The tenth NFA Championship Game was held at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. It would feature a rematch of the 1939 NFA Championship between the Cincinnati Buckeyes and the New York Lions. The rankings would flip for this rematch however. Unlike the 1939 game, the Buckeyes hosted the championship game after finishing the season 9-3 which was the best record in the league. This would be Cincinnati's fourth championship appearance, their first appearance since they won their second straight in 1942. New York would finish their season 8-4 and win the NFA East. This would be their third championship appearance and first on the road. This championship game would be an instant classic. It would be the first championship game in NFA history to need overtime to decide the winner. There would be 5 lead changes between the Lions and Buckeyes which would be the most in a NFA Championship Game.
GAME SUMMARY
1st QUARTER The Lions would strike first and take the lead on their first possession of the game. Joe Governor would punch it in for a 5 yard touchdown to take an early lead. Cincinnati's offense would struggle to put any points on the board as New York's defense seemed to be able to control the line of scrimmage and contain Cincinnati's star halfback George Washington to only 1 yard after 9 attempts. They would struggle with Cincinnati's quarterback Mark Edman however. He would be able to complete five consecutive passes to put the Buckeyes on the Lions ten. A costly fumble by Richard Tymes after catching a pass from Edman would give the ball back to the Lions. The Buckeyes defense was able to prevent the Lions from capitalizing from the turnover and forced a punt. George Washington on the Buckeyes next drive seemed to have found his stride as he would rush for 23 yards and put Cincinnati in scoring position. From the New York 12 yard line, the Lions defense would stiffen up and tackled Washington for a 5 yard rush and then sacked Edman for a 7 yard loss on consecutive plays. The Buckeyes would have to settle for a field goal and the first quarter would end with the Lions leading 7-3. The Lions would win
the coin toss and elected to receive. Head Coach Leonard Mitchell wanted to take the Cincinnati crowd out of the game early. He would be able to accomplish that after an 80 yard drive resulted in a 7 yard rushing touchdown by Joe Governor. The drive would last eight minutes and twenty three seconds. The crowd became quiet until the Buckeyes offense took the field. Starting from their own seventeen yard line, the Buckeyes attempted to use their star half back, George Washington, to ground and pound through the Lions defense. The Buckeyes would be able to pick up a first down, but would then be forced to punt three plays later from their own thirty three. The Lions second possession of the first quarter would not result in any points. They would pick up two first downs but then be forced to punt at the end of the quarter. After the opening quarter of play, New York led 7-0. 2nd QUARTER At the start of the second quarter, Cincinnati had the ball. Their offense was able to move the ball decently. Starting from their own twenty one yard line, they were able to move the ball to midfield to their forty eight yard line. The games first turnover would end their drive however. Buckeyes quarterback Mark Edman would attempt a pass to his receiver Richard Tymes. Lions defender Russel Wheeler would intercept the ball and return it seven yards the other way to the Buckeyes forty six yard line. The Lions would rely heavily on their running game. Fullback William Barther would pound the ball up the middle and punish the Buckeyes defenders for short gains. Joe Governor would sweep to the outside and rush for at least 5 yards every attempt. This would then open up the passing game to allow quarterback Phil Sans to throw a twelve yard touchdown pass to his tight end Trevor Gold. A holding penalty on a Lions offensive lineman however would take the six points off the board. This would stall the Lions offense and they would have to settle for a field goal. After the attempt was good, New York led 10-0. Cincinnati desperately wanted to get back into the game. They would have five minutes and thirteen seconds to play with to get some points on the board. The Buckeyes offense would follow the Lions lead and mix up a ground attack with passes. They would be able to get into field goal range just before the two minute warning. From the New York twenty nine yard line, George Washington would pick up a huge chunk of yards with a fifteen yard rush to the New York fourteen. With a minute and fifty six second left in the quarter, the Buckeyes began running the clock. New York would take all of their time outs to try and salvage some time on the clock to put together a quick drive before the half. Cincinnati would continue to rush the ball and would eventually score on a two yard rush by quarterback Mark Edman. After the extra point was good, New York led 10-7. New York would receive the ball with thirty seconds left and no timeouts. They would be able to get the ball to their forty five yard line with two second left in the half. Sans would heave the ball down field for a last ditch effort to score points. The ball would be batted around by players from both teams and then fall incomplete. At the half New York led 10-7. 3rd QUARTER The Buckeyes received the ball to start the second half. Looking to capitalize, they would continue their offensive attack like they had just before the first half ended. George Washington would rush for twenty seven yards. Edman would rush for another ten and pass for thirty three yards. Cincinnati would shoot themselves in the foot however. From the New York ten, Edman would pass the ball to receiver Wayne Johnson. He would score a touchdown to give the Buckeyes the lead. A holding penalty would bring the play back and bring up second and seventeen at the New York twenty. On the following play, the Buckeyes would have a false start penalty to move them back to the New York twenty five. Edman would attempt a pass twelve yards down the middle of the field to his tight end, but it would be dropped. On third down George Washington was able to rush up the middle for seven yards to put the ball on the New York eighteen for a field goal attempt. The attempt was good and the game was tied 10-10. With the crowd cheering again, Leonard Mitchell wanted to put together a quick drive to shut them up. A ground attack by Governor, Sans and Barther would eat up yards. Sans would also pass for twenty six yards and New York would be in field goal position. With the Cincinnati secondary looking a bit vulnerable, Mitchell elected to go for a kill shot on first and ten from the Cincinnati twenty four. Sans attempted a pass to receiver Sam Darnold. The pass would be intercepted though by Cincinnati defender Tim Rushmore. He would return it ninety nine yards from the Cincinnati one all the way for a touchdown. This would be the longest touchdown by a defender in American Bowl history for quite some time. Mitchell's plan blew up in his face as the Buckeyes fans were now louder than any point previously during the game. After the extra point, Cincinnati now led 17-10. The Lions offense spirit appeared to be broken. On their next possession, New York would go three and out and be forced to punt from their own twenty seven. George Washington would receive the punt and would return it from his own thirty eight across mid field to the New York forty six. It appeared that the tide of the game had changed and New York couldn't do anything right. The Lions defense however was well rested. Cincinnati would again try to continue their offensive attack of pounding the ball up the middle to tire the Lions defenders. During this series however, it appeared that Cincinnati was trying to rush through a brick wall. On first down, fullback Patrick White would lose a yard. On second down, George Washington attempted a rush to his left and would be quickly wrapped up by multiple Lions defenders for no gain. On third and eleven, quarterback Edman would attempt a quarterback sneak to his right. He would be wrapped up by the Lions defense. As he was being tackled, he attempted to toss the ball back to George Washington. The ball would bounce on the ground and off of Washington's foot. The Lions defense was able to fall on the ball and recover the fumble. This would spark new life into the Lions and give their offense a chance to get back into the game with great field position at the Buckeyes forty eight yard line. This time around, Mitchell would stick to his original plan that seemed to be working. A ground attack by Governor and Barther would net twenty two yards. Sans would pass for twenty six yards including an eight yard pass to his tight end Trevor Gold. This time however, there was no penalty and New York was able to tie the game at 17 after the extra point. 4th QUARTER The Buckeyes would have the ball to end the third quarter and start the fourth quarter after the Lions tied the game. Their offense however would fail to put any points on the board. Starting from their own twenty two yard line, they would be able to move the ball to mid field before the drive stalled. The Buckeyes would elect to punt on fourth and seven which resulted in a touch back. Starting from their own twenty, New York's offense seemed to pick up where they left off. The Lions would be able to move the ball quickly across midfield following a fifteen yard rush by Governor and pair of passes by Sans for a total of seventeen yards. Cincinnati's defense appeared to be out of breath as the Lions kept moving the ball on every play for a gain of at least three yards every play. New York would stall however as they entered field goal range. From the Buckeyes ten, New York would ground and pound the ball with Barther in an attempt to wear down the Buckeyes defenders. This would pick up a first down at the Buckeyes six. From the six, Governor would rush up the middle and be brought down to the one. A penalty however for holding would bring the ball back to the sixteen. On first and goal from the sixteen, Governor would receive the ball via a quick pass from Sans for a three yard gain to the thirteen. On the next play, the Lions would be penalized for a false start. On second and goal from the eighteen, Sans would attempt a pass to his tight end Gold up the middle which would fall incomplete. On third down, Sans again attempted a pass which was batted down at the line of scrimmage. New York would have to settle for a field goal to take the lead 20-17. Cincinnati would start their next drive from their own twenty. Looking to drive eighty yards with four minutes and thirty seven seconds remaining, Edman would complete three straight passes for twenty six yards to put his team near mid field. George Washington would then rush for five yards to cross mid field to the Lions forty nine. Edman would then attempt another pass to his receiver Tim Vreeland. The ball however would be tipped by a Lions defender and fall incomplete. Edman would then keep the ball on the next play and rush for six yards for a first down. From the forty three, Washington would rush for eight yards to the thirty five. On second and two, Edman would again attempt a pass. This time to Richard Tymes. The pass however was out of reach for Tymes and was incomplete. On third and two, Edman would keep the ball for a quarterback sneak for a three yard gain for a first down. From the thirty two, Washington would rush the ball up the middle for a six yard gain to the New York twenty six. On second and four and now two minutes and seventeen seconds remaining, Edman would drop back to pass. New York's linebacker Phil Kirkpatrick would blitz passed the Buckeyes linemen and tackle Edman for a loss of five to the New York thirty one yard line. Patrick Johnson would take his second timeout of the half to consider his options. On third and nine, Johnson would elect to keep the ball on the ground with Washington. New York's defensive line however would again blitz and tackle Washington for no gain. Cincinnati would then decide to try a field goal to tie the game. New York still had three timeouts remaining in the game. Leonard Mitchell would use one prior to Cincinnati's kicker James Blauer attempting the kick. Blauer would follow through with the kick however and missed the field goal wide right. The crowd groaned but then quickly cheered when they realized New York had taken a timeout. Leonard Mitchell would not use another timeout and would save two for his game winning drive after Cincinnati tied the game. However, Blauer would miss the field goal attempt again wide right. The crowd was stunned as the Lions players began to cheer in victory. After the failed field goal attempt, New York lined up in their victory formation and took two knees to end the game. New York had won their third American Bowl in franchise history. NFA Commissioner William Hensley would present the "Presidents Trophy" to Lions head coach Leonard Mitchell. He would kiss the trophy and then hand it off to Joe Governor who was awarded American Bowl MVP for the first time in his career.