#CFC50 game preview (BC): Tough matchup ahead for the No.45 Knights against the Panthers

(Feature Photo: The St. Thomas More Knights moved the ball efficiently on the ground to bowl over the Notre Dame Jugglers 28-6 last week in the B.C. AAA senior football season opener.  By NOW file photo)

 

The #CFC50 ranked No. 45 St. Michael More Knights are coming off a disappointing 37-20 loss to the #CFC50 ranked No. 12 Terry Fox Ravens. Up next, the knights will face off against the juggernauts of Lord Tweedsmuir. The Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers will battle the St. Michael More Knights on Friday, September 30. In the Panthers’ two games leading up this matchup, the team has looked spectacular, tallying up 16 sacks, while running back Derek Best continues his incredible 2016 campaign with.

Having played 3 of the top 5 teams in the league to kickoff the season, St. Michael More Knight’s head coach Bernie Kully believes the team has what it takes to succeed this season, but also stresses the importance of continual growth week-to-week.

“We have been very competitive thus far early in the season, recalls coach Kully.”

“We are a young team and the goal is that we learn, get better and progressively improve each week. We did some good things last week and learned of what we need to do in order to compete with the top teams in the province.”

Heading into this game, the Knights will look to establish more consistency in their offense. Perhaps what might ease the issue is handing the ball off to the elusive Michael Chris-Ike. The running back has posted two consecutive 100-yard games and is capturing the attention of recruiters south of the borders.

“We moved the ball well, gaining over 450 yards, but we need to be more consistent and execute for 4 quarters.”

Defensively, the team must make drastic improvements to their tackling as they were incredibly susceptible to big plays in their last matchup. This week’s matchup will not be any easier as the Panthers’ Derek Best has posted two games of 170 or more yards with just 15 carries.

“We did not tackle very well in our loss going against an outstanding back last week. Defensively, we need to improve and be hungrier collectively to stop the run.”

A flu virus has swept through the Knights’ roster making the team’s preparation for the upcoming game more difficult.

“With the sickness that has hit our team it has been challenging moving players around. But, it is good to see that we have the next man up mentality and it opens an opportunity up for certain players.”

Furthermore, the Knight’s coaching staff believe that the team’s best chances of winning this tough matchup also lie in their ability to maintain discipline throughout the game.

“They are a very well-coached team overall and their DC Lou Deslauriers is one of the best coaches in the province and he does an excellent job coaching fundamentally sound defensive football.”

Both teams will look to run and run early to establish precedence. We at CFC believe this will be a hard-fought game between these two teams. The team that’s able to stop their opponents rushing attack should prevail as the victor.

 

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