1962 Season Preview

1962 Season Preview

1962 Schedule
The 1962 season will kick off with the Independents and the Gold Stars in Boston. Ottawa will host the Royals on Canada day and Boston will host Louisville on the 4th of July. Labour Day will have the Thunder at the Victors and the Blue Wings hosting the Rouge. Finally, the season will come to a close with the Athletics in Boston for one more game near their old home. 

However, the most interesting season will be the Athletics’. It was announced earlier that they would play at 4 different locations this season, however, they have now added 2 more locations to the list and will play each of their 6 home games in a different location in an attempt to grow the sport. They will play their season opener against the Royals at Richardson Stadium in Boston before they head to Portland, ME in week two to play at the city's baseball park, Bayside Park. Their next home game will be in week 4 at the former Tigers’ home in Kitchener-Waterloo City Field in Kitchener, ON. Then, the Raiders will return to Hartford to play the Athletics at their old stadium in Arnold H. Benson Park. The final two home games will be in Quebec City at the city’s main stadium against the Rouge and West Mass State’s Patrick Smythe Memorial Stadium in Springfield, MA against the Gold Stars. 

Power Rankings

1 - Louisville Thunder
1961 Record: 9-3 (2nd West)
1961 Result: Lost West Division Final
The Thunder are almost unanimously the front runners going into this NAAF season. They had a strong 9-3 season last year with QB Leonidas Dumont having a career year. After all of that, the team went out and massively improved the team. They got the big fish in LB Scotty Williams who will slot into the LB core next to LB Silas O’Brien and LB Calvin Hardy. Then they added OL Cliff Strautzenberger and WR Clyde McIntosh as well which will help to improve the team depth. The team is aiming for the top this season with the McCallister Cup being in Louisville as well, however, a lot will be riding on QB Leonidas Dumont maintaining the success he had last season. 

Captains
C - QB Leonidas Dumont
A - LB Silas O’Brien
A - DB Alexander Bradley

2 - Boston Independents
1961 Record: 8-4 (2nd East)
1961 Result: Won McCallister Cup
The defending champs come into the season with a very similar roster to last season. While there will be minor changes with WR Clyde McIntosh heading to Louisville and DB Carson Scott going to Montreal, the Independents, behind QB Nathaniel Braddock, feel like a strong contender to get back to the final. Especially after the playoff performance that seemed to ignite Braddock, the team behind him seems to have a bigger chip on their shoulder, like they are here to be the best once again. Overall, it is about continuing to push forward for the team and try to bring back the dominance of the Independents. 

Captains
C - LB Brent Harper
A - WR Ellis Lindholm
A - QB Nathaniel Braddock

3 - London Tigers
1961 Record: 11-1 (1st West)
1961 Result: Lost McCallister Cup
The Tigers are viewed as a team that may not reach the level they reached last season. This is due to losing a couple of key pieces in WR Benedict Spencer and OL Kazimir Smirnov. They also will be dealing with RB Clifford Russell returning from an injury that he suffered at the end of the season last year. Despite all the reasons that they may take a step back, they are still very much a threat with QB Riley Kiernan leading the way. The Tigers have been in the last 3 McCallister Cups so they certainly have been one of if not the best team in the league in the last 3 years. They will still be in the fight regardless of a couple of minor setbacks. 

Captains
C - LB Aengus Lynch
A - QB Riley Kiernan
A - RB Clifford Russell

4 - Providence Gold Stars
1961 Record: 7-5 (3rd East) 
1961 Results: Lost East Division Semi-Final
High expectations are ahead for the Gold Stars this season. After closing out last season with a strong 5-game win streak to put the team into the playoffs and several more additions this offseason, many are hoping the team can keep it up into the 1962 season. The Gold Stars have been on the bad end of most situations throughout the NAAF’s history, and they are hoping that the moves to get DB Slay Mitchell and WR Benedict Spencer will help them reach the next level this season.

Captains
C - QB Connor O’Rourke 
A - DL Calias McDonough
A - OL Wilfred Gibson

5 - Montreal Rouge
1961 Record: 9-3 (1st East)
1961 Result: Lost East Division Final
The Rouge continue to feel like a team that is just overshadowed by the other top teams, however, they are still very much one of the best teams in the league. QB Gene Bishop is entering his second season as the QB for the Rouge and is expected to be better. On top of that, the team has two strong WRs in Derek Cross and Taylor Karis that are expected to do a lot this season if Montreal’s offence is clicking. They also made some improvements to the defence with DB Carson Scott and DL Vinny Brown to give them an even stronger squad as a whole. In the end, expect the Rouge to be right in the hunt all season.

Captains
C - OL Eugésippe Chalifoux
A - DB Quentin Xavier
A - LB Sam Fitzroy

6 - Buffalo Blue Wings
1961 Record: 5-7 (3rd West)
1961 Result: Lost West Division Semi-Final
The Blue Wings come into the 1962 season as one of the most exciting teams. They aren’t expected to be a championship contender, but with QB Charles Lemieux taking over the starting job from the start and the addition of WR Zachariah Pembroke, they will have tons of intrigue this season. There is also expected to be a lot of snaps for rookies LB Orion Carter and WR Julius Drake as they get them ready to play in the big leagues. Buffalo could very well play above expectations this season as they continue to build the team. 

Captains
C - S Frazier Brooks
A - OL Jean Mathieu-Baptiste
A - LB Lloyd Mathis

7 - Long Island Raiders
1961 Record: 4-8 (4th West)
1961 Result: Missed Playoffs
The Raiders are an interesting team. This season will likely be about getting QB Lyle Painter back on track. GM Wayne Tillman made the switch to HC Kerry Holder this season after the team fell to a 4-8 record last year. Tillman is hoping Holder, the former Thunder OC, can reignite the offence in Long Island and try to get more potential out of QB Lyle Painter. On the defensive side, the team has certainly gotten weaker over the past couple of seasons with losing LB Rusty McVee and DL Tyrone Affalo last year and DB Slay Mitchell this year. However, they still have a strong group especially in the LB core and secondary with younger talent coming into their own. The Raiders are going to be hoping the new coaching regime will settle in quickly and the team can fight for a playoff spot once again. 

Captains
C - DL Vernon Spears
A - LB Elijah Goldwater
A - QB Lyle Painter

8 - Ottawa Royals
1961 Record: 5-7 (4th East)
1961 Result: Missed Playoffs
Coming off of their first sub-.500 NAAF season, the Royals are aiming to bounce back and return to the playoffs. While they certainly were not the most active team in the offseason, they are still a strong (though aging) Royals team. QB Jean Matieau certainly wants to keep playing at his best until he retires which means that he is going to be doing everything in his power to continue to win this season. He also hopes to be a better leader after the team ran into some locker room issues sparked from a 2-7 start last year. The Royals are still sticking around. It just will be a tougher hill to climb if they want to make their return to the postseason.

Captains
C - QB Jean Matieau
A - DL Olaf Viktorsson
A - DB Mingan Oliver*

9 - Indiana Victors
1961 Record: 1-11 (5th West)
1961 Result: Missed Playoffs
The Victors are certainly not as far-fetched from the rest of the league as they have been in years past. The addition of rookies OL Jean-Baptiste Desjardins and OL Elias McCarren and veteran OL Logan Blackwell have overhauled the OL that has resembled a rotating door rather than a wall in the last few years. QB Stanley Troyer returns as the starter, and will finally have some protection to allow him to do a whole lot more with the team’s offence. Overall, the Victors are hoping to break the 2 win barrier for the first time since 1958 as well as attempt to not be last in the West Division. 

Captains
C - DL William Sanderson
A - DB Kelly Kirkland
A - TE Emmanuel Hines*

10 - The Athletics
1961 Record: 1-11 (5th East)
1961 Result: Missed Playoffs
It will likely be a bit of a season of patience for the Athletics. The departure of many important pieces this offseason, most notably LB Scotty Williams, will likely result in the team taking a bigger step back from a horrid 1961 season. The team will also play essentially no home games this season as they will play in 6 different stadiums for their home games this season. At the very least they are no longer searching for salvation with the plan to go to Halifax next season, but it's likely going to be a long year for the team.  

Captains
C - OL Ward Briscoe
A - DB Joe Robinson
A - RB Stavros Black

Wally's Predictions
WEST
LOU 10-2 y
LDN 8-4 x
BUF 6-6 x
LI 5-7
IND 3-9

EAST
PRO 8-4 y
BOS 8-4 x
MTL 7-5 x
OTT 5-7
ATH 0-12

DSF
MTL over BOS
LDN over BUF

DF
PRO over MTL
LOU over LDN

44th McCallister Cup
LOU over PRO