The twentieth NFA Championship Game would be hosted by the St Louis Aviators for the second straight season. They would finish 12-2 once again and would host the Philadelphia Colonials who would again win the NFA East with an 11-3 record. The rematch would be much more entertaining and would be considered one of the greatest games in NFA history.
GAME SUMMARY
The first quarter of the game would see little offense. Both the Philadelphia and St Louis defenses would give up little and not allow either team to cross midfield. Philadelphia would suffer a terrible blow to their offense when their quarterback Michael McCaffrey would suffer a broken leg after being tackled by Pete Blackman. McCaffrey would have to leave the game, and backup quarterback Mason Blackwell would come in. Blackwell had not taken a snap in a game since Thanksgiving. He would now be facing the best defense in the league in the biggest game of his career. This injury would cause the Colonials defense to become angry and try to take St Louis's quarterback, Dan Reese, out of the game as revenge. The game would become chippy as pushing and shoving would occur after almost every play. Philadelphia's defenders would also purposely hit Dan Reese every chance they got. Even if the hit was late. St Louis would also return the favor and hit Blackwell and other Philadelphia players with purpose to injure them. Both teams would combine to set a record for penalties in a championship game. St Louis would put the first points on the board with a 36 yard field goal early in the second quarter. Philadelphia would be able to respond on their next possession. Blackwell would be able to connect with rookie wide receiver Adam Winters with a 33 yard bomb to lead the Colonials across midfield for the first time all game. The drive would stall though and Philadelphia would have to settle for a 20 yard field goal to tie the game. The score would remain tied at halftime. After halftime, the first turnover of the game would would occur. St Louis's rookie quarterback would throw the games first interception from his own 19 yard line. Matt Wayne would intercept the ball and be tackled at the St Louis 22 yard line. Four plays later, Kyle Rose would rush from the 1 yard line to score the games first touchdown. After the extra point, Philadelphia led 10-3. In the middle of the third quarter, Dan Reese would be injured by a dirty play by Philadelphia's defensive back Ed Teech. Following an incomplete pass, Teech would act like he was pushed and fall on Reese's left leg in an attempt to break it. Reese's ankle would bend causing a sprain that would quickly swell. After this play, both teams would again be pushing and shoving. St Louis's Head Coach Brian Beckham would even walk across the field and get into a verbal argument with Philadelphia's Defensive Coordinator Buddy Bryant. Teech would be ejected from the game and both coaches would be told by the officials to get their teams under control. Ryan West would come in as quarterback for the Aviators for the remainder of the third quarter. West had played the last game of the season against the New York Lions after the Aviators had already clinched the number one seed in the league. He would be able to lead his offense into field goal range after the 15 yard penalty Philadelphia suffered after the dirty hit. The drive would stop though at the 31 yard line and the Aviators would have to settle for another field goal. On the next possession, Philadelphia's backup quarterback was also able to lead his team into field goal range. With St Louis not respecting the Colonials passing attack, Kyle Rose would be shut down and not be able to produce many yards. The drive would only be able to advance to the 34 yard line to set up another field goal. After the attempt by Brian Marks was good, Philadelphia led 13-6. Dan Reese would be able to return in the 4th quarter of the game, and he would be determined to win the game. On the first possession of the 4th quarter, Reese would put together a perfect scoring drive. He would be 7/7 for 54 yards including a 18 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dwight Tiller. After the extra point attempt was good, the game was tied at 13. This sparked a new energy in the crowd and the Aviators which helped turn the tide of the game. With just five minutes and forty eight seconds remaining in the game, Philadelphia would be able to drive down the field into field goal range. They would then rush the ball three straight plays to force the Aviators to use all their timeouts. From the 26 yard line just before the two minute warning, Philadelphia would kick a field goal to take a 3 point lead. With two minutes and two seconds, St Louis would have to go 80 yards to win the game. Reese again would put together a legendary drive that would live in the memories of Aviators fans forever. He would quickly pass the ball 20 yards to Mike Holden who would then go out of bounds to stop the clock at the 47 yard line. The next play he would again connect with Holden who would go out of bounds at the Philadelphia 41. Philadelphia's defense would visibly tired. Before each snap, defenders had their hands on their knees and were huffing and puffing. Head Coach Brian Beckham saw this as an opportunity to rush Paul Walker, who hadn't produced many yards all game. Walker would rush straight up the middle of the Colonials defenders for 12 yards to the 29 yard line. The clock would keep ticking with now only 45 seconds left to play. Reese would rally his team quickly and spike the ball to kill the clock. Beckham decided to play for the win and not set up a game tying field goal. On first down from the 29, Dwight Tiller would sprint to the endzone. The Colonials defenders would be unable to keep up. Reese would throw the ball and connect with Tiller for a game winning touchdown. The crowd would erupt and some fans would start running onto the field. There would still need to be an extra point attempt and there was still 29 seconds left on the clock. After the officials and Aviators personnel were able to clear the field, the extra point attempt was good giving the Aviators a 20-16 lead. The Colonials would be unable to score with 29 seconds left and St Louis would win its second consecutive NFA Championship and third title in four years. Commissioner Howie Roselle would present the NFA Championship Trophy to Aviators owner Dale Ryan.