#CFC50 game preview (MB): Grant Park Pirates travel to No. 19 Vincent Massey

This Friday, the 4-0 Grant Park Pirates will travel to #CFC50 No. 19 Vincent Massey to take on the 3-1 Trojans. In last week’s contest the Pirates defeated the Kelvin Klippers 38-35, while Vincent Massey earned their third straight against Oak Park 45-13.

I was able to get out to the last Massey game and it was an exciting first half of football. Vincent Massey got off to a 14 point lead, but Oak Park was resilient and almost tied the game before half if it wasn’t for a missed convert. Oak Park’s starting quarterback, Charlie Ringland, was injured scrambling, so it was on Shak Harris to lead the offence for the rest of the game. Harris got a big touchdown just before half, but the power of the Trojans was just too much.

“I really appreciated our ‘resolve’ in the 2nd half. We got up early then made a couple mistakes and Oak Park capitalized,” mentioned Vincent Massey’s Kelsy McKay. At half-time the Trojans were up by one point but the team didn’t panic and went “back-to-basics”. “We have great leaders on our squad, all the credit goes to them, our Team Captains,” replied McKay.

Vincent Massey had two players of the week in their win against Oak Park. Defensively Neel Visen had three interceptions and 43 return yards to earn player of the week. Offensively Andreas Dueck earned the title by going 15 of 18 while throwing for 235 yards and 5 touchdowns.

One of the leaders on the Trojans is league leading Quarterback Andreas Dueck. Dueck has 13 touchdowns, and has thrown for 744 yards with just one interception. I talked to Coach about what makes his starter such a threat, he replied, “In my 27 years of coaching QBs, I’ve never had the privilege to coach a young man as dedicated, determined, positive and hard working as him.” Dueck’s preparation is also what sets him apart from others, “His preparation during the week, on the field, and off, in film study and in meetings, is remarkable.” McKay has given his starter the green light to check out of any plays during the game due to the amount of trust he has in his young star.

At the midway point of the WHSFL season the Trojans have left the majority of their opponents in the dust scoring 154 points while allowing only 34. McKay is pleased with where his team is at this point, “We’re all good with where we are, for this ‘point’ in the season, knowing that there is still tons of improvement to do, a lot of learning.” The Trojans also have no problem with players making mistakes during the game because they’re just “opportunities to learn”. “The whole season is an evolution, and I’m excited to see what the end-product looks like,” added McKay.

In order for the Trojans to stop a hot Pirates team they’ll have to contain Grant Park’s speed on offense. “Grant Park has an incredible amount of speed on offense, Wow! Trying to contain their speed, as I’m not sure we’ll be able to ‘stop’ it, is what we’re hoping,” exclaimed McKay. The Pirates’ defense is very athletic up front led by Tyson Spence. McKay said of Spence, “I was very privileged to coach him for 2 summers at the U16 Program, so I know we’ll have our hands full with him.” Grant Park’s kicker can swing field position in one play, coach concluded, “This is going to be a tough one. They’re 4-0 for a reason.”

The Grant Park Pirates have been on a hot streak to start the season. ”Our Physical nature has allowed us to win the last 4 games,” mentioned Doug Kovacs. The Pirates have been successful by applying pressure on both sides of the ball and attack, not turning the ball over in key situations, creating turnovers and sacking the quarterbacks. William Huh is their leading tackler while Geno Bruning-Haid and Matt Strachan lead the league in interceptions.

In their victory against the Kelvin Klippers, the Pirates played strong defense and their offense scored on almost every drive. Kovacs commented, “We have been getting in all our players to the games and this allowed us to build depth.” Brandon O’Connor continues to lead the WHSFL in rushing with 599 yards and 5 touchdowns. Marcel Dufault is pitching in on the outside with long runs and has the most touchdowns in the league with 6, and senior tight end Patrick Young has made play after play and continues to be a force on the perimeter.

The Pirates have had a few surprises this season on the roster. Junior wing back Gabi Peyst has been superb this year and is in the top ten in WHSFL in rushing. Nose tackle Ben Arnovitch has provided constant pressure up the middle and has anchored the powerful defensive line. Senior Ronan Sheikh never played football until this past spring but has been dominant at corner and is shutting down the oppositions top receivers.

If the Grant Park Pirates want to have success against the Trojans they will have to create some turnovers in keys situations and limit their return game. Kovacs concluded, “Massey has an explosive offense that is multi-dimensional and will look to play situational defense. Offensively we must create confusion and score when the opportunity presents itself.”

We at CFC predict that the Vincent Massey Trojans will win, but Grant Park will frustrate them a bit. Kickoff is Friday at 4:30 at Vincent Massey.

 

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