Ottawa Royals - 28, Buffalo Blue Wings - 17 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - July 15, 1955 - 7 PM ET - CBC
The 1955 season kicked off in front of the sold-out Royals crowd at their brand new stadium. Following the raising of the Royals Championship Banner and the team handing the trophy back to the league, the game got off to a hot start. The Blue Wings would move the ball quickly on the Royals. QB Angelo Medina would scramble for 27 yards on one play that would set up a WR Joseph Barry touchdown to quickly open up the scoring with a 7-0 lead. QB Jean Matieau and the Royals would not back down. They would march back the other way setting up a touchdown pass to WR Allen Atkins to tie it back up. The game would continue like this into the second with RB Arthur Conner getting the Blue Wings back into the endzone before Matieau would find WR Willard Brooks to tie it once again going into the half. Out of the break, things got bad for the Blue Wings. RB Alexei Volkov would break loose for Ottawa. The running back would get a great block from OL Aaron Spears which would leave LB Ben McCray injured. The RB would eventually give Ottawa the 21-14 lead. Buffalo would look to recover, but QB Angelo Medina would soon leave the game with an injury taking a hit from LB Leo Davenport while trying to run the ball. QB Maurice Norris would have to replace him. Ottawa would tack on another touchdown with Atkins to make it 28-14. Norris would get Buffalo back into scoring range and they would get a field goal but that was all as Ottawa starts the season on a high note with a win.
Long Island Raiders - 19, Montreal Rouge - 7 - Long Island Stadium - July 16, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
A much-anticipated battle between two former #1 picks would kick off the season for Long Island and Montreal. Both teams got off to slow starts as both teams were managing a lot of changes from last season. Long Island would be the first to strike with K Thomas McFadden hitting a 38-yard kick. QB Lee Rogers, the former Long Island QB, would get Montreal moving following the field goal with a big pass to WR Ray Lopez. Unfortunately, the mistakes would still happen for Rogers with the QB throwing the ball into the hands of DB Slay Mitchell who would set up another Raiders field goal. QB Lyle Painter was solid in the first half keeping things pretty conservative as he adjusted to the new league. They would get a 3rd field goal to enter the half up 9-0. Montreal would get some help from the defense when DL Zakary Turbide would strip Painter and then take it back to the Long Island 16. RB Élisée Marchal would score for Montreal to make it 9-7. Lyle Painter would lead the next drive all the way down the field. Connecting on all but one pass and finding WR Travis Gallagher for his first career passing TD and Gallagher’s first as a Raider. Long Island held the 16-7 lead for most of the game. They would add to it with DB Francis Veillette grabbing a pick off of Rogers setting up a field goal. DL Vernon Spears and LB Elijah Goldwater held Marchal at bay for the game. Montreal had no answers for the Raiders. Long Island finally earns their first win since moving from Hartford.
*Also first time the Hawks/Raiders franchise has ever won their first game of the season*
Ontario Tigers - 37, Boston Independents - 6 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - July 16, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBC
The Tigers started the season on a mission. Leading the way was QB Duane Logan who knows that this season is a make or break year. He would give the Tigers a great start with a deep shot to WR Wilbert Benjamin. RB Laurent Brazeau would lead the next drive resulting in a field goal and 10-0 lead. Boston on the other hand was off to a slow start with QB Brian Meadows in as the new starter. Meadows would get Boston a field goal but not long after he would throw a pick to DB Louie White. White would set up a Brazeau touchdown to extend the lead to 16-3. The second half would start with Boston relying heavily on RB Joel Bonner, but he was getting nowhere as the Tigers would stop any attack forcing Boston to 3 straight 2 and outs. During that, Logan would lead the Tigers to two more touchdowns. He would get the ball to Brazeau on the first but then he would find WR John Rivera for another to make it 30-3. The final quarter was a bit quieter with Boston finally getting another field goal, but it was all with the Tigers getting another pair of turnovers with LB Aengus Lynch stripping WR Lloyd Marshall and then DB Jesse Scott with a pick. Logan would throw one more touchdown to WR Wilbert Benjamin to make it 37-6.
*Fun Note: To see just how much the league has changed the first meeting between the Tigers and Independents ended 37-1 in favour of Boston.*
Worcester Athletics - 20, Providence Gold Stars - 23 - Worcester Stadium - July 17, 1955 - 3 PM ET CBS
The favourites to win the New England Division went up against the league's biggest wildcard to finish off the opening week in the NAAF. The game was quickly more competitive than any of the previous 3. Worcester would get off to a solid start with QB Riley Kiernan leading the Athletics to a first-quarter touchdown to WR Christian Venegas. Providence would have a bit of a slower start but would still grab an early field goal. Worcester would look to continue to get the offense going but Providence would cause some havoc in the backfield with DL Calias McDonough getting to RB Marcus Devonshire forcing a fumble. Providence would recover and grab another field goal to make it 7-6. Worcester would get a field goal on their next drive before the young Gold Star QB Connor O’Rourke would show his talent on a bomb to WR Peter Brooks. This would set up a RB Johnnie Stafford touchdown to give the Gold Stars the lead at the break. Worcester wouldn’t back down in the second half as Devonshire would break free for a big run which would set up a Kiernan touchdown pass to WR Michael Mcleod. Providence would cool off a bit out of the break and O’Rourke would throw an interception to DB Alexander Bradley. The Athletics would grab a field goal leading by 7 heading into the final quarter. The game would remain 20-13 down to the 4-minute mark when Providence would break free with a touchdown drive. O’Rourke would find WR John Osborn in the endzone for the score to tie it. The game would remain tied until QB Riley Kiernan would toss a ball to WR Christian Venegas. The ball would float and Providence’s usual hero, DB Lee Wolfe, would jump the route and take the ball back into Athletics territory. K Bernard Barnett would kick the game-winning field goal not long after. To make matters worse, Venegas was down after the interception and would be out for the next 5 weeks with an injury.
Players of the Week
OFF: WR Wilbert Benjamin ON - 2 Receiving Touchdowns, 101 Receiving Yards
DEF: DB Lee Wolfe PRO - 1 Interception, 3 Knockdowns, 3 Tackles
Injury Report
QB Angelo Medina BUF - 1 Week
LB Ben McCray BUF - 2 Weeks
S Carl Dawson LI - 4 Weeks
WR Christian Venegas WOR - 5 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ontario 1-0
Ottawa 1-0
Buffalo 0-1
Montreal 0-1
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 1-0
Providence 1-0
Worcester 0-1
Boston 0-1
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Ontario +2
3 - Buffalo -1
4 - Providence +1
5 - Worcester -2
6 - Long Island -
7 - Montreal -1
8 - Boston -
The 1955 season kicked off in front of the sold-out Royals crowd at their brand new stadium. Following the raising of the Royals Championship Banner and the team handing the trophy back to the league, the game got off to a hot start. The Blue Wings would move the ball quickly on the Royals. QB Angelo Medina would scramble for 27 yards on one play that would set up a WR Joseph Barry touchdown to quickly open up the scoring with a 7-0 lead. QB Jean Matieau and the Royals would not back down. They would march back the other way setting up a touchdown pass to WR Allen Atkins to tie it back up. The game would continue like this into the second with RB Arthur Conner getting the Blue Wings back into the endzone before Matieau would find WR Willard Brooks to tie it once again going into the half. Out of the break, things got bad for the Blue Wings. RB Alexei Volkov would break loose for Ottawa. The running back would get a great block from OL Aaron Spears which would leave LB Ben McCray injured. The RB would eventually give Ottawa the 21-14 lead. Buffalo would look to recover, but QB Angelo Medina would soon leave the game with an injury taking a hit from LB Leo Davenport while trying to run the ball. QB Maurice Norris would have to replace him. Ottawa would tack on another touchdown with Atkins to make it 28-14. Norris would get Buffalo back into scoring range and they would get a field goal but that was all as Ottawa starts the season on a high note with a win.
Long Island Raiders - 19, Montreal Rouge - 7 - Long Island Stadium - July 16, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
A much-anticipated battle between two former #1 picks would kick off the season for Long Island and Montreal. Both teams got off to slow starts as both teams were managing a lot of changes from last season. Long Island would be the first to strike with K Thomas McFadden hitting a 38-yard kick. QB Lee Rogers, the former Long Island QB, would get Montreal moving following the field goal with a big pass to WR Ray Lopez. Unfortunately, the mistakes would still happen for Rogers with the QB throwing the ball into the hands of DB Slay Mitchell who would set up another Raiders field goal. QB Lyle Painter was solid in the first half keeping things pretty conservative as he adjusted to the new league. They would get a 3rd field goal to enter the half up 9-0. Montreal would get some help from the defense when DL Zakary Turbide would strip Painter and then take it back to the Long Island 16. RB Élisée Marchal would score for Montreal to make it 9-7. Lyle Painter would lead the next drive all the way down the field. Connecting on all but one pass and finding WR Travis Gallagher for his first career passing TD and Gallagher’s first as a Raider. Long Island held the 16-7 lead for most of the game. They would add to it with DB Francis Veillette grabbing a pick off of Rogers setting up a field goal. DL Vernon Spears and LB Elijah Goldwater held Marchal at bay for the game. Montreal had no answers for the Raiders. Long Island finally earns their first win since moving from Hartford.
*Also first time the Hawks/Raiders franchise has ever won their first game of the season*
Ontario Tigers - 37, Boston Independents - 6 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - July 16, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBC
The Tigers started the season on a mission. Leading the way was QB Duane Logan who knows that this season is a make or break year. He would give the Tigers a great start with a deep shot to WR Wilbert Benjamin. RB Laurent Brazeau would lead the next drive resulting in a field goal and 10-0 lead. Boston on the other hand was off to a slow start with QB Brian Meadows in as the new starter. Meadows would get Boston a field goal but not long after he would throw a pick to DB Louie White. White would set up a Brazeau touchdown to extend the lead to 16-3. The second half would start with Boston relying heavily on RB Joel Bonner, but he was getting nowhere as the Tigers would stop any attack forcing Boston to 3 straight 2 and outs. During that, Logan would lead the Tigers to two more touchdowns. He would get the ball to Brazeau on the first but then he would find WR John Rivera for another to make it 30-3. The final quarter was a bit quieter with Boston finally getting another field goal, but it was all with the Tigers getting another pair of turnovers with LB Aengus Lynch stripping WR Lloyd Marshall and then DB Jesse Scott with a pick. Logan would throw one more touchdown to WR Wilbert Benjamin to make it 37-6.
*Fun Note: To see just how much the league has changed the first meeting between the Tigers and Independents ended 37-1 in favour of Boston.*
Worcester Athletics - 20, Providence Gold Stars - 23 - Worcester Stadium - July 17, 1955 - 3 PM ET CBS
The favourites to win the New England Division went up against the league's biggest wildcard to finish off the opening week in the NAAF. The game was quickly more competitive than any of the previous 3. Worcester would get off to a solid start with QB Riley Kiernan leading the Athletics to a first-quarter touchdown to WR Christian Venegas. Providence would have a bit of a slower start but would still grab an early field goal. Worcester would look to continue to get the offense going but Providence would cause some havoc in the backfield with DL Calias McDonough getting to RB Marcus Devonshire forcing a fumble. Providence would recover and grab another field goal to make it 7-6. Worcester would get a field goal on their next drive before the young Gold Star QB Connor O’Rourke would show his talent on a bomb to WR Peter Brooks. This would set up a RB Johnnie Stafford touchdown to give the Gold Stars the lead at the break. Worcester wouldn’t back down in the second half as Devonshire would break free for a big run which would set up a Kiernan touchdown pass to WR Michael Mcleod. Providence would cool off a bit out of the break and O’Rourke would throw an interception to DB Alexander Bradley. The Athletics would grab a field goal leading by 7 heading into the final quarter. The game would remain 20-13 down to the 4-minute mark when Providence would break free with a touchdown drive. O’Rourke would find WR John Osborn in the endzone for the score to tie it. The game would remain tied until QB Riley Kiernan would toss a ball to WR Christian Venegas. The ball would float and Providence’s usual hero, DB Lee Wolfe, would jump the route and take the ball back into Athletics territory. K Bernard Barnett would kick the game-winning field goal not long after. To make matters worse, Venegas was down after the interception and would be out for the next 5 weeks with an injury.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
QB Angelo Medina BUF - 1 Week
LB Ben McCray BUF - 2 Weeks
S Carl Dawson LI - 4 Weeks
WR Christian Venegas WOR - 5 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ontario 1-0
Ottawa 1-0
Buffalo 0-1
Montreal 0-1
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 1-0
Providence 1-0
Worcester 0-1
Boston 0-1
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Ontario +2
3 - Buffalo -1
4 - Providence +1
5 - Worcester -2
6 - Long Island -
7 - Montreal -1
8 - Boston -
Buffalo Blue Wings - 10, Long Island Raiders - 17 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - July 22, 1955 - 7 PM ET - CBS
The Blue Wings entered their week 2 matchup with a couple of injuries. QB Maurice Norris was back in the starting role with Medina out for the week. The veteran QB would start the game well with a couple of first downs here and there, but DL Vernon Spears would find his way past the Buffalo line and would get to Norris and strip the ball. Both teams piled on trying to get the ball. Unfortunately for Long Island, they would not get the ball and Spears would end up being injured in the pile. Buffalo would still punt the ball and Long Island would strike first with a K Thomas McFadden field goal. Buffalo started to get the ball moving with Norris and RB Arthur Conner. They would get down to the goal line where Conner would punch it in to take the 7-3 lead into the half. The second half would not go Buffalo's way as WR Samuel Floyd would have to leave the game with a minor injury. Not long after that, DB Amyre Rouleau would pick off Norris, setting up a RB Gene Fischer touchdown to give Long Island the lead. Buffalo would get a field goal back on the next drive, but Long Island would answer with another touchdown. It was the former Blue Wing WR Travis Gallagher, playing in his return to Buffalo, catching a 25-yard pass that would set up WR Darryl Duke for the TD. Long Island led 10-17 with about 3 minutes left in the game. Norris was able to get Buffalo into striking range again but the drive was foiled by DB Slay Mitchell who would stop the Blue Wings attack with an interception. That would be Buffalo’s final shot as Long Island held on for their second win and a surprising 2-0 start.
Boston Independents - 16, Ottawa Royals - 27 - Richardson Stadium - July 23, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
Boston’s home opener would go a lot better than their week one match, but they were going up against the mighty Royals. Boston would open the game with a strong drive lead by RB Joel Bonner. They would get a field goal off that drive to open the scoring. Ottawa would get back the field goal on their next drive after DB Lester Murphy broke up a 2nd down pass to Allen Atkins deep in Boston territory. Boston would keep the offense rolling until DL Olaf Viktorsson nailed QB Brian Meadows leading to the ball floating up and DB Mingan Oliver running under it and taking it back for Ottawa. Matieau would connect with WR Chester Bennett for the young WR’s first career touchdown a few plays later. Boston would continue to get stuffed by the Royals defense while RB Alexei Volkov would extend Ottawa’s lead with his second TD of the season. The second half was a bit better for Boston with RB Joel Bonner taking charge and eventually would get the ball into the endzone to make it 10-17. Ottawa would continue to add to their lead with Matieau finding Allen Atkins for another TD making a great catch over DB Lester Murphy. Boston would manage to squeeze out another pair of field goals with Ottawa getting one back in the final quarter ending the game 16-27.
Ontario Tigers - 31, Worcester Athletics - 12 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - July 23, 1955 - 4 PM ET
The Tigers came into week 2 after smacking the Independents around and were not looking to slow down. It was obvious out of the gate with QB Duane Logan taking the Tigers to the endzone on their opening drive. He would connect with WR John Rivera to make it 7-0 quick. Worcester was not quite as hot out of the gate as the team went 2 and out on their first couple drives. Eventually, QB Riley Kiernan would get the team moving but they would not score in the opening frame. Ontario would be the next to score with RB Laurent Brazeau breaking through the line to make it 14-0. Worcester would finally get on the board with a field goal, but things got worse with Kiernan taking a shot from DL Napoléon Chevalier which would result in a LB Aengus Lynch interception. Ontario would tack on a field goal. The third would be pretty quiet until the Tigers got their third touchdown of the day with Brazeau's second score. Worcester would start to get going as the 4th approached. RB Marcus Devonshire would break through to the endzone to make it 24-9 heading into the final frame. Worcester would get an early field goal to cut the lead to 12. The Tigers would hold the Athletics back and would even get another turnover with Devonshire dropping the ball off of a LB Roland Hensley hit which would end in Brazeau’s third score of the game and a huge Ontario win.
Montreal Rouge - 21, Providence Gold Stars - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 24, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The Gold Stars managed to take out the Athletics last week and were looking to keep pace with the Raiders for the top of the division. However, Montreal had other plans, specifically RB Élisée Marchal who would be a focus of the offense with the rain overhead. The star RB would get the Rouge moving early with a pair of 16-yard runs followed by a touchdown to make it 7-0. Providence didn’t have much of an answer as RB Johnnie Stafford was repeatedly stopped by LB Rusty McVee. McVee would eventually punch the ball out of Stafford’s hands leading to Montreal getting a second touchdown with Marchal. Montreal took the shocking 14-0 lead into the half. Providence would retaliate in the second half going to the air a bit more. QB Connor O’Rourke would be able to get the Gold Stars down the red zone before finding WR Peter Brooks for a score to cut the lead in half. They would look to get a field goal to cut the lead even more but the ball would be shanked and go out for a single. On their next drive, Providence would try to turn things up, but the Rouge fans were becoming a big factor and miscommunication would lead to DB Quentin Xavier grabbing an interception that he would take back for a touchdown. Providence would get another chance to come back with DB Lee Wolfe taking the ball from QB Lee Rogers. O’Rourke would find WR John Osborn for another score, but Montreal would hold on to their 6-point lead till the clock ran out to shock the Gold Stars.
Players of the Week
OFF: RB Laurent Brazeau ON - 3 Rushing Touchdowns, 98 Rushing Yards
DEF: DB Quentin Xavier MTL - 1 Interception, 1 Touchdown, 2 Knockdowns, 4 Tackles
Injury Report
WR Samuel Floyd BUF - Day-to-Day
DL Vernon Spears LI - 5 Weeks
WR Marqués Gardner ON - Day-to-Day
TE Eric Warner ON - 7 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ontario 2-0
Ottawa 2-0
Montreal 1-1
Buffalo 0-2
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 2-0
Providence 1-1
Worcester 0-2
Boston 0-2
Power Rankings
1 - Ontario +1
2 - Ottawa -1
3 - Long Island +3
4 - Buffalo -1
5 - Providence -1
6 - Worcester -1
7 - Montreal -
8 - Boston -
The Blue Wings entered their week 2 matchup with a couple of injuries. QB Maurice Norris was back in the starting role with Medina out for the week. The veteran QB would start the game well with a couple of first downs here and there, but DL Vernon Spears would find his way past the Buffalo line and would get to Norris and strip the ball. Both teams piled on trying to get the ball. Unfortunately for Long Island, they would not get the ball and Spears would end up being injured in the pile. Buffalo would still punt the ball and Long Island would strike first with a K Thomas McFadden field goal. Buffalo started to get the ball moving with Norris and RB Arthur Conner. They would get down to the goal line where Conner would punch it in to take the 7-3 lead into the half. The second half would not go Buffalo's way as WR Samuel Floyd would have to leave the game with a minor injury. Not long after that, DB Amyre Rouleau would pick off Norris, setting up a RB Gene Fischer touchdown to give Long Island the lead. Buffalo would get a field goal back on the next drive, but Long Island would answer with another touchdown. It was the former Blue Wing WR Travis Gallagher, playing in his return to Buffalo, catching a 25-yard pass that would set up WR Darryl Duke for the TD. Long Island led 10-17 with about 3 minutes left in the game. Norris was able to get Buffalo into striking range again but the drive was foiled by DB Slay Mitchell who would stop the Blue Wings attack with an interception. That would be Buffalo’s final shot as Long Island held on for their second win and a surprising 2-0 start.
Boston Independents - 16, Ottawa Royals - 27 - Richardson Stadium - July 23, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
Boston’s home opener would go a lot better than their week one match, but they were going up against the mighty Royals. Boston would open the game with a strong drive lead by RB Joel Bonner. They would get a field goal off that drive to open the scoring. Ottawa would get back the field goal on their next drive after DB Lester Murphy broke up a 2nd down pass to Allen Atkins deep in Boston territory. Boston would keep the offense rolling until DL Olaf Viktorsson nailed QB Brian Meadows leading to the ball floating up and DB Mingan Oliver running under it and taking it back for Ottawa. Matieau would connect with WR Chester Bennett for the young WR’s first career touchdown a few plays later. Boston would continue to get stuffed by the Royals defense while RB Alexei Volkov would extend Ottawa’s lead with his second TD of the season. The second half was a bit better for Boston with RB Joel Bonner taking charge and eventually would get the ball into the endzone to make it 10-17. Ottawa would continue to add to their lead with Matieau finding Allen Atkins for another TD making a great catch over DB Lester Murphy. Boston would manage to squeeze out another pair of field goals with Ottawa getting one back in the final quarter ending the game 16-27.
Ontario Tigers - 31, Worcester Athletics - 12 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - July 23, 1955 - 4 PM ET
The Tigers came into week 2 after smacking the Independents around and were not looking to slow down. It was obvious out of the gate with QB Duane Logan taking the Tigers to the endzone on their opening drive. He would connect with WR John Rivera to make it 7-0 quick. Worcester was not quite as hot out of the gate as the team went 2 and out on their first couple drives. Eventually, QB Riley Kiernan would get the team moving but they would not score in the opening frame. Ontario would be the next to score with RB Laurent Brazeau breaking through the line to make it 14-0. Worcester would finally get on the board with a field goal, but things got worse with Kiernan taking a shot from DL Napoléon Chevalier which would result in a LB Aengus Lynch interception. Ontario would tack on a field goal. The third would be pretty quiet until the Tigers got their third touchdown of the day with Brazeau's second score. Worcester would start to get going as the 4th approached. RB Marcus Devonshire would break through to the endzone to make it 24-9 heading into the final frame. Worcester would get an early field goal to cut the lead to 12. The Tigers would hold the Athletics back and would even get another turnover with Devonshire dropping the ball off of a LB Roland Hensley hit which would end in Brazeau’s third score of the game and a huge Ontario win.
Montreal Rouge - 21, Providence Gold Stars - 15 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 24, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The Gold Stars managed to take out the Athletics last week and were looking to keep pace with the Raiders for the top of the division. However, Montreal had other plans, specifically RB Élisée Marchal who would be a focus of the offense with the rain overhead. The star RB would get the Rouge moving early with a pair of 16-yard runs followed by a touchdown to make it 7-0. Providence didn’t have much of an answer as RB Johnnie Stafford was repeatedly stopped by LB Rusty McVee. McVee would eventually punch the ball out of Stafford’s hands leading to Montreal getting a second touchdown with Marchal. Montreal took the shocking 14-0 lead into the half. Providence would retaliate in the second half going to the air a bit more. QB Connor O’Rourke would be able to get the Gold Stars down the red zone before finding WR Peter Brooks for a score to cut the lead in half. They would look to get a field goal to cut the lead even more but the ball would be shanked and go out for a single. On their next drive, Providence would try to turn things up, but the Rouge fans were becoming a big factor and miscommunication would lead to DB Quentin Xavier grabbing an interception that he would take back for a touchdown. Providence would get another chance to come back with DB Lee Wolfe taking the ball from QB Lee Rogers. O’Rourke would find WR John Osborn for another score, but Montreal would hold on to their 6-point lead till the clock ran out to shock the Gold Stars.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
WR Samuel Floyd BUF - Day-to-Day
DL Vernon Spears LI - 5 Weeks
WR Marqués Gardner ON - Day-to-Day
TE Eric Warner ON - 7 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ontario 2-0
Ottawa 2-0
Montreal 1-1
Buffalo 0-2
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 2-0
Providence 1-1
Worcester 0-2
Boston 0-2
Power Rankings
1 - Ontario +1
2 - Ottawa -1
3 - Long Island +3
4 - Buffalo -1
5 - Providence -1
6 - Worcester -1
7 - Montreal -
8 - Boston -
Providence Gold Stars - 23, Long Island Raiders - 13 - New Providence Stadium - July 30, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Gold Stars were looking to bounce back in their home opener against the exciting and young Raiders team. QB Connor O’Rourke was quite excited to play in front of the home crowd and he put on a show. The young QB would open up the scoring on their second drive finding WR Peter Brooks cutting across the middle. Brooks would make it past rookie S Johan Eckhart and walk into the endzone untouched. The lead would increase at the start of the second with O’Rourke marching the offense back down the field before connecting with TE Marion Warren for the touchdown. QB Lyle Painter was having lots of trouble with the Gold Stars defense, especially in the secondary with DB Victor Bean and DB Lee Wolfe grabbing interceptions in the first half. Painter would get the Raiders close enough for a field goal but they would be down 17-3 at the half. Providence would keep up their momentum with another early touchdown off of another Victor Bean interception. This time it was RB Johnnie Stafford that punched it in to go up 23-3. With Painter struggling the team would let QB Andrew Glover have a couple of shots at it. Glover was able to get the team back for another field goal, but would also suffer an interception at the hands of LB Roger Morrow. Painter would return to the game and would be able to get the Raiders to the endzone in the final quarter after finding WR Robert Lang in the clear for a big play. The catch and run would get them down to the 12-yard line where Painter would go right back to Lang for the touchdown. The Gold Stars would add a late field goal and hold on.
Worcester Athletics - 27, Boston Independents - 10 - Worcester Stadium - July 30, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics have not gotten off to the start they wanted, but they had a perfect chance to turn it around against the struggling Independents. QB Riley Kiernan would find WR Da’wan Rice early on for a big play, but Rice would be brought down awkwardly sending him out of the game and sending in rookie WR Ronald “Grumpy” Vernon. Vernon would make an immediate impact by catching a touchdown a couple plays later. Boston would once again focus their offensive attack around RB Joel Bonner which would help them tie the game. Bonner would get them to the 4-yard line before QB Brian Meadows would connect with WR Ellis Lindholm for the score. The Athletics would counter with a field goal which would leave the score at 10-7 till the break. In the second half, Worcester started to pull away. Kiernan would lead another scoring drive, finding WR Clyde McIntosh for a touchdown, and that was followed up by a DB Alexander Bradley pick-6. Boston would get a field goal later on but Worcester was too far up and the Athletics tack on another field goal after a LB Scotty Williams forced fumble.
Ottawa Royals - 35, Ontario Tigers - 24 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - July 31, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBC
A highly anticipated North Division battle pitted two red-hot unbeaten teams against each other. The fireworks would not take too long to get underway with the Royals opening up the scoring with a huge touchdown drive. QB Jean Matieau would connect with WR Allen Atkins to make it 7-0 early. The Tigers would not wait too long to answer with QB Duane Logan finding WR Wilbert Benjamin for a score. The second quarter would bring more scoring with the Royals getting to the endzone with RB Alexei Volkov and the Tigers matching with RB Laurent Brazeau. The defenses would come alive near the end of the half with LB Roland Hensley knocking the ball loose from Volkov, and then Ottawa getting it back from a DB Uzzia Hayes interception. This would leave the game tied at 14 into the break. Ontario would turn it up to start the second half marching the field with Brazeau before Logan connected with WR John Rivera for a major. They would continue with another strong drive and field goal to lead 14-24 heading into the 4th. The Royals wouldn’t be down for long as Matieau would lead a drive back the other way ending in a WR Willard Brooks touchdown to cut the lead to 3. Following a defensive stop, Matieau would go right back to score with TE Jervonte Howell. The Tigers were quickly down by 4 and had only 3 minutes to make it up. Logan would move the ball well, but his plans would be foiled by DB Mingan Oliver taking it away on a pass to Rivera. The DB would take it deep into Tigers’ territory allowing Alexei Volkov to score his second of the game.
Montreal Rouge - 0, Buffalo Blue Wings - 34 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 31, 1955 - 6 PM ET
The Blue Wings have faced several injuries to start the season but two big pieces were back in the lineup for their week 3 showdown against Montreal. QB Angelo Medina, who was injured, played a lot more conservative in his first game back. However, the Blue Wings would still dominate this game. RB Arthur Conner took over on the early drives getting Buffalo to the endzone twice in the first half. Montreal had no real answers with QB Lee Rogers throwing an interception to S Frazier Brooks and then getting stripped by DL Sean Bowen. The Blue Wings would go up 21-0 at the half with Medina connecting with WR Samuel Floyd for his first TD in Buffalo. Montreal would not get going in the second half with Rogers throwing a second pick to DB Ollie Guy before finally being pulled for rookie QB Rigobert St-Hilaire. St-Hilaire would scramble a bit creating some sparks but they could not get past the Blue Wing defense. Buffalo would add another touchdown later on with Samuel Floyd going deep for his second of the game. Buffalo would add some late field goals with some more backups in routing Montreal 34-0.
Players of the Week
OFF: WR Samuel Floyd BUF - 2 Receiving Touchdowns, 113 Receiving Yards
DEF: DB Victor Bean PRO - 2 Interceptions, 4 Tackles
Injury Report
WR Da'wan Rice WOR - 1 Week
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 3-0
Ontario 2-1
Buffalo 1-2
Montreal 1-2
NEW ENGLAND
Providence 2-1
Long Island 2-1
Worcester 1-2
Boston 0-3
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa +1
2 - Ontario -1
3 - Buffalo +1
4 - Providence +1
5 - Long Island -2
6 - Worcester -
7 - Montreal -
8 - Boston -
The Gold Stars were looking to bounce back in their home opener against the exciting and young Raiders team. QB Connor O’Rourke was quite excited to play in front of the home crowd and he put on a show. The young QB would open up the scoring on their second drive finding WR Peter Brooks cutting across the middle. Brooks would make it past rookie S Johan Eckhart and walk into the endzone untouched. The lead would increase at the start of the second with O’Rourke marching the offense back down the field before connecting with TE Marion Warren for the touchdown. QB Lyle Painter was having lots of trouble with the Gold Stars defense, especially in the secondary with DB Victor Bean and DB Lee Wolfe grabbing interceptions in the first half. Painter would get the Raiders close enough for a field goal but they would be down 17-3 at the half. Providence would keep up their momentum with another early touchdown off of another Victor Bean interception. This time it was RB Johnnie Stafford that punched it in to go up 23-3. With Painter struggling the team would let QB Andrew Glover have a couple of shots at it. Glover was able to get the team back for another field goal, but would also suffer an interception at the hands of LB Roger Morrow. Painter would return to the game and would be able to get the Raiders to the endzone in the final quarter after finding WR Robert Lang in the clear for a big play. The catch and run would get them down to the 12-yard line where Painter would go right back to Lang for the touchdown. The Gold Stars would add a late field goal and hold on.
Worcester Athletics - 27, Boston Independents - 10 - Worcester Stadium - July 30, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics have not gotten off to the start they wanted, but they had a perfect chance to turn it around against the struggling Independents. QB Riley Kiernan would find WR Da’wan Rice early on for a big play, but Rice would be brought down awkwardly sending him out of the game and sending in rookie WR Ronald “Grumpy” Vernon. Vernon would make an immediate impact by catching a touchdown a couple plays later. Boston would once again focus their offensive attack around RB Joel Bonner which would help them tie the game. Bonner would get them to the 4-yard line before QB Brian Meadows would connect with WR Ellis Lindholm for the score. The Athletics would counter with a field goal which would leave the score at 10-7 till the break. In the second half, Worcester started to pull away. Kiernan would lead another scoring drive, finding WR Clyde McIntosh for a touchdown, and that was followed up by a DB Alexander Bradley pick-6. Boston would get a field goal later on but Worcester was too far up and the Athletics tack on another field goal after a LB Scotty Williams forced fumble.
Ottawa Royals - 35, Ontario Tigers - 24 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - July 31, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBC
A highly anticipated North Division battle pitted two red-hot unbeaten teams against each other. The fireworks would not take too long to get underway with the Royals opening up the scoring with a huge touchdown drive. QB Jean Matieau would connect with WR Allen Atkins to make it 7-0 early. The Tigers would not wait too long to answer with QB Duane Logan finding WR Wilbert Benjamin for a score. The second quarter would bring more scoring with the Royals getting to the endzone with RB Alexei Volkov and the Tigers matching with RB Laurent Brazeau. The defenses would come alive near the end of the half with LB Roland Hensley knocking the ball loose from Volkov, and then Ottawa getting it back from a DB Uzzia Hayes interception. This would leave the game tied at 14 into the break. Ontario would turn it up to start the second half marching the field with Brazeau before Logan connected with WR John Rivera for a major. They would continue with another strong drive and field goal to lead 14-24 heading into the 4th. The Royals wouldn’t be down for long as Matieau would lead a drive back the other way ending in a WR Willard Brooks touchdown to cut the lead to 3. Following a defensive stop, Matieau would go right back to score with TE Jervonte Howell. The Tigers were quickly down by 4 and had only 3 minutes to make it up. Logan would move the ball well, but his plans would be foiled by DB Mingan Oliver taking it away on a pass to Rivera. The DB would take it deep into Tigers’ territory allowing Alexei Volkov to score his second of the game.
Montreal Rouge - 0, Buffalo Blue Wings - 34 - Mount Royal Stadium - July 31, 1955 - 6 PM ET
The Blue Wings have faced several injuries to start the season but two big pieces were back in the lineup for their week 3 showdown against Montreal. QB Angelo Medina, who was injured, played a lot more conservative in his first game back. However, the Blue Wings would still dominate this game. RB Arthur Conner took over on the early drives getting Buffalo to the endzone twice in the first half. Montreal had no real answers with QB Lee Rogers throwing an interception to S Frazier Brooks and then getting stripped by DL Sean Bowen. The Blue Wings would go up 21-0 at the half with Medina connecting with WR Samuel Floyd for his first TD in Buffalo. Montreal would not get going in the second half with Rogers throwing a second pick to DB Ollie Guy before finally being pulled for rookie QB Rigobert St-Hilaire. St-Hilaire would scramble a bit creating some sparks but they could not get past the Blue Wing defense. Buffalo would add another touchdown later on with Samuel Floyd going deep for his second of the game. Buffalo would add some late field goals with some more backups in routing Montreal 34-0.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
WR Da'wan Rice WOR - 1 Week
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 3-0
Ontario 2-1
Buffalo 1-2
Montreal 1-2
NEW ENGLAND
Providence 2-1
Long Island 2-1
Worcester 1-2
Boston 0-3
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa +1
2 - Ontario -1
3 - Buffalo +1
4 - Providence +1
5 - Long Island -2
6 - Worcester -
7 - Montreal -
8 - Boston -
Ottawa Royals - 24, Providence Gold Stars - 17 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - August 5, 1955 - 7 PM ET
QB Connor O’Rourke was looking to continue his momentum from Providence's week 3 win going into Ottawa. He would get the Gold Stars going early but was unable to get into scoring range which would cost them. QB Jean Matieau would lead the Royals to a pair of early touchdowns with WR Chester Bennett opening it up on a deep shot, and then WR Allen Atkins grabbing one early in the second quarter. O’Rourke would finally get the Gold Stars on the board with a touchdown pass to former Royal WR John Osborn. The score would cut the lead in half heading into the break. Ottawa’s defense would make some noise in the third with DL Olaf Viktorsson causing RB Johnnie Stafford to fumble twice, as well as getting to O’Rourke for a pair of sacks. The Royals would get a field goal off of one of the fumbles to make it 17-7. Providence was not out of it and O’Rourke would manage to get WR Peter Brooks the ball in the endzone for another score to pull within 3. Providence would not back off the pedal with their defense getting more aggressive. DB Lee Wolfe would manage to intercept a Jean Matieau pass to give Providence a chance to tie it nearing the end of the 4th. They would tie it a few plays later off the foot of K Bernard Barnett. On Ottawa’s next drive, DL Calias McDonough would get to Matieau and force a fumble, however, RB Alexei Volkov would pick it up in stride. The elusive back would manage to make a miraculous play weaving his way through the entire Gold Stars defense 48 yards to the endzone to give the Royals the lead once again. Providence would have little time left and the game would end on a DB Uzzia Hayes interception leaving the Royals at the top of the league at 4-0.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 21, Boston Independents - 14 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 6, 1955 - 2 PM ET - CBS
Buffalo came home against Boston looking to continue to pull themselves back into the fight in the North. Early on, the Blue Wings offense would get the ball moving. QB Angelo Medina was a bit more willing to run the ball and would create some early havoc for the Independents defense. RB Arthur Conner would get an early touchdown to give Buffalo the 7-0 lead. The good news for Boston was that they were finding their feet a bit more. QB Brian Meadows would counter the Blue Wing touchdown with a field goal to cut into the lead, and then a second one not long after to make it 7-6 midway through the second. Their defense was starting to be able to handle the Blue Wings who only managed another field goal in the first half. The second half would start with a bang with Meadows going to WR Ellis Lindholm deep. The WR would catch it and take it down to the 14-yard line. RB Joel Bonner would punch it in from there to make it 10-13. Buffalo would retaliate with a field goal after that to tie, but Boston was still fighting strong. Their next drive would get to field goal range again, but DL Sean Bowen would surprise Meadows sacking him back out of range leading to a punt that would skip into the endzone. 13-14. Buffalo would march on their next drive to score with Medina connecting with WR Joseph Barry for a touchdown. The 2-pointer would be good on a pass to WR Samuel Floyd in his first game against Boston. Buffalo would stuff any more Boston attempts and hold on for the win.
Ontario Tigers - 33, Montreal Rouge - 10 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 7, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBC
After a tough loss to Ottawa, the Tigers got right back on track at home against Montreal. QB Duane Logan would open things up with a great drive ending in a WR Marqués Gardner touchdown to make it 7-0 early. RB Laurent Brazeau would lead a drive after for a field goal at a 10-0 lead. Montreal continued to struggle, especially QB Lee Rogers. The QB would throw 3 first-half interceptions. DB Louie White and DB Paul Gregory would both bring one in before LB Aengus Lynch would grab the last. Rogers was visibly frustrated slamming his helmet on the sideline after the Lynch interception. Rogers would follow that with a yelling match with HC Guy Clarke. It would not go well with the coach planting his foot and benching the QB for the rest of the game. Ontario would capitalize on the turnovers with two touchdowns. Brazeau would get the first before WR Wilbert Benjamin reeled in the second. The second half would be a bit better for Montreal. It would start with DB Jontray Cox getting an interception and then RB Élisée Marchal would lead the offense to a field goal. Marchal would then follow the field goal up with a touchdown. The Tigers offense, however, would not let up with another field goal and a 4th touchdown with Brazeau. Montreal would have no answers for the Tigers and flop with another bad loss.
Long Island Raiders - 27, Worcester Athletics - 14 - Long Island Stadium - August 7, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS
Long Island saw a huge opportunity to boost their playoff chances against the Athletics, and they did not waste it. Despite missing DL Vernon Spears, the D-line came up big early on with DL Jessie Sellers knocking the ball out of QB Riley Kiernan’s hands and then DL Tyrone Affalo would take the ball back to the house for a quick 7-0 lead. Worcester would look to recover but Kiernan would be picked off by DB Francis Veillette. The Raiders wouldn’t score on the ensuing drive but would get a 10-0 lead on a field goal a couple drives later. Worcester would finally get on the board after LB Scotty Williams forced the ball out of RB Gene Fischer’s hands which would lead to a WR Clyde McIntosh touchdown. The Raiders would hold the lead into the break. QB Lyle Painter was finally becoming more comfortable in the NAAF in his 4th game and showed off his ability in the third with a long touchdown drive. He would connect with WR Travis Gallagher for the score. Worcester would continue to struggle with another 2 and out on back to back LB Elijah Goldwater tackles. The Raiders would get back into the endzone with TE Johnny Mantle IV extending the lead to 24-7. Kiernan would get aggressive at this point. He would get Worcester back to the endzone with a pass to TE Duane Halloway. Long Island, however, would tack on another field goal leading to another surprise win.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Duane Logan - 2 Passing Touchdowns, 354 Passing Yards
DEF: DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT - 2 Forced Fumbles, 1 Fumble Recovery, 2 Sacks, 6 Tackles
Injury Report
OL Bruce Wesley LI - Day-To-Day
OL Shawn Lawrence ON - 1 Week
DB Eugene Christensen WOR - 2 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 4-0
Ontario 3-1
Buffalo 2-2
Montreal 1-3
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 3-1
Providence 2-2
Worcester 1-3
Boston 0-4
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Ontario -
3 - Buffalo -
4 - Long Island +1
5 - Providence -1
6 - Worcester -
7 - Boston +1
8 - Montreal -1
QB Connor O’Rourke was looking to continue his momentum from Providence's week 3 win going into Ottawa. He would get the Gold Stars going early but was unable to get into scoring range which would cost them. QB Jean Matieau would lead the Royals to a pair of early touchdowns with WR Chester Bennett opening it up on a deep shot, and then WR Allen Atkins grabbing one early in the second quarter. O’Rourke would finally get the Gold Stars on the board with a touchdown pass to former Royal WR John Osborn. The score would cut the lead in half heading into the break. Ottawa’s defense would make some noise in the third with DL Olaf Viktorsson causing RB Johnnie Stafford to fumble twice, as well as getting to O’Rourke for a pair of sacks. The Royals would get a field goal off of one of the fumbles to make it 17-7. Providence was not out of it and O’Rourke would manage to get WR Peter Brooks the ball in the endzone for another score to pull within 3. Providence would not back off the pedal with their defense getting more aggressive. DB Lee Wolfe would manage to intercept a Jean Matieau pass to give Providence a chance to tie it nearing the end of the 4th. They would tie it a few plays later off the foot of K Bernard Barnett. On Ottawa’s next drive, DL Calias McDonough would get to Matieau and force a fumble, however, RB Alexei Volkov would pick it up in stride. The elusive back would manage to make a miraculous play weaving his way through the entire Gold Stars defense 48 yards to the endzone to give the Royals the lead once again. Providence would have little time left and the game would end on a DB Uzzia Hayes interception leaving the Royals at the top of the league at 4-0.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 21, Boston Independents - 14 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 6, 1955 - 2 PM ET - CBS
Buffalo came home against Boston looking to continue to pull themselves back into the fight in the North. Early on, the Blue Wings offense would get the ball moving. QB Angelo Medina was a bit more willing to run the ball and would create some early havoc for the Independents defense. RB Arthur Conner would get an early touchdown to give Buffalo the 7-0 lead. The good news for Boston was that they were finding their feet a bit more. QB Brian Meadows would counter the Blue Wing touchdown with a field goal to cut into the lead, and then a second one not long after to make it 7-6 midway through the second. Their defense was starting to be able to handle the Blue Wings who only managed another field goal in the first half. The second half would start with a bang with Meadows going to WR Ellis Lindholm deep. The WR would catch it and take it down to the 14-yard line. RB Joel Bonner would punch it in from there to make it 10-13. Buffalo would retaliate with a field goal after that to tie, but Boston was still fighting strong. Their next drive would get to field goal range again, but DL Sean Bowen would surprise Meadows sacking him back out of range leading to a punt that would skip into the endzone. 13-14. Buffalo would march on their next drive to score with Medina connecting with WR Joseph Barry for a touchdown. The 2-pointer would be good on a pass to WR Samuel Floyd in his first game against Boston. Buffalo would stuff any more Boston attempts and hold on for the win.
Ontario Tigers - 33, Montreal Rouge - 10 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 7, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBC
After a tough loss to Ottawa, the Tigers got right back on track at home against Montreal. QB Duane Logan would open things up with a great drive ending in a WR Marqués Gardner touchdown to make it 7-0 early. RB Laurent Brazeau would lead a drive after for a field goal at a 10-0 lead. Montreal continued to struggle, especially QB Lee Rogers. The QB would throw 3 first-half interceptions. DB Louie White and DB Paul Gregory would both bring one in before LB Aengus Lynch would grab the last. Rogers was visibly frustrated slamming his helmet on the sideline after the Lynch interception. Rogers would follow that with a yelling match with HC Guy Clarke. It would not go well with the coach planting his foot and benching the QB for the rest of the game. Ontario would capitalize on the turnovers with two touchdowns. Brazeau would get the first before WR Wilbert Benjamin reeled in the second. The second half would be a bit better for Montreal. It would start with DB Jontray Cox getting an interception and then RB Élisée Marchal would lead the offense to a field goal. Marchal would then follow the field goal up with a touchdown. The Tigers offense, however, would not let up with another field goal and a 4th touchdown with Brazeau. Montreal would have no answers for the Tigers and flop with another bad loss.
Long Island Raiders - 27, Worcester Athletics - 14 - Long Island Stadium - August 7, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS
Long Island saw a huge opportunity to boost their playoff chances against the Athletics, and they did not waste it. Despite missing DL Vernon Spears, the D-line came up big early on with DL Jessie Sellers knocking the ball out of QB Riley Kiernan’s hands and then DL Tyrone Affalo would take the ball back to the house for a quick 7-0 lead. Worcester would look to recover but Kiernan would be picked off by DB Francis Veillette. The Raiders wouldn’t score on the ensuing drive but would get a 10-0 lead on a field goal a couple drives later. Worcester would finally get on the board after LB Scotty Williams forced the ball out of RB Gene Fischer’s hands which would lead to a WR Clyde McIntosh touchdown. The Raiders would hold the lead into the break. QB Lyle Painter was finally becoming more comfortable in the NAAF in his 4th game and showed off his ability in the third with a long touchdown drive. He would connect with WR Travis Gallagher for the score. Worcester would continue to struggle with another 2 and out on back to back LB Elijah Goldwater tackles. The Raiders would get back into the endzone with TE Johnny Mantle IV extending the lead to 24-7. Kiernan would get aggressive at this point. He would get Worcester back to the endzone with a pass to TE Duane Halloway. Long Island, however, would tack on another field goal leading to another surprise win.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
OL Bruce Wesley LI - Day-To-Day
OL Shawn Lawrence ON - 1 Week
DB Eugene Christensen WOR - 2 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 4-0
Ontario 3-1
Buffalo 2-2
Montreal 1-3
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 3-1
Providence 2-2
Worcester 1-3
Boston 0-4
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Ontario -
3 - Buffalo -
4 - Long Island +1
5 - Providence -1
6 - Worcester -
7 - Boston +1
8 - Montreal -1
Boston Independents - 19, Providence Gold Stars - 20 - Richardson Stadium - August 13, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The long time rivalry looked much different this season with QB Connor O’Rourke and QB Brian Meadows leading the way instead of the usual Larry Larson and Bruce Woodard. However, that didn’t stop the match from being as gritty as ever. The fans still hated the opposing fan base and the fact that the teams were in different places didn’t seem to matter. To open up the game it was a pair of turnovers as DB Victor Bean would snag a pick off of Meadows before LB Brent Harper would steal it back from RB Johnnie Stafford. It would take till the second for a team to score. That would end up being Providence on a long drive which ended in a WR Peter Brooks touchdown catch. The score was still 7-0 at halftime. In the third, Boston would get to the endzone with RB Joel Bonner before adding a field goal off of a DB Lester Murphy interception. O’Rourke wouldn’t back down and would regain the lead on a 20-yard pass to WR Peter Brooks. Boston would continue to put pressure on the Gold Stars with another field goal heading into the final quarter. Boston would stop Providence on several occasions throughout the final frame and their offense would once again reach the endzone on a WR Ethan Walters touchdown. Boston would miss on the 2-point attempt, unfortunately. Providence now had to come from behind in front of the dreaded Boston crowd, but it didn’t seem to faze Connor O’Rourke. He would march the offense the entire field not missing a single throw. The perfect drive would be capped off with a WR John Osborn touchdown which would seal it for the Gold Stars in a nail biter.
Worcester Athletics - 24, Long Island Raiders - 24 - Worcester Stadium - August 13, 1955 - 4 PM ET
A very important game for both of the typical bottom dwellers in the New England division. Worcester needed to pull themselves back into the race while Long Island was looking to continue their hot start. Long Island would be the one to get off on the right foot, continuing their momentum from last week. QB Lyle Painter would get the team down for an early 0-10 lead on a touchdown pass to WR Robert Lang, followed by a field goal. Worcester’s offense was not working too well and had only 1 first down in the opening frame. The defense would help out a bit with a huge stop deep in Long Island territory. That would give Worcester some field position to work with and would lead to a touchdown from RB Marcus Devonshire. The game would remain 7-10 heading into the break. Long Island would breakthrough with an early touchdown on a pass to WR Darryl Duke to extend their lead. Worcester would grab some momentum back with QB Riley Kiernan marching the offense down the field for a WR Michael Mcleod touchdown. The score got the defense into it and they would come up with a huge interception with DB Alexander Bradley. Kiernan would then go back to the endzone with WR Clyde McIntosh on the ensuing drive. Long Island was now down by 4 and needed to get something going. Unfortunately, their defense would suffer another blow with LB Sharquay Bradford going down after taking a blindside block on a Marcus Devonshire run. Long Island was not happy sparking some shouting, but Worcester would still get away with a field goal. Long Island was not going to go away quietly as Painter started moving the ball up the field. Unfortunately, he would fall short of half, but the defense was there to bail them out. DL Tyrone Affalo would nail Marcus Devonshire as he made it up the middle knocking the ball loose. LB Elijah Goldwater would pick it up and bring it to about the 6-yard line where RB Gene Fischer would eventually punch it in. No one would score from that point ending the game in a stunning tie.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 17, Ontario Tigers - 12 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 14, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBS
The battle of the Great Lakes kicked off Sunday’s NAAF action. Buffalo was looking to continue their climb back into the divisional race while the Tigers were looking to keep up with the top dog Royals. It would be a defensive showdown early on. Neither team gained much ground as they traded drive after drive. Eventually, the Tigers would grab a field goal to make it 0-3 heading into the second. Buffalo would get a spark in the second from their defense. DL Sean Bowen would make his way around the OL and would get to Duane Logan. He would be able to get a hand on the ball but would be brought down awkwardly. The ball would fly up and come down in the hands of LB Lloyd Mathis resulting in a turnover. Unfortunately, Bowen would re-aggravate his injury from last season and will likely miss a game. However, Buffalo would take advantage of the interception with a touchdown drive led by RB Arthur Conner. The Tigers would struggle to get their offense going and Buffalo would add a field goal heading into the half. The game would remain gritty, with neither team budging, but Buffalo would slowly start to make some ground with Angelo Medina making a couple plays on his feet. Eventually, the team would get back to the endzone on Conner’s second of the game. The Tigers would get a field goal on their next drive, but their offense was not the same as it had been. The weakened Buffalo DL started to show a bit with RB Laurent Brazeau gaining some yards in the final quarter. Brazeau would eventually get the Tigers close enough for Logan to find WR Wilbert Benjamin in the endzone for the score, cutting the lead to just 5 after a failed 2-pointer. Unfortunately for Ontario, the Blue Wings defense would hold strong for the remainder of the game leading to Buffalo’s third straight win.
Montreal Rouge - 13, Ottawa Royals - 31 - Mount Royals Stadium - August 14, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBC
The Royals-Rouge Rivalry was the finale of the league’s rivalry week, and Ottawa was looking to continue their hot start to the season. QB Jean Matieau would have some fun with the Montreal defense. Picking them apart over the entire opening half. It would lead to 3 touchdowns, 1 to WR Allen Atkins, another to WR Willard Brooks, and the final to RB Alexei Volkov. Montreal on the other hand had rookie QB Rigobert St-Hilaire starting his first game after Lee Rogers was benched for his outburst last week. St-Hilaire had seen the field a bit over the team’s last two games and was finding a bit more comfort in this one. The QB would help RB Élisée Marchal get to the endzone as well as setting up a field goal in the final minutes of the half. They were still down 10-21, but it was a start and St-Hilaire would continue to show some flashes of potential. Unfortunately, he would still have to go through some growing pains with an interception to DB Uzzia Hayes followed by a fumble trying to get away from LB Mickaël Beaumont. The turnovers would lead to another pair of Ottawa scores. A field goal would be followed up by a short toss to rookie WR Mackenzie Jones for his first career touchdown. Montreal would manage to snag a field goal, but it was a rough week for the squad once again.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Conner O’Rourke PRO - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 345 Passing Yards
DEF: DL Tyrone Affalo LI - 1 Forced Fumble, 1 Sack, 7 Tackles
Injury Report
DL Sean Bowen BUF - 1 Week
LB Sharquay Bradford LI - Season
DL Calias McDonough - 1 Week
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 5-0
Buffalo 3-2
Ontario 3-2
Montreal 1-4
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 3-1-1
Providence 3-2
Worcester 1-3-1
Boston 0-5
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo +1
3 - Ontario -1
4 - Long Island -
5 - Providence -
6 - Worcester -
7 - Boston -
8 - Montreal -
The long time rivalry looked much different this season with QB Connor O’Rourke and QB Brian Meadows leading the way instead of the usual Larry Larson and Bruce Woodard. However, that didn’t stop the match from being as gritty as ever. The fans still hated the opposing fan base and the fact that the teams were in different places didn’t seem to matter. To open up the game it was a pair of turnovers as DB Victor Bean would snag a pick off of Meadows before LB Brent Harper would steal it back from RB Johnnie Stafford. It would take till the second for a team to score. That would end up being Providence on a long drive which ended in a WR Peter Brooks touchdown catch. The score was still 7-0 at halftime. In the third, Boston would get to the endzone with RB Joel Bonner before adding a field goal off of a DB Lester Murphy interception. O’Rourke wouldn’t back down and would regain the lead on a 20-yard pass to WR Peter Brooks. Boston would continue to put pressure on the Gold Stars with another field goal heading into the final quarter. Boston would stop Providence on several occasions throughout the final frame and their offense would once again reach the endzone on a WR Ethan Walters touchdown. Boston would miss on the 2-point attempt, unfortunately. Providence now had to come from behind in front of the dreaded Boston crowd, but it didn’t seem to faze Connor O’Rourke. He would march the offense the entire field not missing a single throw. The perfect drive would be capped off with a WR John Osborn touchdown which would seal it for the Gold Stars in a nail biter.
Worcester Athletics - 24, Long Island Raiders - 24 - Worcester Stadium - August 13, 1955 - 4 PM ET
A very important game for both of the typical bottom dwellers in the New England division. Worcester needed to pull themselves back into the race while Long Island was looking to continue their hot start. Long Island would be the one to get off on the right foot, continuing their momentum from last week. QB Lyle Painter would get the team down for an early 0-10 lead on a touchdown pass to WR Robert Lang, followed by a field goal. Worcester’s offense was not working too well and had only 1 first down in the opening frame. The defense would help out a bit with a huge stop deep in Long Island territory. That would give Worcester some field position to work with and would lead to a touchdown from RB Marcus Devonshire. The game would remain 7-10 heading into the break. Long Island would breakthrough with an early touchdown on a pass to WR Darryl Duke to extend their lead. Worcester would grab some momentum back with QB Riley Kiernan marching the offense down the field for a WR Michael Mcleod touchdown. The score got the defense into it and they would come up with a huge interception with DB Alexander Bradley. Kiernan would then go back to the endzone with WR Clyde McIntosh on the ensuing drive. Long Island was now down by 4 and needed to get something going. Unfortunately, their defense would suffer another blow with LB Sharquay Bradford going down after taking a blindside block on a Marcus Devonshire run. Long Island was not happy sparking some shouting, but Worcester would still get away with a field goal. Long Island was not going to go away quietly as Painter started moving the ball up the field. Unfortunately, he would fall short of half, but the defense was there to bail them out. DL Tyrone Affalo would nail Marcus Devonshire as he made it up the middle knocking the ball loose. LB Elijah Goldwater would pick it up and bring it to about the 6-yard line where RB Gene Fischer would eventually punch it in. No one would score from that point ending the game in a stunning tie.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 17, Ontario Tigers - 12 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - August 14, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBS
The battle of the Great Lakes kicked off Sunday’s NAAF action. Buffalo was looking to continue their climb back into the divisional race while the Tigers were looking to keep up with the top dog Royals. It would be a defensive showdown early on. Neither team gained much ground as they traded drive after drive. Eventually, the Tigers would grab a field goal to make it 0-3 heading into the second. Buffalo would get a spark in the second from their defense. DL Sean Bowen would make his way around the OL and would get to Duane Logan. He would be able to get a hand on the ball but would be brought down awkwardly. The ball would fly up and come down in the hands of LB Lloyd Mathis resulting in a turnover. Unfortunately, Bowen would re-aggravate his injury from last season and will likely miss a game. However, Buffalo would take advantage of the interception with a touchdown drive led by RB Arthur Conner. The Tigers would struggle to get their offense going and Buffalo would add a field goal heading into the half. The game would remain gritty, with neither team budging, but Buffalo would slowly start to make some ground with Angelo Medina making a couple plays on his feet. Eventually, the team would get back to the endzone on Conner’s second of the game. The Tigers would get a field goal on their next drive, but their offense was not the same as it had been. The weakened Buffalo DL started to show a bit with RB Laurent Brazeau gaining some yards in the final quarter. Brazeau would eventually get the Tigers close enough for Logan to find WR Wilbert Benjamin in the endzone for the score, cutting the lead to just 5 after a failed 2-pointer. Unfortunately for Ontario, the Blue Wings defense would hold strong for the remainder of the game leading to Buffalo’s third straight win.
Montreal Rouge - 13, Ottawa Royals - 31 - Mount Royals Stadium - August 14, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBC
The Royals-Rouge Rivalry was the finale of the league’s rivalry week, and Ottawa was looking to continue their hot start to the season. QB Jean Matieau would have some fun with the Montreal defense. Picking them apart over the entire opening half. It would lead to 3 touchdowns, 1 to WR Allen Atkins, another to WR Willard Brooks, and the final to RB Alexei Volkov. Montreal on the other hand had rookie QB Rigobert St-Hilaire starting his first game after Lee Rogers was benched for his outburst last week. St-Hilaire had seen the field a bit over the team’s last two games and was finding a bit more comfort in this one. The QB would help RB Élisée Marchal get to the endzone as well as setting up a field goal in the final minutes of the half. They were still down 10-21, but it was a start and St-Hilaire would continue to show some flashes of potential. Unfortunately, he would still have to go through some growing pains with an interception to DB Uzzia Hayes followed by a fumble trying to get away from LB Mickaël Beaumont. The turnovers would lead to another pair of Ottawa scores. A field goal would be followed up by a short toss to rookie WR Mackenzie Jones for his first career touchdown. Montreal would manage to snag a field goal, but it was a rough week for the squad once again.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
DL Sean Bowen BUF - 1 Week
LB Sharquay Bradford LI - Season
DL Calias McDonough - 1 Week
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 5-0
Buffalo 3-2
Ontario 3-2
Montreal 1-4
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 3-1-1
Providence 3-2
Worcester 1-3-1
Boston 0-5
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo +1
3 - Ontario -1
4 - Long Island -
5 - Providence -
6 - Worcester -
7 - Boston -
8 - Montreal -
Ottawa Royals - 30, Long Island Raiders - 17 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - August 19, 1955 - 7 PM ET - CBS
The division leaders squared off in Ottawa to kick off week 6 of the NAAF season. It would be the Royals who would flex their might once again in this one. Ottawa would open up the scoring on a 36-yard RB Alexei Volkov touchdown run, before following it up with a WR Allen Atkins touchdown. Long Island was trying to get back into the game, but nothing was going their way. QB Lyle Painter would throw an interception to DB Mingan Oliver in the second which would lead to a Royals field goal. Long Island would finally break their silence with Painter leading them to the endzone in the final minutes of the half. WR Travis Gallagher was the recipient of Painter’s TD pass. The second half would start once again with Ottawa scoring. QB Jean Matieau would find WR Allen Atkins in the endzone for his second of the game and a 23-7 lead. Long Island was still able to stay in the game with a field goal drive near the end of the third. They would get back to the endzone midway through the 4th on a run from RB Gene Fischer to cut the lead to only 6. However, Ottawa’s offense would make quick work of the Raiders defense leading to another touchdown to RB Alexei Volkov. The Royals would hold on to their unbeaten season with the win over Long Island.
Montreal Rouge - 27, Worcester Athletics - 7 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 20, 1955 - 1 PM ET
QB Lee Rogers came back from his 1 game benching determined to get back on the winning side. The QB would show he still had skill escaping pressure in order to pick up a 1st down, followed by a deep shot to WR Marty Jay. Jay would reel it in for a touchdown giving Montreal a 7-0 lead. Worcester, who has not been able to get a footing on their season would continue to stumble after QB Riley Kiernan would be picked off by DB Quentin Xavier. Montreal would go on to score another touchdown on a pass to WR Ray Lopez. Rogers would get Montreal back for a field goal before the half to make it 17-0. Worcester would march down the field early in the 3rd only to have Xavier reel in his second interception. Montreal would add another field goal to extend the lead 20-0 going into the final quarter. Worcester would finally get on the board in the 4th with a WR Clyde McIntosh touchdown, but Montreal would not be stopped. RB Élisée Marchal would cap off the day for Montreal with one more touchdown leaving the Athletics dumbfounded over another loss. Rogers was very happy about the win and talked about the benching as a wake-up call. Hopefully, he can continue to keep the upward swing into the rest of the season.
Providence Gold Stars - 21, Boston Independents - 20 - New Providence Stadium - August 20, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
The rematch between the Gold Stars and Independents would once again be a nail biter. Both defenses showed up early to shut down the offense early. Neither team would score in the opening frame, but Boston would get the upper hand after DB Lester Murphy came down with a pick to set up a RB Joel Bonner touchdown to start the second. Providence wouldn’t take too long to answer with QB Connor O’Rourke connecting with WR Peter Brooks for a touchdown. The score would remain at 7-7 into the break. Boston was looking to finally snap the winless streak this season and they put themselves in a great position to open the second half. With a pair of quick scores. They would grab a field goal, followed by a touchdown pass to TE Richard Stewart, who had missed all of last season. The final quarter had the Gold Stars down by 10. They would get the ball rolling when DB Lee Wolfe would pick off Meadows early on and take it back to the house for six. Boston would manage a field goal to counter, but Providence’s offense would be tough to stop on their next drive. O’Rourke would lead them the whole way to the endzone. He would cap off the drive with a pass to RB Johnnie Stafford out of the backfield. Boston would get a last-ditch opportunity but Providence’s defense would come up with a big stop forcing Boston to turn it over on downs and earning the Gold Stars another win.
Ontario Tigers - 32, Buffalo Blue Wings - 35 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 21, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The final game of the week was also a rematch between Ontario and Buffalo. The Tigers were looking to rebound from the loss last week and they would get off to a good start. QB Duane Logan would lead the offense for an early score with WR John Rivera catching the scoring pass. Buffalo, however, was sticking right with the Tigers, as they would march back the other way for a tying score to WR Samuel Floyd. The game would continue to be back and forth with the Tigers answering right back with a RB Laurent Brazeau score. Buffalo would be stopped on their next drive but wouldn’t be held back from tying it back up again on a RB Arthur Conner touchdown. Ontario would sneak in a field goal just before the break. The second half was much the same with Buffalo taking their first lead on a QB Angelo Medina scramble into the endzone. The Tigers would answer back with a touchdown following that on a deep shot to WR Wilbert Benjamin. Buffalo would strike next with WR Samuel Floyd using his speed to get past DB Paul Gregory and go all the way to the endzone. Buffalo would be up 24-28 going into the final frame. Ontario was not ready to lose another game and would start the 4th aggressively, unfortunately, this would not go according to plan with DL Jonathan Brown knocking the ball loose from Brazeau and giving Buffalo a prime chance to score. They would follow through with Arthur Conner’s second of the game. Ontario would double down following the mistake and answer back quickly with WR Marqués Gardner scoring. They would get the 2-pointer to cut the lead to only 3. The Tigers would get another chance after a defensive stop, but they were unable to break through the Blue Wings defense and would ultimately fall short once again.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Angelo Medina BUF - 2 Passing Touchdowns, 1 Rushing Touchdown, 268 Passing Yards
DEF: DB Quentin Xavier MTL - 2 Interceptions, 3 Tackles, 3 Knockdowns
Injury Report
LB Marco Price BOS - Day-to-Day
OL Melvin Marshall BUF - 2 Weeks
WR Jake Hadder MTL - 5 Weeks
DL Napoléon Chevalier ON - Day-to-Day
DB Karl Shannon PRO - Day-to-Day
OL Derek Palmer PRO - 2 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 6-0
Buffalo 4-2
Ontario 3-3
Montreal 2-4
NEW ENGLAND
Providence 4-2
Long Island 3-2-1
Worcester 1-4-1
Boston 0-6
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Ontario -
4 - Providence +1
5 - Long Island -1
6 - Boston +1
7 - Montreal +1
8 - Worcester -2
The division leaders squared off in Ottawa to kick off week 6 of the NAAF season. It would be the Royals who would flex their might once again in this one. Ottawa would open up the scoring on a 36-yard RB Alexei Volkov touchdown run, before following it up with a WR Allen Atkins touchdown. Long Island was trying to get back into the game, but nothing was going their way. QB Lyle Painter would throw an interception to DB Mingan Oliver in the second which would lead to a Royals field goal. Long Island would finally break their silence with Painter leading them to the endzone in the final minutes of the half. WR Travis Gallagher was the recipient of Painter’s TD pass. The second half would start once again with Ottawa scoring. QB Jean Matieau would find WR Allen Atkins in the endzone for his second of the game and a 23-7 lead. Long Island was still able to stay in the game with a field goal drive near the end of the third. They would get back to the endzone midway through the 4th on a run from RB Gene Fischer to cut the lead to only 6. However, Ottawa’s offense would make quick work of the Raiders defense leading to another touchdown to RB Alexei Volkov. The Royals would hold on to their unbeaten season with the win over Long Island.
Montreal Rouge - 27, Worcester Athletics - 7 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 20, 1955 - 1 PM ET
QB Lee Rogers came back from his 1 game benching determined to get back on the winning side. The QB would show he still had skill escaping pressure in order to pick up a 1st down, followed by a deep shot to WR Marty Jay. Jay would reel it in for a touchdown giving Montreal a 7-0 lead. Worcester, who has not been able to get a footing on their season would continue to stumble after QB Riley Kiernan would be picked off by DB Quentin Xavier. Montreal would go on to score another touchdown on a pass to WR Ray Lopez. Rogers would get Montreal back for a field goal before the half to make it 17-0. Worcester would march down the field early in the 3rd only to have Xavier reel in his second interception. Montreal would add another field goal to extend the lead 20-0 going into the final quarter. Worcester would finally get on the board in the 4th with a WR Clyde McIntosh touchdown, but Montreal would not be stopped. RB Élisée Marchal would cap off the day for Montreal with one more touchdown leaving the Athletics dumbfounded over another loss. Rogers was very happy about the win and talked about the benching as a wake-up call. Hopefully, he can continue to keep the upward swing into the rest of the season.
Providence Gold Stars - 21, Boston Independents - 20 - New Providence Stadium - August 20, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
The rematch between the Gold Stars and Independents would once again be a nail biter. Both defenses showed up early to shut down the offense early. Neither team would score in the opening frame, but Boston would get the upper hand after DB Lester Murphy came down with a pick to set up a RB Joel Bonner touchdown to start the second. Providence wouldn’t take too long to answer with QB Connor O’Rourke connecting with WR Peter Brooks for a touchdown. The score would remain at 7-7 into the break. Boston was looking to finally snap the winless streak this season and they put themselves in a great position to open the second half. With a pair of quick scores. They would grab a field goal, followed by a touchdown pass to TE Richard Stewart, who had missed all of last season. The final quarter had the Gold Stars down by 10. They would get the ball rolling when DB Lee Wolfe would pick off Meadows early on and take it back to the house for six. Boston would manage a field goal to counter, but Providence’s offense would be tough to stop on their next drive. O’Rourke would lead them the whole way to the endzone. He would cap off the drive with a pass to RB Johnnie Stafford out of the backfield. Boston would get a last-ditch opportunity but Providence’s defense would come up with a big stop forcing Boston to turn it over on downs and earning the Gold Stars another win.
Ontario Tigers - 32, Buffalo Blue Wings - 35 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - August 21, 1955 - 3 PM ET - CBC
The final game of the week was also a rematch between Ontario and Buffalo. The Tigers were looking to rebound from the loss last week and they would get off to a good start. QB Duane Logan would lead the offense for an early score with WR John Rivera catching the scoring pass. Buffalo, however, was sticking right with the Tigers, as they would march back the other way for a tying score to WR Samuel Floyd. The game would continue to be back and forth with the Tigers answering right back with a RB Laurent Brazeau score. Buffalo would be stopped on their next drive but wouldn’t be held back from tying it back up again on a RB Arthur Conner touchdown. Ontario would sneak in a field goal just before the break. The second half was much the same with Buffalo taking their first lead on a QB Angelo Medina scramble into the endzone. The Tigers would answer back with a touchdown following that on a deep shot to WR Wilbert Benjamin. Buffalo would strike next with WR Samuel Floyd using his speed to get past DB Paul Gregory and go all the way to the endzone. Buffalo would be up 24-28 going into the final frame. Ontario was not ready to lose another game and would start the 4th aggressively, unfortunately, this would not go according to plan with DL Jonathan Brown knocking the ball loose from Brazeau and giving Buffalo a prime chance to score. They would follow through with Arthur Conner’s second of the game. Ontario would double down following the mistake and answer back quickly with WR Marqués Gardner scoring. They would get the 2-pointer to cut the lead to only 3. The Tigers would get another chance after a defensive stop, but they were unable to break through the Blue Wings defense and would ultimately fall short once again.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
LB Marco Price BOS - Day-to-Day
OL Melvin Marshall BUF - 2 Weeks
WR Jake Hadder MTL - 5 Weeks
DL Napoléon Chevalier ON - Day-to-Day
DB Karl Shannon PRO - Day-to-Day
OL Derek Palmer PRO - 2 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 6-0
Buffalo 4-2
Ontario 3-3
Montreal 2-4
NEW ENGLAND
Providence 4-2
Long Island 3-2-1
Worcester 1-4-1
Boston 0-6
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Ontario -
4 - Providence +1
5 - Long Island -1
6 - Boston +1
7 - Montreal +1
8 - Worcester -2
Boston Independents - 20, Montreal Rouge - 10 - Richardson Stadium - August 26, 1955 - 7 PM ET
A very different Boston-Montreal battle with both teams at the bottom of their division instead of the top. It would be all defense early with neither team gaining a first down until 4 minutes left in the first. It would be on a RB Élisée Marchal run which would be his final on the day. LB Silas O’Brien would tackle Marchal and the star RB would not be able to get off the field on his own power and will likely miss the rest of the season. That put a major damper on Montreal. Boston would take over not long after and would be the first to score on a RB Joel Bonner touchdown. Montreal would go to RB Pierre LeStrange out of the backfield and he struggled a lot early. Lee Rogers would be the player they would have to rely on now. Rogers would get a field goal to keep them in it 7-3 at the half. Boston would continue to put up points with a field goal followed up with a WR Ellis Lindholm touchdown. The defense would keep throwing Montreal off of their game with LB Brent Harper punching the ball out of LeStrange’s hands and then S Michael O’Brien picking off Rogers. Boston would hold the 20-3 lead going into the final frame. Rogers was frustrated again but he showed a bit more composure and was able to orchestrate a late touchdown drive to cut the lead in half. He would connect with WR Ray Lopez to cap off the drive, but that was all they had.
Long Island Raiders - 27, Ontario Tigers - 23 - Long Island Stadium - August 27, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Tigers rolled into Long Island looking to avoid their third straight loss. QB Duane Logan would get the team rolling early with a long drive that would get them on the board quickly with a WR Wilbert Benjamin touchdown. The Raiders would have some trouble in their attempt to counter and would lose the ball on a RB Gene Fischer fumble. The Tigers would add a field goal to their lead. The Raiders would finally get on the board with a field goal early in the second, but Ontario would continue to put up points with a pair of field goals. The Raiders would manage a late field goal to cut the lead to just 10 before the break. The Tigers would get a great spark early in the third with DB Louie White picking off QB Lyle Painter which would set up a RB Laurent Brazeau touchdown to make it 6-23. It seemed like the Raiders had no answers for the Tigers, but Painter would pick things up following the interception. He would get the Raiders to the endzone on the next drive finding WR Robert Lang. The defense would also come alive with a huge stop and then a big turnover as DB Slay Mitchell would take the ball from Logan. The Raiders would tack on another touchdown with a pass to TE Johnny Mantle IV. The Tigers were all the sudden only up by 3. They would get conservative and just ran the ball with Brazeau. With the return of DL Vernon Spears, the Raiders were able to stop him and would get another chance. Painter, who is not known for going deep, would take a shot at WR Robert Lang and the receiver would catch it taking it down to the 11-yard line. Painter was then able to toss it to WR Darryl Duke for the touchdown and the lead. The Tigers were panicked and Logan would try to make something out of nothing and was picked off by DB Francis Veillette as the Raiders continue to defy expectations.
*This also marks the most wins in a NAAF season for the Hawks/Raiders franchise.
Providence Gold Stars - 13, Buffalo Blue Wings - 24 - New Providence Stadium - August 27, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
Buffalo was looking to continue their current hot streak against the Gold Stars and they would be quite successful in the feat. QB Angelo Medina was able to get the offense moving early to go up 0-3 early in the game. QB Connor O’Rourke was not so successful with the Blue Wings defense and was sacked on his first drive twice. Buffalo would eventually get an interception with DB Ollie Guy which would give them a touchdown chance which RB Arthur Conner would punch in to make it 0-10. Providence was still unable to get the ball rolling on offense, but their defense would hold Buffalo to 10 points for the rest of the half. The Gold Stars would finally break their silence in the third with O’Rourke finding WR Peter Brooks who would run it 15 yards after the catch to score. Buffalo would counter with a touchdown of their own as WR Joseph Barry would score. Providence would cut the lead on 7 with a field goal, but Buffalo was back in the endzone on their next drive with Arthur Conner once again. Providence would only manage another field goal as the Buffalo defense would hold strong for the team’s 5th win in a row.
Worcester Athletics - 25, Ottawa Royals - 20 - Worcester Stadium - August 28, 1955 - 3 PM ET
The Athletics have not had anywhere near the success they have wanted all season, but the return of WR Christian Venegas would be a huge help in a big game against the unbeaten Royals. QB Riley Kiernan wasn’t able to get to the endzone early but a field goal would give them 3-0 lead. Ottawa’s offense was not quite on point in this game, possibly underestimating the Athletics and they would not score in the opening quarter. The Athletics would add a second field goal before the second quarter began. Ottawa would finally break their silence with a WR Chester Bennett touchdown to make it 6-7. However, the Athletics also found their groove at this point with the offense getting to the endzone. WR Christian Venegas would score the touchdown to give them the lead back. They would miss the 2-pointer, but the defense would come up big with S Shawn Jensen picking off QB Jean Matieau. That would turn into a touchdown with RB Marcus Devonshire to set the score at 19-7 at halftime. Ottawa would be quick to get points out of the break with a field goal, but the Athletics were not going to back down and matched it minutes later. Ottawa would still find the endzone again with RB Alexei Volkov to make it 22-17. The final minutes of the game were intense with each team trading chances. Ottawa would get another field goal chipping away at the lead. Worcester would not be able to counter and Ottawa had another chance. The Royals inched their way down the field. As they would get closer, Matieau would look to his favourite target, Allen Atkins. The WR would be in the right position, but a much younger DB would get aggressive and steal the game. DB Alexander Bradley would snag the ball and take it deep into Ottawa territory. The Athletics would wind down the clock and get a field goal to hold on for the shocking win.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Lyle Painter LI - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 345 Passing Yards
DEF: DB Alexander Bradley - 1 Interception, 4 Tackles, 4 Knockdowns
Injury Report
S Frazier Brooks BUF - Day-to-Day
RB Élisée Marchal MTL - 3 Weeks
OL Bravon Covington OTT - Day-to-Day
OL Benjamin Harrell PRO - 3 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 6-1
Buffalo 5-2
Ontario 3-4
Montreal 2-5
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 4-2-1
Providence 4-3
Worcester 2-4-1
Boston 1-6
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo +1
2 - Ottawa -1
3 - Long Island +2
4 - Providence -
5 - Ontario -2
6 - Worcester +2
7 - Boston -1
8 - Montreal -1
A very different Boston-Montreal battle with both teams at the bottom of their division instead of the top. It would be all defense early with neither team gaining a first down until 4 minutes left in the first. It would be on a RB Élisée Marchal run which would be his final on the day. LB Silas O’Brien would tackle Marchal and the star RB would not be able to get off the field on his own power and will likely miss the rest of the season. That put a major damper on Montreal. Boston would take over not long after and would be the first to score on a RB Joel Bonner touchdown. Montreal would go to RB Pierre LeStrange out of the backfield and he struggled a lot early. Lee Rogers would be the player they would have to rely on now. Rogers would get a field goal to keep them in it 7-3 at the half. Boston would continue to put up points with a field goal followed up with a WR Ellis Lindholm touchdown. The defense would keep throwing Montreal off of their game with LB Brent Harper punching the ball out of LeStrange’s hands and then S Michael O’Brien picking off Rogers. Boston would hold the 20-3 lead going into the final frame. Rogers was frustrated again but he showed a bit more composure and was able to orchestrate a late touchdown drive to cut the lead in half. He would connect with WR Ray Lopez to cap off the drive, but that was all they had.
Long Island Raiders - 27, Ontario Tigers - 23 - Long Island Stadium - August 27, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Tigers rolled into Long Island looking to avoid their third straight loss. QB Duane Logan would get the team rolling early with a long drive that would get them on the board quickly with a WR Wilbert Benjamin touchdown. The Raiders would have some trouble in their attempt to counter and would lose the ball on a RB Gene Fischer fumble. The Tigers would add a field goal to their lead. The Raiders would finally get on the board with a field goal early in the second, but Ontario would continue to put up points with a pair of field goals. The Raiders would manage a late field goal to cut the lead to just 10 before the break. The Tigers would get a great spark early in the third with DB Louie White picking off QB Lyle Painter which would set up a RB Laurent Brazeau touchdown to make it 6-23. It seemed like the Raiders had no answers for the Tigers, but Painter would pick things up following the interception. He would get the Raiders to the endzone on the next drive finding WR Robert Lang. The defense would also come alive with a huge stop and then a big turnover as DB Slay Mitchell would take the ball from Logan. The Raiders would tack on another touchdown with a pass to TE Johnny Mantle IV. The Tigers were all the sudden only up by 3. They would get conservative and just ran the ball with Brazeau. With the return of DL Vernon Spears, the Raiders were able to stop him and would get another chance. Painter, who is not known for going deep, would take a shot at WR Robert Lang and the receiver would catch it taking it down to the 11-yard line. Painter was then able to toss it to WR Darryl Duke for the touchdown and the lead. The Tigers were panicked and Logan would try to make something out of nothing and was picked off by DB Francis Veillette as the Raiders continue to defy expectations.
*This also marks the most wins in a NAAF season for the Hawks/Raiders franchise.
Providence Gold Stars - 13, Buffalo Blue Wings - 24 - New Providence Stadium - August 27, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
Buffalo was looking to continue their current hot streak against the Gold Stars and they would be quite successful in the feat. QB Angelo Medina was able to get the offense moving early to go up 0-3 early in the game. QB Connor O’Rourke was not so successful with the Blue Wings defense and was sacked on his first drive twice. Buffalo would eventually get an interception with DB Ollie Guy which would give them a touchdown chance which RB Arthur Conner would punch in to make it 0-10. Providence was still unable to get the ball rolling on offense, but their defense would hold Buffalo to 10 points for the rest of the half. The Gold Stars would finally break their silence in the third with O’Rourke finding WR Peter Brooks who would run it 15 yards after the catch to score. Buffalo would counter with a touchdown of their own as WR Joseph Barry would score. Providence would cut the lead on 7 with a field goal, but Buffalo was back in the endzone on their next drive with Arthur Conner once again. Providence would only manage another field goal as the Buffalo defense would hold strong for the team’s 5th win in a row.
Worcester Athletics - 25, Ottawa Royals - 20 - Worcester Stadium - August 28, 1955 - 3 PM ET
The Athletics have not had anywhere near the success they have wanted all season, but the return of WR Christian Venegas would be a huge help in a big game against the unbeaten Royals. QB Riley Kiernan wasn’t able to get to the endzone early but a field goal would give them 3-0 lead. Ottawa’s offense was not quite on point in this game, possibly underestimating the Athletics and they would not score in the opening quarter. The Athletics would add a second field goal before the second quarter began. Ottawa would finally break their silence with a WR Chester Bennett touchdown to make it 6-7. However, the Athletics also found their groove at this point with the offense getting to the endzone. WR Christian Venegas would score the touchdown to give them the lead back. They would miss the 2-pointer, but the defense would come up big with S Shawn Jensen picking off QB Jean Matieau. That would turn into a touchdown with RB Marcus Devonshire to set the score at 19-7 at halftime. Ottawa would be quick to get points out of the break with a field goal, but the Athletics were not going to back down and matched it minutes later. Ottawa would still find the endzone again with RB Alexei Volkov to make it 22-17. The final minutes of the game were intense with each team trading chances. Ottawa would get another field goal chipping away at the lead. Worcester would not be able to counter and Ottawa had another chance. The Royals inched their way down the field. As they would get closer, Matieau would look to his favourite target, Allen Atkins. The WR would be in the right position, but a much younger DB would get aggressive and steal the game. DB Alexander Bradley would snag the ball and take it deep into Ottawa territory. The Athletics would wind down the clock and get a field goal to hold on for the shocking win.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
S Frazier Brooks BUF - Day-to-Day
RB Élisée Marchal MTL - 3 Weeks
OL Bravon Covington OTT - Day-to-Day
OL Benjamin Harrell PRO - 3 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 6-1
Buffalo 5-2
Ontario 3-4
Montreal 2-5
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 4-2-1
Providence 4-3
Worcester 2-4-1
Boston 1-6
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo +1
2 - Ottawa -1
3 - Long Island +2
4 - Providence -
5 - Ontario -2
6 - Worcester +2
7 - Boston -1
8 - Montreal -1
Boston Independents - 9, Worcester Athletics - 26 - Richardson Stadium - September 3, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics were looking to build off of their win over the Royals and pull themselves back into the hunt against the last place Independents. Worcester was able to get rolling early with a touchdown to WR Christian Venegas. Boston would fail to get anything back as QB Brian Meadows would be picked off by DB Clifton Powers. Worcester would capitalize with a field goal to go up 0-10. The second would lack much action with the teams trading field goals. The second half would start off with a Boston field goal, but Worcester would get back to the endzone with RB Marcus Devonshire to extend their lead. Boston lacked the drive they had the past few weeks and was showing some fatigue. Worcester would take advantage with another touchdown to WR Clyde McIntosh to extend the lead to 6-26. LB Scotty Williams would cause lots of issues for RB Joel Bonner. He would force 2 fumbles on the veteran RB and keep him to only 65 yards on the day. Boston would manage one more field goal, but the Athletics defense was playing like a brick wall.
Long Island Raiders - 20, Providence Gold Stars - 17 - Long Island Stadium - September 3, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
A possible division deciding game between the Raiders and Gold Stars took place on Saturday afternoon. The Raiders were looking to keep their momentum going but it would be the Gold Stars with the hot start. DB Lee Wolfe would take the ball from QB Lyle Painter which would set up a quick touchdown to WR Peter Brooks. The Raiders would not be able to move the ball leading to Providence extending their lead with another shot to Brooks. Painter would be able to turn the game around following the Gold Star touchdown. He would lead the offense to the redzone where RB Gene Fischer would punch it in. The score would remain 7-14 at halftime. The game slowed down out of the break. The Raiders would be the one to get a spark when DB Amrye Rouleau picked the ball off of QB Connor O’Rourke. The Raiders would turn it into a touchdown to tie the game up heading into the final quarter. WR Travis Gallagher had the TD catch. Providence would get a field goal early in the 4th in response to the touchdown. It didn’t take long for the Raiders to match it. The score would remain tied until the final few minutes of the game. The Gold Stars were threatening just past midfield and would fall to 3rd and 11. They would gamble with a long field goal attempt. Unfortunately, K Bernard Barnett would be quite short giving RB Conner Riley a chance to return. The former Gold Star prospect would take it back to around midfield before being stopped. Painter would take advantage of the field position and would make just a couple of first downs to set up the field goal. K Thomas McFadden would nail the kick to give Long Island another win.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 22, Montreal Rouge - 7 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 4, 1955 - 3 PM ET
Heavy showers poured over the Great Lakes for Sunday afternoon’s games. Buffalo saw the brunt of the storm, but it wouldn’t stop the Blue Wings from dominating the field. Both teams would lean heavily on the run game and RB Arthur Conner would dominate. The back would lead Buffalo to a pair of first-half touchdowns to make it 13-0. Montreal’s RB Pierre LeStrange was not on the same level as Conner and barely got the ball moving against the Blue Wings D-Line. QB Lee Rogers would be forced to throw the ball and would have little success. Buffalo would lead 13-0 at halftime. DL Sean Bowen would kick off the second half with a sack on Rogers which would be followed up with DL Jonathan Brown punching the ball from LeStrange. The Blue Wings would kick a field goal to extend their lead. Everything was going Buffalo’s way until Angelo Medina would bobble a snap. He would pick it up and try to pick up some yards, but he didn’t have the best handle on the ball and would lose it again. LB Rusty McVee would pick it up and manage to pick up lots of yardage the other way. Montreal would turn the mishap into a touchdown with Lee Rogers diving into the endzone. Buffalo would extend their lead with Conner going down the field to get a 3rd touchdown of the game. Buffalo would miss the convert but they would hold onto the lead and their 6th straight win.
Ontario Tigers - 25, Ottawa Royals - 28 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - September 4, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBC
The storm over Buffalo would reach up to Kitchener, but by the time kickoff rolled around the rain was clearing up. The clearer skies would work in the favour of the Royals as QB Jean Matieau was able to get the ball moving through the air. They would be the first to score on a WR Allen Atkins touchdown. Ontario didn’t fall too far behind with a field goal to counter and then they would take the lead on a WR Wilbert Benjamin touchdown. Ottawa would be able to get back on top with another pass to WR Chester Bennett. The score would remain 10-14 at the break. As the second half began, the rain started to pick up again. RB Laurent Brazeau would take advantage of it and would run the Tigers drive right to the endzone. RB Alexei Volkov would be just as successful getting into the endzone not long after to make it 17-21. The game would stall for a bit with both teams slowing down with the increased rain. The field conditions would worsen which would result in an injury to DL Olaf Viktorsson leaving him out for a couple of games. The Tigers would look to take advantage, but they would lose the ball to DL Leo Davenport. Volkov would jump on the chance to score and find himself in the endzone again. The Tigers would not give up and got back to the endzone nearing the end of the game. They had little time but the Brazeau touchdown and 2-point convert would leave the game at 25-28. They would attempt an onside kick, but it would be recovered by the Royals and Ottawa would run the clock and hold on for the win. Following the result, 3 playoff spots would be locked up. Ottawa and Buffalo taking the top two spots in the North and Long Island clinching their first NAAF playoff spot in franchise history. Leaving the final spot to be fought over in the final weeks between Providence, the current holder, Ontario and Worcester. Boston and Montreal will officially sit on the sidelines come playoff time.
Players of the Week
OFF: RB Arthur Conner BUF - 3 Rushing Touchdowns, 178 Rushing Yards
DEF: LB Scotty Williams WOR - 2 Forced Fumbles, 11 Tackles
Injury Report
WR Marty Jay MTL - Day-to-Day
DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT - 2 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 7-1 - x
Buffalo 6-2 - x
Ontario 3-5
Montreal 2-6 - e
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 5-2-1 - x
Providence 4-4
Worcester 3-4-1
Boston 1-7 - e
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo -
2 - Ottawa -
3 - Long Island -
4 - Providence -
5 - Worcester +1
6 - Ontario -1
7 - Boston -
8 - Montreal -
The Athletics were looking to build off of their win over the Royals and pull themselves back into the hunt against the last place Independents. Worcester was able to get rolling early with a touchdown to WR Christian Venegas. Boston would fail to get anything back as QB Brian Meadows would be picked off by DB Clifton Powers. Worcester would capitalize with a field goal to go up 0-10. The second would lack much action with the teams trading field goals. The second half would start off with a Boston field goal, but Worcester would get back to the endzone with RB Marcus Devonshire to extend their lead. Boston lacked the drive they had the past few weeks and was showing some fatigue. Worcester would take advantage with another touchdown to WR Clyde McIntosh to extend the lead to 6-26. LB Scotty Williams would cause lots of issues for RB Joel Bonner. He would force 2 fumbles on the veteran RB and keep him to only 65 yards on the day. Boston would manage one more field goal, but the Athletics defense was playing like a brick wall.
Long Island Raiders - 20, Providence Gold Stars - 17 - Long Island Stadium - September 3, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
A possible division deciding game between the Raiders and Gold Stars took place on Saturday afternoon. The Raiders were looking to keep their momentum going but it would be the Gold Stars with the hot start. DB Lee Wolfe would take the ball from QB Lyle Painter which would set up a quick touchdown to WR Peter Brooks. The Raiders would not be able to move the ball leading to Providence extending their lead with another shot to Brooks. Painter would be able to turn the game around following the Gold Star touchdown. He would lead the offense to the redzone where RB Gene Fischer would punch it in. The score would remain 7-14 at halftime. The game slowed down out of the break. The Raiders would be the one to get a spark when DB Amrye Rouleau picked the ball off of QB Connor O’Rourke. The Raiders would turn it into a touchdown to tie the game up heading into the final quarter. WR Travis Gallagher had the TD catch. Providence would get a field goal early in the 4th in response to the touchdown. It didn’t take long for the Raiders to match it. The score would remain tied until the final few minutes of the game. The Gold Stars were threatening just past midfield and would fall to 3rd and 11. They would gamble with a long field goal attempt. Unfortunately, K Bernard Barnett would be quite short giving RB Conner Riley a chance to return. The former Gold Star prospect would take it back to around midfield before being stopped. Painter would take advantage of the field position and would make just a couple of first downs to set up the field goal. K Thomas McFadden would nail the kick to give Long Island another win.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 22, Montreal Rouge - 7 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 4, 1955 - 3 PM ET
Heavy showers poured over the Great Lakes for Sunday afternoon’s games. Buffalo saw the brunt of the storm, but it wouldn’t stop the Blue Wings from dominating the field. Both teams would lean heavily on the run game and RB Arthur Conner would dominate. The back would lead Buffalo to a pair of first-half touchdowns to make it 13-0. Montreal’s RB Pierre LeStrange was not on the same level as Conner and barely got the ball moving against the Blue Wings D-Line. QB Lee Rogers would be forced to throw the ball and would have little success. Buffalo would lead 13-0 at halftime. DL Sean Bowen would kick off the second half with a sack on Rogers which would be followed up with DL Jonathan Brown punching the ball from LeStrange. The Blue Wings would kick a field goal to extend their lead. Everything was going Buffalo’s way until Angelo Medina would bobble a snap. He would pick it up and try to pick up some yards, but he didn’t have the best handle on the ball and would lose it again. LB Rusty McVee would pick it up and manage to pick up lots of yardage the other way. Montreal would turn the mishap into a touchdown with Lee Rogers diving into the endzone. Buffalo would extend their lead with Conner going down the field to get a 3rd touchdown of the game. Buffalo would miss the convert but they would hold onto the lead and their 6th straight win.
Ontario Tigers - 25, Ottawa Royals - 28 - Kitchener-Waterloo City Field - September 4, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBC
The storm over Buffalo would reach up to Kitchener, but by the time kickoff rolled around the rain was clearing up. The clearer skies would work in the favour of the Royals as QB Jean Matieau was able to get the ball moving through the air. They would be the first to score on a WR Allen Atkins touchdown. Ontario didn’t fall too far behind with a field goal to counter and then they would take the lead on a WR Wilbert Benjamin touchdown. Ottawa would be able to get back on top with another pass to WR Chester Bennett. The score would remain 10-14 at the break. As the second half began, the rain started to pick up again. RB Laurent Brazeau would take advantage of it and would run the Tigers drive right to the endzone. RB Alexei Volkov would be just as successful getting into the endzone not long after to make it 17-21. The game would stall for a bit with both teams slowing down with the increased rain. The field conditions would worsen which would result in an injury to DL Olaf Viktorsson leaving him out for a couple of games. The Tigers would look to take advantage, but they would lose the ball to DL Leo Davenport. Volkov would jump on the chance to score and find himself in the endzone again. The Tigers would not give up and got back to the endzone nearing the end of the game. They had little time but the Brazeau touchdown and 2-point convert would leave the game at 25-28. They would attempt an onside kick, but it would be recovered by the Royals and Ottawa would run the clock and hold on for the win. Following the result, 3 playoff spots would be locked up. Ottawa and Buffalo taking the top two spots in the North and Long Island clinching their first NAAF playoff spot in franchise history. Leaving the final spot to be fought over in the final weeks between Providence, the current holder, Ontario and Worcester. Boston and Montreal will officially sit on the sidelines come playoff time.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
WR Marty Jay MTL - Day-to-Day
DL Olaf Viktorsson OTT - 2 Weeks
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 7-1 - x
Buffalo 6-2 - x
Ontario 3-5
Montreal 2-6 - e
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 5-2-1 - x
Providence 4-4
Worcester 3-4-1
Boston 1-7 - e
Power Rankings
1 - Buffalo -
2 - Ottawa -
3 - Long Island -
4 - Providence -
5 - Worcester +1
6 - Ontario -1
7 - Boston -
8 - Montreal -
Providence Gold Stars - 9, Worcester Athletics - 10 - New Providence Stadium - September 10, 1955 - CBS
The Athletics were rolled into Providence with what could be a final chance to get into the playoffs. The game would end up being quite a defensive showdown. Providence was the first team to grab some points. They would score a field goal following a DB Victor Bean interception. Worcester’s defense would manage to stall the Gold Stars for the rest of the half and would even get their own turnover with LB Scotty Williams. The second half would be much the same with neither team getting to the endzone. Both defenses were playing at their best. Eventually, Providence would get a second field goal to make it 6-0. Worcester’s offense would finally gain some ground after a S Shawn Jensen interception. QB Riley Kiernan would be able to get the ball to the endzone with WR Christian Venegas. This would give them the 6-7 lead heading into the final quarter. Providence’s defense would get a turnover with LB Roger Morrow getting it out of WR Michael Mcleod’s hands. However, the offense would be stuffed by Worcester’s defense. It would be the final 5 minutes where Providence would take back the lead on K Bernard Barnett’s 3rd of the day. Worcester was at risk of being knocked out of the playoffs, and Kiernan would have to get them back to score. It would take a couple of attempts, but as time winded down, Kiernan was able to find WR Clyde McIntosh to get them into field goal range. K Tevoris Francis would kick the game-winner to keep the Athletics alive and in the hunt.
Long Island Raiders - 16, Boston Independents - 20 - Long Island Stadium - September 10, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
With Worcester beating Providence earlier in the afternoon, Long Island had officially claimed top spot in the New England Division. The sold-out Long Island Stadium cheered at the announcement. The Raiders had officially gone from laughing stock to division champs in just a season. However, the celebration may have left them a bit out of focus as Boston would get off to a quick lead on the Raiders. RB Joel Bonner would run through the entire defense to go up quickly 0-7. The Raiders were slow to respond, getting a field goal several drives later. Boston would then match the field goal to lead 3-10 after 1. Boston would add another touchdown after DB Lester Murphy came down with an interception that would lead to a WR Ethan Walters score. Long Island regained some focus in the second half with QB Lyle Painter getting them back to the redzone. Unfortunately, on 2nd and 8 from the 11-yard line, WR Robert Lang would try to reel in a pass for the touchdown but he would land awkwardly causing an injury and for him to drop the ball. They would settle for another field goal instead. Boston would match the field goal before the Raiders would finally get to the endzone with WR Travis Gallagher. They would only be able to get one more field goal as Boston would win their second game of the season.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 28, Ottawa Royals - 34 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 11, 1955 - 3 PM ET
A playoff preview and could-be division deciding game. The red hot Blue Wings hosted the division-leading Royals for a chance to tie them for the division lead. Buffalo would be the first to score on a RB Arthur Conner touchdown early in the game. Ottawa would be quick to retaliate on a big touchdown from WR Allen Atkins. The game would remain tied heading into the second quarter where Ottawa would get their second touchdown of the game with WR Willard Brooks. Buffalo would get back the touchdown not long after with QB Angelo Medina finding WR Samuel Floyd for 6. The game would be tied heading into the second half. Ottawa would look to pull away with another touchdown with WR Chester Bennett scoring. Buffalo would still be able to match with Arthur Conner’s second of the game. The Blue Wings would then turn the game around with DL Sean Bowen stripping RB Alexei Volkov which would set up Conner’s third of the game. 28-21 would be the score for Buffalo going into the final frame. It would be up to Matieau to come back for the Royals. He would play the final quarter perfectly. He would march the Royals down early connecting with TE Jervonte Howell for the game-tying score. Buffalo would look to retain the lead but they would fall short with DB Mingan Oliver making a great stop on an attempt to DB Joseph Barry. Matieau would then lead the offense back to the endzone one more time for the game-winning touchdown to WR Allen Atkins. The Blue Wings couldn’t answer as the Royals clinch their second North Division title.
Montreal Rouge - 3, Ontario Tigers - 37 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 11, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBC
The Tigers were looking to finally drop their 4-game losing skid against the division worst Rouge. The Tigers would get off to a great start to get them going in that direction. QB Duane Logan would get the Tigers into the endzone with former Rouge WR John Rivera. They would then get some help with DL Napoléon Chevalier stripping RB Pierre LeStrange. The Tigers would turn it into a RB Laurent Brazeau touchdown to give them a 0-14 lead. Montreal was struggling a lot in the game as Rogers continued to slip. He would throw a pair of picks in the first half to DB Louie White and then S Mason Parker. The Tigers would eventually get up to a 0-21 lead with Brazeau’s second of the game. The second half would be more interesting with a small battle of the backups with QB Rigobert St-Hilaire coming in for Lee Rogers and QB Christian Stewart playing for Logan. It was reported later that Logan had suffered a minor injury on a hit from DL Zakary Turbide. The backups would give a show though with St-Hilaire getting Montreal on the board with a field goal before Stewart would lead the Tigers to another touchdown. He would make his first career passing touchdown to WR John Rivera. Stewart would shine in the half leading the Tigers to another touchdown with WR Wilbert Benjamin. The Tigers would hold off the Rouge in a dominant win keeping their slim playoff hopes alive with a big game against the Gold Stars next week.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Jean Matieau OTT - 5 Passing Touchdowns, 415 Passing Yards
DEF: LB Scotty Williams WOR - 1 Forced Fumble, 13 Tackles
Injury Report
QB Duane Logan ON - Day-to-Day
WR Robert Lang LI - 1 Week
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 8-1 - y
Buffalo 6-3 - x
Ontario 4-5
Montreal 2-7 - e
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 5-3-1 - y
Worcester 4-4-1
Providence 4-5
Boston 2-7 - e
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa +1
2 - Buffalo -1
3 - Long Island -
4 - Worcester +1
5 - Providence -1
6 - Ontario -
7 - Boston -
8 - Montreal -
The Athletics were rolled into Providence with what could be a final chance to get into the playoffs. The game would end up being quite a defensive showdown. Providence was the first team to grab some points. They would score a field goal following a DB Victor Bean interception. Worcester’s defense would manage to stall the Gold Stars for the rest of the half and would even get their own turnover with LB Scotty Williams. The second half would be much the same with neither team getting to the endzone. Both defenses were playing at their best. Eventually, Providence would get a second field goal to make it 6-0. Worcester’s offense would finally gain some ground after a S Shawn Jensen interception. QB Riley Kiernan would be able to get the ball to the endzone with WR Christian Venegas. This would give them the 6-7 lead heading into the final quarter. Providence’s defense would get a turnover with LB Roger Morrow getting it out of WR Michael Mcleod’s hands. However, the offense would be stuffed by Worcester’s defense. It would be the final 5 minutes where Providence would take back the lead on K Bernard Barnett’s 3rd of the day. Worcester was at risk of being knocked out of the playoffs, and Kiernan would have to get them back to score. It would take a couple of attempts, but as time winded down, Kiernan was able to find WR Clyde McIntosh to get them into field goal range. K Tevoris Francis would kick the game-winner to keep the Athletics alive and in the hunt.
Long Island Raiders - 16, Boston Independents - 20 - Long Island Stadium - September 10, 1955 - 4 PM ET - CBS
With Worcester beating Providence earlier in the afternoon, Long Island had officially claimed top spot in the New England Division. The sold-out Long Island Stadium cheered at the announcement. The Raiders had officially gone from laughing stock to division champs in just a season. However, the celebration may have left them a bit out of focus as Boston would get off to a quick lead on the Raiders. RB Joel Bonner would run through the entire defense to go up quickly 0-7. The Raiders were slow to respond, getting a field goal several drives later. Boston would then match the field goal to lead 3-10 after 1. Boston would add another touchdown after DB Lester Murphy came down with an interception that would lead to a WR Ethan Walters score. Long Island regained some focus in the second half with QB Lyle Painter getting them back to the redzone. Unfortunately, on 2nd and 8 from the 11-yard line, WR Robert Lang would try to reel in a pass for the touchdown but he would land awkwardly causing an injury and for him to drop the ball. They would settle for another field goal instead. Boston would match the field goal before the Raiders would finally get to the endzone with WR Travis Gallagher. They would only be able to get one more field goal as Boston would win their second game of the season.
Buffalo Blue Wings - 28, Ottawa Royals - 34 - Buffalo Civic Stadium - September 11, 1955 - 3 PM ET
A playoff preview and could-be division deciding game. The red hot Blue Wings hosted the division-leading Royals for a chance to tie them for the division lead. Buffalo would be the first to score on a RB Arthur Conner touchdown early in the game. Ottawa would be quick to retaliate on a big touchdown from WR Allen Atkins. The game would remain tied heading into the second quarter where Ottawa would get their second touchdown of the game with WR Willard Brooks. Buffalo would get back the touchdown not long after with QB Angelo Medina finding WR Samuel Floyd for 6. The game would be tied heading into the second half. Ottawa would look to pull away with another touchdown with WR Chester Bennett scoring. Buffalo would still be able to match with Arthur Conner’s second of the game. The Blue Wings would then turn the game around with DL Sean Bowen stripping RB Alexei Volkov which would set up Conner’s third of the game. 28-21 would be the score for Buffalo going into the final frame. It would be up to Matieau to come back for the Royals. He would play the final quarter perfectly. He would march the Royals down early connecting with TE Jervonte Howell for the game-tying score. Buffalo would look to retain the lead but they would fall short with DB Mingan Oliver making a great stop on an attempt to DB Joseph Barry. Matieau would then lead the offense back to the endzone one more time for the game-winning touchdown to WR Allen Atkins. The Blue Wings couldn’t answer as the Royals clinch their second North Division title.
Montreal Rouge - 3, Ontario Tigers - 37 - Mount Royal Stadium - September 11, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBC
The Tigers were looking to finally drop their 4-game losing skid against the division worst Rouge. The Tigers would get off to a great start to get them going in that direction. QB Duane Logan would get the Tigers into the endzone with former Rouge WR John Rivera. They would then get some help with DL Napoléon Chevalier stripping RB Pierre LeStrange. The Tigers would turn it into a RB Laurent Brazeau touchdown to give them a 0-14 lead. Montreal was struggling a lot in the game as Rogers continued to slip. He would throw a pair of picks in the first half to DB Louie White and then S Mason Parker. The Tigers would eventually get up to a 0-21 lead with Brazeau’s second of the game. The second half would be more interesting with a small battle of the backups with QB Rigobert St-Hilaire coming in for Lee Rogers and QB Christian Stewart playing for Logan. It was reported later that Logan had suffered a minor injury on a hit from DL Zakary Turbide. The backups would give a show though with St-Hilaire getting Montreal on the board with a field goal before Stewart would lead the Tigers to another touchdown. He would make his first career passing touchdown to WR John Rivera. Stewart would shine in the half leading the Tigers to another touchdown with WR Wilbert Benjamin. The Tigers would hold off the Rouge in a dominant win keeping their slim playoff hopes alive with a big game against the Gold Stars next week.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
QB Duane Logan ON - Day-to-Day
WR Robert Lang LI - 1 Week
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 8-1 - y
Buffalo 6-3 - x
Ontario 4-5
Montreal 2-7 - e
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 5-3-1 - y
Worcester 4-4-1
Providence 4-5
Boston 2-7 - e
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa +1
2 - Buffalo -1
3 - Long Island -
4 - Worcester +1
5 - Providence -1
6 - Ontario -
7 - Boston -
8 - Montreal -
Providence Gold Stars - 16, Ontario Tigers - 6 - New Providence Stadium - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
Winner stays alive, loser goes home. Simple stakes for the Gold Stars and Tigers season finale. It would be a tight start to the game but the Gold Stars would find themselves in a good position after QB Duane Logan was picked off by DB Victor Bean. The interception would set up a great field position for QB Connor O’Rourke to strike. He would find WR John Osborn in the endzone for the early 7-0 lead. The Tigers would look to RB Laurent Brazeau to get them going, but the Gold Stars would be able to hold the running back to minimal yards. The Gold Stars would eventually extend their lead to 10-0 before Ontario would get on the board just before the half with a field goal of their own. The Gold Stars continued to control the game in the second half adding a second field goal. Ontario would try to make a push and would match the field goal, but they were still down by 7 heading into the final quarter. QB Duane Logan would give it his all to try and get the Tigers to the endzone but he would continuously fall short. The Gold Stars defense would hold strong against the onslaught preventing the Tigers from breaking into the endzone. O’Rourke would get the Gold Stars back for another field goal to extend the lead and seal the win for Providence. The Tigers would leave the field getting ready for yet another early offseason.
Worcester Athletics - 27, Buffalo Blue Wings - 17 - Worcester Stadium - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics would enter their season finale hoping to grab their 4th straight win and possibly their first playoff appearance. All they needed to do was beat the Blue Wings who were playing several backups as they already had second in the North locked up. Worcester would take advantage. QB Riley Kiernan would get going early jumping to a 7-0 lead with WR Christian Venegas scoring a touchdown. Buffalo would still manage to counter with a field goal on a strong drive led by RB Lawrence Sharp. The Athletics would start the second quarter with a long drive. Unfortunately, the drive would be the final one for RB Marcus Devonshire who would be shut down for the season with a major leg injury. RB Timothy Weeks would take over and he would impress early taking over the drive and getting into the endzone. Buffalo was still playing well and would keep pace with Worcester. QB Maurice Norris would connect with WR Clifford Church to get into the endzone. 14-10 at the break. Worcester’s defense would be a big help in the second half with DB Alexander Bradley reeling in a pick to set up a field goal before LB Scotty Williams would rock RB Sharp for another forced fumble. The Williams turnover would turn into WR Christian Venegas’ second touchdown of the game and a 24-10 lead. Buffalo would still manage to keep themselves in the game with Norris leading them to a second touchdown drive finding WR Nathan Green open in the endzone. After the touchdown, the Athletics defense would crack down and hold off any more Buffalo attempts clinching the win and their first playoff berth in franchise history.
Boston Independents - 10, Long Island Raiders - 24 - Richardson Stadium - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET
The other games on the final day of the NAAF season didn’t have the stakes of the first two which lead to more backups making their mark on the final week. Boston would go to former 4th round pick QB Alex Agramonte in the final game of the season. Agramonte would show some flashes of talent, especially with some mobility. However, the Charlotte-native would end up throwing an interception on his opening drive. DB Slay Mitchell would come down with it setting a QB Lyle Painter touchdown pass to WR Darryl Duke. Agramonte would get some redemption on the next drive leading the offense to a field goal. Long Island would continue to put up points. RB Conner Riley would show his young talent leading the Raiders to their second touchdown of the game. The second half would feature QB Andrew Glover getting some reps for the Raiders. He would get them to the endzone with a connection to former Buffalo teammate, WR Travis Gallagher. Boston would go back to Brian Meadows for parts of the second half and would find the endzone with WR Ellis Lindholm, but that would be all as the teams wrapped up their season.
Ottawa Royals - 32, Montreal Rouge - 28 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBC
An interesting situation was in place for the Royals final game of the season as veteran QB Bruce Woodard would take some snaps in a purple uniform for the first time. He would be a little uncomfortable at first resulting in some early mistakes. DB Quentin Xavier was all over the mistake taking a misthrow back to the house for a touchdown giving Montreal the early 0-7 lead. QB Lee Rogers would be splitting time with the younger Rigobert St-Hilaire on Montreal’s side, but he would make the most of his time jumping Montreal to a 0-14 lead on a deep shot to WR Ray Lopez. Ottawa would finally break their silence with Woodard getting the team into field goal range and then a couple drives later the endzone. Woodard would connect with WR Chester Bennett for his first touchdown pass in Ottawa. Montreal would look to extend the lead with another strong drive and they would with Rogers connecting with WR Marty Jay in the endzone. Montreal would be up 10-21 at the break but Ottawa would cut that lead down early. Woodard would throw his second touchdown to WR Willard Brooks to cut it to just 3 after Montier put in the 2-pointer. Montreal would look to climb back on top with St-Hilaire leading the way but DB Mingan Oliver would cut the drive short and give Woodard a chance for TD #3 to WR Mackenzie Jones. Montreal would shift back to Rogers who would manage to get them back to the endzone, running it in himself to give them back the lead. Ottawa, however, still had some juice left and Montier would score the game-winning touchdown.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Bruce Woodard OTT - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 309 Passing Yards
Winner stays alive, loser goes home. Simple stakes for the Gold Stars and Tigers season finale. It would be a tight start to the game but the Gold Stars would find themselves in a good position after QB Duane Logan was picked off by DB Victor Bean. The interception would set up a great field position for QB Connor O’Rourke to strike. He would find WR John Osborn in the endzone for the early 7-0 lead. The Tigers would look to RB Laurent Brazeau to get them going, but the Gold Stars would be able to hold the running back to minimal yards. The Gold Stars would eventually extend their lead to 10-0 before Ontario would get on the board just before the half with a field goal of their own. The Gold Stars continued to control the game in the second half adding a second field goal. Ontario would try to make a push and would match the field goal, but they were still down by 7 heading into the final quarter. QB Duane Logan would give it his all to try and get the Tigers to the endzone but he would continuously fall short. The Gold Stars defense would hold strong against the onslaught preventing the Tigers from breaking into the endzone. O’Rourke would get the Gold Stars back for another field goal to extend the lead and seal the win for Providence. The Tigers would leave the field getting ready for yet another early offseason.
Worcester Athletics - 27, Buffalo Blue Wings - 17 - Worcester Stadium - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBS
The Athletics would enter their season finale hoping to grab their 4th straight win and possibly their first playoff appearance. All they needed to do was beat the Blue Wings who were playing several backups as they already had second in the North locked up. Worcester would take advantage. QB Riley Kiernan would get going early jumping to a 7-0 lead with WR Christian Venegas scoring a touchdown. Buffalo would still manage to counter with a field goal on a strong drive led by RB Lawrence Sharp. The Athletics would start the second quarter with a long drive. Unfortunately, the drive would be the final one for RB Marcus Devonshire who would be shut down for the season with a major leg injury. RB Timothy Weeks would take over and he would impress early taking over the drive and getting into the endzone. Buffalo was still playing well and would keep pace with Worcester. QB Maurice Norris would connect with WR Clifford Church to get into the endzone. 14-10 at the break. Worcester’s defense would be a big help in the second half with DB Alexander Bradley reeling in a pick to set up a field goal before LB Scotty Williams would rock RB Sharp for another forced fumble. The Williams turnover would turn into WR Christian Venegas’ second touchdown of the game and a 24-10 lead. Buffalo would still manage to keep themselves in the game with Norris leading them to a second touchdown drive finding WR Nathan Green open in the endzone. After the touchdown, the Athletics defense would crack down and hold off any more Buffalo attempts clinching the win and their first playoff berth in franchise history.
Boston Independents - 10, Long Island Raiders - 24 - Richardson Stadium - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET
The other games on the final day of the NAAF season didn’t have the stakes of the first two which lead to more backups making their mark on the final week. Boston would go to former 4th round pick QB Alex Agramonte in the final game of the season. Agramonte would show some flashes of talent, especially with some mobility. However, the Charlotte-native would end up throwing an interception on his opening drive. DB Slay Mitchell would come down with it setting a QB Lyle Painter touchdown pass to WR Darryl Duke. Agramonte would get some redemption on the next drive leading the offense to a field goal. Long Island would continue to put up points. RB Conner Riley would show his young talent leading the Raiders to their second touchdown of the game. The second half would feature QB Andrew Glover getting some reps for the Raiders. He would get them to the endzone with a connection to former Buffalo teammate, WR Travis Gallagher. Boston would go back to Brian Meadows for parts of the second half and would find the endzone with WR Ellis Lindholm, but that would be all as the teams wrapped up their season.
Ottawa Royals - 32, Montreal Rouge - 28 - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 17, 1955 - 1 PM ET - CBC
An interesting situation was in place for the Royals final game of the season as veteran QB Bruce Woodard would take some snaps in a purple uniform for the first time. He would be a little uncomfortable at first resulting in some early mistakes. DB Quentin Xavier was all over the mistake taking a misthrow back to the house for a touchdown giving Montreal the early 0-7 lead. QB Lee Rogers would be splitting time with the younger Rigobert St-Hilaire on Montreal’s side, but he would make the most of his time jumping Montreal to a 0-14 lead on a deep shot to WR Ray Lopez. Ottawa would finally break their silence with Woodard getting the team into field goal range and then a couple drives later the endzone. Woodard would connect with WR Chester Bennett for his first touchdown pass in Ottawa. Montreal would look to extend the lead with another strong drive and they would with Rogers connecting with WR Marty Jay in the endzone. Montreal would be up 10-21 at the break but Ottawa would cut that lead down early. Woodard would throw his second touchdown to WR Willard Brooks to cut it to just 3 after Montier put in the 2-pointer. Montreal would look to climb back on top with St-Hilaire leading the way but DB Mingan Oliver would cut the drive short and give Woodard a chance for TD #3 to WR Mackenzie Jones. Montreal would shift back to Rogers who would manage to get them back to the endzone, running it in himself to give them back the lead. Ottawa, however, still had some juice left and Montier would score the game-winning touchdown.
Players of the Week
Injury Report
DB Ryan Landry BUF - Day-to-Day
OL Randy Booker MTL - 3 Weeks
OL Pierre-Louis Trouvé ON - 2 Weeks
DL Richard Hodges OTT - 1 Week
DL Joseph McMillan PRO - Day-to-Day
RB Marcus Devonshire WOR - Season
Standings
NORTH
Ottawa 9-1 - y
Buffalo 6-4 - x
Ontario 4-6
Montreal 2-8
NEW ENGLAND
Long Island 6-3-1 - y
Worcester 5-4-1 - x
Providence 5-5
Boston 2-8
Power Rankings
1 - Ottawa -
2 - Buffalo -
3 - Worcester +1
4 - Long Island -1
5 - Providence -
6 - Ontario -
7 - Boston -
8 - Montreal -
Playoff Preview
NORTH DIVISION SEMI-FINAL
Ottawa Royals VS. Buffalo Blue Wings - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 24, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
Head-to-Head: W1 - OTT 28-17 BUF, W9 - BUF 28-34 OTT
The Royals and Blue Wings will square off in their third semi-final meeting in 4 years. Both teams have had extreme hot streaks this season with Buffalo going 6 in a row to climb out of a 0-2 hole while Ottawa started the year 6-0 before finishing 3-1. The Royals seem to have the apparent upper hand with not only having 3 more wins than the divisional foe but also having beaten the team in both meetings this season. Buffalo is going to have to rely on their defense to slow down the Royals' powerful offense if they want to be able to find their way back to the McCallister Cup.
NEW ENGLAND DIVISION SEMI-FINAL
Long Island Raiders VS. Worcester Athletics - Long Island Stadium - September 25, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS
Head-to-Head: W4 - LI 27-14 WOR, W5 - WOR 24-24 LI
It's a breath of fresh air in the New England division with two teams who are brand new to the playoffs. Their two matchups this season happened early on so much has changed since then. The Athletics are currently riding a 4-game win streak that got them to this game and they hope they can keep it up. Long Island has been good all year but there is no telling what may happen when the pressure is on in the playoffs with a young team still led by a rookie QB in Lyle Painter. The key for Long Island will be to not let the Athletics get comfortable early. If they keep up their momentum, there’s almost no chance for the Raiders, while the Athletics will likely be aiming to pressure Painter and try to force him into making mistakes. It will be a tight duel for the New England division, but with the hot streak, Worcester looks to be the favourites.
1955 Semi-Finals
Ottawa Royals VS. Buffalo Blue Wings - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 24, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
1ST Q
The playoffs kicked off with the 3rd semi-final meeting between Ottawa and Buffalo. With the teams splitting the first two meetings, the tie would be broken with this match. The opening quarter was a strong start from the Buffalo defense. DL Sean Bowen was able to break through the Royals’ line and would get to QB Jean Matieau to stall Ottawa’s opening drive. They would keep it up by preventing the Royals from scoring on their next two attempts. The Buffalo offense wouldn’t get too far ahead with Ottawa’s defense playing just as well. The only points of the opening quarter would come from the Blue Wings on a field goal.
2ND Q
Ottawa’s offense would not be held forever as Matieau would start to get the ball moving. He would connect with WR Allen Atkins downfield, and then would pass to WR Willard Brooks for the touchdown a few plays later. Ottawa took the lead and the Blue Wings were not able to counter. QB Angelo Medina would be forced out of the pocket and in an attempt to run he would be rocked by LB Leo Davenport. The ball would come loose. Fortunately, RB Arthur Conner would recover but it would be yet another punt for Buffalo. Ottawa would look to extend their lead following the punt. Matieau would expertly get the team back to the endzone as the second came to a close finding WR Allen Atkins for the score.
3RD Q
Buffalo was looking for any chance heading into the second half down by 11. They would look to Conner to get the ball going on the ground. Their star back would get them rolling and they would find themselves back on the board with a huge touchdown from Conner. They would add a 2-pointer to cut the lead to just 3. Ottawa, however, was not shaken by the Blue Wings surge and would get right back up with another touchdown this time RB Alexei Volkov was the scorer on an 18-yard scramble to the endzone. Buffalo just could not get a grip on the Royals and kept falling further behind. Medina would look to the air but he would be picked off by DB Uzzia Hayes leading to yet another Royals touchdown with WR Allen Atkins’ second of the game.
4TH Q
The Royals’ offense would slow down in the final quarter but their defense would remain strong with DL Olaf Viktorsson getting a fumble off of Medina. Volkov would primarily try to run down as much of the clock as possible. The Blue Wings were giving it all they had in the final quarter but they just couldn’t get past the Royals defense which was playing top-notch football. Buffalo would have one last long drive and got down to the goal line. It came after WR Samuel Floyd broke free for a huge gain and Arthur Conner pushed his way down to the line. They would take several shots, but the Royals defense held the line as the Blue Wings would be stuffed on two straight plays forcing a 3rd and goal. The Blue Wings would go with Conner on one more attempt, but the back seemed to have been burnt out by the drive and Olaf Viktorsson and the D-line would not let him get close to scoring forcing the turnover on downs. Ottawa would hold on to the win as they return to the McCallister Cup for the second straight season.
Long Island Raiders VS. Worcester Athletics - Long Island Stadium - September 25, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS
1ST Q
The Raiders and Athletics entered their first playoff game hoping to get a shot at the McCallister Cup. QB Lyle Painter has been one of the best rookie QBs ever and looked to continue it into this game. He would take the offense down the field on their opening drive which would lead to a field goal to take a quick 3-0 lead. Worcester would look to try and keep their momentum from their streak to get to the playoffs, but they would get knocked off their feet early with DB Slay Mitchell coming down with an interception. That would end up becoming another Raiders score with RB Gene Fischer scoring the touchdown. The Athletics were down 10-0 only 6 minutes into the game. QB Riley Kiernan would not be able to get the Athletics close enough to score, but they were slowly winning the field position battle.
2ND Q
By the start of the second Worcester would finally get close enough to strike. Kiernan would find his favourite target in WR Christian Venegas in order to cut the Raiders lead to just 3. Long Island was able to keep up their offensive attack getting back for another field goal. The rest of the second quarter would see the teams trade drives both being unable to breakthrough. However, the Athletics would catch a break with LB Scotty Williams forcing the ball from RB Gene Fischer which would be right in field goal position. Athletics' K Tevoris Francis would cut the lead back down to 3 at the break.
3RD Q
The Athletics would look to try and pull back some momentum out of the gate. They would be quite successful with DB Alexander Bradley picking off Painter early in the quarter. The play would give Kiernan some great field position. He would get some help from RB Timothy Weeks who would eventually get into the endzone to give the Athletics the lead. The Athletics would find themselves back in position to extend their lead, but the Raiders would keep them from the endzone. They would still get a field goal to go up 7 into the final quarter.
4TH Q
Many who were critical of the Raiders this season started to see this as their lack of experience shining through. Lyle Painter seemed to have a little less confidence in every throw, but it would come down to the veterans to come up big in the game. WR Travis Gallagher would make a huge play reeling in a pass that he would turn into a 20-yard play on his feet. The Raiders seemed to feed off of the WRs energy and would get to field goal range to pull within 4. The defense would be the next to shine through with DB Francis Veillette coming up with a huge interception. The former champion seemed to truly spark the Raiders who would not be stopped on their next drive. Painter would connect with WR Robert Lang for the go-ahead touchdown that had them up 23-20. Worcester would not be beaten easily as Kiernan would lead the offense back into field goal range. On 2nd and 6, Kiernan would take a shot at the endzone with WR Clyde McIntosh. However. DB Amrye Rouleau would break it up to hold the Athletics to just a field goal. 23-23 with just over a minute to go. Lyle Painter would show the league why he went first overall with a great drive. The QB would march the Raiders with pass after pass down to the 39-yard line. That would set up a 44-yard kick with zeros on the clock. K Thomas McFadden would get ready to boot. The kicker would go to kick before the whistles blew as HC Emil Riddle would call a Worcester timeout. The ball was still kicked and was wide. McFadden would get a second chance. The 3-time Special Teams Player of the Year would not miss twice. The ball went through the uprights on the next attempt as the Raiders shock the world again to go from league-worst to playing in the McCallister Cup.
Players of the Week
OFF: QB Jean Matieau OTT - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 314 Passing Yards
DEF: DB Slay Mitchell LI - 1 Interception, 3 Knockdown, 4 Tackles
McCallister Cup Preview
Ottawa Royals VS. Long Island Raiders - Long Island Stadium - October 2,1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
Head-to-Head: W6 OTT 30-17 LI
The Royals are heavy favourites to become the first repeat champions since the Independents in 1949 and 1950, as they have been all season. The single match between the Royals and Raiders was not a very close duel as the Royals topped the Raiders by 13, however you cannot count the Raiders out. They have not only overcome all odds this season from being a 0-10 team last season but also they will have the opportunity to host the game against the Royals. The Royals understand the situation of technically being the home team but on the road having been in Long Island’s position just last season in Ottawa. The Royals will have to be able to keep the crowd out of the game and make sure they keep themselves ahead and in control. If Long Island can get some momentum you just never know how the game could turn out between the two squads. Long Island will not likely be able to keep all of Ottawa’s weapons at bay, so they will have to do their best to keep pace on offense.
Ottawa Royals VS. Buffalo Blue Wings - Royals Stadium at Brewer Park - September 24, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
1ST Q
The playoffs kicked off with the 3rd semi-final meeting between Ottawa and Buffalo. With the teams splitting the first two meetings, the tie would be broken with this match. The opening quarter was a strong start from the Buffalo defense. DL Sean Bowen was able to break through the Royals’ line and would get to QB Jean Matieau to stall Ottawa’s opening drive. They would keep it up by preventing the Royals from scoring on their next two attempts. The Buffalo offense wouldn’t get too far ahead with Ottawa’s defense playing just as well. The only points of the opening quarter would come from the Blue Wings on a field goal.
2ND Q
Ottawa’s offense would not be held forever as Matieau would start to get the ball moving. He would connect with WR Allen Atkins downfield, and then would pass to WR Willard Brooks for the touchdown a few plays later. Ottawa took the lead and the Blue Wings were not able to counter. QB Angelo Medina would be forced out of the pocket and in an attempt to run he would be rocked by LB Leo Davenport. The ball would come loose. Fortunately, RB Arthur Conner would recover but it would be yet another punt for Buffalo. Ottawa would look to extend their lead following the punt. Matieau would expertly get the team back to the endzone as the second came to a close finding WR Allen Atkins for the score.
3RD Q
Buffalo was looking for any chance heading into the second half down by 11. They would look to Conner to get the ball going on the ground. Their star back would get them rolling and they would find themselves back on the board with a huge touchdown from Conner. They would add a 2-pointer to cut the lead to just 3. Ottawa, however, was not shaken by the Blue Wings surge and would get right back up with another touchdown this time RB Alexei Volkov was the scorer on an 18-yard scramble to the endzone. Buffalo just could not get a grip on the Royals and kept falling further behind. Medina would look to the air but he would be picked off by DB Uzzia Hayes leading to yet another Royals touchdown with WR Allen Atkins’ second of the game.
4TH Q
The Royals’ offense would slow down in the final quarter but their defense would remain strong with DL Olaf Viktorsson getting a fumble off of Medina. Volkov would primarily try to run down as much of the clock as possible. The Blue Wings were giving it all they had in the final quarter but they just couldn’t get past the Royals defense which was playing top-notch football. Buffalo would have one last long drive and got down to the goal line. It came after WR Samuel Floyd broke free for a huge gain and Arthur Conner pushed his way down to the line. They would take several shots, but the Royals defense held the line as the Blue Wings would be stuffed on two straight plays forcing a 3rd and goal. The Blue Wings would go with Conner on one more attempt, but the back seemed to have been burnt out by the drive and Olaf Viktorsson and the D-line would not let him get close to scoring forcing the turnover on downs. Ottawa would hold on to the win as they return to the McCallister Cup for the second straight season.
Long Island Raiders VS. Worcester Athletics - Long Island Stadium - September 25, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS
1ST Q
The Raiders and Athletics entered their first playoff game hoping to get a shot at the McCallister Cup. QB Lyle Painter has been one of the best rookie QBs ever and looked to continue it into this game. He would take the offense down the field on their opening drive which would lead to a field goal to take a quick 3-0 lead. Worcester would look to try and keep their momentum from their streak to get to the playoffs, but they would get knocked off their feet early with DB Slay Mitchell coming down with an interception. That would end up becoming another Raiders score with RB Gene Fischer scoring the touchdown. The Athletics were down 10-0 only 6 minutes into the game. QB Riley Kiernan would not be able to get the Athletics close enough to score, but they were slowly winning the field position battle.
2ND Q
By the start of the second Worcester would finally get close enough to strike. Kiernan would find his favourite target in WR Christian Venegas in order to cut the Raiders lead to just 3. Long Island was able to keep up their offensive attack getting back for another field goal. The rest of the second quarter would see the teams trade drives both being unable to breakthrough. However, the Athletics would catch a break with LB Scotty Williams forcing the ball from RB Gene Fischer which would be right in field goal position. Athletics' K Tevoris Francis would cut the lead back down to 3 at the break.
3RD Q
The Athletics would look to try and pull back some momentum out of the gate. They would be quite successful with DB Alexander Bradley picking off Painter early in the quarter. The play would give Kiernan some great field position. He would get some help from RB Timothy Weeks who would eventually get into the endzone to give the Athletics the lead. The Athletics would find themselves back in position to extend their lead, but the Raiders would keep them from the endzone. They would still get a field goal to go up 7 into the final quarter.
4TH Q
Many who were critical of the Raiders this season started to see this as their lack of experience shining through. Lyle Painter seemed to have a little less confidence in every throw, but it would come down to the veterans to come up big in the game. WR Travis Gallagher would make a huge play reeling in a pass that he would turn into a 20-yard play on his feet. The Raiders seemed to feed off of the WRs energy and would get to field goal range to pull within 4. The defense would be the next to shine through with DB Francis Veillette coming up with a huge interception. The former champion seemed to truly spark the Raiders who would not be stopped on their next drive. Painter would connect with WR Robert Lang for the go-ahead touchdown that had them up 23-20. Worcester would not be beaten easily as Kiernan would lead the offense back into field goal range. On 2nd and 6, Kiernan would take a shot at the endzone with WR Clyde McIntosh. However. DB Amrye Rouleau would break it up to hold the Athletics to just a field goal. 23-23 with just over a minute to go. Lyle Painter would show the league why he went first overall with a great drive. The QB would march the Raiders with pass after pass down to the 39-yard line. That would set up a 44-yard kick with zeros on the clock. K Thomas McFadden would get ready to boot. The kicker would go to kick before the whistles blew as HC Emil Riddle would call a Worcester timeout. The ball was still kicked and was wide. McFadden would get a second chance. The 3-time Special Teams Player of the Year would not miss twice. The ball went through the uprights on the next attempt as the Raiders shock the world again to go from league-worst to playing in the McCallister Cup.
McCallister Cup Preview
Ottawa Royals VS. Long Island Raiders - Long Island Stadium - October 2,1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
Head-to-Head: W6 OTT 30-17 LI
The Royals are heavy favourites to become the first repeat champions since the Independents in 1949 and 1950, as they have been all season. The single match between the Royals and Raiders was not a very close duel as the Royals topped the Raiders by 13, however you cannot count the Raiders out. They have not only overcome all odds this season from being a 0-10 team last season but also they will have the opportunity to host the game against the Royals. The Royals understand the situation of technically being the home team but on the road having been in Long Island’s position just last season in Ottawa. The Royals will have to be able to keep the crowd out of the game and make sure they keep themselves ahead and in control. If Long Island can get some momentum you just never know how the game could turn out between the two squads. Long Island will not likely be able to keep all of Ottawa’s weapons at bay, so they will have to do their best to keep pace on offense.
37th McCallister Cup
Ottawa Royals VS. Long Island Raiders - Long Island Stadium - October 2, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
The fans of Long Island came out in waves to see the Raiders take on the Royals for the McCallister Cup. Just one year removed from struggling to fill the stadium at all. Everything has gone right for the NAAF’s stake on Long Island and they have grown a massive fanbase in just a year, but will those fans be awarded? or will the Royals play spoiler?
1ST Q
It would be the Royals who got off to a good start in the game. QB Jean Matieau would be right on pace to take the team to the endzone on their first drive. However, the Raiders were able to slow them down when DL Vernon Spears got to Matieau in the backfield to force a field goal instead. The Raiders offense was less successful early on with the team going 2 and out on their first two drives. Ottawa would capitalize and Matieau would connect with WR Allen Atkins for the touchdown to extend the lead. Long Island was not going to be beaten easily and the team found their way through the Royals defense. OC Richard Thorne brought some American style plays he used with the old Raiders that seemed to hurt the Royals.
2ND Q
The Raiders would get to the endzone to start the second quarter with QB Lyle Painter connecting with WR Travis Gallagher for the score. Long Island was still in the game and the crowd was too. The noise would start to impact the Royals on their next drive with some miscommunication occurring. The O-line would start to jump the gun, and Matieau would even take a delay of game penalty with the play clock running out while not being able to get the call from the sidelines. The troubles would give the Raiders the perfect opportunity to take the lead. Painter would continue to move the offense and would tie it up shortly after. Then, a couple drives later, he found the endzone again with WR Robert Lang. Ottawa was now down 10-17 after leading 10-0 at the start of the quarter.
3RD Q
The Raiders would continue to roll to start the third coming up with another field goal early on. However, it was clear Ottawa had made some adjustments during the break. They were able to overcome the noise in the stadium by handing the play calling to Matieau as well as implementing a system they usually reserve for the noisy crowd in Montreal. Matieau would take over the game in the 3rd. He would march the Royals to the endzone with WR Willard Brooks to cut the lead to 3. After the defense stopped the Raiders, they would go back down the field again. The Raiders started to target both Atkins and Brooks to prevent the passes to them, but that would just leave WR Chester Bennett in the clear to take home a 43-yard touchdown pass. Ottawa was now up by 4 in a matter of minutes.
4TH Q
Long Island would try to make another push on offense, but the Royals were starting to regain ground on defense. The Raiders would struggle to get past midfield with the Royals stalling them out. Eventually, the Raiders would try to take a shot but DB Mingan Oliver would come down with a pick to stop them. The Royals would add to their lead with RB Alexei Volkov taking in a touchdown run. They would tack on a 2-point convert to make it a 12-point game. The Raiders would still have a bit of juice left in them as they started to make a move down the field but they would once again be foiled by the Royals defense with DL Olaf Viktorsson getting to Lyle Painter. The Royals would hold on for the final quarter as they would claim their second McCallister Cup and become just the second team in the entire history of the Cup to take it home in back-to-back seasons.
It also marks another QB winning a championship with a new team as former Gold Star Bruce Woodard can now call himself a McCallister Cup Champion.
McCallister Cup MVP
QB Jean Matieau OTT - 3 Passing Touchdowns, 352 Passing Yards
1955 Champions
1955 Season Recap
Ottawa Royals VS. Long Island Raiders - Long Island Stadium - October 2, 1955 - 6 PM ET - CBS/CBC
The fans of Long Island came out in waves to see the Raiders take on the Royals for the McCallister Cup. Just one year removed from struggling to fill the stadium at all. Everything has gone right for the NAAF’s stake on Long Island and they have grown a massive fanbase in just a year, but will those fans be awarded? or will the Royals play spoiler?
1ST Q
It would be the Royals who got off to a good start in the game. QB Jean Matieau would be right on pace to take the team to the endzone on their first drive. However, the Raiders were able to slow them down when DL Vernon Spears got to Matieau in the backfield to force a field goal instead. The Raiders offense was less successful early on with the team going 2 and out on their first two drives. Ottawa would capitalize and Matieau would connect with WR Allen Atkins for the touchdown to extend the lead. Long Island was not going to be beaten easily and the team found their way through the Royals defense. OC Richard Thorne brought some American style plays he used with the old Raiders that seemed to hurt the Royals.
2ND Q
The Raiders would get to the endzone to start the second quarter with QB Lyle Painter connecting with WR Travis Gallagher for the score. Long Island was still in the game and the crowd was too. The noise would start to impact the Royals on their next drive with some miscommunication occurring. The O-line would start to jump the gun, and Matieau would even take a delay of game penalty with the play clock running out while not being able to get the call from the sidelines. The troubles would give the Raiders the perfect opportunity to take the lead. Painter would continue to move the offense and would tie it up shortly after. Then, a couple drives later, he found the endzone again with WR Robert Lang. Ottawa was now down 10-17 after leading 10-0 at the start of the quarter.
3RD Q
The Raiders would continue to roll to start the third coming up with another field goal early on. However, it was clear Ottawa had made some adjustments during the break. They were able to overcome the noise in the stadium by handing the play calling to Matieau as well as implementing a system they usually reserve for the noisy crowd in Montreal. Matieau would take over the game in the 3rd. He would march the Royals to the endzone with WR Willard Brooks to cut the lead to 3. After the defense stopped the Raiders, they would go back down the field again. The Raiders started to target both Atkins and Brooks to prevent the passes to them, but that would just leave WR Chester Bennett in the clear to take home a 43-yard touchdown pass. Ottawa was now up by 4 in a matter of minutes.
4TH Q
Long Island would try to make another push on offense, but the Royals were starting to regain ground on defense. The Raiders would struggle to get past midfield with the Royals stalling them out. Eventually, the Raiders would try to take a shot but DB Mingan Oliver would come down with a pick to stop them. The Royals would add to their lead with RB Alexei Volkov taking in a touchdown run. They would tack on a 2-point convert to make it a 12-point game. The Raiders would still have a bit of juice left in them as they started to make a move down the field but they would once again be foiled by the Royals defense with DL Olaf Viktorsson getting to Lyle Painter. The Royals would hold on for the final quarter as they would claim their second McCallister Cup and become just the second team in the entire history of the Cup to take it home in back-to-back seasons.
It also marks another QB winning a championship with a new team as former Gold Star Bruce Woodard can now call himself a McCallister Cup Champion.
1955 Champions
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