AFL: Hurricanes defeat Tigers

Under rainy skies and in front of an energized homecoming crowd hoping for an upset, the ’Canes came to play. The game was scoreless until the very last play of the first quarter when return man Garvin Cius took in a Dalhousie punt on his own 25-yard line, wove his way through the defenders and then sprinted to the end zone for an 85-yard touchdown. The convert made it 7-0.

The Hurricanes defense put Holland College in position to score midway through the second quarter when Jonathan Gallant picked off a Brendan Festeryga pass and returned it to the Dalhousie 15-yard line. The
Tigers defense came up big and stopped the ’Canes, taking over on their 8-yard line. This time, it was the ’Canes who stopped the Tigers in their tracks, which led to the concession of a safety three plays later and a resulting 9-0 lead.

With just under two minutes to play in the half, Luke Williams hooked up with Robbie Tufts on an option pass from quarterback Greg Brown. A wide-open Tufts caught the perfectly-thrown ball on the run and coasted into the end zone.  The Hurricanes took a 16-0 lead into the intermission.

Holland College added to the lead in the third quarter when Greg Brown, the strong-armed rookie quarterback out of Horton High in  Wolfville, N.S., hit Robbie Tufts deep on the fly. The play covered 45 yards and put the ’Canes up 23-0. Brown split the signal-calling duties with veteran Nick Hunsley, which proved to be an effective offensive strategy that seemed to befuddle the Dalhousie defense.

The Tigers came back to life early in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Michael Tassone scored on a keeper to cut the lead to 23-7. They made one last attack in the dying minutes when Festeryga found Greg Pelly for a pass and run that took the ball to the Hurricanes 2-yard line. When the Tigers punched it in on the next play, the score was 23-13 for Holland College.

The Hurricanes (2-1) managed to cover the onside kick and killed the clock, securing the big win on the road and taking over sole possession of second place behind the undefeated UNB Red Bombers (3-0). In other AFL action on Saturday, the Red Bombers defeated arch-rival UNB Saint John Seawolves 13-3 in Fredericton.

The AFL Player of the Game for the Hurricanes was Jordan Blizzard, who  ran for 133 yards on 15 carries. The big running back had a breakout performance, pounding the line for key yardage at critical times. The APM Offensive Player of the Game was receiver Robbie Tufts who caught 5 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. The APM Defensive Player of the Game was cornerback Garvin Cius who led the team with five tackles to go along with his game-changing punt return.

Next action for the Hurricanes is on Saturday when they host the Tigers in a return match at UPEI Canada Games Alumni Stadium at 1 p.m.