Technical timeouts, unnecessary penalties, and long lengths between plays certainly cause games to last long. It took Moncton High and Saint John High three hours to play their game for the right to advance to the championship. Moncton High lead 28-0 at halftime and 56-14 after three quarters relaxed some at the end, going on to win 56-29. They’ve won all nine of their games thus far. However, unless they manage to win the championship, the fact they were 9-0 heading into the championship would mean nothing.
Cornerback Matt Dickinson of Moncton High had three interceptions and two touchdowns. “We got the win and that’s what counts at this time of the year. We’re here to win a championship this year. We want that ring.”
Moncton High was called for about 150 yards in penalties. “For the most part, we kept our cool. They were hitting from behind and we kind of lost our cool a few times.”
Saint John faced many questionable conduct penalties which certainly wouldn’t help matters any. Fred Hammond of Saint John is a top notch running back in the league. However, Moncton High set the tone early, making Hammond ineffective the entire game. Dickinson added “Their quarterback can throw the ball, but we knew their offence was built around Hammond.”
Quarterback Kyle Rogers and Brett Power each had two touchdowns for Moncton High, while Andrew Ryder and Matt Clements also added touchdowns. Jesse LeBlanc kicked all eight point-after-touchdowns.
Hammond did manage to score two touchdowns for Saint John, with Caleb Morgan and Branden Keenan each having one.
Meanwhile, for the eighth time in the past ten seasons, MacNaughton and Fredericton High met. Fredericton High was the winner in the 2003 quarter-final (20-0), 2005 semi-final (31-0), and 2010 championship game (15-14). MacNaughton beat Fredericton High in the championship games in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2011 (13-9, 10-7, 23-0, and 14-13).
Ryan Colpitts capitalized for Fredericton High with an 80-yard kick return for a touchdown early, while Blake Murphy and Val Nelson also had touchdowns, and Quentin Crouse added a pair of field goals, as Fredericton High won 27-3!
Greg Burdett’s field goal was the only points for MacNaughton.
Fredericton High and Moncton High will square off this Saturday, 3 p.m., at Rocky Stone Memorial Field (Moncton).
This is a good example of why every game early in the seaon matters: Moncton High twice beat MacNaughton early in the season. Had MacNaughton beat Moncton High one of those times and won the point differential in those two matches, MacNaughton would have finished first in the east. They would have been home against Saint John, which would be a lot easier to win, while Moncton High would have had to play a difficult semi-final in Fredericton against Fredericton High, who has a strong team every year.
Any time you don’t win the championship, you’re disappointed. With that having been said, Ed Wasson has to be pleased with MacNaughton’s performance since he became head coach at the start of the 2004 season as they’ve won five championships. Of the four years where they didn’t win, they were once a finalist, twice made it to the semi-final, once made it to the quarterfinal, and NEVER missed the playoffs.
Since losing their season opener to MacNaughton 29-9, Fredericton High has won eight consecutive games.
Don’t forget that Sunday is Remembrance Day, a day where we remember both those who were fortunate enough to make it home, and more importantly, those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
When I think of Remembrance Day, the first people I think of are some of my family members who fought and have since passed away, along with a former neighbour of mine, a pow, who has also passed on. I have been very impressed this year to see the amount of stores that sell the poppies.
While our nation was confederated in 1867, many would say it wasn’t born until our success at Vimy Ridge April 9, 1917. The Germans had a high ridge that the French and English failed to take for six months, causing 100,000 casualties. Under Sir Arthur Currie, our fist time together under our own general, we took the ridge in one day!
As a nation, we also don’t take the recognition we deserve from D-Day. We were the only country to properly land on the beaches, we were the only country where all of our troops were volunteers, and we were there as much as any country.
As the number of veterans from World War II continue to shrink, never forget the meaning behind Remembrance Day.
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