North American Association of Football (Fictional History): 45th McCallister Cup

45th McCallister Cup

London Tigers VS. Providence Gold Stars - Long Island Stadium - October 6, 1963 - 6 PM ET - Weather: Clear 18ºC | 65ºF - TV: Benjamin O’Donnell and William Arland
1st Q
It was a game that could have been very offensive or very defensive. The Tigers would decide very quickly that it should be an offensive affair. They would get the ball first and go right onto the attack. QB Riley Kiernan was able to find little weaknesses in the Gold Stars’ defence and would find WR Max Sutton in the endzone at the end of their opening drive to make it 7-0. Providence was not as successful on their opening drive with the Tigers’ defence standing strong. The Tigers would continue to control the game and would get another great offensive chance. Kiernan would connect with WR Jack Duncan for a big play that would put the Tigers on the goalline. Then, QB Rigobert St-Hilaire would then punch it in on the QB plunge to give London the shocking 14-0 lead.
LDN 14-0 PRO

2nd Q
There was no way QB Connor O’Rourke was going to back down following the bad start. He would take to the field with purpose and lead the offence to a quick score of their own. He would connect with WR Cedric Peterson to make it 14-7. The defence would follow O’Rourke in stepping up. They would send pressure from the defensive line. DL Craig White was able to take advantage of a weaker OL of Jimmy McKay and would almost get to Kiernan right off the snap. However, the QB was able to evade and then would take off up the middle. With Kiernan running, LB Rusty McVee would step up to take him down. Kiernan would do his best to avoid the tackle and would almost escape. Unfortunately, McVee was still able to get Kiernan’s arm and force the ball loose. The fumble would give the Gold Stars great field position. The Tigers would look to fix their mistake with a lot of pressure from the defence. DL Olympus Heights would break off the edge with great speed, however, O’Rourke was able to avoid him. Heights would make the move to go after him, but he was then erased by a RB Marcus Devonshire block. It caught Olympus off guard and sent him to new heights (and out of the game). O’Rourke would then find WR Benedict Spencer open to get down to the 10 before Devonshire scored to tie the game. The Tigers would not be completely silenced in the quarter and would get a late field goal to take the lead into the break.
LDN 17-14 PRO

3rd Q
The 3rd quarter would start with Providence maintaining their momentum. O’Rourke would lead the offence on an early touchdown drive to give them their first lead of the contest. WR Owen Paisley would be on the receiving end. The Tigers would be looking to counter the score, but they ran into more trouble with DB Neville Falkner finding a way to wrestle the ball out of the grasp of WR Max Sutton and pick up an interception. Providence would threaten the endzone once again, but DB Jackson Miles was able to prevent WR Cedric Peterson from making a likely touchdown catch. The Gold Stars would settle for a field goal and a 7-point lead. Kiernan would be able to bounce back from the interception and would keep the Tigers in the battle. He would be able to tie the game back up with a toss to WR Jack Duncan before the quarter ended.
LDN 24-24 PRO

4th Q
With the game tied, the tension was high. Neither team wanted to give an inch, but both offences were finding ways to move the ball. After a couple of drives were traded, the Gold Stars would get a big boost on an 18-yard run from RB Marcus Devonshire. The play would be followed up with a 17-yard toss to WR Owen Paisley. Providence was making a strong push towards the endzone now. As they approached the goal line, O’Rourke would take his shot. He would throw one of the best passes of his career to WR Cedric Peterson. Peterson, with DB Jackson Miles playing almost perfect coverage, would manage to make a miraculous catch to score and put the Gold Stars up by 7. The Gold Stars would give it all to stay up by 7, but the game was truly a duel of QBs. Riley Kiernan would get back on the horse and would lead the charge back the other way. With a heavy desire to get his second cup, he would get the team down to the redzone again. Providence would start to tighten up and would prevent the Tigers from getting into the endzone on first down. However, on 2nd, Kiernan would toss a pass to WR Russell Wilcox on a crossing route. The WR's speed would catch some players off guard and he would make a break to the corner of the endzone. With a block from WR Jack Duncan, Wilcox would dive and make it in for the score and tie the game once again. With time winding down, the game was going to come down to the next score to decide it. Providence was pushing for a strong drive, but they were stopped short of midfield. They would pin the Tigers deep with the ensuing punt. London would manage to get out of the shadow of their own goalposts but still had to hand the ball back over to Providence. The Gold Stars would look to make a statement late. After an incompletion on first down, O’Rourke would look to his most reliable target in WR Cedric Peterson, but DB Jackson Miles got the better of him this time and forced the Gold Stars to punt again. London would get the last chance of regulation. Providence was mainly trying to prevent a score so they played off a little. Kiernan read it and took advantage, finding WR Max Sutton for a shorter route which he turned into a 21-yard gain. On the next play, he would connect with WR Jack Duncan to put them into field goal range. The time crept down and with 3 seconds left, the game would be on K Nimrod Handsworth. The Gold Stars would try and stall him to build up tension. The building was loud with all the Gold Stars fans trying to do what they can. Then, the ball was snapped and Handsworth kicked the ball. The building fell silent as it flew through the air. Nimrod put his hands up a little early knowing it was going to make it. The Tigers would win on the final play to capture their second McCallister Cup.