1960 SRFL Super Bowl

The end is near. Not fatalistically speaking but rather the end of the inaugural 1960 SRFL season has reached the Super Bowl. The Missouri Arrows tied for the best record in the league at 11-3. Coach Dale Van Devens Arrows have followed their Quarterback Milt Plum all season long and they'll hope to continue that in the Super Bowl. Missouri's path in the playoffs has not been an easy one. Their first game versus the Detroit Independents was a tour de force for the Arrows defense as they corralled the vaunted Detroit running game allowing just 67 yards on the ground. Forced into the air the Independents faired no better as the passing game only netted 82 yards. Yet with all that success on defense the game was still in doubt to the end, as the Arrows won a close one 23-17. The next week they took on their old nemesis the St.Louis Saints in the battle of Missouri. Even the Arrows couldn't shut down Jim Brown as he had 129 yards rushing for the Saints. Missouri was in position to win the game late but Milt Plum would have none of that. A touchdown pass to Jon Arnett in the last minute of the contest pushed Missouri into the Super Bowl via a heart-stopping, come from behind 23-21 victory.

The Cleveland Rams were 10-4 on the season guided by Head Coach Anthony DiNardo. In their playoff run they were powered by the running tandem of Paul Lowe & Dan Lewis. However the secret sauce for the Rams was their opportunistic defense. Six interceptions, two fumble recoveries and nine sacks equals one Super Bowl ticket. In the first playoff game against the Huntley Hawkeyes, Lowe and Lewis combined for 4 rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile the Hawkeyes Quarterback Johnny Unitas was beseiged by the Rams pass rush. Cleveland managed to accrue 7 sacks on Johnny "U" and that was just too much for Huntley to overcome in a 38-14 final. One week later Cleveland locked up with the Lakewood VooDoo, in a game that was in doubt into the 4th Quarter. In this contest Lakewood was able to move the ball with great success. For Lakewood QB BIlly Wade was airing it out to WR R.C. Owens, meanwhile John David Crow was running hard averaging 7.9 yards per carry. As a whole the VooDoo totalled 430 yards of offense. However with elimination staring them in the face Cleveland scored 4 consecutive times in the final two quarters to earn a 37-28 win. The Rams defense produced 4 interceptions including 2 in the final two minutes of the game.

What to expect in the Super Bowl? I would assume that what has worked in the 16 previous games is what the coaches will lean on. These two teams actually did play each other back in Week 9. In that game Missouri prevailed by a score of 27-14. For Cleveland Paul Lowe scored the games first and last touchdowns. However everything in between was going the Missouri Arrows way. Cleveland cannot let Milt Plum go wild with his game-breaking targets Jim Phillips and Gail Cogdill. If you don't controll that aspect of the offense you have no chance. In the playoffs the Rams showed that their defense can be a lethal weapon with sacks and interceptions and Cleveland certainly hopes that continues at least one more week. When the Cleveland offense has the ball they will be riding Paul Lowe and Dan Lewis. Focus solely on those two and Jim Colclough and Jimmy Orr can do serious damage with their receiving skills. Missouri is the "Show Me" state and you'll have to prove to them that Milt Plum can be stopped. Be careful here as the Arrows actually has a very solid running game. 20 rushing touchdowns on the season was the 4th most in the league. Also you cannot ignore the Arrows Offensive Line, as a unit they only allowed a microscopic 4 sacks on the season! Then when it comes to a field goal the Arrows Gene Mingo is the gold standard with his 93% conversion rate. One final stat indicating the closeness of these two teams.

Points For - Points Against
Missouri 309 -223
Cleveland 309 - 243

It should be a good one, I've got my popcorn ready.