This past week in the Nova Scotia Varsity Football League (NSVFL) saw two teams pull out decisive victories against their opponents under windy conditions in Halifax.
Making their season debut, the Halifax Seahawks dispatched the Team Nova Scotia under-16 squad 41-9. In the other game, the Metro Mustangs remained undefeated as they shutout the Dartmouth Destroyers 27-0. It was a bye week for the Timberlea Renegades.
Here are the complete results for Week 2 action:
Halifax Seahawks 41, Team Nova Scotia under-16, 9:
At Huskies Stadium under Friday Night Lights, the Halifax Seahawks were strong in their season opener against Team Nova Scotia. Last week, the Seahawks had a bye week.
“This team has had a long wait to come out and play our first game and we brought great intensity and focus,” comments Seahawks co-head coach Jon Dyer after the victory. “Overall, it was a great team effort with everybody contributing and playing their role.”
“We had a few starters playing their first football game ever so I was very happy to see them enjoy the experience and play so well. It was a great way to start the season.”
At halftime, the Seahawks already built a 34-0 lead on Team Nova Scotia and never looked back.
Running back Adrien Mopoho had 140 rushing yards and three touchdowns to lead the Seahawks to victory. Receiver Drew MacIsaac contributed with 115 receiving yards and two majors while running back Bradley Petrie rushed for 45 yards and scored a touchdown.
Seahawks quarterback Byron Kavanagh had six completions in 11 attempts, 110 yards and one touchdown pass while pivot David Luke had four completions on six attempts, 55 yards and one touchdown pass.
Defensively, the Seahawks, led by Shaun Robinson, were solid throughout the entire game. The defensive end led the unit with multiple tackles; some of which resulted in a loss. Seahawks linebacker Spencer Bennett enjoyed a big night with eight tackles. Additionally, safety Liam Connell and cornerback Jonah Williams played key roles in the win. Connell registered an interception.
“Shaun Robinson and our defensive line stood out all game,” adds Dyer. “They pressured the quarterback and imposed their will at the point of attack.”
With the win, the Seahawks are 1-0 in the standings while Team Nova Scotia suffered their first defeat and are now 1-1.
Overall, Dyer was impressed by how both units came out strong in their first game of the season.
“Our key to victory was setting the tone early with our offensive and defensive lines; they were both terrific,” explains the Seahawks co-head coach. “I was very impressed with our execution on some of our plays.”
“All of our hard work in the offseason is paying off and it’s great to see the kids benefit.”
In his postgame assessment, the Seahawks co-head coach says there are two areas the team needs to improve on if they are to have continued success down the road.
“We definitely need to improve our special teams and overall team discipline,” explains Dyer of his assessment. “We had some holes in our special teams that really hurt us and we took far too many undisciplined penalties.”
As for Team Nova Scotia, receiver Jared Melnyk returned a kickoff in the second half for a 70 yard touchdown reception to put the team on the scoreboard. However, the team was not successful in the conversion attempt. Despite the windy conditions, kicker Greg Hutchins was successful on a 30 yard field goal attempt, which added to the team’s point total.
Head coach Chris Valardo says that the team showed signs of life in the second half which was very promising. This was in spite of both units getting off to a slow start in the first half.
“Team Nova Scotia showed a lot of character and continued to play hard and actually won the second half 9-7 which was a goal of ours at halftime,” comments Valardo. “Our offense struggled in the first half and turned the ball over several times.”
“Our defense played hard but could not stop the Halifax running game in the first half and they scored several times on long runs from the tailback.”
Valardo gives props to the Seahawks on the victory.
“Halifax was very well prepared and executed exceptionally well, they certainly deserved the win,” says the Team Nova Scotia head coach. “Halifax was well coached.”
Meanwhile, Dyer says that the Nova Scotia squad were formidable opponents and is anticipating a tighter game the next time they meet in the regular season.
“The under-16’s played a tough game,” explains Dyer. “They are a young team with lots of skill and are well coached.”
“Because they are so young, they are going to improve every week and we are going to need to be better in every aspect of the game when we play them next.”
The Seahawks will take the momentum of their first win into their next game against the Timberlea Renegades on Friday May 4th at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium. Game time is 6:00pm. Meanwhile, Team Nova Scotia will try to get back on track and into the win column in a contest against the Metro Mustangs on Friday May 4th at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium. Game time is 8:30pm.
Metro Mustangs 27, Dartmouth Destroyers 0:
In a Friday early evening matchup at Saint Mary’s University Huskies Stadium, the Metro Mustangs made easy work of the defending league champions to remain undefeated.
Mustangs head coach Greg Bayne says the keys to the win were successful execution of the game plan on the field and improvement from the team as a whole.
“Our defense did a great job keeping their offense form scoring,” comments Bayne after the win. “Our running game allowed us to keep their defense on the field with long time of possession drives.”
“The difference this week was that we finished more of our drives with points.”
Linebacker Taylor MacDonald and running back Drew Alexander led the way for the Mustangs in the victory. MacDonald accounted for 15 of the team’s points as he amassed 210 yards on 20 carries, scored two touchdowns and also had an interception in the game. Alexander had 90 yards on 10 carries and scored two majors, which accounted for the remaining 12 points.
However, there were other significant contributions from the team’s offensive unit. Running back Mert Mensa had 6 carries for 30 yards while receiver Ryan Keays registered 4 carries for 39 yards and two receptions for 25 yards. Receiver Alex Bayne chipped in with three receptions for 20 yards and three carries for 15 yards.
“Taylor MacDonald ran the ball very well demonstrating his talents of making tacklers miss and another strong game from our offensive line highlighted by Trevor Howse and Max Martin,” comments Mustangs head coach Greg Bayne of the offensive unit. “Running back Drew Alexander took over in the second half and put an exclamation mark on the depth we have at that position with Dustin Brogaard, Taylor MacDonald and now Drew stepping up!”
Defensively for the Mustangs, lineman Trevor Howse had a fumble recovery in the game while Matt Bayne had an interception. Linemnan Andre Martell and linebacker Jesse Boudreau each recorded a sack. Keays, who also plays on the unit as a cornerback caught an interception.
The Mustangs head coach liked how the unit preformed, and in particular, the timely, yet key contributions James Pelley and MacDonald made during the game.
“James Pelley, our middle linebacker had some big hits and was key to stopping Dartmouth from scoring when they were pressing on our five yard line and preserving our second game without allowing any points,” explains Bayne. “Lots of players involved from defense including Taylor MacDonald all over the field with tackles and an interception.”
As a result of the victory, the Mustangs are atop the league standings with a 2-0 record. On the other hand, the defending league champions are still winless and still in search of their first win of the season. Currently, the Destroyers have a 0-2 record.
While the Mustangs have not given up a point to any opponents so far in regular season play, there is still room for improvement. The team is looking to shore up weaknesses that were exposed by the Destroyers during the game.
“Dartmouth was able to attack our seams and soft spots in our passing defense giving us some work this week to make improvements,” says Bayne. “Our passing game was sluggish partially due to swirling winds so we will look at that.”
(Note: game/player statistics for Dartmouth Destroyers were not available at press time.)
The Metro Mustangs will take their undefeated record into a contest against Team Nova Scotia under-16 squad on Friday May 4th at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium. Game time is 8:30pm. As for the Dartmouth Destroyers, they will try to regroup from two straight losses with a bye week.
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