1969 Division Finals

1969 Division Finals

Roster Moves
BUF: DB Santino Arriola - Active Roster -> Injured Reserve
BUF: DB Micah Neil - Reserve List -> Active Roster

EAST DIVISION FINAL

Boston Independents VS. Ottawa Royals - Richardson Stadium - September 27, 1969 - 6 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy - 19ºC | 66ºF
1st Q
The Independents and Royals met for their 6th playoff meeting, which was a defensive show down right from the start. Each team was able to move the ball a little, but couldn't get over midfield before being forced to punt by the opposing defence. Eventually, one team would catch a break and it would be the Royals with RB Corbyn Knight finding a hole and picking up 37 yards. Once they got down to the 21-yard line, Young would drop back for a pass, but be met with some pressure. The young QB was able to evade his way through and then hit WR Marshall Leonard in the endzone to pick up the only 7 points of the opening quarter. 
BOS 0-7 OTT

2nd Q
Boston’s defence tightened up after the Royals’ touchdown and were a lot more successful shutting them down. However, they were not getting much offensively with Ottawa’s defence also playing at the top of their game. Eventually, QB Nathaniel Braddock was able to solve the Royals’ defence enough to get into their end of the field. However, on 2nd and 6 from the 36, Braddock would drop back to throw. He would be pressured heavily, and his throw would be impacted by the pressure. The ball would flutter over the middle and LB Sam Wheeler would dive for the ball. Wheeler would catch it initially, but it would hit the ground. One referee initially ruled it a catch, but the other saw the ball hit the ground and, luckily for the Independents, convinced the call to be changed. Boston would keep the ball and get points on the board with K Woody Woodstock kicking a field goal. The remainder of the half would go scoreless.
BOS 3-7 OTT

3rd Q
Both teams hoped to get more out of their offence in the second half, but once again defence was making an impact. Especially early in the 3rd, when QB Drake Young would overthrow WR Colby Bancana and into the hands of DB Mordecai King. Boston would take over and get another field goal on the ensuing drive to cut the lead down to 1 point. Ottawa would get their turn with a turnover later in the quarter when they stopped Boston on a 3rd down gamble just over midfield. They would not score on that drive, but they managed to flip the field position battle which eventually led to an K Ira Foster field goal to get the Royals back up to a 4-point lead. The score would remain 6-10 heading into the final quarter.
BOS 6-10 OTT

4th Q
Boston would start the final quarter off with an early field goal to answer Ottawa’s from the end of the 3rd. Boston was able to hold off Ottawa on the ensuing drive, but eventually, the Royals would regain their 4-point lead with another field goal. Boston was playing more aggressively as the clock started to put on the pressure. The aggressiveness lead to some more passing plays from QB Nathaniel Braddock. Braddock’s passing was working as Boston was inching toward the Royals’ endzone. Braddock would eventually fire the ball for WR Felix Fontaine who made the catch and make a quick move to get by DB Jerome Caldwell. He seemed to have open field, but he didn’t see S Marc Bellecourt closing. Bellecourt drilled Fontaine hard enough to send the ball rolling 12 yards toward the sideline before DB Jerome Caldwell came back and recovered it. The momentum shifted heavily in Ottawa’s favour. They would drive down to the 14 before RB Corbyn Knight took in his 3rd touchdown of the playoffs to give the Royals an 11-point lead. Boston would make an effort to come back, but the Royals would hold them off to get to their first McCallister Cup since 1960. 

*Bonus Stats: Ottawa has now won the last 4 playoff meetings against Boston. The last time Boston won against Ottawa in the postseason was the league’s first-ever Overtime game back in 1950 when Larry Larson (BOS) and Duane Logan (OTT) were the starting QBs. Also, Ottawa’s last 3 trips to the McCallister Cup have come with a win over Boston. Lastly, the two teams have always met in either the game before the McCallister Cup or in the McCallister Cup, never having met in the Division Semi-Final round since it was introduced in 1957. 

BOS - #2 DB Mordecai King
OTT - #21 WR Marshall Leonard

WEST DIVISION FINAL

Buffalo Blue Wings VS. Pittsburgh Blacksmiths - Milton Charles Stadium - September 28, 1969 - 6 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy - 11ºC | 52ºF
1st Q
For the second game in a row, the Blacksmiths would get the ball to start. On their opening drive, they would get a field goal to open the scoring. Buffalo was not as successful out of the gate, but they would score the first major of the game on their next drive with QB Charles Lemieux hitting WR Jimmy Jack towards the back corner of the endzone. The Blacksmiths attempted to answer back, but QB Louis Vaughn would be intercepted by DB Ezra Power on the ensuing drive. Buffalo took over and extended their lead to 7 points. 
BUF 10-3 PIT

2nd Q
In the second frame, Pittsburgh’s defence would make an important stop deep in Buffalo’s end, giving the offence great field position. QB Louis Vaughn would lead the Blacksmiths down the field to get into the redzone. Eventually, Vaughn would find his favourite target WR Taylor Austin, who was unable to get away from DB Neville Falkner last week, for a touchdown after the WR made a great spin move to get away from DB Ezra Power. The game was now tied at 10, but it wouldn’t stay that way as the Blue Wings’ offence rolled down the field once again. This time, Lemieux would connect with WR Julius Drake to regain their 7-point advantage. Pittsburgh would be unable to answer back before the break. 
BUF 17-10 PIT

3rd Q
Buffalo got the ball early in the second half and quickly added 3-points to their lead. Everything was going the Blue Wings’ way until midway through the quarter. QB Charles Lemieux was facing some pressure and saw an open WR Julius Drake. He released the ball at Drake, who made the catch and picked up the first down, however, Lemieux was hit hard right on the shoulder of his throwing arm. Lemieux tried his best to shake it off, but was unable to hold the ball properly, without significant pain. QB Travis Jackson, a former Blacksmith, would come into the game to replace Lemieux. Jackson did alright to pick up one more first down on the drive allowing the Blue Wings to kick a field goal to extend their lead. With Lemieux out of the game, there was a little more hope in the Blacksmiths who looked to threaten the endzone on their next drive. They would get into Buffalo territory as the quarter came to a close. 
BUF 23-10 PIT

4th Q
Pittsburgh continued their drive down to the 10-yard line, and a couple of plays later, RB Tresean Jones was in the endzone to cut the lead down to just 6 points. With Travis Jackson under centre, the Blue Wings’ offence would rely a lot more on RB Jimmy Golden. Which would still manage to get some yards and keep the Blue Wings’ ahead in the field position battle. However, Pittsburgh would eventually make their way over midfield. Vaughn doing what he could to get into the endzone, but they would fall short as RB Tresean Jones would be striped by DL William Sanderson, leading to a turnover. Buffalo was able to get the ball back out of their end following the fumble. Pittsburgh had to start from ground zero but they were quickly forced to a 2 and out as Buffalo’s defence dug in. On the punt, Buffalo’s returner, RB Jasper Dickerson, would return the ball over midfield giving the offence great field position. QB Travis Jackson would then throw a great pass to WR Tracy Driscoll that would get them down to the 18-yard line. On the next play, RB Jimmy Golden would weave his way into the endzone to give Buffalo a 30-17 lead. Pittsburgh became desperate, now down by 13. QB Louis Vaughn appeared to rise up to the challenge and got Pittsburgh down into the redzone, after converting on a 3rd and 4. However, they would be once again forced to 3rd and 6 at the 16. They would go for it again, but they would be stopped this time with DB Ezra Power knocking the ball away from WR Taylor Austin. Buffalo continued to kill the clock and eventually, Pittsburgh would run out of time. Despite losing Charles Lemieux, Buffalo would still be heading to their 4th McCallister Cup in 6 years. 

BUF - #90 DL Willam Sanderson

PIT - #8 QB Louis Vaughn

Injury Report
BOS: DL Jordan-Eugene White  - 3 Weeks
BUF: QB Charles Lemieux - 4 Weeks
PIT: OL Ben Jammin - Day-to-Day

Players of the Week

EDF: S Marc Bellecourt OTT - 1 Forced Fumble, 9 Tackles, 1 Pass Deflected

WDF: DB Ezra Power BUF - 1 Interception, 6 Tackles, 3 Passes Deflected

51st McCallister Cup Preview
Buffalo Blue Wings VS. Ottawa Royals
Head-to-Head: W4 BUF 28-18 OTT
All-Time Playoff Head-to-Head: Tied 2-2
All-Time McCallister Cup Head-to-Head: BUF leads 1-0
The two teams with the most McCallister Cups will meet for the second time in the McCallister Cup. Buffalo will be looking to earn their 6th title, while the Royals hope to get Cup number 5 and tie the Blue Wings once again. Their first meeting in the championship was in 1957 when the Blue Wings became the ones to end Ottawa’s run of 3 championships in the 50s. Now Ottawa has a chance for some level of revenge with Buffalo having won 3 of the last 5 Cups. Both teams will have QBs starting their first McCallister Cup, as Buffalo will be relying on QB Travis Jackson, who is also making his first career start, as Charles Lemieux’s injury will keep him sidelined. As for Ottawa, they will have their rookie QB Drake Young, who becomes the second QB to start the McCallister Cup in his first season in the league, joining QB Lyle Painter. After both teams won each final with excellent defensive play, it is very likely that defence will play a significant role in this game. However, the difference could ultimately be in the QB battle as Drake Young is certainly the more experienced and stronger QB, while Travis Jackson will certainly have to rely on RB Jimmy Golden. I think the QB will be the ultimate difference maker and the Royals will come up with the win.
My Pick: Royals