1963 Division Finals
Boston Independents VS. Providence Gold Stars - Richardson Stadium - September 29, 1963 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy/Light Rain - 14ºC | 58ºF - TV: Benjamin O’Donnell and William Arland1st Q
Both offences were able to get the ball moving early on in the classic playoff battle. They would trade drives, picking up a couple of first downs each, but there was no scoring until midway through the quarter. Boston would be able to make some space for RB Kendall Morgan which allowed them to get deep into Providence territory. The Independents would ultimately grab a field goal to make it 3-0. Providence’s offence would start a counterattack as the quarter came to a close. QB Connor O’Rourke would make a great throw to WR Cedric Peterson which would put them into Boston territory on the final play of the quarter.
BOS 3-0 PRO
2nd Q
The Gold Stars would continue their push. O’Rourke would dance out of pressure and find another big play to WR Owen Paisley to set them up in the redzone. A couple of plays later O’Rourke tossed a shot to WR Cedric Peterson to put Providence in the lead. Both teams would continue to buckle down and push to get an advantage. The battle was very closely matched with neither team being able to breakthrough. It would come down to a turnover to make something happen. DL Timmy Kerr and DL Robin Hill were creating a lot of pressure for QB Connor O’Rourke throughout the first half, and eventually, they would get to him. Robin Hill would be able to knock the ball loose and the Independents would grab it. They would look to score a touchdown, but the Providence defence would manage to hold them off and force a field goal. Providence would be able to get the field goal back on the final play of the half after the offence got them quickly into field goal range.
BOS 6-10 PRO
3rd Q
The second half would start off with more back and forth play, however, the game was slowly shifting into Providence’s favour with both defence and offence stepping up. The offence would charge down the field midway through the quarter and would set up near the endzone. O’Rourke would then find TE Michael Bowman III for a touchdown to give them a 6-17 lead. The Gold Stars' defence was giving Boston a lot of trouble with pressure from DL Craig White and DL Calias McDonough getting to QB Nathaniel Braddock. Eventually, the pressure would lead to a major mistake. He would misjudge some coverage and DB Cameron Taylor would jump what looked like a wide-open connection. The Gold Stars would take over and O’Rourke would hit WR Owen Paisley for a touchdown a few plays later to give Providence an 18-point lead heading into the final quarter.
BOS 6-24 PRO
4th Q
Braddock would not let the Independents go out with a whimper. He would counter the second Providence touchdown with a strong drive of his own. He would get the Independents down into scoring range before RB Kendall Morgan would break into the endzone from 9 yards out to cut the lead to only 11. Providence’s defence would tighten up following the touchdown drive which made for a tougher time for Boston. Luckily for Boston, they were still able to find a little bit of a rhythm. The offence was slowly making their way back as the quarter was heading into the final 5 minutes. Providence would be pressuring Braddock and locking down WR Ellis Lindholm with DB Neville Falkner, but Braddock would still manage to find WR Fredrick St.Pierre open to score a touchdown and pull the game to within one score. The Gold Stars would not let the score affect them as they would then stop Boston on the 2-point conversion to keep the 5-point lead. Despite Providence’s best attempts to hold onto the ball, the Independents would get it back. They would start to move into Providence territory again. Braddock was threatening the endzone and he would see WR Evan Clanton get a bit of space over the middle. He would go to throw, but DL Craig White jumped up to block. Braddock would pump-fake and sidestep and make the throw. It was an excellent play, however, the timing was slightly off and the ball tipped off of Clanton’s hands and popped up. S Shawn Jensen was all over the ball and would bring in the pick. Providence would have a chance to try and close out the game, but they would still need to give it back one more time, giving Boston a final chance. The Independents would push to the 40, but time was running thin so Braddock had to make a play. He would look to connect on a deep shot. His throw would be on target for WR Ellis Lindholm, but DB Neville Falkner was playing at his best and was able to knock the ball away. Providence would win and end their league-high 9-year McCallister Cup appearance drought. They will have the tough task of ending their long championship drought that stretches back to 1941.
London Tigers VS. Ottawa Royals - Western Fair Stadium - September 29, 1963 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy - 4ºC | 40ºF - TV: Jerry Goldbridge and Jackie Calhoon
1st Q
It was a chilly day in London which would make for one of the coldest NAAF games (since they play summer ball). However, being the two Canadian teams they would embrace it. The Tigers would take advantage early with a strong opening drive to give them a quick 3-0 lead. Ottawa would look to counter, but they were stopped quickly with QB Lee Rogers taking a sack right off the hop from DL Dee Floyd. The Tigers would continue to find a rhythm on offence and would find themselves back in scoring range once again. QB Riley Kiernan would eventually find WR Max Sutton for a touchdown to give London a 10-0 lead. Lee Rogers would struggle in the first quarter taking 2 sacks and throwing an interception to DB Bob Ellis.
LDN 10-0 OTT
2nd Q
London would keep it up in the second with the defence continuing to cause issues for QB Lee Rogers. Rogers would start to get a little more mobile, but his attempt to get out of the pocket was thwarted by the arms of DL Olympus Heights who would jar the ball loose. The Tigers would turn the fumble into a touchdown shortly after with RB Eddie Thompson taking it in, a difficult one for the Royals to swallow since Thompson was traded to London from Ottawa earlier in the season. The Royals would start to make some progress on their next offensive drive, but it was cut short when DB Jackson Miles came up with an interception for the Tigers. That would lead to another Tigers’ score to give them a strong 20-0 lead heading into the half. Rogers was clearly not handling the Tigers’ pressure well with three turnovers in the first half. His struggles brought into a potential change to youngster QB Landon Ross, but they would continue with Rogers.
LDN 20-0 OTT
3rd Q
The second half would see the Royals get a bit of a kick start. During the break, QB Jean Matieau and HC Joseph Curry would work with Rogers to change up the strategy. It would end up working and would catch the Tigers a little off guard early on in the 3rd. Rogers would be able to lead the Royals down the field to get into scoring range. He would then connect with WR Chester Bennett in the back corner of the endzone to get them on the board. London would not let the score faze them. Kiernan would then take the team back the other way to get another score. K Nimrod Handsworth would kick his 3rd field goal of the game to make it 23-7 heading into the final quarter.
LDN 23-7 OTT
4th Q
The Royals’ defence would also step up the second half putting some pressure on the Tigers. DL Olaf Viktorsson would be able to get to Kiernan early on in the 4th to force the Tigers deep into their own territory. The Tigers would punt 2 plays later which would end up giving Ottawa good field position. The Royals' offence would continue from where they started in the 3rd and would get the ball down to the 5-yard line. RB Corbyn Knight would then take the ball in for a touchdown to pull the game to within 2 scores and a chance to make it 1. Rogers would drop back on the 2-point attempt and would find former Tiger, TE Paul McDowell, for the score to cut the lead to 8. Despite the change in momentum, Kiernan would be able to rebound quickly, taking the Tigers back down the other way. He would soon find WR Jack Duncan for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 15-point lead. The quick drive would break the hearts of the Royals who started to see that they were just outmatched. Rogers would still give them one last hope, but on 3rd and 10 he would be swarmed by DL Olympus Heights and DL Richard Blunt and would be brought down for a loss of 7. The Royals were just not good enough to top the red-hot Tigers who were now headed to their 4th McCallister Cup in 5 years. It was certainly a surprise considering the 1-5 start to the season.
DL Wesley Highgate BOS - Day-to-Day
LB Dallas Dillard LDN - Day-to-Day
DL Kenny Evans PRO - 5 Weeks
Players of the Week
45th McCallister Cup Preview
LDN VS. PRO - Long Island Stadium - Hempstead, NY
Head-to-Head: None
It is the second playoff matchup we’ve seen this year where the teams didn’t play this season. It means that it is hard to tell how this game is going to go. However, the game will be about the legacy of each QB. QB Riley Kiernan enters his 5th McCallister Cup and despite the many attempts, he’s only been able to win once in his previous 4. He will be aiming to become just the 4th QB to win multiple McCallister Cups in the NAAF era. As for QB Connor O’Rourke, he enters his first McCallister Cup at the spry young age of 32. He has been known as one of the best regular-season QBs but never got it done in the playoffs. Now he will have the chance to challenge his narrative and give Providence its first title since 1941. In the end, I think it is a good matchup, but I like the Gold Stars slightly better. I think they finally get over the hump this year.
My Pick: Gold Stars
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