PRO: QB Red King | Injured Reserve -> Active Roster
PRO: QB Peter Watson | Active Roster -> Reserve List
VAN: LB Blake Dawson | Active Roster -> Injured Reserve
VAN: LB Alejo O’Connor | Reserve List -> Active Roster
(6) Pittsburgh Blacksmiths @ (5) Vancouver Wolves - Vancouver Exhibition Stadium - October 14, 1972 - 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT - Weather: Clear - 17°C | 63°F - Attendance: 35,076
1st Quarter
The opening quarter was slow offensively for both teams. Each team stalled out rather quickly for the first few drives of the game. It wasn’t until Pittsburgh got a strong punt return from WR Justin Anger that they were able to make their way into Vancouver’s end. RB Max Tracy started to pick it up and had a couple of strong 10 and 12-yard runs before he would push his way into the endzone from 9 yards out to give Pittsburgh the only points of the opening frame.
PIT 7-0 VAN
2nd Quarter
Early in the 2nd, Vancouver was able to get on the board themselves. A strong drive would set up K Sterling Brooks for a field goal that would cut into Pittsburgh’s lead. On Pittsburgh’s ensuing drive, they would make the first big mistake of the evening, as QB Louis Vaughn’s pass would get to WR Yahui Sun only for Sun to be stripped of the ball by LB Lochlan Bourne. Vancouver took over around midfield and started to march into Pittsburgh’s end once again. Vancouver was set for another field goal, but this time Brooks would miss the kick. The ball still travelled through the endzone to give Vancouver a point making it 7-4. Pittsburgh’s defence bailed out Sun’s mistake and he repaid them by making a big play on their next drive, picking up 27 yards, and setting up K Nigel Stewart for their own field goal to extend their lead to 10-4. In the closing stages of the half, Vancouver would once again find themselves marching into Pittsburgh’s end. QB Kevin Westwood was making perfect throw after perfect throw, getting the team down to the 21. On 2nd and 10, following a pass breakup from DB Zed McLaughlin, Westwood would go back to the air and then find WR Akira Sakamoto cutting perfectly underneath WR Keshawn Johnston who was on a go route. Sakamoto caught it in stride and made one man miss on his way to the endzone to give Vancouver a 1-point lead at halftime.
PIT 10-11 VAN
3rd Quarter
Vancouver came out of halftime and continued to roll offensively. Their opening drive would see them march down the field, methodically 1st down by 1st down until RB Jeremiah Morrow would punch it in to make it 10-18. Pittsburgh didn’t get off to as great of a start, being stopped before midfield on the next drive. However, the defence would create some momentum with a DB Aiden Sargent interception, essentially ripping the ball out of the hands of WR Tristian Lewis. The Blacksmiths turned it into some points with Vaughn leading the team to the endzone, finding WR Taylor Austin for a score. They would tack on a 2-point conversion afterwards with RB Max Tracy breaking through into the endzone again. Vancouver would answer back on the next drive with a field goal to regain the lead before the start of the 3rd.
PIT 18-21 VAN
4th Quarter
The offence kept on rolling into the 4th quarter as both teams were locked in offensively. Pittsburgh would be the first to put up points in the final frame with RB Max Tracy escaping the clutches of the Wolves’ defence and speeding away to a 36-yard touchdown run. The big play gave Pittsburgh their first lead since the 2nd. Vancouver would answer back a couple of minutes later with QB Kevin Westwood leading another strong drive down to the 15 before hitting WR Keshawn Johnston toward the back of the endzone to make it 25-28. The Blacksmiths continued to have success offensively, getting back into Vancouver’s end. However, they would be stopped short of the endzone this time after DB Christian Allen was able to break up a pass intended for WR Taylor Austin that would have picked up a first down. They would settle for 3 and tie the game with 3:24 to go. Vancouver’s next drive would be turned away by Pittsburgh, giving the Blacksmiths the ball back. They would keep the ball moving, getting into Vancouver’s end once again and threatening to score. However, they did need a first on 2nd and 5 to get into more comfortable field goal range. QB Louis Vaughn would attempt to pass, but he would make a mistake while facing some pressure. While running away from the pocket, Vaughn would force the pass over the middle. The ball would be high and WR Edward Washington would reach up, but the ball travelled through his hands and into the arms of S Takuya Sasaki. Sasaki would scramble his way into Pittsburgh territory. QB Kevin Westwood took over and delivered a crucial drive getting down to the 32. Then he would hit WR Akira Sakamoto cutting across the field. S Jarrett Sutherland stepped up to tackle, but Sakamoto slipped loose and then cut his way into the endzone to give Vancouver the late lead. Pittsburgh would still get a chance to tie, but they would eventually run out of time as Vancouver held on to win and make their 2nd McCallister Cup in their first 3 years in the league.
Scoring Summary
1st Q
7-0: PIT - RTD RB Max Tracy
2nd Q
7-3: VAN - FG K Sterling Brooks
7-4: VAN - Single K Sterling Brooks
10-4: PIT - FG K Nigel Stewart
10-11: VAN - PTD QB Kevin Westwood -> WR Akira Sakamoto
3rd Q
10-18: VAN - RTD RB Jeremiah Morrow
16-18: PIT - PTD QB Louis Vaughn -> WR Taylor Austin
18-18: PIT - 2PT RB Max Tracy
18-21: VAN - FG K Sterling Brooks
4th Q
25-21: PIT - RTD RB Max Tracy
21-28: VAN - PTD QB Kevin Westwood -> WR Keshawn Johnston
28-28: PIT - FG K Nigel Stewart
28-35: VAN - PTD QB Kevin Westwood -> WR Akira Sakamoto
(7) Ottawa Royals @ (1) Providence Gold Stars - New Providence Stadium - October 15, 1972 - 7:00 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy - 5°C | 41°F - Attendance: 65,094
1st Quarter
A chilly day in Providence would be the setting for the second semi-final. Despite the weather, the Gold Star fans were out in droves to see their team compete with QB Red King back in the lineup, who finally made his first career playoff start. King and the Gold Stars would get out to a solid start, leading a lengthy drive early on in the opening quarter. RB Tresean Jones was still a workhorse on the drive and would be the one to score at the end to give Providence a 0-7 lead. The Royals, on the other hand, were a lot slower out of the gate, being stifled by the Gold Stars’ defence up until the late stages of the frame. Eventually, WR Charles Toothacre would make a big play, catching a quick pass before getting shifty and adding another 17 yards. A few plays later QB Drake Young would hit the endzone with a pass to WR Marshall Leonard to make it 7 a piece after the opening quarter.
OTT 7-7 PRO
2nd Quarter
Following the Royals’ score, the Gold Stars’ defence would enact some revenge the next time out, with DL Newton Dalton able to punch the ball loose from RB Corbyn Knight. The Gold Stars would recover the ball and then put up a field goal shortly after to regain the lead. The next few drives would see both offences struggle to pick up much of anything. Ottawa would eventually get into field goal range, but K Ira Foster would miss the attempt, sending the ball through the endzone for a single. Providence would respond in the final minute of the half with QB Red King getting them back down the field for a late field goal to make it 8-13 at the break.
OTT 8-13 PRO
3rd Quarter
The Royals needed to kick-start the offence coming out of the break. QB Drake Young was able to do that to an extent, getting them into Providence’s end on both of their first two drives, however, they would not score since they would lose the ball both times. Young would be picked off by DB Neville Falkner when trying to hit WR Sterling Underhill to the sideline, and then WR Marshall Leonard would lose the ball on a fumble, being hit by LB Nathaniel Lovelady. The Gold Stars were unable to take advantage of both turnovers, which still gave Ottawa hope, especially when their own defence would return the favour. DL Bernhard Hartmann would be able to get to QB Red King in the backfield, causing King to drop the ball and DL Obert Roux would fall on top of it. Young and the Royals would push back down the field again, but this time, Young was able to find Underhill, who made a great grab against Falkner to score a touchdown. The Royals would go for 2 to make it a 3-point game and TE Luiss de Brands would catch the pass in the endzone to convert.
OTT 16-13 PRO
4th Quarter
The Royals now had a lead going into the final frame. It would last a little while with their defence able to hold off the Gold Stars on their next drive, but eventually, King and the Gold Stars would be able to tie the game off of a field goal with 8:32 to go. From this point on both teams were looking for any break in the defence, but neither were finding it. Great plays were coming from both sides with batted passes and sacks. Both offences had to start making bolder plays as the minutes dwindled. It would be the Gold Stars who would be the first to find a little bit of daylight. WR Justin Palmer was working against DB Sergio Alvarez, and he was able to get just one step on the DPOY nominee. The one step was all QB Red King needed and he would hit Palmer who would pick up a big 31-yard gain. Then, the Gold Stars started to work the inside with TE Kairos Knight. It was the right call as Knight would make the next two catches to get them down to the 13. From there, King would drop back and then hit Knight one final time where he would run through a tackle attempt from S Marc Bellecourt to score the go-ahead touchdown. The crowd was electric, but they still needed the defence to stop the Royals from scoring in the final 1:01 in the game. Young would hit WR Sterling Underhill on a perfect pass up the sideline. Then, Young also went to the tight end in Luiss de Brands to pick up more yards and get into Providence territory. They would get down to the 27 with :10 left. Young would take a shot for WR Charles Toothacre, but DB Michael Cope was able to break it up. Leaving Ottawa with one final shot. Young would drop back and roll out. He would be forced to toss a ball up for WR Sterling Underhill with DL Bartolo Cruz barrelling down on him. The ball sailed and both Underhill and Falkner would reach up for the ball, but it was slightly off the mark and neither would come down with it. The city of Providence erupted as their team was back in the McCallister Cup for the first time since 1963.
Scoring Summary
1st Q
0-7: PRO - RTD RB Tresean Jones
7-7: OTT - PTD QB Drake Young -> WR Marshall Leonard
2nd Q
7-10: PRO - FG K Gilbert O’Neill
8-10: OTT - Single K Ira Foster
8-13: PRO - FG K Gilbert O’Neill
3rd Q
14-13: OTT - PTD QB Drake Young -> WR Sterling Underhill
16-13: OTT - 2PT QB Drake Young -> TE Luiss de Brands
4th Q
16-16: PRO - FG K Gilbert O’Neill
16-23: PRO - PTD QB Red King -> TE Kairos Knight
Injury Report
OTT: LB Sam Wheeler - 5 Weeks (Season)
PIT: DL Arthur Bradshaw - 5 Weeks (Season)
PRO: OL Joseph Samberg - 4 Weeks (Season)
PRO: OL Jon Parkes - 5 Weeks (Season)
VAN: OL Ron Raymond - Day-to-Day
Players of the Week
Westwood was near perfect in the win over Pittsburgh, flashing his elite skill, narrowly beating out WR Akira Sakamoto for POTW this week
Falkner came up clutch near the end of the game once again, adding on a pick in this one as Providence heads to the McCallister Cup for the 2nd time in his career
54th McCallister Cup Preview
(5) VAN VS. (1) PRO - OCT 22 - 7:00 PM ET
1972 Head-to-Head: W10 - PRO 27-20 VAN
Historic Head-to-Head: VAN 1-1 PRO
Historic Playoff Head-to-Head: Have Not Played
For just the 2nd time in the NAAF’s history (not including the 1949 championship), both teams will enter the McCallister Cup having not won a championship in the NAAF era. Of course, both teams have a history of championships with the Gold Stars having won 3 McCallister Cups back in the New England Football Championship (1937, 1939, 1941), and Vancouver having won many Mackenzie Cups from their time in the WFU (10) and each of the last 3 years as part of the NAAF. Vancouver makes their 2nd appearance in the big game in only their 3rd season since joining the NAAF. They are hoping this time QB Kevin Westwood will be able to complete the game after he was injured in the loss to the Raiders in 1970. Providence makes just their 4th appearance in the big game since joining the NAAF, and they are hoping to finally get over the hump and capture their first title in 31 years. The last two times the team has come in favoured to win, but have come up short on both occasions losing to Montreal on homefield in 1953 and falling 3 points short against the Tigers in 1963. The fans are praying for their fortunes to finally change.
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