1954 Playoffs
It was a mild Thanksgiving Day at Union Stadium, with light showers sprinkling the field before the game and fog lingering from the earlier storms. The weather didn’t seem to bring the two best offenses in the league to believe they would not perform well, as brown and blue fans alike packed Union Stadium for one of the league’s budding rivalries. It’s a rematch of last year’s West play-off, and Chicago is more than eager to get revenge on the Federals.
Q1
The Federals won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball, hoping to get ahead of the Hogs early. Washington HC Irving Berry wanted to control the clock and wear down the Hogs' defense, and he began executing his plan on the first drive. RB Rip Rooney began to power his way through the mighty Chicago defensive line, gaining ground little by little to wear down them early. After taking a few minutes off the clock, QB Johnnie Sellers caught the defense off guard by WR Darius Sanderson in a one-on-one matchup against DB Douglas Cross. Sellers threw the ball where only the tall Sanderson could reach it, and Sanderson streaked down the sideline, nearly going in untouched before S Jeffery Irwin tackled him out of bounds at the two yard line. Rooney would plunge into the endzone two plays later, taking a pivotal 7-0 lead to begin the game. Chicago tried to use the elusive MVP RB Billy Gould, but they only managed to gain a single first down before being stopped and forced to punt. Washington would get right back into their groove that they began with, slowly carving their way through the Chicago defense to make small gains before catching the defense sleeping on a deep pass attempt once in a while. On 3rd down on the opposing 30 yard line, Sellers attempted to pounce on a sleeping Hogs defense by throwing a dart in the endzone to WR Joseph Atkins, but DB Clarence Newman was there to break up the pass. K Eugene Hickman then came in to attempt a simple field goal, but the ball hit the upright and luckily went in for 3. The Hogs went back to running the ball with Gould, allowing him to flourish and gained a pair of first downs before the quarter ended.
WAS 10, CHI 0
Q2
Gould would finally dazzle the Chicago fans after a couple of plays of 3 yards and a pile of dust. QB Alfred Walton handed the ball off to Gould, and Gould found a hole and began to dart to the endzone. He would evade the remaining defenders in his way, easily getting into the endzone for a 42 yard score. The Hogs had closed the gap to a single score and had the momentum, and now the Federals had to worry about the potential juggernaut that Chicago could become. That fear would seep into the offense, as Washington would go 3 and out and give the ball right back to the Hogs. Luckily for the Federals, their defense would stuff Gould after driving a bit down the field, forcing Walton to pass to get a first down. Walton would throw to WR Ciarán Murphy over the middle, but the ball was tipped by LB Christopher Carney before it ever got to Murphy. Fellow LB Russell Bauer would fall under the ball for an interception, giving the Federals the chance to score before the Hogs would get the ball back after halftime. Washington moved into scoring range on passes from Sellers to WR’s Joseph Atkins and Darius Sanderson. However, their drive came to a halt when RB Rip Rooney attempted to run up the middle on a short 2nd and 1. Rookie DL Benjamin Walkins, Jr. knocked the ball loose at the line of scrimmage, and a scrum ensued as players from both teams scrambled for the ball. Chicago DL Eric Forbes emerged from the pile with the ball, and the crowd erupted in cheers as the Hogs ran out the remaining clock to end the first half.
WAS 10, CHI 7
Q3
The momentum that Chicago gained entering the half remained with them entering the 3rd quarter. Billy Gould continued to run all over the Federals defense, darting and weaving his way through defenders for significant gains on the first drive. Gould would break out for a 33 yard rush to cap off the drive, taking the handoff up the middle and outran every defender on his way to the endzone, taking the lead for the Hogs. Washington would struggle moving the ball to start their second half, going three and out and handing the ball back to the red-hot Hogs. Learning from their mistakes in last year’s play-off game, Gould would get some rest after carrying the Hogs offense for an entire half, splitting carries with RB Jeffery Spears. As a result, Chicago switched to a more balanced playstyle, with QB Alfred Walton throwing more than a single pass on a drive. It was a jarring difference between the offense with Gould and without him, but the Hogs still drove their way down the field into scoring range. Spears would get his moment back in the spotlight, finding his way up the middle while carrying LB Russell Bauer for another 5 yards after Bauer tried to take him down. Walton would look to the corner of the endzone to find TE Glenn Chambers for a 5 yard TD the play after to take a commanding 11 point lead. Washington would fail to retaliate on their next drive, as QB Johnnie Sellers made a bad read and threw it directly to DB Douglas Cross for an interception. The two teams traded punts back and forth, and the ball ended up back in Chicago’s hands with Billy Gould ready to strike once again.
WAS 10, CHI 21
Q4
Chicago would mix in passing plays to prevent Gould from getting too tired, and this kept the Federals off balance, as they were expecting the Hogs to run the ball. QB Alfred Walton would fake the handoff and roll to his right, hitting WR Ciarán Murphy on the sideline for 31 yards before getting knocked out of bounds. Gould seized the shortened field position, running the remaining 17 yards untouched to create a near-insurmountable lead of 15 points. The Federals would make another turnover to ruin any chances of a comeback, as QB Johnnie Sellers threw his second interception of the game to DB Clarence Newman on a tipped ball. Chicago would only take a couple minutes off the clock, leaving Washington with little time to score. Chicago’s defense let up for a moment with victory in their sights, allowing Sellers to find WR Darius Sanderson on the sideline for a 40 yard gain late in the game. The Federals tried to act on that splash of momentum, but Chicago clamped down and quickly forced a 4th down, allowing K Eugene Hickman to score a pity field goal with under a minute left to play. After a failed recovery attempt by the Federals, the Hogs ran out the remaining clock to make their 4th championship appearance in the last 5 years, and have the chance for Walton to win one last title before retiring.
WAS 13, CHI 28
East Division Play-Off: Buffalo Hammers @ Cleveland Crows
The mild Thanksgiving air transferred through the Great Lakes over to Cleveland, which was hosting its first AFL playoff game, and the fans showed up for what could be a new era for the Crows. There was some fog coming from Lake Erie and into Municipal Stadium obscuring the stadium view, but Crows and Hammers fans managed to bring the 43,000 seat stadium over capacity for a game that could change either team’s futures. Both of the team’s starting QB’s (Buffalo’s Brendan Turnbull and Cleveland’s Denzel Collingsworth) are making their playoff debuts, and will be getting their first taste of playing under pressure.
Q1
Cleveland would win the coin toss, but deferred possession to the second half. Buffalo QB Brendan Turnbull would get off to a rocky start, misreading WR Bernard Clarke’s route and threw it directly into the arms of Cleveland DB Barry Roach for an interception. The Crows offense was efficient on their first drive, gaining first down after first down. QB Denzel Collingsworth completed several passes to WR’s Jerry O'Keefe and Joey Stanikovski, and RB Max Panders rushed for several yards. Collingsworth completed a pass to O’Keefe that nearly went into the endzone, but DB Joe Merritt made a shoe-string tackle at the 1 yard line to keep the ball from going in. Panders would punch it in 2 plays later, giving the Crows the early lead. The Hammers would get back on their next drive, making their way past midfield on a 20 yard rush by RB Calvin Townsend. Buffalo’s momentum would keep rolling, as QB Brendan Turnbull would throw a dart to WR Ben Farrell in a one-on-one a couple plays later, beating DB Nicholas Lamb to the ball for the 16 yard score. They would not tie the game however, as K Guy Moran’s kick would get blocked at the line of scrimmage. After back-to-back scores, the teams would trade punts back and forth before getting back into the hands of the Hammers. Their drive would get off to a hot start on a 26 yard run by RB Calvin Townsend to get them across midfield. Their momentum would die down after that play, with the drive sputtering out and K Guy Moran coming on to kick a 24 yard field goal to take the lead.
BUF 9, CLE 7
Q2
The defenses would begin to settle in once the second quarter began, and forced mistakes and punts out of both offenses. Cleveland’s QB Denzel Collingsworth would throw a bad pass as he escaped from the pocket, falling into the arms of DB Rogelio Amos for an interception. Buffalo would begin the punt back-and-forth game between the two teams after nearly fumbling the ball away on two consecutive plays. The Crows regained possession of the ball and advanced across midfield, with RB Max Panders gaining most of the yards on the drive to that point. Things changed on a 2nd down on the 40 yard line, as QB Denzel Collingsworth hit an innocent slant to WR Joey Staniskovski over the middle. Staniskovski got enough space to make a run for the endzone as he turned to the sideline. He eluded DB Barry Roach's tackle and sprinted past S Steven Norris to score a 40-yard touchdown, giving Cleveland the lead back. With little time left in the half, Buffalo only managed to get to midfield before attempting a field goal. However, K Guy Moran's kick sailed far to the right and was unsuccessful, meaning that Buffalo would have to wait until the second half to get the lead back.
BUF 9, CLE 14
Q3
Cleveland would limp out of the gate to start the second half, as QB Denzel Collingsworth nearly threw an interception on 1st down and the Crows punted the ball away three plays later. Buffalo’s offense would face the same woes as the Crows, getting only a single first down before being stopped and forced to punt. This punt would change things, as Cleveland return man Greg Dixon would receive the ball at their own 22, and got a head full of steam and he dashed through the openings for a 78-yard return TD. Buffalo would have to retaliate, and QB Brendan Turnbull would manage a drive that would quickly get them back in the game. Turnbull would throw a laser down the sideline to the wide-open WR Bernard Clarke, who caught it in stride and turned upfield for a big gain of 37 yards. RB Calvin Townsend would get stuffed trying to gain a first down, and the field goal unit came onto the field to kick a 35 yarder to keep the game within 2 possessions. Cleveland RB Max Panders would break off for a 19 yard rush to begin the next drive for the Crows, giving them enough steam to make it past midfield a couple of plays later on short passes to WR’s Jerry O’Keefe and Joey Staniskovksi. Cleveland would advance deep into Hammers territory, but the Buffalo defense locked up on three straight incompletions towards the endzone. Cleveland would go up by 12 with a successful 12 yard field goal by K Daniel Simon. The Hammers struck back almost immediately. Buffalo return man Tyler Dye sprinted through defenders and looked like he would return it for a touchdown. Cleveland defender Sean Hamby made a diving tackle at Dye's legs, barely touching his shoes as Dye went down at the 36 yard line. Two plays later, QB Brendan Turnbull would throw up the ball to WR Bernard Clarke for the contested catch, jumping over DB Tom Wolf to put the game back within a possession with 1 quarter remaining.
BUF 19, CLE 24
Q4
The fourth quarter would be slower than the third, as the two teams would trade punts to each other before any real action happened in the final minutes. Buffalo QB Brendan Turnbull would be the player to break the stalemate, though not in the way he would have wanted. The Hammers were already on a decent drive, and were ready to strike within Crows territory. Turnbull looked to his right to attempt a throw to WR Ben Farrell, but got clobbered by Cleveland DL Fergus Prenderghast, knocking the ball high enough in the air for LB Lloyd Motta to fall underneath the ball for an interception. It was now time for QB Denzel Collingsworth and the Crows to put the game away, embarking on one final drive to score. RB Max Panders got the team out of their own territory with crucial rushes, eventually getting past midfield on a 11 yard sprint up the middle. Two plays later, Collingsworth would find WR Jerry O’Keefe ready to split the middle of the field, getting just enough distance from Hammers defenders to nearly get into the endzone untouched for a 45 yard score. Buffalo would struggle to gain any offensive ground, sputtering out and failing to convert on their final drive to get back into the game. Cleveland would run out the remaining clock and would play the underdog to the juggernaut Chicago Hogs for the championship.
BUF 19, CLE 31
Fifth American Football Championship
1954 H2H: W3 - CHI 17-16 CLE
Historic H2H: 6-0 CHI
Playoff H2H: 0-0
While last year featured two underdogs, this year features the perennial favorites to win against the scrappy newcomer. Chicago was widely expected to fall off after QB Alfred Walton began to decline in play, but the signing of undrafted rookie RB Billy Gould last year changed the Hogs’ trajectory for their future. Already pivoting towards a more run-focused approach, their offense has taken the league by storm, breaking the 1950 Tri-Cities Hawks’ record for most points scored in a single season. Their elite offense is paired equally well with their elite defense with rookie DL Benjamin Walkins, Jr. pairing incredibly well with established star DL Eric Forbes, and have terrorized offensive lines since their pairing. The other challenger, the Cleveland Crows, are quite similar to last year’s winner Washington Federals. The team was widely expected to do alright with a team full of young talent, but not outright contend for titles. Players such as QB Denzel Collingsworth, RB Max Panders, WR’s Jerry O’Keefe and Joey Staniskovski have been doing the heavy lifting on offense. On the defensive side of the ball, players like DL Fergus Prenderghast, DB’s Nicholas Lamb and Barry Roach, and S Steven Norris are prime players to build around. However, instead of this game being between two unproven teams ready to show their worthiness, this year is an unstoppable force against a very movable object. Chicago’s experience with the playoffs will ultimately prevail and the Hogs will win one last game for Aflred Walton.
My Pick: Chicago
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