“We are not scared of Citadel, I would say we are the more physical team, and we are going to show them what smash mouth valley football looks like on Sunday, going to come out hard right from kickoff.”
Those are comments from Horton Griffins heads coach Alec Hyndman as the team prepares for what will be the biggest game of their high school football careers. The Griffins will face the three time defending provincial champions, the Citadel Phoenix in Halifax on Sunday.
At stake is the Nova Scotia Student Athletic Federation Football League (NSSAFFL) Tier 1 Championship title. The Griffins are in their first ever championship game and know that they are heavily viewed as the underdog.
“We also know that a lot of people are saying, “no way you can beat them”,” explains Hyndman. “What I say to them is “it’s football, and it’s not over until it’s over”.”
As for the Phoenix, they spent Thursday at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium going through drills to prepare for the big game. Even the snow covered turf didn’t diminsh how much the team is looking forward to having the opportunity to defend their championship crown.
“We are very excited to be playing in the final game,” says Phoenix head coach Jeff Lawley. “We will need to play our best game of the year to compete with Horton.”
In the regular season, the Phoenix went undefeated with an 8-0-0 record. They were tops in the Nova Division as well as the NSSAFFL. They earned the right to play for another title by defeating the Dartmouth High Spartans in the semi-finals 55-26.
The Griffins did not suffer a loss in the regular season as their record was7-0-1. That was good enough for top spot in the Scotia Division and was second overall in the NSSAFFL. To gain their ticket to the championship game, the Griffins had to defeat the Charles P Allen Cheetahs in the semi-finals 28-17. The Cheetahs were the team that tied the Griffins in regular season play.
While they may not have played each other during the NSSAFFL regular season, the Griffins and Phoenix are familiar with one another.
“They are well coached, tough and talented,” says Lawley of the Griffins. “It is no surprise that they are undefeated this year.”
Hyndman says that the Griffins are familiar with the Phoenix players and have watched them play a few times this season. The Griffins have a lot of respect for the three time defending provincial champions and know any team that plays them cannot afford to make errors.
“They don’t make mistakes, and if you make em, they make sure you know you did,”explains Hyndman. “When you look at a school like Citadel, you look at how they run their program, and without a doubt, it’s very, very well run.”
Playing the defending champions will be tough, but the Griffins are confident in their abilities.
“We know without a doubt that we can play at the level needed to take the Championship,” comments Hyndman. “But we also know we are in for a fight, they arenβt just going to give us the win.”
Additionally, Hyndman says that the championship game was a goal that the Griffins worked towards. At the onset of the NSSAFFL season, the Griffins thought they had a shot to make the championship game. Now that they are at the big dance, the Griffins want to make the best of it and show that they deserve to be there.
“This is the best group of kids I have ever coached,” adds Hyndman. “They worked hard in the off season, and have continued to improve over the course of this season.”
This matchup will be exciting as it will pit the top offensive dynamic duo from the Phoenix against the top rated defensive unit in the NSSAFFL.
The Phoenix will be led by wide receiver A’dre Fraser and quarterback Derek Brown. Lawley commented before the Phoenix’s semi-final game against the Spartans about the duo.
“It’s no secret, we have 2 weapons on offense: Derek Brown and A’dre Fraser,” states Lawley. “Our success or failure rides on their shoulders and they know it.β
While quarterback Brown and wide receiver Fraser will lead the Phoenix’s offensive game execution plans, running back Ryan Kublek, Ian Miller and Sam Demont will also play a big role.
Phoenix defensive ends Max Fitzgerald and Jordan Redding will try to stop the Griffins’ offense. Emile Milton, Mark Sampson, Drew MacDonald, Rob Wilson and Chris Folkins will also be defensive key players for the Phoenix.
On the injury front, there will be four Phoenix players out of the line up on Sunday. They are Nathan Churchill, Jack Lawen, Bennett Gaskin and Kadeeem Adams.
Lawley says that he expect players to give it their all in the last game of the season.
“We expect all of our grade 12’s to play hard in their final game and have our grade 11’s and 10’s play for them,” comments Lawley.
However, the Phoenix offensive unit are going to have to poke holes through the top defensive team in the NSSAFFL this season. The Griffins had 40 takeaways to three turnovers and never gave up a touchdown since the third week of the season. The defense has only given up four touchdowns this season.
Furthermore, the Griffins defensive unit scored more points this season than they have given up. The defense ended up scoring seven touchdowns, and five of which were scored alone by safety Curtis Bawn. The defense will be led by Bawn and Adam Melanson; however, another player to watch for is all-star Zach Daigle.
Melanson and Bawn will draw special, yet important assignments during the game.
“Adam needs to have a big day keeping a close eye on Brown, and we are going to look to Curtis Bawn to shut down Frasier,” says Hyndman.
Averaging 10.23 yards a carry with 32 rushing touchdowns as a team this season, the Griffins will be running the ball down the field. Running back Robert Adams is the player on the Griffins who will be the biggest factor in the running game. During the regular season, Adams had 1526 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.
Melanson will also contribute to the offensive success of the Griffins. Players to watch offensively for the Griffins include Will Stewart, Noel Morgan and all-stars Doug Spriggs, Zac Austin and Brandon Vaughon.
However, Hyndman says that a full team effort will be needed for the Griffins to win the championship.
“Really itβs going to be the guys that aren’t the well-known “studs” that will make the difference, like I said, itβs a team effort,” adds Hyndman.
The Griffins believe that they have the hunger and are set to take on the Phoenix regardless of the fact they are the inexperienced squad in the championship game.
“The guys are ready, and they want to play right now, but we will keep working to make sure we are perfect on Sunday,” explains Hyndman. “To stay focused, under control, because we know thatβs what itβs going to take.”
“All in all I think this game is going to come down to the 4th quarter, and we hope that our physical style will wear them down to give us that little edge come the end of the game.”
Quick Facts:
Season Records and Seedings in NSSAFFL:
-Citadel had regular season record of 8-0-0; finished 1st overall in league, 1st in Nova Division
-Horton had regular season record of 7-0-1; finished 2nd overall in league, 1st in Scotia Division
Numbers:
-Citadel is the three time defending Tier 1 NSSAFFL Provincial Champions
-Citadel and Horton did not play each other in the regular NSSAFFL season
-Citadel is ranked number 19th in the country in the CFC top 25 list
-Horton has an honourable mention on the CFC list
Coaches:
Citadel:
Mike Tanner (41 season coaching Phoenix)
Jeff Lawley (22nd season coaching Phoenix)
Horton:
Alec Hyndman (only coach Horton has had since they joined the league five seasons ago)
Players to Watch:
Citadel:
QB Derek Brown
WR A’dre Fraser
DE Max Fitzgerald
DE Jordan Redding
Horton:
DE/FE Adam Melanson
RB Robert Adams
S Curtis Bawn
Game Information:
The Tier 1 NSSAFFL Championship Game between the Citadel Phoenix and Horton Griffins wil be played on Sunday at Saint Mary’s University Huskies Stadium. Kickoff is 1:00 pm.
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
Season Preview: Tommy Douglas DL Fleury chasing redemption and respect
