal and kept Ottawa to only a field goal in the second quarter. The Royals however would get a huge break in the third when DL Olaf Viktorsson would hit QB Bruce Woodard who would fumble the ball. DL Stephan Kendall would recover it and Ottawa would score another touchdown. WR Eugene Burns would catch the touchdown to give Ottawa the 17-3. Providence would get a touchdown with WR John Osborn on the next drive, but RB Alexei Volkov would get another huge run setting up his second touchdown of the game. Providence would be able to get back to Midfield but TE Marion Warren would drop a first down pass that would end in an injury that would leave him out for up to 7 weeks. K Bernard Barnett would end up missing the long field goal attempt, and the Royals would sacrifice the single while holding on to another win.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
QB Lee Rogers LI - Day-to-Day
TE Darrell Hubbard MTL - Day-to-day
OL Richard French ON - 4 Weeks *Rookie OL Kazmir Smirnov will be called to the active roster
OL Jumondville Isabelle OTT - Day-to-Day
TE Marion Warren PRO - 7 Weeks
DB Clifton Powers WOR - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Ontario 2-0
Ottawa 2-0
Buffalo 1-0-1
Montreal 1-1
NEW ENGLAND
Providence 1-1
Boston 0-1-1
Worcester 0-2
Long Island 0-2
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa +1
2 - Buffalo -1
3 - Ontario +2
4 - Montreal -
5 - Providence -2
6 - Boston -
7 - Worcester +1
8 - Long Island -1
Long Island Hawks - 13, Ottawa Royals - 35 - Long Island Stadium - July 30, 1954 - 7 PM ET - CBS
The Royals keep the hot start going with another big game in Long Island. QB Jean Matieau would lead the charge with a pair of first-half touchdown passes that would give them the 0-14 lead. WR Allen Atkins and WR Willard Brooks would have the catches. QB Lee Rogers would get the Hawks on the board after the Royal’s TD’s with his own to WR Darryl Duke who made his return from injury. The rookie’s first cut the lead in half. The Royals would get yet another touchdown with RB Alexei Volkov just before the half. The Hawks would struggle out of the gates in the second half with Rogers throwing a pick to DB Uzzia Hayes and then LB Leo Davenport. The turnovers would turn into a touchdown to WR Allen Atkins once again. The Hawks would manage to salvage a couple of field goals, but Rogers would throw a third pick to S Lester Greer and that would become a touchdown to TE Jervonte Howell. Ottawa would hold on for the dominating 13-35 win.
Providence Gold Stars - 21, Buffalo Blue Wings - 27 - New Providence Stadium - July 31, 1954 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Gold Stars’ home opener started with some bad news as DB Lee Wolfe would be injured in the 1st quarter. The DB would go down awkwardly attempting to tackle WR Travis Gallagher and would have to leave the game. The injury should be minor and he is listed day-to-day. However, it made for a difficult adjustment early against a good Buffalo team who would expose the weakness for a couple of first-half touchdowns. WR Travis Gallagher and RB Arthur Conner had the scores. Providence wouldn’t fall too far behind with WR Peter Brooks grabbing a touchdown no long after. Buffalo took the 7-14 lead into the half and would begin the second half with a field goal. Providence would get going in the third with a pair of their own touchdowns to WR Peter Brooks and off of a pick-6 from DB Victor Bean. Buffalo would recover, going down and scoring a touchdown on a QB Angelo Medina scramble. The Blue Wings would add a late field goal to extend their lead and the Gold Stars wouldn’t be able to break through the Buffalo defense. The Blue Wings nab their second win of the season to keep pace in the North Division.
Boston Independents - 27, Worcester Athletics - 10 - Richardson Stadium - July 31, 1954 - 4 PM ET
A heavy reliance on RB Joel Bonner would remain in the game plan for the Independents, especially when QB Larry Larson would end up leaving the game with a minor injury. The QB would take a hit in the arm from DL Vinny Brown and he was having trouble throwing the ball. Backup QB Brian Meadows would take over from there. The good news was Bonner was playing top-notch football and would run all over the Athletics. He would snag 2 touchdowns in the first half alongside a field goal. The Athletics offense wasn’t too far behind with QB Riley Kiernan finding WR Clyde McIntosh for a score and then adding a field goal after. Bonner would get some help from the defense in the second half with DB Francis Veillette taking one back to set up another Bonner TD. The Athletics would get a break with DB Alexander Bradley taking the ball from a Meadows pass which he would take back to the 22. The Athletics would hand the ball to RB Jacque Montier but he would lose the ball on a hit from LB Brent Harper. Boston would then run down most of the clock from there adding another field goal to seal the win.
Montreal Rouge - 19, Ontario Tigers - 16 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 1, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The Rouge were looking to bounce back from a couple of sloppy games against a hot Tigers team. The opening quarter would be a tight one with only the Tigers grabbing a field goal, but the Rouge would kick off the second pinning the Tigers deep and DL Zakary Turbide getting Duane Logan for a Safety. They would take over and add to the score with a field goal of their own. Down 5-3 the Tigers would strike next with a RB Laurent Brazeau touchdown to make it 5-10 and hold the lead into the half. The teams would trade field goals in the third, but as the 4th began Montreal would get help from the defense with Turbide knocking the ball loose from Laurent Brazeau sparking Rusty McVee to pick it up and take it down to the redzone. RB Élisée Marchal would punch it in to give Montreal the 16-13 lead after the team added the 2-point convert. The Tigers would get a big drive with a field goal to tie the game. Montreal would get one last shot and they would execute with Marchal exploding with a 34-yard run to set up the game-winning field goal which K Arthur Kettinger would put through the uprights.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Jean Matieau OTT - 4 Passing Touchdowns, 421 Passing Yards
DEF: DL Zakary Turbide MTL - 6 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 1 Safety, 1 Forced Fumble
Injury Report
QB Larry Larson BOS - 1 Week
DB Lee Wolfe PRO - Day-to-Day
DL Erik Cohen WOR - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 3-0
Buffalo 2-0-1
Montreal 2-1
Ontario 2-1
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 1-1-1
Providence 1-2
Worcester 0-3
Long Island 0-3
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Ontario -1
5 - Providence -
6 - Boston -
7 - Worcester -
8 - Long Island -
The Royals keep the hot start going with another big game in Long Island. QB Jean Matieau would lead the charge with a pair of first-half touchdown passes that would give them the 0-14 lead. WR Allen Atkins and WR Willard Brooks would have the catches. QB Lee Rogers would get the Hawks on the board after the Royal’s TD’s with his own to WR Darryl Duke who made his return from injury. The rookie’s first cut the lead in half. The Royals would get yet another touchdown with RB Alexei Volkov just before the half. The Hawks would struggle out of the gates in the second half with Rogers throwing a pick to DB Uzzia Hayes and then LB Leo Davenport. The turnovers would turn into a touchdown to WR Allen Atkins once again. The Hawks would manage to salvage a couple of field goals, but Rogers would throw a third pick to S Lester Greer and that would become a touchdown to TE Jervonte Howell. Ottawa would hold on for the dominating 13-35 win.
Providence Gold Stars - 21, Buffalo Blue Wings - 27 - New Providence Stadium - July 31, 1954 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Gold Stars’ home opener started with some bad news as DB Lee Wolfe would be injured in the 1st quarter. The DB would go down awkwardly attempting to tackle WR Travis Gallagher and would have to leave the game. The injury should be minor and he is listed day-to-day. However, it made for a difficult adjustment early against a good Buffalo team who would expose the weakness for a couple of first-half touchdowns. WR Travis Gallagher and RB Arthur Conner had the scores. Providence wouldn’t fall too far behind with WR Peter Brooks grabbing a touchdown no long after. Buffalo took the 7-14 lead into the half and would begin the second half with a field goal. Providence would get going in the third with a pair of their own touchdowns to WR Peter Brooks and off of a pick-6 from DB Victor Bean. Buffalo would recover, going down and scoring a touchdown on a QB Angelo Medina scramble. The Blue Wings would add a late field goal to extend their lead and the Gold Stars wouldn’t be able to break through the Buffalo defense. The Blue Wings nab their second win of the season to keep pace in the North Division.
Boston Independents - 27, Worcester Athletics - 10 - Richardson Stadium - July 31, 1954 - 4 PM ET
A heavy reliance on RB Joel Bonner would remain in the game plan for the Independents, especially when QB Larry Larson would end up leaving the game with a minor injury. The QB would take a hit in the arm from DL Vinny Brown and he was having trouble throwing the ball. Backup QB Brian Meadows would take over from there. The good news was Bonner was playing top-notch football and would run all over the Athletics. He would snag 2 touchdowns in the first half alongside a field goal. The Athletics offense wasn’t too far behind with QB Riley Kiernan finding WR Clyde McIntosh for a score and then adding a field goal after. Bonner would get some help from the defense in the second half with DB Francis Veillette taking one back to set up another Bonner TD. The Athletics would get a break with DB Alexander Bradley taking the ball from a Meadows pass which he would take back to the 22. The Athletics would hand the ball to RB Jacque Montier but he would lose the ball on a hit from LB Brent Harper. Boston would then run down most of the clock from there adding another field goal to seal the win.
Montreal Rouge - 19, Ontario Tigers - 16 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 1, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The Rouge were looking to bounce back from a couple of sloppy games against a hot Tigers team. The opening quarter would be a tight one with only the Tigers grabbing a field goal, but the Rouge would kick off the second pinning the Tigers deep and DL Zakary Turbide getting Duane Logan for a Safety. They would take over and add to the score with a field goal of their own. Down 5-3 the Tigers would strike next with a RB Laurent Brazeau touchdown to make it 5-10 and hold the lead into the half. The teams would trade field goals in the third, but as the 4th began Montreal would get help from the defense with Turbide knocking the ball loose from Laurent Brazeau sparking Rusty McVee to pick it up and take it down to the redzone. RB Élisée Marchal would punch it in to give Montreal the 16-13 lead after the team added the 2-point convert. The Tigers would get a big drive with a field goal to tie the game. Montreal would get one last shot and they would execute with Marchal exploding with a 34-yard run to set up the game-winning field goal which K Arthur Kettinger would put through the uprights.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
QB Larry Larson BOS - 1 Week
DB Lee Wolfe PRO - Day-to-Day
DL Erik Cohen WOR - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 3-0
Buffalo 2-0-1
Montreal 2-1
Ontario 2-1
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 1-1-1
Providence 1-2
Worcester 0-3
Long Island 0-3
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Montreal +1
4 - Ontario -1
5 - Providence -
6 - Boston -
7 - Worcester -
8 - Long Island -
Long Island Hawks - 24, Boston Independents - 28 - Long Island Stadium - August 7, 1954 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Independents entered Long Island for the first time with QB Brian Meadows under center. The young QB would get things going early with a solid drive ending in a field goal but would struggle throughout the rest of the half. On the other side, QB Lee Rogers played well throughout the half. He would get a touchdown to counter the Boston field goal, finding WR Robert Lang for the score. After a field goal, Rogers would get another big pass that would set up RB Gene Fischer for the touchdown. Boston would only manage a late field goal falling down 17-6 at halftime. In the second half, RB Joel Bonner would come alive with a big drive but it would be Meadows who made the play for the touchdown. He would escape pressure from rookie DL Vernon Spears and would connect with WR Ellis Lindholm for the touchdown. Bonner would punch in the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 3. Long Island would get another touchdown to counter with Rogers finding WR Darrel Duke for his second of the season. Boston would not back down with Bonner getting back to the endzone to pull within 3 again. Then the defense would come through with a forced fumble on Fischer. Meadows would then connect with WR Samuel Floyd a few plays later to score the game-winning touchdown for the Independents.
Worcester Athletics - 20, Providence Gold Stars - 23 - Worcester Stadium - August 7, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
Another close battle in Worcester took place between the Athletics and the Gold Stars. QB Bruce Woodard would get the Gold Stars going early in the 1st with a huge touchdown drive. WR Peter Brooks would get the touchdown to give Providence the 0-7 lead. The Athletics would retaliate with a drive of their own with WR Clyde McIntosh getting a touchdown pass from QB Riley Kiernan. The teams would trade field goals before Providence would get a big touchdown with RB Johnnie Stafford breaking free for a 25-yard scoring run. The Gold Stars would lead 10-17 at the half. Worcester would get a field goal to start the second half, and Providence would reciprocate it. Providence was moving the ball well down the field shortly after, but Woodard would throw a pick to DB Alexander Bradley that would give Worcester a chance to tie it up. Kiernan would get the ball to WR Christian Venegas for the score to tie it at 20. Providence would get another chance, but LB Scotty Williams would come up with a huge stop and get the ball back for the Athletics. However, RB Jacque Montier would lose the ball on first down to LB Roger Morrow and the Gold Stars would take over and kick the game-winning field goal for the win.
Ontario Tigers - 16, Ottawa Royals - 27 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 8, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The battle of Ontario started with fireworks from the Tigers defense. QB Jean Matieau would get pressured quickly with LB Roland Hensley going for the blitz. Matieau would get the ball off but was hit and made it an easy pick-6 for DB Jesse Scott. Ottawa would recover quickly with a touchdown to WR Allen Atkins, but the receiver would come down while being pushed and had to leave the game with an injury. Ontario would get back on the board with a field goal, and Ottawa would counter with one as well to leave the game tied at the half. In the second half, it was the Royals’ time to shine on defense. QB Duane Logan would be pressured by DL Olaf Viktorsson who would strip the QB and then take the ball back into Tiger territory. Ottawa would score with WR Eugene Burns to reclaim the lead. The Tigers would struggle from that point only managing a pair of field goals while the Royals would tack on another touchdown with RB Alexei Volkov and then a field goal.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 30, Montreal Rouge - 27 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 8, 1954 - 6 PM ET
The Blue Wings and Rouge had an intense Sunday Night battle that would come down to the wire. QB Angelo Medina would give Buffalo an early lead with a strong drive ending in a WR Joseph Barry touchdown. Montreal would get a field goal to counter and Buffalo would get one of their own after that. WR John Rivera would get a chance with a big play catching a 10-yard pass from QB Andrew Glover and then took it past DB Ryan Landry for another 27-yards before S Frazier Brooks finally caught him. This would set up an RB Élisée Marchal touchdown to tie the game. Buffalo would get back a score with a field goal on their next drive to go up 13-10 at halftime. Montreal would get a second touchdown in the third after S Chester George got an interception off of Medina and would set up a WR John Rivera touchdown. Buffalo would recover with a huge defensive play of their own with DL Sean Bowen knocking the ball out of the air into the arms of LB Claude Adams. Buffalo would take over and RB Arthur Conner would score to make it 20-17. Montreal would get a field goal to tie, and then Buffalo would get another to take the lead once again. In the final frame, Montreal would get a long drive led by Marchal. Buffalo would do their best to keep him out of the endzone but Marchal would eventually get in to take the lead. Buffalo needed a huge drive and Medina would deliver. He would get aggressive running the ball more than he had all season. He also made a couple of point passes to his receivers. Once they got to the goalline Medina would roll out looking to run. TE Johann Traeger would deliver a great block but realizing Montreal bit on the run he spun off the defender to be wide open in the endzone. Medina would toss it to him for the game-winner.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Angelo Medina BUF - 2 Passing Touchdowns, 185 Passing Yards, 78 Rushing Yards
DEF: LB Roger Morrow PRO - 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Fumble Recovery, 8 Tackles, 2 Knockdowns
Injury Report
OL Melvin Marshall BUF - 2 Weeks
OL Lewis David LI - 1 Week
DB Jontray Cox MTL - Day-to-Day
WR Allen Atkins OTT - 2 Weeks
OL Lawrence Rogers WOR - 1 Week
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 4-0
Buffalo 3-0-1
Montreal 2-2
Ontario 2-2
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 2-1-1
Providence 2-2
Worcester 0-4
Long Island 0-4
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Montreal -
4 - Ontario -
5 - Providence -
6 - Boston -
7 - Worcester -
8 - Long Island -
The Independents entered Long Island for the first time with QB Brian Meadows under center. The young QB would get things going early with a solid drive ending in a field goal but would struggle throughout the rest of the half. On the other side, QB Lee Rogers played well throughout the half. He would get a touchdown to counter the Boston field goal, finding WR Robert Lang for the score. After a field goal, Rogers would get another big pass that would set up RB Gene Fischer for the touchdown. Boston would only manage a late field goal falling down 17-6 at halftime. In the second half, RB Joel Bonner would come alive with a big drive but it would be Meadows who made the play for the touchdown. He would escape pressure from rookie DL Vernon Spears and would connect with WR Ellis Lindholm for the touchdown. Bonner would punch in the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 3. Long Island would get another touchdown to counter with Rogers finding WR Darrel Duke for his second of the season. Boston would not back down with Bonner getting back to the endzone to pull within 3 again. Then the defense would come through with a forced fumble on Fischer. Meadows would then connect with WR Samuel Floyd a few plays later to score the game-winning touchdown for the Independents.
Worcester Athletics - 20, Providence Gold Stars - 23 - Worcester Stadium - August 7, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
Another close battle in Worcester took place between the Athletics and the Gold Stars. QB Bruce Woodard would get the Gold Stars going early in the 1st with a huge touchdown drive. WR Peter Brooks would get the touchdown to give Providence the 0-7 lead. The Athletics would retaliate with a drive of their own with WR Clyde McIntosh getting a touchdown pass from QB Riley Kiernan. The teams would trade field goals before Providence would get a big touchdown with RB Johnnie Stafford breaking free for a 25-yard scoring run. The Gold Stars would lead 10-17 at the half. Worcester would get a field goal to start the second half, and Providence would reciprocate it. Providence was moving the ball well down the field shortly after, but Woodard would throw a pick to DB Alexander Bradley that would give Worcester a chance to tie it up. Kiernan would get the ball to WR Christian Venegas for the score to tie it at 20. Providence would get another chance, but LB Scotty Williams would come up with a huge stop and get the ball back for the Athletics. However, RB Jacque Montier would lose the ball on first down to LB Roger Morrow and the Gold Stars would take over and kick the game-winning field goal for the win.
Ontario Tigers - 16, Ottawa Royals - 27 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 8, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The battle of Ontario started with fireworks from the Tigers defense. QB Jean Matieau would get pressured quickly with LB Roland Hensley going for the blitz. Matieau would get the ball off but was hit and made it an easy pick-6 for DB Jesse Scott. Ottawa would recover quickly with a touchdown to WR Allen Atkins, but the receiver would come down while being pushed and had to leave the game with an injury. Ontario would get back on the board with a field goal, and Ottawa would counter with one as well to leave the game tied at the half. In the second half, it was the Royals’ time to shine on defense. QB Duane Logan would be pressured by DL Olaf Viktorsson who would strip the QB and then take the ball back into Tiger territory. Ottawa would score with WR Eugene Burns to reclaim the lead. The Tigers would struggle from that point only managing a pair of field goals while the Royals would tack on another touchdown with RB Alexei Volkov and then a field goal.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 30, Montreal Rouge - 27 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 8, 1954 - 6 PM ET
The Blue Wings and Rouge had an intense Sunday Night battle that would come down to the wire. QB Angelo Medina would give Buffalo an early lead with a strong drive ending in a WR Joseph Barry touchdown. Montreal would get a field goal to counter and Buffalo would get one of their own after that. WR John Rivera would get a chance with a big play catching a 10-yard pass from QB Andrew Glover and then took it past DB Ryan Landry for another 27-yards before S Frazier Brooks finally caught him. This would set up an RB Élisée Marchal touchdown to tie the game. Buffalo would get back a score with a field goal on their next drive to go up 13-10 at halftime. Montreal would get a second touchdown in the third after S Chester George got an interception off of Medina and would set up a WR John Rivera touchdown. Buffalo would recover with a huge defensive play of their own with DL Sean Bowen knocking the ball out of the air into the arms of LB Claude Adams. Buffalo would take over and RB Arthur Conner would score to make it 20-17. Montreal would get a field goal to tie, and then Buffalo would get another to take the lead once again. In the final frame, Montreal would get a long drive led by Marchal. Buffalo would do their best to keep him out of the endzone but Marchal would eventually get in to take the lead. Buffalo needed a huge drive and Medina would deliver. He would get aggressive running the ball more than he had all season. He also made a couple of point passes to his receivers. Once they got to the goalline Medina would roll out looking to run. TE Johann Traeger would deliver a great block but realizing Montreal bit on the run he spun off the defender to be wide open in the endzone. Medina would toss it to him for the game-winner.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
OL Melvin Marshall BUF - 2 Weeks
OL Lewis David LI - 1 Week
DB Jontray Cox MTL - Day-to-Day
WR Allen Atkins OTT - 2 Weeks
OL Lawrence Rogers WOR - 1 Week
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 4-0
Buffalo 3-0-1
Montreal 2-2
Ontario 2-2
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 2-1-1
Providence 2-2
Worcester 0-4
Long Island 0-4
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Montreal -
4 - Ontario -
5 - Providence -
6 - Boston -
7 - Worcester -
8 - Long Island -
Providence Gold Stars - 24, Boston Independents - 26 - New Providence Stadium - August 14, 1952 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The biggest rivalry in the NAAF kicked off the 5th week of the season. Providence was looking to get things going early, but Boston would have other plans with DB Lester Murphy picking off QB Bruce Woodard. That would set up RB Joel Bonner for the touchdown and the 0-7 lead. The Gold Stars would retaliate with a strong drive but would fail to get into the endzone and settled for a field goal. Boston would get a field goal back before Providence would get a touchdown with DB Victor Bean coming up with an interception leading to a RB Johnnie Stafford score. The teams would trade drives for a bit before Providence would get another touchdown to WR Peter Brooks. Boston would only manage a field goal before the break. Boston would get things going again in the second half with RB Joel Bonner running through the Gold Stars D-Line to score a 6-yard touchdown. Providence would look to get it back but Stafford would fumble to LB Brent Harper and Boston would add another field goal. Providence would enter the final quarter down 17-23 and come out swinging. They would go down the field and score a touchdown with WR John Osborn to retake the lead. Following the touchdown, the defense stepped up and held Boston back, but Boston’s defense also stepped up. It would come down to QB Larry Larson, who returned from injury this week, to make a play. The veteran QB would make a smart audible before the snap to exploit the Gold Stars formation that opened up the field for WR Samuel Floyd who would make the 24-yard catch and run to set up the game-winning field goal.
Worcester Athletics - 28, Long Island Hawks - 10 - Worcester Stadium - August 14, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics would kick off this game well with an opening drive touchdown. QB Riley Kiernan would find WR Clyde McIntosh for the score that would give them the 7-0 lead. The Hawks would counter well with a strong drive led by QB Lee Rogers. WR Robert Lang would get a touchdown to tie the game back up. However, the Hawks would get some bad news when Rogers went down with his second injury of the season. Rogers tried to make a play running the ball but did not see DL Vinny Brown and would be hit hard. Once again QB Andrew Sexton would replace him. Worcester kept things going on their end with a pair of TD’s before the half. RB Marcus Devonshire, who was making his first start instead of the struggling RB Jacque Montier, would score his first TD in the second. Then, it would be TE Duane Holloway with a score to make it 21-7. The Hawks were heavily affected by the loss of Rogers and Sexton would only manage to get a field goal in the third quarter. In good news, Sexton only threw one interception in the game, that was to S Shawn Jensen, but the offense still struggled. Worcester would add a 4th touchdown to WR Christian Venegas to win the game 28-10.
Ottawa Royals - 17, Montreal Rouge - 21 - Lansdowne Park - August 15, 1954 - 3 PM ET
The Royals entered the rematch with Montreal minus their top receiver. Without Atkins, the Royals were still a threat, but much more manageable for the Defensive mastermind of HC Guy Clarke. The Montreal defense would manage to hold Ottawa to only 10 points in the first half. WR Willard Brooks would score the touchdown for the Royals. On offense, RB Élisée Marchal was playing his best game of the season so far. The Royals were not able to stop the former MVP from scoring twice in the first half, falling behind 10-14. The Rouge did a fantastic job of stopping RB Alexei Volkov from getting any space which made Ottawa have to pass more. While QB Jean Matieau would still manage to get scores through the air. Montreal was playing it well. WR Eugene Burns would score a touchdown to take back the lead, but Marchal would answer back with his third major of the day. The Rouge would hold the Royals back for most of the final frame, but Matieau would start to move the ball. Play after play, it seemed like the Royals were on to their 5th win. But the Royals would be forced to a 3rd and Goal with seconds remaining. Matieau would drop back and move around the pocket until he saw rookie WR Chester Bennett open up in the endzone. Matieau would throw a perfect pass but the young WR would drop the ball sealing the win for the Rouge.
Ontario Tigers - 31, Buffalo Blue Wings - 20 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 15, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBC
After back-to-back losses, QB Duane Logan was done with the disappointing play from the Tigers. The QB led the team onto the field and to a quick field goal to start the game. Buffalo would get the field goal back, but Ontario would turn the tide with a huge turnover. WR Travis Gallagher would catch a pass, but as he took his first steps, he was leveled by DB Jesse Scott. The ball would pop loose and the Tigers would take over. Gallagher would also be hurt on the play and would not return. WR Wilbert Benjamin would score the touchdown on a great throw from Logan to give the Tigers a 10-3 lead. Buffalo would manage a second field goal but RB Laurent Brazeau would come alive taking a 45-yard run to the house. The Tigers would keep it up into the second half with DB Louie White picking off QB Angelo Medina and setting up a WR Daniel Hubbard score for the 24-6 lead. Buffalo wouldn't be kept out of it forever. RB Arthur Conner would get into the endzone to score, cutting the lead to 11. Logan would lead the Tigers down the field one more time to snag another touchdown with WR Wilbert Benjamin. Buffalo would get one more late touchdown to WR Clifford Church, but that was all the had against the Tigers.
Players of the Week
OFF: RB Élisée Marchal MTL - 3 Rushing Touchdowns, 205 Rushing Yards
DEF: DL Zakary Turbide MTL - 8 Tackles, 1 Sack
Injury Report
WR Travis Gallagher BUF - 3 Weeks
QB Lee Rogers LI - 2 Weeks
DB Clifton Powers WOR - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 4-1
Buffalo 3-1-1
Montreal 3-2
Ontario 3-2
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 3-1-1
Providence 2-3
Worcester 1-4
Long Island 0-5
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Montreal -
4 - Ontario -
5 - Boston +1
6 - Providence -1
7 - Worcester -
8 - Long Island -
The biggest rivalry in the NAAF kicked off the 5th week of the season. Providence was looking to get things going early, but Boston would have other plans with DB Lester Murphy picking off QB Bruce Woodard. That would set up RB Joel Bonner for the touchdown and the 0-7 lead. The Gold Stars would retaliate with a strong drive but would fail to get into the endzone and settled for a field goal. Boston would get a field goal back before Providence would get a touchdown with DB Victor Bean coming up with an interception leading to a RB Johnnie Stafford score. The teams would trade drives for a bit before Providence would get another touchdown to WR Peter Brooks. Boston would only manage a field goal before the break. Boston would get things going again in the second half with RB Joel Bonner running through the Gold Stars D-Line to score a 6-yard touchdown. Providence would look to get it back but Stafford would fumble to LB Brent Harper and Boston would add another field goal. Providence would enter the final quarter down 17-23 and come out swinging. They would go down the field and score a touchdown with WR John Osborn to retake the lead. Following the touchdown, the defense stepped up and held Boston back, but Boston’s defense also stepped up. It would come down to QB Larry Larson, who returned from injury this week, to make a play. The veteran QB would make a smart audible before the snap to exploit the Gold Stars formation that opened up the field for WR Samuel Floyd who would make the 24-yard catch and run to set up the game-winning field goal.
Worcester Athletics - 28, Long Island Hawks - 10 - Worcester Stadium - August 14, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics would kick off this game well with an opening drive touchdown. QB Riley Kiernan would find WR Clyde McIntosh for the score that would give them the 7-0 lead. The Hawks would counter well with a strong drive led by QB Lee Rogers. WR Robert Lang would get a touchdown to tie the game back up. However, the Hawks would get some bad news when Rogers went down with his second injury of the season. Rogers tried to make a play running the ball but did not see DL Vinny Brown and would be hit hard. Once again QB Andrew Sexton would replace him. Worcester kept things going on their end with a pair of TD’s before the half. RB Marcus Devonshire, who was making his first start instead of the struggling RB Jacque Montier, would score his first TD in the second. Then, it would be TE Duane Holloway with a score to make it 21-7. The Hawks were heavily affected by the loss of Rogers and Sexton would only manage to get a field goal in the third quarter. In good news, Sexton only threw one interception in the game, that was to S Shawn Jensen, but the offense still struggled. Worcester would add a 4th touchdown to WR Christian Venegas to win the game 28-10.
Ottawa Royals - 17, Montreal Rouge - 21 - Lansdowne Park - August 15, 1954 - 3 PM ET
The Royals entered the rematch with Montreal minus their top receiver. Without Atkins, the Royals were still a threat, but much more manageable for the Defensive mastermind of HC Guy Clarke. The Montreal defense would manage to hold Ottawa to only 10 points in the first half. WR Willard Brooks would score the touchdown for the Royals. On offense, RB Élisée Marchal was playing his best game of the season so far. The Royals were not able to stop the former MVP from scoring twice in the first half, falling behind 10-14. The Rouge did a fantastic job of stopping RB Alexei Volkov from getting any space which made Ottawa have to pass more. While QB Jean Matieau would still manage to get scores through the air. Montreal was playing it well. WR Eugene Burns would score a touchdown to take back the lead, but Marchal would answer back with his third major of the day. The Rouge would hold the Royals back for most of the final frame, but Matieau would start to move the ball. Play after play, it seemed like the Royals were on to their 5th win. But the Royals would be forced to a 3rd and Goal with seconds remaining. Matieau would drop back and move around the pocket until he saw rookie WR Chester Bennett open up in the endzone. Matieau would throw a perfect pass but the young WR would drop the ball sealing the win for the Rouge.
Ontario Tigers - 31, Buffalo Blue Wings - 20 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 15, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBC
After back-to-back losses, QB Duane Logan was done with the disappointing play from the Tigers. The QB led the team onto the field and to a quick field goal to start the game. Buffalo would get the field goal back, but Ontario would turn the tide with a huge turnover. WR Travis Gallagher would catch a pass, but as he took his first steps, he was leveled by DB Jesse Scott. The ball would pop loose and the Tigers would take over. Gallagher would also be hurt on the play and would not return. WR Wilbert Benjamin would score the touchdown on a great throw from Logan to give the Tigers a 10-3 lead. Buffalo would manage a second field goal but RB Laurent Brazeau would come alive taking a 45-yard run to the house. The Tigers would keep it up into the second half with DB Louie White picking off QB Angelo Medina and setting up a WR Daniel Hubbard score for the 24-6 lead. Buffalo wouldn't be kept out of it forever. RB Arthur Conner would get into the endzone to score, cutting the lead to 11. Logan would lead the Tigers down the field one more time to snag another touchdown with WR Wilbert Benjamin. Buffalo would get one more late touchdown to WR Clifford Church, but that was all the had against the Tigers.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
WR Travis Gallagher BUF - 3 Weeks
QB Lee Rogers LI - 2 Weeks
DB Clifton Powers WOR - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 4-1
Buffalo 3-1-1
Montreal 3-2
Ontario 3-2
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 3-1-1
Providence 2-3
Worcester 1-4
Long Island 0-5
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Montreal -
4 - Ontario -
5 - Boston +1
6 - Providence -1
7 - Worcester -
8 - Long Island -
Montreal Rouge - 27, Long Island Hawks - 7 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 20, 1954 - 7 PM ET - CBC
As the league turned the page to the second half of the season, the Rouge hosted the Hawks in what would be a brutal game for the Hawks. QB Andrew Sexton was making his first start since 1952 and the Montreal defense had their way with the QB. Sexton would lose the football early in the game when DL Zakary Turbide would get past the Hawks line and would put Montreal in prime position to score. WR John Rivera would bring in his third TD of the season to take the 7-0 lead. S Chester George would nab his second interception on the Hawks' next drive and would give Montreal the 10-0 lead. RB Gene Fischer would have to try and give the Hawks some life but he was stuffed by the strong Montreal front. The Rouge would enter the half with a 13-0 lead. RB Élisée Marchal would run all over the Hawks in the second half, taking in two touchdowns and putting up 156 yards in the half. Marchal’s success would come despite losing 2 O-linemen to injury earlier. The Hawks had no answers for the Rouge but would get a late surge when Sexton would find WR Robert Lang for a big gain and then WR Darrel Duke for another. Sexton would get the ball into the endzone with a pass to Darrel Duke, but they were too far from coming back and would fall 27-7.
Boston Independents - 24, Ottawa Royals - 14 - Richardson Stadium - August 21, 1954 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Independents continued to feed off of their momentum from their last 3 wins. RB Joel Bonner would have a great opening drive and they would score a touchdown early to go up 7-0. The Royals struggled on offense with a lack of the injured WR Allen Atkins. DB Lester Murphy would grab an interception which would give Boston a field goal. Ottawa would manage to score a touchdown with WR Eugene Burns to pull back within 3. The Royals defense was still able to stall the Boston offense a bit, but they suffered a couple of minor injuries during the second and it affected the overall play in the second half. Bonner started to find some holes in the Ottawa defense and was able to get down the field. He would score a touchdown and then QB Larry Larson would finish another long Bonner led drive with a WR Ethan Walters touchdown. Boston was in control of the game and Ottawa couldn’t get into it. Eventually, Ottawa would get a second touchdown with WR Willard Brooks, but fail again with WR Chester Bennett dropping yet another open pass. Boston would hold on for the surprise win.
Providence Gold Stars - 18, Worcester Athletics - 28 - New Providence Stadium - August 21 - 4 PM ET
Worcester continued to ride off of their first win of the season with another strong performance against Providence. QB Riley Kiernan has been good so far this season and continued to show his growth this season. He would pick apart the tough Gold Star secondary with smart throws and would lead to a quick 0-7 lead with WR Christian Venegas. Providence would not be able to get things going and LB Scotty Williams would strip RB Johnnie Stafford which would set up another touchdown to WR Clyde McIntosh. Providence would get a field goal but would go into the half down 3-14. QB Bruce Woodard would get the offense going early on with a touchdown to WR Peter Brooks. Worcester would get another touchdown near the end of the third with RB Marcus Devonshire. Providence would be down 10-21 heading into the 4th. The defense would finally make a difference in the game with DB Lee Wolfe grabbing a pick and setting up another touchdown to pull Providence within three. WR Michael Mcleod would have the touchdown and Stafford added the 2-pointer. Worcester would get a score back after another strong drive and Devonshire would grab his second touchdown of the game to make it a 10 point game with 2 minutes to go. Providence wouldn’t be able to score and DB Alexander Bradley would pick off Woodard to seal the win.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 30, Ontario Tigers - 17 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 22, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBS
The rematch of the Great Lakes showdown continued to trend in the same direction as last week with the Tigers controlling the game. QB Duane Logan kept up his strong play with a two-touchdown first half. Finding WR Marqués Gardner for the first and then WR Daniel Hubbard for the second. Buffalo would get a touchdown back with RB Arthur Conner, but Ontario would tack on a field goal to go up 10 at the break. The Tigers defense has also been very strong this season thanks to the help of former Blue Wings defensive Coordinator Lewis Gallegos as the head coach. LB Aengus Lynch would create a big turnover stripping RB Arthur Conner and would get a second following a hit on WR Clifford Church which knocked the ball loose. RB Laurent Brazeau would score a touchdown alongside a field goal off of the turnovers. Buffalo would make a late attempt to get back into the game with a touchdown to WR Joseph Barry and a field goal, but that was all they had with Ontario jumping to a 4-2 record.
Players of the Week
OFF: RB Joel Bonner BOS - 2 Rushing Touchdowns, 187 Rushing Yards
DEF: LB Aengus Lynch ON - 2 Forced Fumbles, 1 Fumble Recovery, 9 Tackles
Injury Report
DB Francis Veillette BOS - Day-to-Day
OL Ronnie Elliot BUF - 5 Weeks
OL Dmitri Lortie MTL - 1 Week
OL Nicholas Nichols MTL - 2 Weeks
DL John Prince ON - Day-to-Day
DB Louie White ON - Day-to-Day
DL Stephan Kendall OTT - 1 Week
LB Mickaël Beaumont OTT - Day-to-Day
DL Joseph McMillan PRO - 2 Weeks
S Randy Maynard PRO - Day-to-Day
Transactions
BUF - Signed OL Kwanzaa Graves - 1Y, $5,000
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 4-2
Montreal 4-2
Ontario 4-2
Buffalo 3-2-1
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 4-1-1
Worcester 2-4
Providence 2-4
Long Island 0-6
Power Rankings
1 - Boston +4
2 - Ontario +2
3 - Montreal -
4 - Ottawa -3
5 - Buffalo -3
6 - Worcester +1
7 - Providence -1
8 - Long Island -
As the league turned the page to the second half of the season, the Rouge hosted the Hawks in what would be a brutal game for the Hawks. QB Andrew Sexton was making his first start since 1952 and the Montreal defense had their way with the QB. Sexton would lose the football early in the game when DL Zakary Turbide would get past the Hawks line and would put Montreal in prime position to score. WR John Rivera would bring in his third TD of the season to take the 7-0 lead. S Chester George would nab his second interception on the Hawks' next drive and would give Montreal the 10-0 lead. RB Gene Fischer would have to try and give the Hawks some life but he was stuffed by the strong Montreal front. The Rouge would enter the half with a 13-0 lead. RB Élisée Marchal would run all over the Hawks in the second half, taking in two touchdowns and putting up 156 yards in the half. Marchal’s success would come despite losing 2 O-linemen to injury earlier. The Hawks had no answers for the Rouge but would get a late surge when Sexton would find WR Robert Lang for a big gain and then WR Darrel Duke for another. Sexton would get the ball into the endzone with a pass to Darrel Duke, but they were too far from coming back and would fall 27-7.
Boston Independents - 24, Ottawa Royals - 14 - Richardson Stadium - August 21, 1954 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Independents continued to feed off of their momentum from their last 3 wins. RB Joel Bonner would have a great opening drive and they would score a touchdown early to go up 7-0. The Royals struggled on offense with a lack of the injured WR Allen Atkins. DB Lester Murphy would grab an interception which would give Boston a field goal. Ottawa would manage to score a touchdown with WR Eugene Burns to pull back within 3. The Royals defense was still able to stall the Boston offense a bit, but they suffered a couple of minor injuries during the second and it affected the overall play in the second half. Bonner started to find some holes in the Ottawa defense and was able to get down the field. He would score a touchdown and then QB Larry Larson would finish another long Bonner led drive with a WR Ethan Walters touchdown. Boston was in control of the game and Ottawa couldn’t get into it. Eventually, Ottawa would get a second touchdown with WR Willard Brooks, but fail again with WR Chester Bennett dropping yet another open pass. Boston would hold on for the surprise win.
Providence Gold Stars - 18, Worcester Athletics - 28 - New Providence Stadium - August 21 - 4 PM ET
Worcester continued to ride off of their first win of the season with another strong performance against Providence. QB Riley Kiernan has been good so far this season and continued to show his growth this season. He would pick apart the tough Gold Star secondary with smart throws and would lead to a quick 0-7 lead with WR Christian Venegas. Providence would not be able to get things going and LB Scotty Williams would strip RB Johnnie Stafford which would set up another touchdown to WR Clyde McIntosh. Providence would get a field goal but would go into the half down 3-14. QB Bruce Woodard would get the offense going early on with a touchdown to WR Peter Brooks. Worcester would get another touchdown near the end of the third with RB Marcus Devonshire. Providence would be down 10-21 heading into the 4th. The defense would finally make a difference in the game with DB Lee Wolfe grabbing a pick and setting up another touchdown to pull Providence within three. WR Michael Mcleod would have the touchdown and Stafford added the 2-pointer. Worcester would get a score back after another strong drive and Devonshire would grab his second touchdown of the game to make it a 10 point game with 2 minutes to go. Providence wouldn’t be able to score and DB Alexander Bradley would pick off Woodard to seal the win.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 30, Ontario Tigers - 17 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 22, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBS
The rematch of the Great Lakes showdown continued to trend in the same direction as last week with the Tigers controlling the game. QB Duane Logan kept up his strong play with a two-touchdown first half. Finding WR Marqués Gardner for the first and then WR Daniel Hubbard for the second. Buffalo would get a touchdown back with RB Arthur Conner, but Ontario would tack on a field goal to go up 10 at the break. The Tigers defense has also been very strong this season thanks to the help of former Blue Wings defensive Coordinator Lewis Gallegos as the head coach. LB Aengus Lynch would create a big turnover stripping RB Arthur Conner and would get a second following a hit on WR Clifford Church which knocked the ball loose. RB Laurent Brazeau would score a touchdown alongside a field goal off of the turnovers. Buffalo would make a late attempt to get back into the game with a touchdown to WR Joseph Barry and a field goal, but that was all they had with Ontario jumping to a 4-2 record.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
DB Francis Veillette BOS - Day-to-Day
OL Ronnie Elliot BUF - 5 Weeks
OL Dmitri Lortie MTL - 1 Week
OL Nicholas Nichols MTL - 2 Weeks
DL John Prince ON - Day-to-Day
DB Louie White ON - Day-to-Day
DL Stephan Kendall OTT - 1 Week
LB Mickaël Beaumont OTT - Day-to-Day
DL Joseph McMillan PRO - 2 Weeks
S Randy Maynard PRO - Day-to-Day
Transactions
BUF - Signed OL Kwanzaa Graves - 1Y, $5,000
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 4-2
Montreal 4-2
Ontario 4-2
Buffalo 3-2-1
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 4-1-1
Worcester 2-4
Providence 2-4
Long Island 0-6
Power Rankings
1 - Boston +4
2 - Ontario +2
3 - Montreal -
4 - Ottawa -3
5 - Buffalo -3
6 - Worcester +1
7 - Providence -1
8 - Long Island -
Transactions
During the week a pair of trades occurred as teams prepare for their playoff push. Starting things off, the Buffalo Blue Wings and Worcester Athletics would make a depth swap with OL Lawrence Rogers heading to Buffalo to fill in for the injured OL Ronnie Elliot, as well as LB Glen Cameron, in exchange for LB Jaden Phelps and OL Reginald Jackson. Phelps is the main piece for the Athletics who add a veteran that can hopefully add some stability down the middle alongside LB Scotty Williams.
Then, prior to the Montreal-Boston game this week the two teams swapped players. Montreal who was dealing with several injured linemen would acquire both OL Jaivon Curry and OL Randy Booker to help out. Boston would get back TE Darrell Hubbard to replace the injured TE Richard Stewart with TE Craig Newman struggling in the starting role. The injured OL Nicholas Nichols will be out for another week, but Boston has the room to make it work on their roster.
Montreal Rouge - 23, Boston Independents - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 27, 1954 - 7 PM ET - CBC
It would seem like the Rouge got the immediate benefit from the trade as RB Élisée Marchal would be able to use the refreshed line to his advantage and score on the opening drive. Boston would get a field goal back with Hubbard bringing in a single pass. The rest of the opening half would be trading drives and field goals with the score becoming 13-9 at the half. Montreal would get another score to start the second half with Marchal once again scoring. RB Joel Bonner would step it up midway through the 3rd to give Boston some hope and would finally break through to the endzone to make it a 5 point game after a missed 2-point. Montreal would keep it up with another field goal to make it 23-15. Boston would get another chance to score, but LB Quinton Brewer would make 3 tackles in a row to force a turnover on downs. Later QB Larry Larson would throw an interception to LB Rusty McVee which would be his final throw of the day.
Long Island Hawks - 20, Buffalo Blue Wings - 28 - Long Island Stadium - August 28, 1954 - 1 PM ET - CBS
DL Sean Bowen comes home to play his former team just a few miles from his hometown of Brooklyn, NY. He was thrilled to play and would make an immediate impact, sacking QB Andrew Sexton on the 2nd play of the game. Buffalo would take the 0-3 lead on their drive. Bowen would continue to create havoc, causing RB Gene Fischer to fumble to football before driving on it. Unfortunately, Bowen would be slow to get up out of the dogpile and would leave the game with an upper-body injury. This would leave Buffalo a bit shaken and they would get a field goal after the fumble, but the Hawks would grab some momentum. Sexton would lead the offense the other way and would get a touchdown pass to WR Robert Lang. Buffalo would go 2 and out before RB Gene Fischer took in a score. Buffalo was unable to score for the rest of the first half and were down 14-6. The good news is the Blue Wings would wake up in the second half. QB Angelo Medina would get more aggressive with his feet and would lead the Blue Wings to a WR Ray Landry touchdown followed by his own rushing touchdown to open up the 4th. Suddenly the Blue Wings were up 14-21 with the 2-point convert. The Hawks would get a field goal to counter, but Buffalo would go and score another touchdown with RB Arthur Conner to give them the 17-28 lead. The Hawks would sneak a field goal at the end but that was all.
Ottawa Royals - 36, Worcester Athletics - 33 - Lansdowne Park - August 28, 1954 - 4 PM ET CBS
WR Allen Atkins finally made his return to the lineup and made an immediate impact catching a 45-yard touchdown pass with DB Alexander Bradley all over him. Worcester, however, would not shy away from a fight with the Royals following their back to back wins. QB Riley Kiernan would lead the Athletics to tie it up a few minutes later with a touchdown to WR Christian Venegas. Ottawa would keep things going not long after and QB Jean Matieau would find WR Willard Brooks for a touchdown to make it 14-7, but Worcester would get another touchdown after with WR Clyde McIntosh to tie it. Ottawa would get in position to score again, however, LB Scotty Williams would strip RB Alexei Volkov and LB Jaden Phelps would pick up the ball and take it back 25 yards back into Ottawa territory. The Athletics would grab a field goal to take a lead into the break. Worcester would start the second half strong with another score with RB Marcus Devonshire finishing off a long drive. Ottawa would not let the deficit affect them and Matieau would march back down for another touchdown to WR Allen Atkins. Worcester would grab a field goal next, but Ottawa would retake the lead with a touchdown to TE Jervonte Howell. Worcester would be next to score with WR Christian Venegas, however, they would not get the 2-point to make it a 5 point lead. Ottawa would have one last chance to win the game. Jean Matieau would execute the game-winning drive perfectly. It would end in a perfect throw to WR Eugene Burns open in the endzone and a 2-point convert to give them a 3 point lead and would hold on to win.
Ontario Tigers - 20, Providence Gold Stars - 26 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 30, 1954 - CBS
QB Bruce Woodard has some fire under him in this game with the team looking to maybe move to QB Connor O’Rourke for the rest of the season. Woodard would get a good start with a solid drive leading to a field goal. Ontario would get things going the other way with RB Laurent Brazeau leading the way. The rain in Kitchener would force teams to focus more on the run game. The Tigers would eventually tie the game up at 3. In the second Providence would get another field goal, but things would change when Woodard would throw deep, WR Peter Brooks would make a great move to pull DB Louie White out of position. Brooks would break free wide open and would score the touchdown while White would remain down and would have to leave the game with an injury as he lost footing with the mud on the field. The Gold Stars would remain up 3-13 at the half. The teams would trade field goals in the third before Ontario would break through to the endzone with Brazeau to make it a 6 point game. Providence would get a second touchdown after DB Lee Wolfe would pick off Duane Logan and would take it all the way back for a touchdown. Ontario would recover with another touchdown to Brazeau, but would make another mistake with a fumble and Providence would get another field goal to seal it.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Jean Matieau OTT - 5 Passing Touchdowns, 431 Passing Yards
DEF: DB Lee Wolfe PRO - 1 Interception, 1 Touchdown, 4 Knockdowns, 4 Tackles
Injury Report
DL Sean Bowen BUF - 2 Weeks
DB Rickey Matthews LI - Season
DB Louie White ON - 4 Weeks
LB Leo Davenport OTT - Day-to-Day
S Lester Greer OTT - 2 Weeks
LB Daevion Shelton PRO - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 5-2
Montreal 5-2
Buffalo 4-2-1
Ontario 4-3
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 4-2-1
Providence 3-4
Worcester 2-5
Long Island 0-7 -e
Power Rankings
1 - Montreal +2
2 - Ottawa +2
3 - Boston -2
4 - Ontario -2
5 - Providence +2
6 - Worcester +1
7 - Buffalo -2
8 - Long Island -
During the week a pair of trades occurred as teams prepare for their playoff push. Starting things off, the Buffalo Blue Wings and Worcester Athletics would make a depth swap with OL Lawrence Rogers heading to Buffalo to fill in for the injured OL Ronnie Elliot, as well as LB Glen Cameron, in exchange for LB Jaden Phelps and OL Reginald Jackson. Phelps is the main piece for the Athletics who add a veteran that can hopefully add some stability down the middle alongside LB Scotty Williams.
Montreal Rouge - 23, Boston Independents - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 27, 1954 - 7 PM ET - CBC
It would seem like the Rouge got the immediate benefit from the trade as RB Élisée Marchal would be able to use the refreshed line to his advantage and score on the opening drive. Boston would get a field goal back with Hubbard bringing in a single pass. The rest of the opening half would be trading drives and field goals with the score becoming 13-9 at the half. Montreal would get another score to start the second half with Marchal once again scoring. RB Joel Bonner would step it up midway through the 3rd to give Boston some hope and would finally break through to the endzone to make it a 5 point game after a missed 2-point. Montreal would keep it up with another field goal to make it 23-15. Boston would get another chance to score, but LB Quinton Brewer would make 3 tackles in a row to force a turnover on downs. Later QB Larry Larson would throw an interception to LB Rusty McVee which would be his final throw of the day.
Long Island Hawks - 20, Buffalo Blue Wings - 28 - Long Island Stadium - August 28, 1954 - 1 PM ET - CBS
DL Sean Bowen comes home to play his former team just a few miles from his hometown of Brooklyn, NY. He was thrilled to play and would make an immediate impact, sacking QB Andrew Sexton on the 2nd play of the game. Buffalo would take the 0-3 lead on their drive. Bowen would continue to create havoc, causing RB Gene Fischer to fumble to football before driving on it. Unfortunately, Bowen would be slow to get up out of the dogpile and would leave the game with an upper-body injury. This would leave Buffalo a bit shaken and they would get a field goal after the fumble, but the Hawks would grab some momentum. Sexton would lead the offense the other way and would get a touchdown pass to WR Robert Lang. Buffalo would go 2 and out before RB Gene Fischer took in a score. Buffalo was unable to score for the rest of the first half and were down 14-6. The good news is the Blue Wings would wake up in the second half. QB Angelo Medina would get more aggressive with his feet and would lead the Blue Wings to a WR Ray Landry touchdown followed by his own rushing touchdown to open up the 4th. Suddenly the Blue Wings were up 14-21 with the 2-point convert. The Hawks would get a field goal to counter, but Buffalo would go and score another touchdown with RB Arthur Conner to give them the 17-28 lead. The Hawks would sneak a field goal at the end but that was all.
Ottawa Royals - 36, Worcester Athletics - 33 - Lansdowne Park - August 28, 1954 - 4 PM ET CBS
WR Allen Atkins finally made his return to the lineup and made an immediate impact catching a 45-yard touchdown pass with DB Alexander Bradley all over him. Worcester, however, would not shy away from a fight with the Royals following their back to back wins. QB Riley Kiernan would lead the Athletics to tie it up a few minutes later with a touchdown to WR Christian Venegas. Ottawa would keep things going not long after and QB Jean Matieau would find WR Willard Brooks for a touchdown to make it 14-7, but Worcester would get another touchdown after with WR Clyde McIntosh to tie it. Ottawa would get in position to score again, however, LB Scotty Williams would strip RB Alexei Volkov and LB Jaden Phelps would pick up the ball and take it back 25 yards back into Ottawa territory. The Athletics would grab a field goal to take a lead into the break. Worcester would start the second half strong with another score with RB Marcus Devonshire finishing off a long drive. Ottawa would not let the deficit affect them and Matieau would march back down for another touchdown to WR Allen Atkins. Worcester would grab a field goal next, but Ottawa would retake the lead with a touchdown to TE Jervonte Howell. Worcester would be next to score with WR Christian Venegas, however, they would not get the 2-point to make it a 5 point lead. Ottawa would have one last chance to win the game. Jean Matieau would execute the game-winning drive perfectly. It would end in a perfect throw to WR Eugene Burns open in the endzone and a 2-point convert to give them a 3 point lead and would hold on to win.
Ontario Tigers - 20, Providence Gold Stars - 26 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 30, 1954 - CBS
QB Bruce Woodard has some fire under him in this game with the team looking to maybe move to QB Connor O’Rourke for the rest of the season. Woodard would get a good start with a solid drive leading to a field goal. Ontario would get things going the other way with RB Laurent Brazeau leading the way. The rain in Kitchener would force teams to focus more on the run game. The Tigers would eventually tie the game up at 3. In the second Providence would get another field goal, but things would change when Woodard would throw deep, WR Peter Brooks would make a great move to pull DB Louie White out of position. Brooks would break free wide open and would score the touchdown while White would remain down and would have to leave the game with an injury as he lost footing with the mud on the field. The Gold Stars would remain up 3-13 at the half. The teams would trade field goals in the third before Ontario would break through to the endzone with Brazeau to make it a 6 point game. Providence would get a second touchdown after DB Lee Wolfe would pick off Duane Logan and would take it all the way back for a touchdown. Ontario would recover with another touchdown to Brazeau, but would make another mistake with a fumble and Providence would get another field goal to seal it.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
DL Sean Bowen BUF - 2 Weeks
DB Rickey Matthews LI - Season
DB Louie White ON - 4 Weeks
LB Leo Davenport OTT - Day-to-Day
S Lester Greer OTT - 2 Weeks
LB Daevion Shelton PRO - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 5-2
Montreal 5-2
Buffalo 4-2-1
Ontario 4-3
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 4-2-1
Providence 3-4
Worcester 2-5
Long Island 0-7 -e
Power Rankings
1 - Montreal +2
2 - Ottawa +2
3 - Boston -2
4 - Ontario -2
5 - Providence +2
6 - Worcester +1
7 - Buffalo -2
8 - Long Island -
Transactions
Another trade occurred to start week 8 with the Tigers acquiring DL Rielly Cooper from the Hawks in exchange for OL Richard French, DL Albert Morgan, and a 1955 3rd Round Pick. French and Morgan were both extra players on the Tigers roster and they wanted to grab a solid DL to help their defense on the home stretch.
Worcester Athletics - 20, Boston Independents - 13 - Worcester Stadium - September 4, 1954 - 7 PM ET
With their backs against the wall, the Athletics came out swinging against the division-leading Independents. QB Riley Kiernan would lead the Athletics to a touchdown midway through the first to open the scoring. WR Christian Venegas would be the receiver to score and give Worcester a 7-0 lead. Boston would attempt to retaliate but Larson would be intercepted by DB Alexander Bradley and the Athletics would end up with a field goal to go up 10-0. Boston would only manage a field goal in the first half and would be down 10-3. The third began pretty slow with no one scoring until Kiernan would find Venegas for yet another touchdown. Boston was falling behind but Larson would give Boston some life with a touchdown drive to WR Samuel Floyd to bring them back into the game. Following that drive, Boston would get a field goal to pull the game to 4. Kiernan would lead another drive that would result in a field goal to make it 20-13. Boston would get one more shot but the Athletics would manage to slow them down enough to run out the clock and the Athletics would keep themselves alive in the hunt for the playoffs.
Providence Gold Stars - 31, Long Island Hawks - 10 - New Providence Stadium - September 4, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
Providence continued their momentum from their win last week to roll over the lowly Hawks. QB Bruce Woodard would get the Gold Stars going in the first quarter with a WR John Osborn touchdown. The Hawks would try to get things going with the returning QB Lee Rogers, but he would be picked off by DB Lee Wolfe on his first drive and later DB Victor Bean. The picks would lead to a RB Johnnie Stafford touchdown to take a 14-0 lead. WR Peter Brooks would get a touchdown as well to make it 21-0 at half time. The Hawks would finally get on the board in the third with the former Gold Star RB Gene Fischer scoring to make it 21-7. Providence would get back the touchdown with WR Michael Mcleod. The teams would trade field goals late to win the game.
Ontario Tigers - 27, Montreal Rouge - 24 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - September 5, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
A vital divisional game between the Tigers and Rouge would take place on Sunday afternoon. The teams have had many close battles over the last few seasons, but Montreal always managed to come out on top. The Tigers were looking to change that. Things would not start well as LB Quinton Brewer would pick off QB Duane Logan and set up the WR John Rivera touchdown from QB Andrew Glover. Ontario would not back down as they would get the touchdown right back with WR Wilbert Benjamin. The teams would trade field goals in the second to leave it tied at 10 at the break. The third would begin with a running back battle. RB Élisée Marchal and RB Laurent Brazeau would go back and forth and would trade touchdowns to make it 17-17. Montreal would open the 4th with a Marchal touchdown to break the tie and the Tigers were starting to struggle. With time running down Brazeau would take over. He would run through Montreal for a huge 67-yard gain which would open up the field go Logan who would get it closer and Brazeau would punch it in to tie the game with 3 minutes left. Montreal would continue their march, but LB Aengus Lynch would come up with a huge drive stalling tackle on Marchal which would give the Tigers a chance to score which they would put up a field goal to take the lead. Montreal would get another chance but with time running out, Glover was forced to pass and he would throw a pick to DB Paul Gregory and the Tigers would finally beat the Rouge and achieve a franchise-high 5 wins.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 26, Ottawa Royals - 21 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 5, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBS
An important game in Buffalo between the Blue Wings and Royals would finish off the week. Ottawa has been a little shaky as of late and would continue that early in the game with QB Angelo Medina would run all over the Royals’ defense. RB Arthur Conner would finish off the drive to give Buffalo the lead. Despite missing DL Sean Bowen, the Blue Wings’ defense would stay strong and stop the Royals offense in the first quarter going up 10-0 after 1. In the second, Ottawa would finally breakthrough with an WR Allen Atkins touchdown. Following the Royals’ drive, WR Joseph Barry would get a touchdown for Buffalo to make it 17-7 at the half. Buffalo would get another field goal in the third to make it 20-7. The Royals’ offense would continue to struggle and would be stopped on their next drive. The punt would bounce into the endzone and would grant them a single. Buffalo would get another field goal before Ottawa would get a touchdown with RB Alexei Volkov, but Buffalo would add yet another field goal. It seemed like Ottawa just could not keep up with the Blue Wings. They would get a late touchdown to Atkins to give them hope but they would not get the 2-pointer to make it a close game and would run out of time.
Players of the Week
OFF: RB Laurent Brazeau ON - 2 Rushing Touchdowns, 145 Rushing Yards
DEF: DB Alexander Bradley WOR - 1 Interception, 3 Knockdowns, 5 Tackles
Injury Report
OL Bryan Faulkner WOR - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Buffalo 5-2-1
Ottawa 5-3
Ontario 5-3
Montreal 5-3
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 4-3-1
Providence 4-4
Worcester 3-5
Long Island 0-8
Power Rankings
1 - Ontario +3
2 - Montreal -1
3 - Buffalo +4
4 - Worcester +2
5 - Ottawa -3
6 - Providence -1
7 - Boston -4
8 - Long Island -
Week 9 Games
WOR (3-5) @ LI (0-9) - SEP 11 - 1 PM ET - CBS
PRO (4-4) @ BOS (4-3-1) - SEP 11 - 4 PM ET - CBS
*BOS clinches division with Win
BUF (5-2-1) @ MTL (5-3) - SEP 12 - 3 PM ET - CBC
*BUF clinches playoffs with Win
ON (5-3) @ OTT (5-3) - SEP 12 - 6 PM ET
*OTT clinches playoffs with Win + PRO Loss + MTL Loss
Another trade occurred to start week 8 with the Tigers acquiring DL Rielly Cooper from the Hawks in exchange for OL Richard French, DL Albert Morgan, and a 1955 3rd Round Pick. French and Morgan were both extra players on the Tigers roster and they wanted to grab a solid DL to help their defense on the home stretch.
With their backs against the wall, the Athletics came out swinging against the division-leading Independents. QB Riley Kiernan would lead the Athletics to a touchdown midway through the first to open the scoring. WR Christian Venegas would be the receiver to score and give Worcester a 7-0 lead. Boston would attempt to retaliate but Larson would be intercepted by DB Alexander Bradley and the Athletics would end up with a field goal to go up 10-0. Boston would only manage a field goal in the first half and would be down 10-3. The third began pretty slow with no one scoring until Kiernan would find Venegas for yet another touchdown. Boston was falling behind but Larson would give Boston some life with a touchdown drive to WR Samuel Floyd to bring them back into the game. Following that drive, Boston would get a field goal to pull the game to 4. Kiernan would lead another drive that would result in a field goal to make it 20-13. Boston would get one more shot but the Athletics would manage to slow them down enough to run out the clock and the Athletics would keep themselves alive in the hunt for the playoffs.
Providence Gold Stars - 31, Long Island Hawks - 10 - New Providence Stadium - September 4, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
Providence continued their momentum from their win last week to roll over the lowly Hawks. QB Bruce Woodard would get the Gold Stars going in the first quarter with a WR John Osborn touchdown. The Hawks would try to get things going with the returning QB Lee Rogers, but he would be picked off by DB Lee Wolfe on his first drive and later DB Victor Bean. The picks would lead to a RB Johnnie Stafford touchdown to take a 14-0 lead. WR Peter Brooks would get a touchdown as well to make it 21-0 at half time. The Hawks would finally get on the board in the third with the former Gold Star RB Gene Fischer scoring to make it 21-7. Providence would get back the touchdown with WR Michael Mcleod. The teams would trade field goals late to win the game.
Ontario Tigers - 27, Montreal Rouge - 24 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - September 5, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
A vital divisional game between the Tigers and Rouge would take place on Sunday afternoon. The teams have had many close battles over the last few seasons, but Montreal always managed to come out on top. The Tigers were looking to change that. Things would not start well as LB Quinton Brewer would pick off QB Duane Logan and set up the WR John Rivera touchdown from QB Andrew Glover. Ontario would not back down as they would get the touchdown right back with WR Wilbert Benjamin. The teams would trade field goals in the second to leave it tied at 10 at the break. The third would begin with a running back battle. RB Élisée Marchal and RB Laurent Brazeau would go back and forth and would trade touchdowns to make it 17-17. Montreal would open the 4th with a Marchal touchdown to break the tie and the Tigers were starting to struggle. With time running down Brazeau would take over. He would run through Montreal for a huge 67-yard gain which would open up the field go Logan who would get it closer and Brazeau would punch it in to tie the game with 3 minutes left. Montreal would continue their march, but LB Aengus Lynch would come up with a huge drive stalling tackle on Marchal which would give the Tigers a chance to score which they would put up a field goal to take the lead. Montreal would get another chance but with time running out, Glover was forced to pass and he would throw a pick to DB Paul Gregory and the Tigers would finally beat the Rouge and achieve a franchise-high 5 wins.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 26, Ottawa Royals - 21 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 5, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBS
An important game in Buffalo between the Blue Wings and Royals would finish off the week. Ottawa has been a little shaky as of late and would continue that early in the game with QB Angelo Medina would run all over the Royals’ defense. RB Arthur Conner would finish off the drive to give Buffalo the lead. Despite missing DL Sean Bowen, the Blue Wings’ defense would stay strong and stop the Royals offense in the first quarter going up 10-0 after 1. In the second, Ottawa would finally breakthrough with an WR Allen Atkins touchdown. Following the Royals’ drive, WR Joseph Barry would get a touchdown for Buffalo to make it 17-7 at the half. Buffalo would get another field goal in the third to make it 20-7. The Royals’ offense would continue to struggle and would be stopped on their next drive. The punt would bounce into the endzone and would grant them a single. Buffalo would get another field goal before Ottawa would get a touchdown with RB Alexei Volkov, but Buffalo would add yet another field goal. It seemed like Ottawa just could not keep up with the Blue Wings. They would get a late touchdown to Atkins to give them hope but they would not get the 2-pointer to make it a close game and would run out of time.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
OL Bryan Faulkner WOR - Day-to-Day
Standings
NORTH
Buffalo 5-2-1
Ottawa 5-3
Ontario 5-3
Montreal 5-3
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 4-3-1
Providence 4-4
Worcester 3-5
Long Island 0-8
Power Rankings
1 - Ontario +3
2 - Montreal -1
3 - Buffalo +4
4 - Worcester +2
5 - Ottawa -3
6 - Providence -1
7 - Boston -4
8 - Long Island -
Week 9 Games
WOR (3-5) @ LI (0-9) - SEP 11 - 1 PM ET - CBS
PRO (4-4) @ BOS (4-3-1) - SEP 11 - 4 PM ET - CBS
*BOS clinches division with Win
BUF (5-2-1) @ MTL (5-3) - SEP 12 - 3 PM ET - CBC
*BUF clinches playoffs with Win
ON (5-3) @ OTT (5-3) - SEP 12 - 6 PM ET
*OTT clinches playoffs with Win + PRO Loss + MTL Loss
*ON clinches playoffs with Win >11 over OTT + PRO Loss + MTL Loss
Long Island Hawks - 16, Worcester Athletics - 28 - Long Island Stadium - September 11, 1954 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The red hot Athletics keep it up entering the rematch with the winless Hawks. QB Riley Kiernan would light up the field in the first half leading to two passing touchdowns to WR Christian Venegas and TE Duane Holloway. QB Lee Rogers would try to get things going for the Hawks, but he would be picked off by DB Alexander Bradley. Worcester would hold for the 0-14 lead at the break. The Hawks would get a pair of field goals in the third but that was countered with another Athletics touchdown to RB Marcus Devonshire. Following a Hawks touchdown with RB Gene Fischer, the Athletics would add a fourth touchdown with Venegas coming up with the score again. The Hawks would get a late field goal, but they fall once again, inching closer to the first winless season since the Tigers of 1949.
Boston Independents - 31, Providence Gold Stars - 17 - Richardson Stadium - September 11, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
In what could be the final showdown between QB Larry Larson and QB Bruce Woodard, the Independents and Gold Stars were battling for the division title. The two QB’s gave it all they could. Larson would get the first strike in with a TD pass to WR Ethan Walters. Not long after Woodard would counter with his top target WR Peter Brooks. Following the touchdowns, the teams would trade field goals to head into the half 10-10. Providence would get a touchdown early in the third with DB Victor Bean picking off Larson and setting up RB Johnnie Stafford for the score. Larson would not let the pick bring him down as he would counter with a long drive ending in a TE Darrell Hubbard touchdown. Heading into the 4th, the teams tied at 17, it was time for Woodard to make a mistake. He would overthrow WR John Osborn and the ball would land in the hands of S Michael O’Brien. Larson would take over and lead the Independents to another touchdown with RB Joel Bonner finishing the drive. Woodard would not back down and became aggressive in a comeback attempt. He would get Providence down to the 10-yard line. From there, Woodard would drop back to pass and Boston would bring the pressure. Out of the rush he would look to throw to WR John Osborn on the edge, but DB Francis Veillette would jump the route taking it back the other way for a touchdown to seal the win and give Boston their 6th straight playoff appearance.
Montreal Rouge - 24, Buffalo Blue Wings - 28 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 12, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
Division title could be on the line in this game with the Rouge hosting the Blue Wings. Despite injuries, the Blue Wings were doing just fine keeping up with the rest of the North Division. Buffalo would keep the game close early on not getting too aggressive while the Rouge were having trouble moving the ball. Eventually, Buffalo would put up a field goal to break the silence. However, it would be RB Élisée Marchal who would break for a 56-yard touchdown run that would put Montreal up 7-3. Buffalo would look to get back the score but LB Rusty McVee would create a turnover forcing the ball out of WR Clifford Church’s hands. Montreal would add a second touchdown via Marchal to make it 14-3. Buffalo would get going into the 2nd with a touchdown drive led by QB Angelo Medina. WR Joseph Barry would score and the game would head into the break 14-10. Montreal would get the first opportunity out of the half and would score a touchdown with rookie TE Eli Grant. Buffalo would manage a field goal to make it 21-13 heading into the final quarter. Montreal had control of the game and the loud crowd only helped them, but Medina had other plans. The QB would get Buffalo going and would march them down the field to score. Medina would escape pressure from DL Zakary Turbide but would be leveled by DL Napoléon Chevalier. He would still get the ball to RB Arthur Conner who would scramble into the endzone. Medina was down for a second but he would pop back up and then run in the 2-point convert to tie the game at 21. Montreal would run down a lot of the clock with Marchal en route to a field goal that would give them the lead again but Buffalo was not about to stop. Medina would lead the Blue Wings down the field in 58 seconds and would toss a touchdown to WR Travis Gallagher who would win the game for the Blue Wings and mark their return to the playoffs.
Ottawa Royals - 22, Ontario Tigers - 20 - Lansdowne Park - September 12, 1954 - 6 PM ET
The Battle of Ontario holds a lot in the balance with ramifications across the league. The Royals would begin this game with the first score to WR Allen Atkins midway through the 1st. Ontario would not fall too far behind with the former Royal QB Duane Logan tying the game up with WR Wilbert Benjamin. Following the quick scores, both defenses would take over and the teams would end the half tied at 7. The second half would maintain this trend with the defenses dominating play. Eventually, the Royals would grab a pair of field goals but that was all in the third. The fourth would be an explosion with the Tigers finally breaking through with RB Laurent Brazeau scoring a touchdown to give the Tigers the lead, 13-14. Ottawa would get rolling until DB Paul Gregory picked QB Jean Matieau off. Setting up the Tigers well, but DL Olaf Viktorsson would get the ball back for the Royals stripping Logan. The Royals would march the rest of the way and Atkins would score his second of the game to give the Royals the lead once again 19-14. Logan would lead the Tigers back the other way for a Brazeau score leaving just 38 seconds for Matieau. However, the Tigers would miss the 2-point attempt and Ottawa just needed a field goal to win. Matieau would go on to use those 38 seconds to set up the Royals for a field goal with Atkins making a fantastic catch at the Ontario 38. K Maurice Lafayette would nail the 43-yarder for the win.
*The Royals win also mathematically eliminates the Gold Stars from the playoffs for the first time in NAAF history leaving Boston as the only team to make it every season*
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Angelo Medina BUF - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 287 Passing Yards, 67 Rushing Yards
DEF: DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT - 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Sack, 7 Tackles
Injury Report
OL Nicholas Nichols BOS - Season
*After the trade and returning from injury Nichols would re-aggravate the injury making it worse and out for the year.
OL Bravon Covington OTT - 2 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Buffalo 6-2-1 -y
Ottawa 6-3 -x
Ontario 5-4
Montreal 5-4
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 5-3-1 -y
Worcester 4-5
Providence 4-5 -e
Long Island -e
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo +2
2 - Ontario -1
3 - Ottawa +2
4 - Worcester -
5 - Montreal -3
6 - Boston +1
7 - Providence -1
8 - Long Island -
Week 10 Games
ON (5-4) @ WOR (4-5) - SEP 18 - 2 PM ET - CBS* switched to cover this game instead of LI @ BOS
*ON clinches final playoff spot with Win or Tie + MTL Loss or Tie
*WOR clinches final playoff spot with Win + MTL Loss
LI (0-9) @ BOS (5-3-1) - SEP 18 - 2 PM ET
MTL (5-4) @ PRO (4-5) - SEP 18 - 2 PM ET - CBS
*MTL clinches final playoff spot with Win + ON Loss
BUF (6-2-1) @ OTT (6-3) - SEP 18 - 2 PM ET - CBC
*Winner of the game clinches North Division and home field in rematch next week
The red hot Athletics keep it up entering the rematch with the winless Hawks. QB Riley Kiernan would light up the field in the first half leading to two passing touchdowns to WR Christian Venegas and TE Duane Holloway. QB Lee Rogers would try to get things going for the Hawks, but he would be picked off by DB Alexander Bradley. Worcester would hold for the 0-14 lead at the break. The Hawks would get a pair of field goals in the third but that was countered with another Athletics touchdown to RB Marcus Devonshire. Following a Hawks touchdown with RB Gene Fischer, the Athletics would add a fourth touchdown with Venegas coming up with the score again. The Hawks would get a late field goal, but they fall once again, inching closer to the first winless season since the Tigers of 1949.
Boston Independents - 31, Providence Gold Stars - 17 - Richardson Stadium - September 11, 1954 - 4 PM ET - CBS
In what could be the final showdown between QB Larry Larson and QB Bruce Woodard, the Independents and Gold Stars were battling for the division title. The two QB’s gave it all they could. Larson would get the first strike in with a TD pass to WR Ethan Walters. Not long after Woodard would counter with his top target WR Peter Brooks. Following the touchdowns, the teams would trade field goals to head into the half 10-10. Providence would get a touchdown early in the third with DB Victor Bean picking off Larson and setting up RB Johnnie Stafford for the score. Larson would not let the pick bring him down as he would counter with a long drive ending in a TE Darrell Hubbard touchdown. Heading into the 4th, the teams tied at 17, it was time for Woodard to make a mistake. He would overthrow WR John Osborn and the ball would land in the hands of S Michael O’Brien. Larson would take over and lead the Independents to another touchdown with RB Joel Bonner finishing the drive. Woodard would not back down and became aggressive in a comeback attempt. He would get Providence down to the 10-yard line. From there, Woodard would drop back to pass and Boston would bring the pressure. Out of the rush he would look to throw to WR John Osborn on the edge, but DB Francis Veillette would jump the route taking it back the other way for a touchdown to seal the win and give Boston their 6th straight playoff appearance.
Montreal Rouge - 24, Buffalo Blue Wings - 28 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 12, 1954 - 3 PM ET - CBC
Division title could be on the line in this game with the Rouge hosting the Blue Wings. Despite injuries, the Blue Wings were doing just fine keeping up with the rest of the North Division. Buffalo would keep the game close early on not getting too aggressive while the Rouge were having trouble moving the ball. Eventually, Buffalo would put up a field goal to break the silence. However, it would be RB Élisée Marchal who would break for a 56-yard touchdown run that would put Montreal up 7-3. Buffalo would look to get back the score but LB Rusty McVee would create a turnover forcing the ball out of WR Clifford Church’s hands. Montreal would add a second touchdown via Marchal to make it 14-3. Buffalo would get going into the 2nd with a touchdown drive led by QB Angelo Medina. WR Joseph Barry would score and the game would head into the break 14-10. Montreal would get the first opportunity out of the half and would score a touchdown with rookie TE Eli Grant. Buffalo would manage a field goal to make it 21-13 heading into the final quarter. Montreal had control of the game and the loud crowd only helped them, but Medina had other plans. The QB would get Buffalo going and would march them down the field to score. Medina would escape pressure from DL Zakary Turbide but would be leveled by DL Napoléon Chevalier. He would still get the ball to RB Arthur Conner who would scramble into the endzone. Medina was down for a second but he would pop back up and then run in the 2-point convert to tie the game at 21. Montreal would run down a lot of the clock with Marchal en route to a field goal that would give them the lead again but Buffalo was not about to stop. Medina would lead the Blue Wings down the field in 58 seconds and would toss a touchdown to WR Travis Gallagher who would win the game for the Blue Wings and mark their return to the playoffs.
Ottawa Royals - 22, Ontario Tigers - 20 - Lansdowne Park - September 12, 1954 - 6 PM ET
The Battle of Ontario holds a lot in the balance with ramifications across the league. The Royals would begin this game with the first score to WR Allen Atkins midway through the 1st. Ontario would not fall too far behind with the former Royal QB Duane Logan tying the game up with WR Wilbert Benjamin. Following the quick scores, both defenses would take over and the teams would end the half tied at 7. The second half would maintain this trend with the defenses dominating play. Eventually, the Royals would grab a pair of field goals but that was all in the third. The fourth would be an explosion with the Tigers finally breaking through with RB Laurent Brazeau scoring a touchdown to give the Tigers the lead, 13-14. Ottawa would get rolling until DB Paul Gregory picked QB Jean Matieau off. Setting up the Tigers well, but DL Olaf Viktorsson would get the ball back for the Royals stripping Logan. The Royals would march the rest of the way and Atkins would score his second of the game to give the Royals the lead once again 19-14. Logan would lead the Tigers back the other way for a Brazeau score leaving just 38 seconds for Matieau. However, the Tigers would miss the 2-point attempt and Ottawa just needed a field goal to win. Matieau would go on to use those 38 seconds to set up the Royals for a field goal with Atkins making a fantastic catch at the Ontario 38. K Maurice Lafayette would nail the 43-yarder for the win.
*The Royals win also mathematically eliminates the Gold Stars from the playoffs for the first time in NAAF history leaving Boston as the only team to make it every season*
Players of the Week
Injury Report
OL Nicholas Nichols BOS - Season
*After the trade and returning from injury Nichols would re-aggravate the injury making it worse and out for the year.
OL Bravon Covington OTT - 2 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Buffalo 6-2-1 -y
Ottawa 6-3 -x
Ontario 5-4
Montreal 5-4
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 5-3-1 -y
Worcester 4-5
Providence 4-5 -e
Long Island -e
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo +2
2 - Ontario -1
3 - Ottawa +2
4 - Worcester -
5 - Montreal -3
6 - Boston +1
7 - Providence -1
8 - Long Island -
Week 10 Games
ON (5-4) @ WOR (4-5) - SEP 18 - 2 PM ET - CBS* switched to cover this game instead of LI @ BOS
*ON clinches final playoff spot with Win or Tie + MTL Loss or Tie
*WOR clinches final playoff spot with Win + MTL Loss
LI (0-9) @ BOS (5-3-1) - SEP 18 - 2 PM ET
MTL (5-4) @ PRO (4-5) - SEP 18 - 2 PM ET - CBS
*MTL clinches final playoff spot with Win + ON Loss
BUF (6-2-1) @ OTT (6-3) - SEP 18 - 2 PM ET - CBC
*Winner of the game clinches North Division and home field in rematch next week
Worcester Athletics - 28, Ontario Tigers - 21 - Worcester Stadium - September 18, 1954 - 2 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics and Tigers were both hoping to make their first-ever playoff appearance and they would be playing to decide who has a chance to go on. Athletics would be the first to strike with a field goal, but the lead would not last long with the Tigers getting a touchdown a couple of drives later. QB Duane Logan would find WR Marqués Gardner for the score. The score would remain 3-7 into the second. Worcester would breakthrough next after LB Scotty Williams caused RB Laurent Brazeau to fumble setting up the WR Clyde McIntosh touchdown. Ontario would look to get back on their next possession, but would not be able to, falling behind 10-7 at halftime. In the third, the Athletics would get another huge turnover with S Shawn Jensen picking Logan off which would lead to a touchdown with WR Christian Venegas breaking up the middle for a 39-yard touchdown. The Tigers were getting frustrated, they would get back to the endzone on their next drive with Brazeau to cut the lead to 3. Worcester would get a field goal on their next drive making it 20-14. Duane Logan would lead the Tigers down the field with 6 minutes to go in the game. He would find WR Wilbert Benjamin in the endzone for the score and they would take the lead 20-21. They would try everything to stall the Athletics. They would be successful until the Athletics pulled a trick play that caught the Tigers off guard and left Venegas to break up the field again. The receiver would catch the pass and take it into the endzone to give Worcester the lead. The 2-point attempt made it 28-21. Without much time the Tigers tried to air it out, but they wouldn’t be successful and the Athletics would hold on for the win.
Boston Independents - 34, Long Island Hawks - 3 - Richardson Stadium - September 18, 1954 - 2 PM ET
With fates of both teams already decided the Independents went with QB Brian Meadows and many more youngsters in the season finale. Meadows would play quite well against the Hawks. He would lead Boston to a pair of touchdowns in the first half. The first would be a score with RB Rahil Boone and then the next would be to WR Ellis Lindholm. The Hawks had nothing going for them. QB Lee Rogers continued to struggle and would throw 2 interceptions in the first half to S Victor Webb and DB Clinton Benton. Boston would add a field goal before the half. Meadows would keep it up in the second half with another touchdown to Lindholm and then a 3rd to WR Lloyd Marshall. Long Island had decided to give second-year RB Pierre LeStrange an opportunity, he would play alright but was not getting the ball moving for the team. Rogers would eventually get Long Island on the board with a long drive ending in a field goal but Boston would easily hold on for a dominant win.
Providence Gold Stars - 10, Montreal Rouge - 14 - New Providence Stadium - September 18, 1954 - CBS
The Rouge needed a win over the Gold Stars in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. Their defense would get be a factor early on causing a lot of pressure on the Gold Stars rookie QB Connor O’Rourke making his first start. He would eventually throw an interception to LB Rusty McVee. Montreal would take over and score a touchdown with RB Élisée Marchal. The Rouge defense would keep up the pressure and they would keep the game at 0-7 right up to halftime. Montreal would get another touchdown out of the break with Marchal again and would be up 0-14. O’Rourke would show some flashes of his talent with a big play to WR Peter Brooks and which would set up his first career passing touchdown to WR John Osborn. That was all for O’Rourke as they would put Bruce Woodard back in for the 4th being what might be his final game in Providence. The Rouge would keep up the pressure and kept Providence at bay for most of the game. Rookie, RB Corey King was not getting anything going for the Gold Stars as Montreal was controlling the middle of the field. Providence would get a late field goal on Woodard’s final drive, but that was all as the Rouge sneak into the playoffs with Worcester beating Ontario.
Ottawa Royals - 22, Buffalo Blue Wings - 27 - Lansdowne Park - September 18, 1954 - CBC
The final game of the season would have the Royals and Blue Wings face off for home-field advantage in the Semi-Finals. Ottawa would get an early opportunity to score. Matieau would look to find WR Willard Brooks but the receiver would miss the ball and would leave the game with a minor injury after being tackled by DB Ryan Landry. They would settle for a field goal to make it 3-0. Buffalo would tie it back up with a field goal not long after. They would then take the lead with RB Arthur Conner breaking through the Royals line for a score. Down, 3-10 Jean Matieau would get the Royals rolling down the field and would tie up the game just before the break on a touchdown to WR Allen Atkins. Out of the break, Buffalo would score a field goal to make the score 10-13, before Ottawa would cough up the football. RB Alexei Volkov would lose it to DL Sean Bowen and the Blue Wings would recover. Medina would find WR Joseph Barry for the touchdown and the 10-point lead. Ottawa would not go away easily with their next drive. They would get back to the endzone with WR Eugene Burns, but K Lafayette would miss the extra point and would leave the game at 16-20. Buffalo would score next with a touchdown to RB Arthur Conner once again and would lead by 11. With Buffalo up by 2 scores and time winding down, Ottawa would get a little conservative. RB’s Alexei Volkov and Ellis Love would carry for several plays. The Royals were more focused on the game next week at this point and didn’t want to risk injury. But then WR Allen Atkins would break past the Buffalo defense and Matieau would hit the veteran for the touchdown that would give Ottawa some hope. The 2-point try would be no good on an excellent stop from DB Dylan Alston. Buffalo would hold on from there to capture the North division title for the first time.
Players of the Week
OFF: WR Christian Venegas WOR - 2 Receiving Touchdowns, 134 Receiving Yards
DEF: LB Rusty McVee MTL - 1 Interception, 11 Tackles, 1 Knockdown
Injury Report
OL Jose Whitney BUF - Season
WR Clifford Church BUF - Day-to-Day
S Carl Dawson LI - Long-Term
DB Jontray Cox MTL - Season
WR Willard Brooks OTT - Day-to-Day
DL Bayden Mills WOR - Season
Standings
NORTH
Buffalo 7-2-1 -y
Ottawa 6-4 -x
Montreal 6-4 -x
Ontario 5-5
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 6-3-1 -y
Worcester 5-5
Providence 4-6
Long Island 0-10
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo -
2 - Montreal +3
3 - Worcester +1
4 - Ottawa -1
5 - Ontario -3
6 - Boston -
7 - Providence -
8 - Long Island -
Playoff Preview
Buffalo Blue Wings VS. Ottawa Royals - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 26, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBC/CBS
Previous Meetings: W8 BUF 26-21 OTT, W10 OTT 22-27 BUF
Buffalo was able to top the Royals in both meetings this season. They come into the playoffs at the top of the power rankings, after winning their final 4 games of the season and take that momentum into a home game against the Royals. Ottawa has all the pressure on them in this game, after starting 4-0 the team went 2-4 in the back half of the season and was unable to hold their top spot of the division. They are the only team that has made the playoffs and has been yet to win a game. With home field in the championship available, it would be the prime time for the Royals to win. Expect the Royals to try to light up the Buffalo secondary and stay away from Bowen and the D-Line, they will have to do their best to contain Medina in the backfield as well. Buffalo on the other hand will have to just get Medina going on offense to really challenge the Royals and get pressure on Matieau.
Boston Independents VS. Montreal Rouge - Richardson Stadium - September 27,1954 - 6 PM ET - CBS
Previous Meetings: W7 MTL 23-15 BOS
Both Montreal and Boston come into the playoffs as the two weaker teams. Boston has been solid all season but has struggled against the North Division which is a cause for concern with the 3 other playoff teams being from the North. QB Larry Larson might be playing his final football game and so the team will be playing for him. Montreal on the other hand is looking to be the 2nd team to repeat and will have to get past their inter-divisional rivals. Boston will win this game if they can keep control of the field. If their defense can manage Marchal in the backfield and have their offense going at a steady pace they can get back to the McCallister. Montreal on the other hand will have to just get Boston off their game. If their defense can cause some havoc and Marchal can get the offense moving Montreal will have another shot at a title.
The Athletics and Tigers were both hoping to make their first-ever playoff appearance and they would be playing to decide who has a chance to go on. Athletics would be the first to strike with a field goal, but the lead would not last long with the Tigers getting a touchdown a couple of drives later. QB Duane Logan would find WR Marqués Gardner for the score. The score would remain 3-7 into the second. Worcester would breakthrough next after LB Scotty Williams caused RB Laurent Brazeau to fumble setting up the WR Clyde McIntosh touchdown. Ontario would look to get back on their next possession, but would not be able to, falling behind 10-7 at halftime. In the third, the Athletics would get another huge turnover with S Shawn Jensen picking Logan off which would lead to a touchdown with WR Christian Venegas breaking up the middle for a 39-yard touchdown. The Tigers were getting frustrated, they would get back to the endzone on their next drive with Brazeau to cut the lead to 3. Worcester would get a field goal on their next drive making it 20-14. Duane Logan would lead the Tigers down the field with 6 minutes to go in the game. He would find WR Wilbert Benjamin in the endzone for the score and they would take the lead 20-21. They would try everything to stall the Athletics. They would be successful until the Athletics pulled a trick play that caught the Tigers off guard and left Venegas to break up the field again. The receiver would catch the pass and take it into the endzone to give Worcester the lead. The 2-point attempt made it 28-21. Without much time the Tigers tried to air it out, but they wouldn’t be successful and the Athletics would hold on for the win.
Boston Independents - 34, Long Island Hawks - 3 - Richardson Stadium - September 18, 1954 - 2 PM ET
With fates of both teams already decided the Independents went with QB Brian Meadows and many more youngsters in the season finale. Meadows would play quite well against the Hawks. He would lead Boston to a pair of touchdowns in the first half. The first would be a score with RB Rahil Boone and then the next would be to WR Ellis Lindholm. The Hawks had nothing going for them. QB Lee Rogers continued to struggle and would throw 2 interceptions in the first half to S Victor Webb and DB Clinton Benton. Boston would add a field goal before the half. Meadows would keep it up in the second half with another touchdown to Lindholm and then a 3rd to WR Lloyd Marshall. Long Island had decided to give second-year RB Pierre LeStrange an opportunity, he would play alright but was not getting the ball moving for the team. Rogers would eventually get Long Island on the board with a long drive ending in a field goal but Boston would easily hold on for a dominant win.
Providence Gold Stars - 10, Montreal Rouge - 14 - New Providence Stadium - September 18, 1954 - CBS
The Rouge needed a win over the Gold Stars in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. Their defense would get be a factor early on causing a lot of pressure on the Gold Stars rookie QB Connor O’Rourke making his first start. He would eventually throw an interception to LB Rusty McVee. Montreal would take over and score a touchdown with RB Élisée Marchal. The Rouge defense would keep up the pressure and they would keep the game at 0-7 right up to halftime. Montreal would get another touchdown out of the break with Marchal again and would be up 0-14. O’Rourke would show some flashes of his talent with a big play to WR Peter Brooks and which would set up his first career passing touchdown to WR John Osborn. That was all for O’Rourke as they would put Bruce Woodard back in for the 4th being what might be his final game in Providence. The Rouge would keep up the pressure and kept Providence at bay for most of the game. Rookie, RB Corey King was not getting anything going for the Gold Stars as Montreal was controlling the middle of the field. Providence would get a late field goal on Woodard’s final drive, but that was all as the Rouge sneak into the playoffs with Worcester beating Ontario.
Ottawa Royals - 22, Buffalo Blue Wings - 27 - Lansdowne Park - September 18, 1954 - CBC
The final game of the season would have the Royals and Blue Wings face off for home-field advantage in the Semi-Finals. Ottawa would get an early opportunity to score. Matieau would look to find WR Willard Brooks but the receiver would miss the ball and would leave the game with a minor injury after being tackled by DB Ryan Landry. They would settle for a field goal to make it 3-0. Buffalo would tie it back up with a field goal not long after. They would then take the lead with RB Arthur Conner breaking through the Royals line for a score. Down, 3-10 Jean Matieau would get the Royals rolling down the field and would tie up the game just before the break on a touchdown to WR Allen Atkins. Out of the break, Buffalo would score a field goal to make the score 10-13, before Ottawa would cough up the football. RB Alexei Volkov would lose it to DL Sean Bowen and the Blue Wings would recover. Medina would find WR Joseph Barry for the touchdown and the 10-point lead. Ottawa would not go away easily with their next drive. They would get back to the endzone with WR Eugene Burns, but K Lafayette would miss the extra point and would leave the game at 16-20. Buffalo would score next with a touchdown to RB Arthur Conner once again and would lead by 11. With Buffalo up by 2 scores and time winding down, Ottawa would get a little conservative. RB’s Alexei Volkov and Ellis Love would carry for several plays. The Royals were more focused on the game next week at this point and didn’t want to risk injury. But then WR Allen Atkins would break past the Buffalo defense and Matieau would hit the veteran for the touchdown that would give Ottawa some hope. The 2-point try would be no good on an excellent stop from DB Dylan Alston. Buffalo would hold on from there to capture the North division title for the first time.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
OL Jose Whitney BUF - Season
WR Clifford Church BUF - Day-to-Day
S Carl Dawson LI - Long-Term
DB Jontray Cox MTL - Season
WR Willard Brooks OTT - Day-to-Day
DL Bayden Mills WOR - Season
Standings
NORTH
Buffalo 7-2-1 -y
Ottawa 6-4 -x
Montreal 6-4 -x
Ontario 5-5
NEW ENGLAND
Boston 6-3-1 -y
Worcester 5-5
Providence 4-6
Long Island 0-10
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo -
2 - Montreal +3
3 - Worcester +1
4 - Ottawa -1
5 - Ontario -3
6 - Boston -
7 - Providence -
8 - Long Island -
Playoff Preview
Buffalo Blue Wings VS. Ottawa Royals - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 26, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBC/CBS
Previous Meetings: W8 BUF 26-21 OTT, W10 OTT 22-27 BUF
Buffalo was able to top the Royals in both meetings this season. They come into the playoffs at the top of the power rankings, after winning their final 4 games of the season and take that momentum into a home game against the Royals. Ottawa has all the pressure on them in this game, after starting 4-0 the team went 2-4 in the back half of the season and was unable to hold their top spot of the division. They are the only team that has made the playoffs and has been yet to win a game. With home field in the championship available, it would be the prime time for the Royals to win. Expect the Royals to try to light up the Buffalo secondary and stay away from Bowen and the D-Line, they will have to do their best to contain Medina in the backfield as well. Buffalo on the other hand will have to just get Medina going on offense to really challenge the Royals and get pressure on Matieau.
Boston Independents VS. Montreal Rouge - Richardson Stadium - September 27,1954 - 6 PM ET - CBS
Previous Meetings: W7 MTL 23-15 BOS
Both Montreal and Boston come into the playoffs as the two weaker teams. Boston has been solid all season but has struggled against the North Division which is a cause for concern with the 3 other playoff teams being from the North. QB Larry Larson might be playing his final football game and so the team will be playing for him. Montreal on the other hand is looking to be the 2nd team to repeat and will have to get past their inter-divisional rivals. Boston will win this game if they can keep control of the field. If their defense can manage Marchal in the backfield and have their offense going at a steady pace they can get back to the McCallister. Montreal on the other hand will have to just get Boston off their game. If their defense can cause some havoc and Marchal can get the offense moving Montreal will have another shot at a title.
1954 Semi-Finals
Buffalo Blue Wings VS. Ottawa Royals - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 26, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBC/CBS
1ST Q:
QB Jean Matieau had a huge weight on his back. Entering his third playoff game after another strong season, he knew he had to win or it was more disappointment. Matieau would start pretty strong with a couple of first downs before Buffalo stopped them. They would continue this for a bit as the teams went back and forth. Buffalo would be the one to break the silence as QB Angelo Medina, hunting for his second cup, would lead the Blue Wings down to the redzone before finding WR Travis Gallagher for the touchdown. Matieau would look to answer back but DL Sean Bowen would get into his head. The pressure from Bowen made things tough early on for Matieau and eventually, Bowen would get a hand on the ball and knock it loose. Buffalo would recover the fumble and would add to their total with a K Donald Brewer field goal. Buffalo would take the 10-0 lead into the second.
2ND Q:
Matieau’s mistake was getting in his head, but he would gather himself on the sidelines. With the help of veteran WR Eugene Burns, Matieau found some confidence and would get the Royals rolling. Midway through the 2nd, they would break into the endzone with Matieau finding Burns for the major. Buffalo was having lots of success on offense and Medina would come back with yet another strong drive. After he scrambled for 18 yards, RB Arthur Conner would punch it in to make it 17-7 with less than 2 minutes to go in the half. Ottawa would step on the field and Matieau would get the team back down the field within the remaining time. WR Allen Atkins would score the touchdown with 7 seconds left to make it 17-14.
3RD Q:
Buffalo would look to extend their lead early in the second half. RB Arthur Conner was the leader on a long opening drive. He would rush for 52 yards on the drive setting up another K Donald Brewer field goal. Ottawa would keep their momentum going and would get the field goal back shortly after to make the score 20-17. Buffalo would still control most of the play and the field position battle, but Ottawa’s defense would come up with a big play to turn the tide. Medina would be pressured by DL Olaf Viktorsson. Viktorsson would reach Medina and interfere with his throw. The ball would sail right into the middle of the field where LB Mickaël Beaumont would catch it and give Ottawa the ball. Matieau would take the momentum and turn it into a touchdown eventually finding WR Allen Atkins for his second touchdown of the game.
4TH Q:
Buffalo was behind for the first time in the game, but they remained calm. It would take a few attempts but Medina would eventually get the offense into scoring range. With that, the QB would scramble out of the pocket before finding WR Joseph Barry down at the 5-yard line. The catch would set up RB Arthur Conner’s second of the game and retake the lead for the Blue Wings. The pressure flipped back onto the Royals who were at risk of blowing another playoff game. Matieau would get the team going on a couple of drives but always stalled out around midfield. With about 3 minutes to go in the game, the Royals would get stuck at midfield again. Matieau would throw back-to-back incomplete passes setting up a 3rd and 10. Of course with limited time, the Royals would go for it. Matieau would drop back and pressure would come soaring in from the edge via DL Sean Bowen. Matieau stayed calm and stepped up and would find WR Willard Brooks for a 12-yard gain to give them a new set of downs. From there the Royals didn’t look back and at the 23-yard line, Matieau would hit Atkins up the sideline after he beat his man and he would run it in for the go-ahead touchdown. The game wasn’t over as the Blue Wings would keep fighting. Medina would face a similar situation as Matieau but on a shorter 3rd and 4. In this case, Medina would drop back before quickly stepping up to run. LB Mickaël Beaumont predicted it and would stop Medina before the first down marker resulting in a turnover and the Royals going to the McCallister Cup for the first time.
Boston Independents VS. Montreal Rouge - Richardson Stadium - September 26, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBS
1ST Q:
QB Larry Larson stepped onto the field at Richardson Stadium for one final time as a player. The QB has brought a lot to the city, including 5 straight McCallister Cups (dating back to the three years before the NAAF) and many other trophies over his career and he wanted to get just one more. The Rouge on the other hand would be ready to change that story. Early in the game, the Rouge defense would completely stifle any Boston attempts. They would capitalize and score a touchdown with RB Élisée Marchal to take the early 0-7 lead. Boston would attempt a comeback drive but once again could not move the ball. The Rouge controlled the field for the opening quarter and would hold their 0-7 lead.
2ND Q:
Boston would start to gain some traction on the Rouge early in the second, but momentum would massively change with the Rouge defense making a statement. DL Napoléon Chevalier would break the Boston line and would lay a big hit on Larson. Larson had thrown the ball and Chevalier would get a penalty for the late hit. Larson would be down for a moment and the Boston players were not happy with the Rouge which led to some pushing and shoving between players. Things were getting heated, but behind the chaos, Larson would get up and stay in the game. Once everything died down and the game got back underway and Larson would let his play do the talking. He would lead the Independents down the rest of the way for a WR Ethan Walters touchdown to tie the game at 7. The remainder of the quarter had an edge to it, the players were hitting a bit harder and the trash talk between the sides got more frequent. A perfect atmosphere for a playoff game. Neither team would score leaving it at 7-7.
3RD Q:
The trend continued throughout the game with both sides increasing their intensity. Boston however, would start to pull away. Larson would continue to get the Independents moving and with some help from RB Joel Bonner would score another touchdown. Montreal’s next drive would end early after QB Andrew Glover would throw an interception to DB Lester Murphy. Setting up a Boston field goal to make it 17-7. In just minutes, the Rouge were way behind and the offense was having some trouble moving the ball. Boston was managing to keep Marchal contained and were taking control of the game. Montreal’s counter was to try and knock Boston back off their feet and got more aggressive with their defense.
4TH Q:
Montreal’s strategy would work early on as they would get a fumble recovery with LB Rusty McVee hitting WR Ellis Lindholm in the open field. Montreal would take over and Marchal would punch in his second of the game to pull Montreal back within 3. They would keep up their defensive pressure and continue to layout hits whenever they had a chance. Boston was not a fan of the play and it would cause some more heated "discussions". Montreal would even get several more hits on Larson, hoping to shake him off his game, but Larson would keep getting back up. He would eventually lead Boston on another strong drive to score their third touchdown of the game. His final TD pass in Boston would go to WR Samuel Floyd who would give Boston the 10-point lead. Montreal was defeated after that blow and would fail to get anything else. Boston was going back to the McCallister Cup for the 5th time in the 6 years of the NAAF.
Players of the Week
OFF: WR Allen Atkins OTT - 3 Receiving Touchdowns, 156 Receiving Yards
DEF: LB Mickaël Beaumont - OTT - 1 Interception, 11 Tackles
Injury Report
DL Stephan Kendall OTT - Day-to-Day
36th McCallister Cup Preview
Boston Independents VS. Ottawa Royals - Lansdowne Park - October 3, 1954 - CBS/CBC
Previous Meetings: W6 BOS 24-14 OTT
Boston will make its 5th appearance in the McCallister Cup since the NAAF began and it will be their star QB Larry Larson’s final game. The Royals will enter their first McCallister Cup on home-field with their up and coming star QB Jean Matieau. The Royals got a huge monkey off their back with a win and they will enter the field with home-field advantage. Boston on the other hand will have the experience that Ottawa may lack going in. The Royals will have to get the offense moving and stay with or ahead of the Independents. Boston will just have to play a clean game, keep control of the play, and keep the crowd out of the game. The two teams played in the first NAAF game and now they meet for Larson’s final game, it should be as good a game as ever.
Who wins it all?
Buffalo Blue Wings VS. Ottawa Royals - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 26, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBC/CBS
1ST Q:
QB Jean Matieau had a huge weight on his back. Entering his third playoff game after another strong season, he knew he had to win or it was more disappointment. Matieau would start pretty strong with a couple of first downs before Buffalo stopped them. They would continue this for a bit as the teams went back and forth. Buffalo would be the one to break the silence as QB Angelo Medina, hunting for his second cup, would lead the Blue Wings down to the redzone before finding WR Travis Gallagher for the touchdown. Matieau would look to answer back but DL Sean Bowen would get into his head. The pressure from Bowen made things tough early on for Matieau and eventually, Bowen would get a hand on the ball and knock it loose. Buffalo would recover the fumble and would add to their total with a K Donald Brewer field goal. Buffalo would take the 10-0 lead into the second.
2ND Q:
Matieau’s mistake was getting in his head, but he would gather himself on the sidelines. With the help of veteran WR Eugene Burns, Matieau found some confidence and would get the Royals rolling. Midway through the 2nd, they would break into the endzone with Matieau finding Burns for the major. Buffalo was having lots of success on offense and Medina would come back with yet another strong drive. After he scrambled for 18 yards, RB Arthur Conner would punch it in to make it 17-7 with less than 2 minutes to go in the half. Ottawa would step on the field and Matieau would get the team back down the field within the remaining time. WR Allen Atkins would score the touchdown with 7 seconds left to make it 17-14.
3RD Q:
Buffalo would look to extend their lead early in the second half. RB Arthur Conner was the leader on a long opening drive. He would rush for 52 yards on the drive setting up another K Donald Brewer field goal. Ottawa would keep their momentum going and would get the field goal back shortly after to make the score 20-17. Buffalo would still control most of the play and the field position battle, but Ottawa’s defense would come up with a big play to turn the tide. Medina would be pressured by DL Olaf Viktorsson. Viktorsson would reach Medina and interfere with his throw. The ball would sail right into the middle of the field where LB Mickaël Beaumont would catch it and give Ottawa the ball. Matieau would take the momentum and turn it into a touchdown eventually finding WR Allen Atkins for his second touchdown of the game.
4TH Q:
Buffalo was behind for the first time in the game, but they remained calm. It would take a few attempts but Medina would eventually get the offense into scoring range. With that, the QB would scramble out of the pocket before finding WR Joseph Barry down at the 5-yard line. The catch would set up RB Arthur Conner’s second of the game and retake the lead for the Blue Wings. The pressure flipped back onto the Royals who were at risk of blowing another playoff game. Matieau would get the team going on a couple of drives but always stalled out around midfield. With about 3 minutes to go in the game, the Royals would get stuck at midfield again. Matieau would throw back-to-back incomplete passes setting up a 3rd and 10. Of course with limited time, the Royals would go for it. Matieau would drop back and pressure would come soaring in from the edge via DL Sean Bowen. Matieau stayed calm and stepped up and would find WR Willard Brooks for a 12-yard gain to give them a new set of downs. From there the Royals didn’t look back and at the 23-yard line, Matieau would hit Atkins up the sideline after he beat his man and he would run it in for the go-ahead touchdown. The game wasn’t over as the Blue Wings would keep fighting. Medina would face a similar situation as Matieau but on a shorter 3rd and 4. In this case, Medina would drop back before quickly stepping up to run. LB Mickaël Beaumont predicted it and would stop Medina before the first down marker resulting in a turnover and the Royals going to the McCallister Cup for the first time.
1ST Q:
QB Larry Larson stepped onto the field at Richardson Stadium for one final time as a player. The QB has brought a lot to the city, including 5 straight McCallister Cups (dating back to the three years before the NAAF) and many other trophies over his career and he wanted to get just one more. The Rouge on the other hand would be ready to change that story. Early in the game, the Rouge defense would completely stifle any Boston attempts. They would capitalize and score a touchdown with RB Élisée Marchal to take the early 0-7 lead. Boston would attempt a comeback drive but once again could not move the ball. The Rouge controlled the field for the opening quarter and would hold their 0-7 lead.
2ND Q:
Boston would start to gain some traction on the Rouge early in the second, but momentum would massively change with the Rouge defense making a statement. DL Napoléon Chevalier would break the Boston line and would lay a big hit on Larson. Larson had thrown the ball and Chevalier would get a penalty for the late hit. Larson would be down for a moment and the Boston players were not happy with the Rouge which led to some pushing and shoving between players. Things were getting heated, but behind the chaos, Larson would get up and stay in the game. Once everything died down and the game got back underway and Larson would let his play do the talking. He would lead the Independents down the rest of the way for a WR Ethan Walters touchdown to tie the game at 7. The remainder of the quarter had an edge to it, the players were hitting a bit harder and the trash talk between the sides got more frequent. A perfect atmosphere for a playoff game. Neither team would score leaving it at 7-7.
3RD Q:
The trend continued throughout the game with both sides increasing their intensity. Boston however, would start to pull away. Larson would continue to get the Independents moving and with some help from RB Joel Bonner would score another touchdown. Montreal’s next drive would end early after QB Andrew Glover would throw an interception to DB Lester Murphy. Setting up a Boston field goal to make it 17-7. In just minutes, the Rouge were way behind and the offense was having some trouble moving the ball. Boston was managing to keep Marchal contained and were taking control of the game. Montreal’s counter was to try and knock Boston back off their feet and got more aggressive with their defense.
4TH Q:
Montreal’s strategy would work early on as they would get a fumble recovery with LB Rusty McVee hitting WR Ellis Lindholm in the open field. Montreal would take over and Marchal would punch in his second of the game to pull Montreal back within 3. They would keep up their defensive pressure and continue to layout hits whenever they had a chance. Boston was not a fan of the play and it would cause some more heated "discussions". Montreal would even get several more hits on Larson, hoping to shake him off his game, but Larson would keep getting back up. He would eventually lead Boston on another strong drive to score their third touchdown of the game. His final TD pass in Boston would go to WR Samuel Floyd who would give Boston the 10-point lead. Montreal was defeated after that blow and would fail to get anything else. Boston was going back to the McCallister Cup for the 5th time in the 6 years of the NAAF.
Injury Report
DL Stephan Kendall OTT - Day-to-Day
36th McCallister Cup Preview
Boston Independents VS. Ottawa Royals - Lansdowne Park - October 3, 1954 - CBS/CBC
Previous Meetings: W6 BOS 24-14 OTT
Boston will make its 5th appearance in the McCallister Cup since the NAAF began and it will be their star QB Larry Larson’s final game. The Royals will enter their first McCallister Cup on home-field with their up and coming star QB Jean Matieau. The Royals got a huge monkey off their back with a win and they will enter the field with home-field advantage. Boston on the other hand will have the experience that Ottawa may lack going in. The Royals will have to get the offense moving and stay with or ahead of the Independents. Boston will just have to play a clean game, keep control of the play, and keep the crowd out of the game. The two teams played in the first NAAF game and now they meet for Larson’s final game, it should be as good a game as ever.
Who wins it all?
1954 - 36th McCallister Cup
Boston Independents VS. Ottawa Royals - Lansdowne Park - October 3, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
Before the game it was announced that Ottawa’s new stadium would be finished and ready to go for the start of the 1955 season and so this game would be the final one at Lansdowne Park. Both teams piled onto Lansdowne Park for one final time as kickoff inched closer. They were ready to play a game that marked the end of the early era of the NAAF.
1ST Q
The Independents would take the ball first in hopes of getting ahead of the Royals early. QB Larry Larson and the offense would not get very far with the Royals forcing them to punt after just one first down. QB Jean Matieau would take over for the Royals and have a similar lack of success. The game was a bit slow to start with both teams playing tight defensively. However, the silence would be broken with 2 minutes to go in the opening quarter. Around the Boston 45 yard line, Larson would drop back and would wait for WR Samuel Floyd to break towards the outside. Once he did, Larson hit him with a perfect pass that would send the speedy WR up the sidelines into the open field. No one came close to catching him and the Independents took a 7-0 lead.
2ND Q
The fans were a lot quieter after the Floyd touchdown and the Royals looked a bit shaken. Matieau would throw an interception in the quarter to DB Francis Veillette which would set up a Boston field goal to make it 10-0. The Royals' offense would turn to RB Alexei Volkov to get the ball moving and he had a bit of success setting up a field goal to cut into the Boston lead. The Independents would continue to hold control over the game for the most part and would get another field goal. Larson was playing some of his best football in a while and Boston was all for it. Matieau on the other hand was dealing with more pressure even after getting over the hurdle last week. Once again it was his receivers that would help him out of the funk. WR Eugene Burns would get open for a quick 14-yard catch which would start to get the offense moving. Matieau would make a couple more passes before WR Allen Atkins would make a short catch and turn it upfield for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 13-10.
3RD Q
The third would spark a change of momentum for the game. The Royals late first-half touchdown brought a wave of confidence to the entire team. Matieau would lead them down the field once again and would find WR Eugene Burns for a touchdown to take their first lead of the game. Their defense would also pitch in a few drives later with a fumble recovery via LB Leo Davenport. The crowd came alive quickly and it became harder for the Independents to get things going under the noise. The Boston offense was only able to get 2 first downs in the quarter as Ottawa extended their lead to 13-20 as the third was winding down.
4TH Q
The Royals were ahead, the crowd was going nuts, but none of that would stop the greatest QB of all time from making a difference. Despite all the odds, you can never count Boston out. Larson would get the Independents rolling once again in the fourth. Throwing with confidence and determination. They would march the whole field and get to within striking range. Boston would go with the handoff to RB Joel Bonner at the 7 yard-line, but the Royals would manage to stop him after only 2 yards. Larson called a second play to Bonner but made a quick switch after seeing the Royals defense. While only Bonner and WR Ethan Walters knew that the play was changing based on the noise and the signal Larson could use. He would fake the handoff to Bonner and with the rest of the Boston offense committed to the run, the Royals fell for it and Walters was left wide open for the game-tying touchdown. The crowd quickly became nervous once again. The Royals needed to get something in order to save the game. Matieau would not get anything after failing to complete back-to-back passes on their first two plays back on the field. The Royals were forced to punt and the Independents took over. Larson would lead the Independents' offense back out and once again he would methodically lead them down the field. Another chance for Boston to score and Bonner would be stopped again on first down, but then second Bonner would be stopped again forcing a field goal. K Johnnie Berg would put it through for the lead with 1:21 seconds remaining.
QB Jean Matieau had to get the Royals down the field. WR Allen Atkins would stop Matieau for a second and said something to Matieau. The players paused for a second and then took the field. The QB would get Ottawa moving. Play after play. Perfect pass after perfect pass, but Boston would eventually stall the Royals. Setting up a third down with 37 seconds left. Matieau would step back to throw. He would escape some pressure before tossing it 24 yards down the field to find WR Allen Atkins. DB Francis Veillette would go for the catch himself but Atkins would make the catch over him leaving nothing but open grass in front of Atkins. The WR would run down the sideline with Veillette out of position, but as he approached the endzone S Michael O’Brien got a hand on him. Atkins would keep going forward not giving up and would lunge for the goal line. The ball would land on the goalline before Atkins fully hit the ground but there was a pause as the crowd waited for a signal. The ref’s arms went straight up and the Royals had the lead.
Larson would get one final chance to get back the score, but time would run thin. On the final play of the game, Larson would give it one last throw down the field. The ball would not be completed in the crowd of players and the Royals would hold on for their first McCallister Cup.
Following the final whistle, the crowd roared. The Royals celebrated the long-awaited title. But a moment at midfield would be one to remember with Matieau and Larson having a conversation as one QB that defined a generation of football congratulated a QB that will likely define the next generation. Following a hug, Larson would take Matieau’s arm and raise it boxing style to congratulate the QB. A great moment that will be remembered for a long time. As for the moment before Atkins and Matieau entered the field for the game-winning drive, we would find out that both players just took a moment to breathe and remember to leave everything on the field. They both did just that.
McCallister Cup MVP
WR Allen Atkins OTT - 2 Receiving Touchdowns, 121 Receiving Yards
1954 Champions
1954 Season Recap
Boston Independents VS. Ottawa Royals - Lansdowne Park - October 3, 1954 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
Before the game it was announced that Ottawa’s new stadium would be finished and ready to go for the start of the 1955 season and so this game would be the final one at Lansdowne Park. Both teams piled onto Lansdowne Park for one final time as kickoff inched closer. They were ready to play a game that marked the end of the early era of the NAAF.
1ST Q
The Independents would take the ball first in hopes of getting ahead of the Royals early. QB Larry Larson and the offense would not get very far with the Royals forcing them to punt after just one first down. QB Jean Matieau would take over for the Royals and have a similar lack of success. The game was a bit slow to start with both teams playing tight defensively. However, the silence would be broken with 2 minutes to go in the opening quarter. Around the Boston 45 yard line, Larson would drop back and would wait for WR Samuel Floyd to break towards the outside. Once he did, Larson hit him with a perfect pass that would send the speedy WR up the sidelines into the open field. No one came close to catching him and the Independents took a 7-0 lead.
2ND Q
The fans were a lot quieter after the Floyd touchdown and the Royals looked a bit shaken. Matieau would throw an interception in the quarter to DB Francis Veillette which would set up a Boston field goal to make it 10-0. The Royals' offense would turn to RB Alexei Volkov to get the ball moving and he had a bit of success setting up a field goal to cut into the Boston lead. The Independents would continue to hold control over the game for the most part and would get another field goal. Larson was playing some of his best football in a while and Boston was all for it. Matieau on the other hand was dealing with more pressure even after getting over the hurdle last week. Once again it was his receivers that would help him out of the funk. WR Eugene Burns would get open for a quick 14-yard catch which would start to get the offense moving. Matieau would make a couple more passes before WR Allen Atkins would make a short catch and turn it upfield for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 13-10.
3RD Q
The third would spark a change of momentum for the game. The Royals late first-half touchdown brought a wave of confidence to the entire team. Matieau would lead them down the field once again and would find WR Eugene Burns for a touchdown to take their first lead of the game. Their defense would also pitch in a few drives later with a fumble recovery via LB Leo Davenport. The crowd came alive quickly and it became harder for the Independents to get things going under the noise. The Boston offense was only able to get 2 first downs in the quarter as Ottawa extended their lead to 13-20 as the third was winding down.
4TH Q
The Royals were ahead, the crowd was going nuts, but none of that would stop the greatest QB of all time from making a difference. Despite all the odds, you can never count Boston out. Larson would get the Independents rolling once again in the fourth. Throwing with confidence and determination. They would march the whole field and get to within striking range. Boston would go with the handoff to RB Joel Bonner at the 7 yard-line, but the Royals would manage to stop him after only 2 yards. Larson called a second play to Bonner but made a quick switch after seeing the Royals defense. While only Bonner and WR Ethan Walters knew that the play was changing based on the noise and the signal Larson could use. He would fake the handoff to Bonner and with the rest of the Boston offense committed to the run, the Royals fell for it and Walters was left wide open for the game-tying touchdown. The crowd quickly became nervous once again. The Royals needed to get something in order to save the game. Matieau would not get anything after failing to complete back-to-back passes on their first two plays back on the field. The Royals were forced to punt and the Independents took over. Larson would lead the Independents' offense back out and once again he would methodically lead them down the field. Another chance for Boston to score and Bonner would be stopped again on first down, but then second Bonner would be stopped again forcing a field goal. K Johnnie Berg would put it through for the lead with 1:21 seconds remaining.
QB Jean Matieau had to get the Royals down the field. WR Allen Atkins would stop Matieau for a second and said something to Matieau. The players paused for a second and then took the field. The QB would get Ottawa moving. Play after play. Perfect pass after perfect pass, but Boston would eventually stall the Royals. Setting up a third down with 37 seconds left. Matieau would step back to throw. He would escape some pressure before tossing it 24 yards down the field to find WR Allen Atkins. DB Francis Veillette would go for the catch himself but Atkins would make the catch over him leaving nothing but open grass in front of Atkins. The WR would run down the sideline with Veillette out of position, but as he approached the endzone S Michael O’Brien got a hand on him. Atkins would keep going forward not giving up and would lunge for the goal line. The ball would land on the goalline before Atkins fully hit the ground but there was a pause as the crowd waited for a signal. The ref’s arms went straight up and the Royals had the lead.
Larson would get one final chance to get back the score, but time would run thin. On the final play of the game, Larson would give it one last throw down the field. The ball would not be completed in the crowd of players and the Royals would hold on for their first McCallister Cup.
Following the final whistle, the crowd roared. The Royals celebrated the long-awaited title. But a moment at midfield would be one to remember with Matieau and Larson having a conversation as one QB that defined a generation of football congratulated a QB that will likely define the next generation. Following a hug, Larson would take Matieau’s arm and raise it boxing style to congratulate the QB. A great moment that will be remembered for a long time. As for the moment before Atkins and Matieau entered the field for the game-winning drive, we would find out that both players just took a moment to breathe and remember to leave everything on the field. They both did just that.
1954 Champions
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