1963 Division Semi-Finals

1963 Division Semi-Finals

Providence Gold Stars VS. Montreal Rouge - New Providence Stadium - September 22, 1963 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy - 11ºC | 52ºF - TV: EN Bob Walton and Steven Kelly, FR Cyril Etienne and Quinton Jacques
1st Q
The atmosphere was electrifying in the 65,450 seat New Providence Stadium. Revenge was on the mind for the Gold Stars who wanted to reverse the result of the 1962 East Division Final. The game would certainly start in their favour. QB Gene Bishop would lead the Rouge out for the opening drive of the game. He would soon find himself facing a lot of pressure from the Gold Stars’ D-line. He would step up to make a throw on 2nd down but had his own OL Scott Harper pushed into him, knocking the throw off course. DB Neville Falkner of the Gold Stars would jump all over the errant ball and bring in an interception. The crowd in Providence erupted and the Gold Stars grabbed the momentum. QB Connor O’Rourke would make quick work of the Montreal defence before connecting with WR Owen Paisley for a touchdown to make it 7-0 Providence. Montreal would be able to bounce back in the quarter on the next drive with RB Scott Mallard-White getting to the endzone to tie the game back up. The Gold Stars would be well on their way to retake the lead with another touchdown, however, they would fall short. WR Sammy Moss would find some open space in the endzone, but as the ball arrived, DB Jared Francis would lay a hit on Moss and force the incompletion. The play did not sit well with the home crowd especially when WR Sammy Moss would not be able to return to the game. The Gold Stars would still walk away with the lead following a K Ira Foster field goal. 
PRO 10-7 MTL

2nd Q
The second quarter would see Montreal continue to get the ball moving. QB Gene Bishop was getting into a rhythm and would get the team down into the redzone before hitting WR Taylor Karis over the middle for a touchdown to take the lead for the first time. The momentum continued to tip into Montreal’s favour which had the crowd feeling anxious. O’Rourke would come out and ease the crowd with a strong drive. The QB would connect with WR Cedric Peterson to get down into the redzone before he found WR Owen Paisley for the second time in the endzone. 17-14 Providence. The Rouge would have to hurry up with time running thin in the half. Following a couple of quick passes to pick up a first down, Bishop was faced with pressure once again. However, this time he was able to escape the pocket. As Bishop stepped to throw to an open TE Eli Grant, he was hit from behind by DL Calias McDonough which caused Bishop to fumble the ball. Another costly turnover would leave the Rouge down by 6 following a Gold Stars’ field goal.
PRO 20-14 MTL

3rd Q
The Rouge would aim to get back into the game out of the break. Bishop was looking to make a big play for the team and get their confidence up. The Gold Stars were continuing to bring the pressure. Bishop would feel it, but kept his cool and would step up to throw, but would pump fake as he saw WR Derek Cross was not as open as he hoped. He would second guess and then shift his throw for WR Darryl Duke. Bishop’s throw was way off target since the QB did not properly set up for the throw. The ball would land in open field with S Shawn Jensen getting under it and bringing in another interception. Providence would continue to roll back the other way with O’Rourke firing the touchdown to WR Cedric Peterson to give them a 27-14 lead. Bishop would not let the mistakes end their season and he would get right back for a quick field goal to cut the lead to just 10. Montreal’s defence had been fairly quiet throughout the game, but they would come up big in the 3rd. O’Rourke would look to connect with WR Cedric Peterson, but S Garet deVale would get in the way and break up the pass. The ball would get tipped up and DB Quentin Xavier, who was coming up behind Peterson, would grab the pick. Montreal would take the momentum shift and would get down to the redzone again. Mallard-White would score his second of the game on the ground. 
PRO 27-24 MTL

4th Q
The final quarter of play was quite tense for the Gold Star fans who were all too afraid of another choke in the playoffs. Early on in the quarter, the Gold Stars would make a push for the endzone. O’Rourke would connect with WR Benedict Spencer to get the team down to the 2-yard line. On 1st and Goal, the Gold Stars would end up faking the run and would set up WR Cedric Peterson to go one-on-one into the endzone. O’Rourke would toss a perfect pass to the WR who was one of the best in one-on-one situations and he would give Providence a 10-point lead again. Montreal would be able to counter with a field goal to cut the lead back to just 7. The Gold Stars did a good job stalling the Rouge and running the clock, but Montreal was getting another chance with a couple of minutes to go. Looking to make plays through the air, the Rouge would add another WR to the field. Montreal would look to connect on a couple of plays to get the ball rolling. Bishop would step back for a quick throw and would connect with WR Trig Jegman over the middle. Jegman would turn to make a play but he was immediately drilled by LB Rusty McVee. McVee’s hit would launch the ball loose and LB Victor Falkensteig would pick it up and give Providence great field position. The Gold Stars would let RB Rashed Smith and RB Marcus Devonshire run the ball down to the goal line. Devonshire would then punch the ball in to give Providence a 14-point lead and clinch their first playoff win since 1958. 

PRO - 46 DB Neville Falkner

MTL - 40 RB Scott Mallard-White

Louisville Thunder VS. Ottawa Royals - Thunder Stadium - September 22, 1963 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Mostly Cloudy - 21ºC | 71ºF - TV: Clint Georgetown and Jamar Swinton
1st Q
It was a much different game in the West Division with the Thunder and Royals both starting backup QBs. QB Stanislav Ovechkin has been the hot hand this season for the Thunder, while QB Lee Rogers replaces QB Jean Matieau due to injury. This marks the first playoff game Ottawa has had without Matieau since 1950. The game would get off to a rocky start with both offences struggling to move the ball. There were a combined 3 first downs in the first quarter. There was no scoring until late in the quarter, and it would take a freak play to lead to it. The Royals would be punting the ball to the Thunder. WR Julian Santiago was back to field the kick, but he misjudged it and the ball bounced off of his chest. The Royals were quick to pounce on the ball and S Clancy Scott would be able to take it down to the 16-yard line. From there, the Royals would finish off the drive with QB Lee Rogers connecting with WR Mackenzie Jones. 
LOU 0-7 OTT

2nd Q
The Thunder would look to recover from the mistake in the second quarter. QB Stanislav Ovechkin would lead the Thunder down into Royals’ territory. They would get a field goal to break their offensive silence. They would continue to gain some momentum with a huge turnover. QB Lee Rogers would force a deep ball which would land in the hands of S Johnny Berger. The offence would take over and would eventually get near the endzone before RB Rodney Clark took in the touchdown to give Louisville a 10-7 lead. The Royals’ offence was still struggling against the league’s top defence and never got past midfield in the 2nd. 
LOU 10-7 OTT

3rd Q
The Thunder would add to their lead early in the second half with the offence getting down to the redzone. K Frank Hughes would hit his second field goal of the game. With the 6-point lead, the Thunder would start to get comfortable with their defence shutting down the Royals’ offence. However, another freak play would give the Royals an opportunity. As WR Chester Bennett took off for a deep route, he put a quick move on DB Oliver Langstrom. Langstrom would stay with Bennett, however, he planted his foot in an odd spot and would roll his ankle. Bennett would break free and Lee Rogers would hit him with a perfect deep ball. S Johnny Berger would try to get back, but the veteran WR would take it to the house to give the Royals the shocking lead. Langstrom would be unable to return to the game following the play as he could barely keep up with the play while hobbling. 
LOU 13-14 OTT

4th Q
The Thunder would recover from the play in the 4th following a LB Scotty Williams forced fumble. They would get another field goal to retake the lead. They would once again hold the fort quite well. The defence was managing alright without both DB Alexander Bradley and DB Oliver Langstrom, however, HC Joseph Curry of the Royals soon found little weaknesses. Smart playcalling would start to push the ball up the field. It was a tedious battle with the Royals’ offence still only getting a few yards each play. Eventually, Rogers would open up the field with back-to-back passes to WR Carter Henderson which would move the Royals up the field 32 yards. They would get down to the 2 before the Thunder would look to hold them up. After RB Corbyn Knight was stopped just short on first down, QB Lee Rogers would breakthrough on a QB plunge to give Ottawa a huge 16-21 lead. The Thunder were all of a sudden in panic mode. The offence would need to move quickly with time starting to become an issue. Ovechkin would have to make some plays through the air. He would connect with WR Ben Roland for a 28-yard gain to start the drive. The fans were getting back into the game. The Thunder kept moving the ball into Royals’ territory and were starting to threaten. Then Ovechkin would look for Roland once again. The WR was breaking for a post route. The ball would perfectly get to Roland, however, S Randall Green would get there just before Roland and would make a miraculous catch to intercept the ball. The fans let out a gasp of pure shock. The pick killed the Thunder’s momentum and the Royals would hold on to become not only the first crossover team to win a playoff game, but the first sub-500 team to win a playoff game as well. QB Lee Rogers and QB Jean Matieau, who watched from the sideline, would share a hug following the win as they were both ecstatic about the win. 

LOU - 38 S Johnny Berger

OTT - 28 DL Olaf Viktorsson
Injury Report
DB Oliver Langstrom LOU - Day-to-Day
LB Killian Reed OTT - Day-to-Day
WR Sammy Moss PRO - 6 Weeks

Players of the Week

EDSF: QB Connor O’Rourke PRO - 4 Passing Touchdowns, 328 Passing Yards

WDSF: QB Lee Rogers OTT - 2 Passing Touchdowns, 1 Rushing Touchdown, 189 Passing Yards

Division Final Previews

East Division Final - BOS VS PRO - Richardson Stadium
Head-to-Head: W3: PRO 34-20 BOS, W6 BOS 24-20 PRO
The Gold Stars are on a mission to finally break free of their “playoff-choker” title and after their win next week there is a lot of fans thinking they have a chance. However, they do have to ready for the Independents, who always seem to be standing in the way of the Gold Stars. Boston will still be hindered without 2 starting WRs and RB Kendall Morgan coming off an injury, but QB Nathaniel Braddock has been more than making up for it down the stretch. In the games between the teams this season, it seemed like the Gold Stars were the slightly better team, but now that it is playoff time, anything can happen. I still like the offensive power from the Gold Stars, I think they will break through to the final. 
My Pick: Gold Stars

West Division Final - LDN VS OTT - Western Fair Stadium
Head-to-Head: W3 OTT 31-28 LDN
The Royals had come out on top in the meeting between these two teams earlier this season, however, a lot has changed since then. The Royals remain without QB Jean Matieau and the Tigers are one of, if not, the hottest team in the league riding a 6-game win streak. The Royals shocked the Thunder by being able to take advantage of mistakes and shut down their offence. However, they will not likely be able to contain QB Riley Kiernan and the high-flying Tigers’ offence. I think the Tigers are the significantly better team and they will get back to their 4th McCallister Cup in 5 years. 
My Pick: Tigers.