1955 Playoffs: Division Semi-Finals
Q1
The Rivermen deferred the coin toss to the Hawks, who were looking to start off against the league’s best defense in points allowed. QB Gilbert Clay would begin to work the Rivermen defense, though the game didn’t start out with a bang like the away fans would have wanted. Clay relied more on his backfield, splitting carries between RB’s Brian Bruce and Spike Roosevelt. The Rivermen would clamp up after a couple minutes of grinding offense, forcing Hawks’ K Gene Fitzpatrick to kick a 45 yard field goal to score the first points of the game. Cincinnati would endure a similarly grueling drive, with QB Lester Parker unable to make a big play to turn momentum in their favor. However, they did get farther than the Hawks on their first drive, with RB Perry Ferguson breaking free for a 20 yard rush to finally break the deadlock to get to the 1 yard line. Ferguson would plunge into the endzone one play later to take the lead late in the first quarter. With little time left in the quarter, the Hawks thought they would just start again in the second quarter to get the lead back. However, WR Max Ausloos would quite literally trip up DB Adrian Barboza and was left wide open. QB Gilbert Clay saw the open receiver and heaved it downfield to the open man. Ausloos dodge past the only other defender in his way as he strutted 83 yards for a touchdown and reclaimed the lead for Tri-Cities at the very end of the first quarter.
CIN 7, TRI 10
Q2
The offenses would slow down a bit entering the second quarter, with both teams trading punts for the first two drives of the quarter. The Rivermen would finally get the ball moving after spending most of the quarter failing to get past the Hawks’ defense. After trading handoffs to RB’s Perry Ferguson and Billy Garcia, QB Lester Parker would look back to pass. His top option, WR Alfred Dunn, was in a mismatch with DB Dan Hoover, and immediately went for the attempt. Dunn leaped up over Hoover, made the contested catch, and outran both the defender and the rest of the Hawks defense for a 53 yard score. River Field went into a frenzy that would not settle until the half, causing the Tri-Cities offense to be stunted for the entire rest of the half. Even with the home crowd supporting them, the Rivermen continued punting back and forth with the Hawks, realizing a little too late that they needed to get one final drive before the half ended. QB Lester Parker would trade passes between WR’s Alfred Dunn and Chris Marks to quickly move downfield with a little over 30 seconds left. The Rivermen would get down in their own territory, but didn’t have enough time to make one last play for the endzone. They brought on K Bryan Singer to kick it from 44 yards out. Singer would easily send it down the middle, putting the home team up 7 to end the first half of play.
CIN 17, TRI 10
Q3
Cincinnati would hope to keep the momentum going into the second half, but it started about as badly as it could have. After punting away their first drive, the Rivs hoped they could extend their lead on their second attempt. However, QB Lester Parker would misjudge a jump ball to WR Alfred Dunn, throwing it directly to S Tom Meltzger for the interception. Tri-Cities would get to moving the ball down, relying on their tandem of RB’s to get the ball down into their own territory. After a couple of grueling minutes of driving the ball down the field, QB Gilbert Clay would take a rare passing opportunity, launching the ball to WR John McLean in the back of the endzone to tie the game at 17 on a 28 yard score. The Rivermen would attempt to retaliate, though their slow and meticulous approach to the game only took them half of the quarter before RB Billy Garcia had the ball punched out of his hands by S Tom Meltzger and forced a fumble. The Hawks recovered the ball back, but the Rivermen weren’t going to let them score with their newfound field position. The Cincinnati defense held strong, and stopped them just after Tri-Cities passed midfield. K Gene Fitzpatrick narrowly made it through the uprights from 46 yards away, and took a 3 point lead at the end of the quarter.
CIN 17, TRI 20
Q4
The fourth quarter saw a lot less action than the first three, with both defenses clamping up to either hold the narrow lead or the narrow deficit in each case. Cincinnati could not convert on each of the three drives they had in the quarter, and Tri-Cities similarly struggled in the final quarter. The Hawks did manage to extend their lead on one of their drives, kicking another field goal to put their lead at 6 points. Now at the end of the quarter and with little time on the clock, the Rivermen faithful believed that they had to get something going, and fast at that. The Rivermen got within the 20 and started to look for the endzone, getting to the 5 before they faced a crucial 4th down. QB Lester Parker threw up a catchable ball for WR Alfred Dunn, but DB William Owens came in at just the right time to swat the ball away for the turnover on downs. It was all but game over for the Rivermen unless they could stop the Hawks from taking away too much time on the clock. Tri-Cities chewed down as much clock as they could, getting out of the Rivermen scoring range within a couple of minutes. However, they weren’t able to convert on a 3rd down, and with a little over a minute they were set to punt the ball back to Cincinnati. P Dwight Roberts took the snap to punt the ball, and the ball only got a couple of inches away from him, as Cincinnati defender Jesse Blanchard broke through the offensive line and clobbered Roberts as the kick went off. The ball was sent loose, and it landed directly at the feet of Cincinnati’s Bobby Richmond, who ran back the other way for an incredible 48 yard touchdown to retake the lead. River Field had never been more loud, and several fans began rushing the field, though there was still a little under a minute to play in the game. After getting the game back under control, the Hawks just needed a single point to win. After a short pass that was completed to RB Brian Bruce and two straight incompletions, the Hawks faced a crucial fourth down. QB Gilbert Clay took the snap and dropped back, looking to the sidelines for either of his receivers to get open. He threw it to his right to connect for the first down intended for WR John McLean, but Cincinnati DB Kerry Lantz came in just the right time to intercept the ball, sealing the game for the Rivermen and sending them to Chicago to fight for a spot in the championship.
CIN 24, TRI 23
East Division Semifinal: Pittsburgh Shamrocks @ Buffalo Hammers
Instead of getting a bye week, the Hammers instead are hosting a Pittsburgh Shamrocks team that limped into the postseason with how top-heavy the rest of the league was. Due to rain and snow earlier in the day, Roesch Stadium’s field conditions were less than ideal, even with the grounds crew working throughout the day to make it playable.
Q1
Buffalo elected to receive the kickoff instead of differing, wanting to start out strong against their main rival. They would get just past midfield before some unfortunate incompletions forced the Hammers to punt away their first possession. The Shamrocks had slightly better luck on their first possession, utilizing RB Paul Barker to get small chunks of yardage and get past the 50 on their first attempt of the day. Their drive would stall out there, forcing K Vernon Hebert onto the field to kick the first points of the game. Buffalo would manage slightly better on their second drive, as QB Brendan Turnbull would connect with rookie WR Justin Harris for 2 big plays that put them inside the 10 yard line. After RB Tyler Dye took them down to the 1, RB Calvin Townsend would punch in the first touchdown of the game and take the lead for the home team. Pittsburgh would go about the same as their first drive, a particularly slow one relying on RB’s Paul Barker and Marion Waters to get any sort of movement for the Shamrocks. They would once again stall out near the 30 yard line, forcing another kick by Hebert to put the game within a point.
BUF 7, PIT 6
Q2
The mud that started at the endzones began creeping more and more towards midfield for each team, making the second quarter slightly harder to play. Buffalo QB Brendan Turnbull would throw a rare interception to begin the second quarter, throwing a ball just over WR Ben Ferrell and DB Jerry Pruitt was there to intercept the ball before it hit the ground. The Shamrocks would get past the 20 for the first time all game, though it would be their time to turn the ball over. RB Marion Waters took the handoff up the middle to convert on a short 3rd and 1, but DL Martin Stark knocked the ball loose and sent both sides into a frenzy trying to recover the ball. Buffalo LB Stefan Stauer would end up with the ball at the bottom of the scrum, giving the Hammers another chance to extend their lead. QB Brendan Turnbull would quickly take advantage of the situation, reading a blow coverage over the middle to throw to WR Ben Ferrell for a massive 44 yard gain. That momentum would not stick for long, as a botched snap sent the Hammers back 10 yards before failing to get the first down on the next two plays. The Shamrocks continued their methodical approach, but faced a 2nd and long a couple of plays into their drive. QB O.J. DeMille got pressure almost immediately after taking the snap, facing down both DL Ray Payne and DL Martin Stark. DeMille was pummeled by both of them, knocking the ball loose and was quickly picked up by Payne to put the ball back in the Hammers’ hands. They tried getting another drive going, but were quickly stopped by the clock hitting 0, ending a somewhat eventful quarter with a whimper.
BUF 7, PIT 6
Q3
The Shamrocks would have the first opportunity to take the lead on their first drive of the second half, but immediately sputtered out after gaining a single first down. Buffalo would face similar issues, but still managed to get within the 45 to attempt a field goal to extend their lead. K Guy Moran would kick the ball that appeared to go straight but curved to the left for the failed attempt. Both teams traded punts once again, Pittsburgh got a little further than their first drive but still had to punt after their second set of chains, and Buffalo just went 3 and out on their next attempt. It wasn’t until Buffalo’s 2nd attempt at a drive that they finally got back within scoring range, thanks to a QB Brendan Turnbull pass that landed in the arms of WR Justin Harris for a 28 yard pickup. After RB Calvin Townsend couldn’t pick up the first down, it went back to K Guy Moran to kick a field goal from a closer distance. This time the kick landed between the uprights and the Hammers were now up by 4.
BUF 10, PIT 6
Q4
Pittsburgh would get back at the Hammers after their field goal, slowly marching downfield on the legs of RB Paul Barker to get past midfield and within striking distance of the endzone. QB O.J. DeMille was tasked with getting the ball in the endzone, but three straight plays of overthrown passes and near interceptions forced the Shamrocks to kick for 3 to cut the deficit back to 1. Something would then click within the Hammers after that drive, as QB Brendan Turnbull would efficiently lead his men in an almost effortless drive to get them within the 10. He would hand it off to RB Tyler Dye from 8 yards out, and he beat everyone to the edge for the first touchdown since the first quarter. The Buffalo defense would also hold strong against the ailing Pittsburgh offense, holding them to a total of 10 yards gained on their next drives. Buffalo would chew off most of the clock in the process, adding another field goal after the Shamrocks front 7 stopped the rushing attack from scoring at the 4 yard line. Buffalo forced a quick 3 and out against the Shamrocks, and ran out the remaining time to play a well-anticipated game against the Federals.
BUF 20, PIT 9
West Division Final: (2) Cincinnati Rivermen @ (1) Chicago Hogs
1955 H2H: W5 - CIN 13-16 CHI, W13 - CHI 23-25 CIN
Historic H2H: 7-3 CHI
Playoff H2H: 2-0 CHI
Cincinnati barely got past a Tri-Cities squad, and now have to face the league’s best team in the Chicago Hogs. Both games this season were decided by 3 points or less, meaning this game will more likely than not be a tough one for each side. Chicago’s offense led by RB Billy Gould has stormed past most of the competition, and all but 1 of their losses by 1 possession. Cincinnati did manage to take down the Hogs on Thanksgiving, but both teams started their backups on offense, so if the Rivermen figure out how to beat the Hogs like they did in the last week of the season, then they’ll make this game close. Chicago has had the Rivermen’s number the past few years, so it will more likely than not be the same Hogs and charge to their 5th championship in 6 years.
My Pick: Chicago
East Division Finals: (2) Buffalo Hammers @ (1) Washington Federals
1955 H2H: W8 - WAS 34-9 BUF, W10 - BUF 23-26 WAS
Historic H2H: 3-1 WAS
Playoff H2H: 0-0
After cruising past Pittsburgh, Buffalo finally gets its chance to take revenge on the team that took its division title away from them in Washington. The Federals took their chance to take hold of a relatively weak East Division and stole the title away from the Hammers late in the season, thanks to some late season heroics from last year’s OPOY QB Johnnie Sellers. These two teams have had some of the best offenses all year, but it will come down to the defenses to determine who will come out on top. Buffalo has been suspect at times, so Washington will have the advantage to keep scoring on the Hammers to make it to their second title game.
My Pick: Washington
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