NS: Bad Bounces and Luck Contribute to Flames Loss

“Very disappointing.”
Words that sum up how Flames head coach Alan Wetmore feels after their loss to the Citadel Phoenix in Nova Scotia Student Athletic Federation League play. The Phoenix defeated the Flames 36-23 last Sunday. It was the first time the two teams met since the 2010 Provnicial Finals.

The Flames had high hopes going into the game. Planning to execute their game plan the field, the Flames were prepared to take on the Phoenix and achieve success. What went wrong for the Flames?

“It was not a good day from the beginning,” answers Wetmore in his assessment of the Flames.Bounces started going against the Flames before the game had even started. Hours before the game, the team learned that one of their key stars on defense was ineligible to play. He was not just important for football plays, but has become the leader of the defensive line , especially guiding the younger players.As Wetmore says, the loss of the player was significant.”That created some lack of confidence in our defense, so in the first quarter, they compensated with being too fired up and going offside and the spiral continued from there,” explains Wetmore who felt that there was a lot of chaos and energy on the field.

In his attempts to settle things down, the referees threw the Flames head coach a penalty. Furthermore, a couple of key Flames players suffered knee injuries. As a result, the team started to trail in the game. Once behind, they began to doubt themselves on the field. Fields settings also hurt the Flames game plan.”We were battling a slippery slope all day,” comments Wetmore. “Leaving four drives in the red zone was not helpful and small 10 yard end zones with two big posts and a net at the back limits play calls.””I am not making excuses for us but the cards were not in place for us that day.”One of the players that was injured in the last couple of minutes of the game was running back Justin Stevens, who is a main offensive gun for the Flames. With 2:09 left of the fourth quarter, Stevens was rushing on a punt return when he went down on a hard tackle from Phoenix’s Mark Sampson. Stevens did not return for the remainder of the game. However, Wetmore says that Stevens was fine.A lot of penalties were called against the Flames in this game. People in attendance felt the calls against the team were unfair. When asked about this, the Flames head coach says that he reviewed the tape of the game and concurred that the majority of the calls the referees made were right. “I do believe that we should try to keep the flags in the pockets more than we do because it makes for a bad game,” adds Wetmore. However, the same referee is always assigned to officiate the Flames games against the Phoenix. At times, the team has not been treated fairly says Wetmore.”I don’t think I deserved the penalty I got,” explains Wetmore. “Every so often, I believe that the coach is entitled to an explanation on a call and I find I get a very contemptuous response when I ask.”There was a silver lining though for the Flames in the loss. Coach Wetmore says that he was impressed by the play of a dozen grade 10 players that start for the team. Additionally, he was pleased with how quarterback Matt Shannon and the receivers played considering the pressure they faced all afternoon. Now it’s back to the drawing board for the Flames. Between now and provincials the team will be focusing on improving their offensive line.”We have to do a better job identifying and making our blocks,” comments Wetmore.Another aspect of the game that must improve is special teams, which Wetmore shoulders the blame for on his own.”Plus the thing on special teams that I found very hard as a volunteer coach to tend to,”laments the Flames coach. “I guess that means I spend too much on defense and offense and neglect the special teams more than I should.””My fault.”Many are anticipating that the Flames will get another crack at the Phoenix at provincials in November. While the team is preparing with that goal in mind, Wetmore is hoping any team in the NSSAF league can find a way to solve the Phoenix.”Every time Citadel wins, they grow stronger,” says Wetmore. “In order for anyone else in the league to be able to compete with them, one of us is going to have to put a crink in their armour.””If they don’t feel vulnerable, they will feel indestructible.”