Week 6 in the Nova Scotia Varsity Football League (NSVFL) had two exciting games.
The Metro Mustangs faced a scare but came out on top in a defensive battle against the Timberlea Renegades. As a result of the win, the Mustangs keep their undefeated record in the standings intact. Meanwhile, Team Nova Scotia under-16 squad got back into the win column after a bye week the previous week, with a victory over the Dartmouth Rengades. It was a bye week for the Halifax Seahawks.
Here are the results from Week 6 games:
Metro Mustangs 4, Timberlea Renegades 2:
On Friday evening at Huskies Stadium in Halifax, it was a defensive battle between the two top teams in the league. In the end, the Metro Mustangs prevailed over the Timberlea Renegades and won the game 4-2. As the final score would indicate, there were no touchdowns scored in the game, but rather safeties.
“We took a knee in the end zone twice in order to move the ball out of our end and the Mustangs took a knee in the end zone to end the game,” explains Timberlea Renegades assistant coach David Rent.
However, the Renegades could not capitalize on a golden opportunity to win the game and potentially hand the Mustangs the first loss of the NSVFL season.
“We had a missed opportunity at the end of the fourth quarter to win the game, but we unable to put the ball in the end zone for the Mustangs one yard line,” comments Rent.
Without a doubt, the key to this victory was the consistency of the Mustangs’ defensive unit and field position.
“Several times, we were pinning the Renegades deep in their end which led to us getting two safeties and our only points of the game,” says Mustangs head coach Greg Bayne. “The defense sacked their quarterback four times, had three take-ways and a blocked punt.”
“The biggest factor of all was the big defensive stand at the end that allowed us to hold on to the win as the defense stayed in that game, stayed focused and came up BIG!”
With the victory, the Mustangs remain undefeated with a 5-0 record. In spite of the loss, the Renegades are still in second place in the league standings, sporting a 3-2 record.
James Pelley led the way defensively for the victors with six tackles, a fumble recovery and a sack. Malcolm Hyde contributed with five tackles and a sack while Jesse Boudreau registered two tackles, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt. Additionally for the Mustangs, Dustin Buchanan and Duncan Robertson each had three tackles and a sack apiece. Trevor Gallant (two tackles), Matt Bayne (two tackles) and Matt Zwicker (one tackle) also contributed in the win.
On the offensive side of the ball, running back Dustin Brogaard led the way with 218 yards on 30 rushes while he also had a reception for two yards. Quarterback Sean Muir registered six completions on eleven attempts for 32 yards and three rushes for 24 yards. Versatile player Taylor MacDonald (running back/special teams/linebacker) three carries for 20 yards, four punt returns for 30 yards and two tackles in the game.
Ryan Keays (running back/defensive back) amassed 17 yards on three receptions, 12 yards on two rushes and two tackles. Alex Bayne (running back/defensive back) had an interception in the game to go along with two tackles and five yards on two receptions. Running back Joe Doucet chipped in with an 11 yard reception.
“Other than the entire defense, I would have to say that Dustin Brogaard ran hard and battled through some aggressive tacklers carrying the ball 30 times for 218 yards,” adds the Mustangs head coach. “Ryan Keays made a game saving tackle on a punt return.”
In his post game assessment, Bayne acknowledges the Mustangs offensive unit was not successful against the defensive surge of the Renegades. This will be one area the team will focus on for improvement.
“It was NOT a good night offensively,” explains Bayne. “We have to be able to adjust to pressure and block better as the Renegades delivered the most aggressive defense that we faced this year and we were not ready to handle it.”
“We will take that away and use it to get better that’s for sure.”
Overall, Bayne gives props to the Renegades for their performance in the game on Friday evening. In particular, he was impressed with their opponent’s defensive execution.
“No surprises from Timberlea they came ready to play as expected,” says the Mustangs head coach. “The defense came hard inside and from the ends.”
“They played with a lot of fight and never quit.”
As for the Renegades, the defense put the pressure on the Mustangs throughout the entire game. Devan Stevens led the way with 10 tackles and one sack. Ahmed Ramadan chipped in with seven tackles while Jack Chiasson had a sack and Donovan Blue had a fumble recovery. Nate Rostek and Brayden Culligan both caught interceptions in the game.
On the offensive side of the ball, Hayden Clarke had 21 yards on two receptions while also amassing 35 yards on three carries. Rostek amassed 21 yards on four carries and a twelve yard reception. Pivot Lorenz MacDonald had two completions in four attempts for 16 yards. Quarterback Drew Packman had two completions in three attempts while accumulating 23 yards on five carries.
“Nate Rostek throughout the game made key plays and at times carried the team on his back, with his lead by example attitude,” adds the Renegades assistant coach.
Like the Mustangs, it was a not a great night for the Renegades offense. The unit has also been plagued by the injury bug.
“We struggled offensively, with a number of key injuries, prior to and during the game,” comments Rent. “We will spend the next week, which is a bye week, healing and focusing on offense.”
Even though they may have been on the losing end of this hard fought game, the Renegades can take away the fact they’ve shown improvement on the field in recent weeks. This has given the Renegades more incentive to continue to work on the tools that has brought them success on the field.
“The Mustangs are a very good team and it showed that we are capable of playing on their level,” summarizes Rent. “There was a marked improvement for us comparing our first game against Metro to this game.”
“Going forward, we will continue to work on the fundamentals and keep reinforcing the things that having being working for us.”
The Metro Mustangs hope to keep their undefeated record as they get set to take on the Dartmouth Destroyers on Sunday June 3rd, 2012 at Saint Mary’s University Huskies Stadium. Game time is 3:00pm. As for the Timberlea Renegades, they will enjoy a bye week.
Team Nova Scotia under-16 30, Dartmouth Destroyers 12:
At Burnside Turf under Friday Night Lights, Team Nova Scotia got back into the win column with a 30-12 win over the Dartmouth Destroyers.
As a result, Team Nova Scotia is in third place in the league standings with a 2-3 record. Meanwhile, the Destroyers are are still winless this season, with a 0-5 record.
Cameron Davidson led the way offensively for the victors as he rushed for over 100 yards. Team Nova Scotia pivot Duncan Patterson connected twice with receiver Marquis Diggs for touchdown scores.
“He was pinpoint accurate all night,” adds Team Nova Scotia head coach Chris Valardo of Patterson’s performance in the game.
Furthermore, quarterback Cameron Valardo found receiver Jared Melnyk in the second half of the game for a 65 yard touchdown score.
In his postgame assessment, Valardo says he was impressed with how the offensive unit responded on the field.
“For the first time this year, our offense put together a number of sustained drives and moved the ball very effectively keeping our defense off the field,” summarizes the Team Nova Scotia head coach.
Defensively for Team Nova Scotia, Andre Boudreault (defensive back) led the unit with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. As for special teams, kicker Greg Hutchins was good on three field goal attempts (37, 30 and 20 yards), two conversions and also had a single point on a punt.
“Our defense was very effective,” adds Valardo. “Greg also executed an excellent short kickoff that we recovered.”
Overall, Valardo says everything seemed to come together for Team Nova Scotia at just the right time. It’s been one of the most complete games the squad has played so far this season.
“It was by far the best game we have played this spring and we have been focused on the three phases: offense, defense and special teams,” says the Team Nova Scotia head coach. “Our offense had an outstanding game both running and throwing the ball.”
“All in all, an excellent performance by our offense, defense and special teams.”
(NOTE: Player/game stats were not available for the Dartmouth Destroyers at press time)
Team Nova Scotia under-16 squad will carry the momentum from this game into their next match-up, which is against the Halifax Seahawks. The game is slated for Sunday June 3rd at 12:00pm at SMU Huskies Stadium. Meanwhile,the Dartmouth Destroyers will be looking for their first win of the season as they get set to face off against Metro Mustangs on Sunday June 1st at Saint Mary’s University Huskies Stadium. Kickoff is 3:00pm.
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