The South Shore Monarx stunned the Chateauguay Raiders in the latter’s Quebec Junior Football League home opener last Sunday by seizing a 4-0 lead with a 68-yard single and 30-yard field goal in the opening minutes.
But that was all she wrote for the beleaguered visitors who were decimated for 52 unanswered points the rest of the way in a 52-4 blitzkrieg.
The backfield tandem of Matt Gulakow and Tevyn Nicholls, respectively dubbed Thunder and Lightning by Raiders’ offensive coordinator Matthew Muirhead, ignited the Raiders’ comeback. With Gulakow steamrolling over South Shore defenders at every turn and Nicholls eluding would-be tacklers with his blinding speed, the Raiders’ ground game was unstoppable.
Each of the two running backs notched two touchdowns, with Nicholls gaining 170 yards on 15 carries and Gulakow picking up 54 bruising yards on eight rushes.
Not to be outdone, quarterback Matt René completed 17 of 25 tosses for 236 yards andf three majors – two by Scott Payne and one by Jacques Void. The Monarx contributed four points to the Chateauguay total by conceding a pair of safeties.
“We were disappointed that South Shore didn’t put up more of a battle,” admitted Raiders’ head coach Bruce Bennett. “They boasted at a league meeting that they had 100 players attending their spring camp. But they only dressed 33 bodies on Sunday and they asked to run the clock in the second half.”
Bennett was pleased with his club’s examplary behaviour on the field, which was in stark contrast to the undisiciplined decorum that marked their league opener at Cumberland.
Of course, the Raiders’ vaunted defence came in for a fair share of the credit for Sunday’s blowout. They had quarterback sacks from reigning MVP Kleevens Jean-Louis, Fraser Dufort and Anthony McComber; a fumble recovery from Matthew Rankin, and a pass interception from Benjamin Denis. However, the team may have lost the services of offensive lineman Kevin Galey, who was forced to leave the game with a fractured hand.
The Raiders visit Laval Devils this Saturday at 7 p.m. before returning home Sept. 19 to tangle with perennial riv al Ottawa Junior Raiders, whom they subdued in last year’s Manson Cup final with a memorable second-half comeback. Game time is 2 p.m. The Riders ran roughshod over the Devils 66-0 last Saturday.
By: Dan Rosenburg
Le Soleil de Châteauguay – 8 septembre 2010
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