NSSAFFL: Nova Division Week 7 Recap

CITADEL PHOENIX 66, PRINCE ANDREW PANTHERS 13:

At Burnside Turf on Thursday evening, the Citadel Phoenix moved one step closer in their quest to successfully defend their provincial championship title while keeping their consecutive winning streak alive at 41 games as the team dispatched the Prince Andrew Panthers 66-13.
With the win, the Phoenix are in the driver’s seat as the team remains undefeated this season and in first place in the Nova Division sporting a 5-0-0 (10 points) record. Meanwhile, the Panthers finish out the regular season at the bottom of the Nova Division with a 1-5-0 (two points) record.
Offensively for the Phoenix, wide receiver Drew MacIsaac led the way for the victors as he scored three majors, including one on a 75 yard kickoff return.  Running back Scott Baigent powered his way down the field to score two touchdowns while carrying the ball 19 times for 212 rushing yards and also had a 30 yard catch.  Phoenix rusher Bradley Petrie scored a major and carried the ball 11 times for 97 yards.
However, those were not the only players to find the end zone on Thursday night.  Wide receiver Ethan Murphy scored on a five yard catch, wide receiver Isaiah Thomas had a 42 yard touchdown reception and running back Byron Kavanagh scored a touchdown while gaining 55 yards on five carries.  Phoenix pivot Darius Lameire sparked the team’s offensive game execution as he racked up six completions in 12 attempts for 205 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in the victory.
“The key to our win was our ability to run the ball effectively,” commented Phoenix co-head coach and defensive coordinator Jeff Lawley in his postgame assessment.  “When you run the ball well, everything else comes together.”
“Our defense, which was led by Shaun Robinson, sniffed out the ball and did not allow them any real sustained drives. Prince Andrew has some very skilled athletes, that program is on the rise!”
For the Panthers, Riley Potter scored on a 75 yard kick return while Nick Green blitzed through to the end zone on a 45 yard run.  Nate Skeete was successful on a conversion attempt while Andrew Shaw, Tyler MacDonald and Matt Nielsen led the defensive unit with several tackles.
There are a couple of positives the Panthers took away from their game against the defending provincial champions.  However, the team credits the Phoenix for earning the victory.
“I thought our special teams played great, toe to toe with Citadel’s special teams in my opinion, with the exception of a couple bad kicks, but great coverage overall,’ assessed Panthers head coach Joe Flemming after the game.  “Our defense played a pretty solid aggressive game, but our offence had a very tough time moving the ball against a very good Citadel defense.”
“Our offence worked their rear ends off, and they did make some great plays, but overall, it is what it is, simple football. Citadel’s defense prevented us from establishing the drives we needed and as a result, Citadel was able to gain some great field position and they executed well to take advantage of it.” While the team may have ended up on the losing end of the game, one bright spot for the Panthers was the stellar game performance of Ian Melanson.
“It was a solid performance by Ian Melanson on both sides of the ball,” said Panthers head coach Joe Flemming after the victory.  “Offensively, he accounted for some great receptions for positive yards, and carried the ball well.”
“Defensively, he had several solo tackles complimented by a sack.”
The Citadel Phoenix will finish the regular season on Sunday October 28th, 2012 at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium as they host the Lockview Dragons.  Kickoff is 1:00pm. The Prince Andrew Panthers complete their regular season as they play the Sir John A MacDonald Flames on Thursday October 25th, 2012 at Burnside Turf.  Game time is 6:00pm.

CHARLES P ALLEN CHEETAHS 31, DARTMOUTH HIGH SPARTANS 7:

At Burnside Turf in a Sunday afternoon game, the Charles P Allen Cheetahs increased their chances to make the playoffs as they grabbed a huge victory over the Dartmouth High Spartans 31-7.
With this key win, the Cheetahs are now in the logjam for second place in the Nova Division with a 3-2-0 record (six points).  Meanwhile, the Spartans are also in that mix for second place with a 3-3-0 record (six points) as a result of the loss.
For the Cheetahs, two way versatile players, Taylor MacDonald and Ryan Keays led the way to victory.  MacDonald (playing the running back position) scored two 25 yard touchdowns and amassed 133 rushing yards on 16 carries.  On defense, he registered three solo tackles and one assisted tackle playing in the linebacker position.  Keays (in wide receiver position) scored one touchdown on an eighty yard kickoff return while he connected with Cheetahs quarterback Sean Muir for a 22 yard touchdown reception.  Defensively, he caught an interception while playing in the defensive back position.
Jesse Boudreau accumulated 60 rushing yards on 10 carries while kicker Chase Kodejs was successful on three conversion attempts for the Cheetahs. Malcolm Hyde and Will Chamberlain also had safeties in the game. Defensive back Matthew Bayne caught an interception.
“This was a nice bounce back game for us,” said Cheetahs defensive coordinator Alain Lefebvre after the win.  “As a young group coming off of two difficult losses, we weren’t sure how the guys were going to respond.”
“They showed a lot of character and commitment in our preparation leading up to game day and it showed on the field. We hope to finish the regular season strong and continue to get better every week.”

However, the final score is not indicative of how close the game was in the first half, as the Cheetahs only led 9-7 after two quarters.
“We ran out of gas in the second half; I think we got tired from chasing Taylor MacDonald and Jesse Boudreau around the field, and that caught up with us in the third and fourth quarters,” explained Spartans head coach Nick Barr after the loss.  “We were missing a couple of guys that normally play significant minutes for us, and that hurt us from a depth perspective.”
“On the offensive side of the ball, we weren’t able to sustain drives for long enough to give the defense a rest. It also didn’t help when our starting quarterback, Cody Cluett, hurt his hand early in the third quarter and had a hard time throwing with velocity. I give CPA credit for playing a tough, physical game and wearing us out.”
Quarterback Cody Cluett had six completions and 133 passing yards in a losing cause.  Moreover, he connected with Jesse Rudel for a 59 yard touchdown reception and had six carries for 35 yards.  Nathan O’Quinn-Wetzel was successful on the Spartan’s sole conversion attempt.
Defensively for the Spartans, Thomas Poirier caught an interception and registered 11 tackles.  Isaac Berglund amassed 11 tackles while Travis Stansfield had 10 tackles in the loss.  Rudel chipped in with two tackles.
“Our defense played very well for most of the game especially in limiting the number of big plays by Taylor MacDonald,” assessed the Spartans head coach of the team’s play in the game.  “In particular, Isaac Berglund, Thomas Poirier, and Travis Stanfield had exceptional games.”
“Cody Cluett had a good game prior to his injury, and the offensive line did a good job of giving him enough time to go through his reads.”
This game marked the end of the regular season for the Spartans.  Now the team must wait and see who they will face in the postseason.  However in the interim, the Spartans will look to shore up key aspects of their game which were exposed by the Cheetahs on Sunday afternoon.
“We were back on our heels a bit going into contact and that allowed CPA to gain a lot of yards after first contact,” said Barr.  “We’ll have to emphasize to our players that they have to keep their feet moving through contact so that they don’t get driven back for extra yards.”
“On offense, we weren’t finishing drives. We would get the ball moving, and then the offense would stall with a dropped pass or an unnecessary penalty. This has been a recurring theme all season, and we’re going to need to turn this around if we want to make a playoff run.”
Even though the team may be the beneficiaries of a couple of weeks of rest, they will use that time wisely in their playoff preparations.
We have an exhibition game with Sackville next Sunday, and we plan to rest most of our starters for the game, added Barr. “We will have a couple of weeks to rest, fix our mistakes, and prepare to take our best shot at whoever we get in the playoffs.”
The Charles P Allen Cheetahs will end their regular season in a pivotal game against the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars on Friday October 26th, 2012 at Burnside Turf.  Kickoff is 7:00pm.  As mentioned above, the Dartmouth High Spartans have completed their regular season but will host the Sackville High Kingfishers for an exhibition game on Sunday October 28th, 2012 at Burnside Turf.  Game time is 5:00pm.

COBEQUID EDUCATIONAL CENTRE COUGARS 28, LOCKVIEW DRAGONS 8:

At James MacPherson Stadium in Truro on Sunday afternoon, the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars kept their playoff hopes alive with a 28-8 win over the Lockview Dragons.
With this win, the Cougars move into the tie for second place in the Nova Division with a 3-2-0 (six points) record.  The Dragons slide to 2-4-0 (four points) on the season.
Cougars quarterback Gab Bagnell had 11 completions in 20 attempts for 98 passing yards, threw one interception, carried the ball seven times for 64 yards and scored a touchdown on a 50 yard quarterback keep.  Running back Ben Petrie found the end zone once and amassed 112 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Defensively for the team, defensive back Andrew Murphy caught an interception which led him to the end zone for a 40 yard return.  Murphy also registered six tackles.  Moreover, defensive back Aidan Roy caught an interception for a 50 yard touchdown return and added two tackles.  Defensive back Nick Simpson had nine tackles while defensive end Drew Erskine amassed seven tackles and added a sack.  Finally, linebacker Calder Saunders contributed to the Cougars defensive success in the game with six tackles and a sack.
“The key players for us today were defensive backs Aidan Roy and Andrew Murphy, who both returned interceptions for touchdowns in the second half to solidify the win,” added Cougars quarterback coach Tom Shreve after the victory.
With their playoff lives on the line, the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars will face the Charles P Allen Cheetahs on Friday October 26th, 2012 at Burnside Turf.  Kickoff is 7:00pm.  For their final game of the season, the Cougars will host the Sir John A MacDonald Flames at James MacPherson Stadium in Truro on Tuesday October 30th, 2012.  Game time is 2:00pm. As for the Lockview Dragons, they finish out the season at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium against the Citadel Phoenix on Sunday October 28th, 2012.  Game start is 1:00pm.
Photos courtesy of Cathy Connell
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