At the start of the season, would anyone have predicted that the JL Ilsley Judges would be sitting atop of the Scotia Division of the Nova Scotia Student Athletic Federation Football League (NSSAFFL) with the Halifax West Warriors?
Both the Judges and the Warriors are equally surprised as to be sitting alongside each other, sporting identical 5-0-0 (ten points) records in the division.
Both the Judges and the Warriors are equally surprised as to be sitting alongside each other, sporting identical 5-0-0 (ten points) records in the division.
“I don’t think too many people saw this coming at the first of the year as neither of us knew how competitive our teams would be, especially us coming off a season with only one win and a dozen returning players,” explains Judges head coach Steve Saunders. “We knew we had some grade 10’s coming with some experience but they have performed beyond our expectations.”
“We are a small team with a lot of young players who have committed themselves to getting better every week. There is a great team feeling this year, one of the best I have experienced in my 20 years as a head coach.”
Now, the Judges are in the midst of making final preparations for the greatest collision course they are about to face this season. The team gets will host the Warriors on Sunday October 21st, 2012 at 1:00pm at Graves-Oakley Field in Spryfield. With first place in the Scotia Division on the line, both teams are shoring up their game execution plans with the hopes that they will be successful in pulling out a victory.
“This is the biggest game of the year to date for us,” comments Warriors offensive coordinator David Rent. “Both teams are five and zero and a win would vault the winner into solo possession of first place, but this isn’t our focus going into the game.”
“We are stressing the little things making the tackle, sustaining the block, do you job and everything else will take care of itself.”
As Rent has alluded to, while first place in the Scotia Division is on the line, that will not be the only thing come game day for the Warriors.
“Sole possession of first is at stake, but for us the outcome isn’t emphasized it is the routine of getting prepared for the game, practicing and knowing your job and role,” says the Warriors offensive coordinator. “No matter who we are playing or where, we have the same emphasis focus on the here and now and the rest will take care of itself, the small things will add up to the big things.”
“Every week during our routine, we keep the focus of the team on the small things, such as proper footwork, knowing assignments etc., so this is no worry about the outcome or result of the game as the focus will be the outcome of my assignment on each play.”
The Warriors will look to their veterans on the team to lead and play a significant part in their success on Sunday afternoon. Those veterans include quarterback Scott Borden, offensive lineman Essam Talaat, defensive back Josh Sampson, linebacker Luke Byrne, and defensive backs Ahmed Ramadan and Mahmoud Altawil.
“JL is a balanced team our defense will have to have a good game and stay disciplined in pass coverages and run defense,” adds Rent. “Offensively, we will continue to run the ball and get the ball into our playmakers hands.”
As for the Judges, they are faced with the greatest challenge of the regular season.
“We have a huge job ahead of us as the West has emerged as a powerhouse team in our division truly dominating thus far,” assesses Saunders. “They have the best 1-2-3 punch in the league on offense at quarterback, tailback and wide receiver positions and shutting them down will be tough.”
“We watched them play Auburn Monday and they were polished.”
Saunders says that the Warriors have solid offensive and defensive units. Ultimately, the Judges cannot afford to fall behind in the game.
“Defensively, Coach (Dave) Kelly always plays tough and they come at you from everywhere,” explains the Judges head coach. “They are talented in most positions especially at the linebacker spots and like the offense, are well-rehearsed.”
“Defensively, Coach (Dave) Kelly always plays tough and they come at you from everywhere,” explains the Judges head coach. “They are talented in most positions especially at the linebacker spots and like the offense, are well-rehearsed.”
“They are not a team you want to start slow against because, as Auburn experienced, once the West gets rolling, it’s game over.”
As for the Judges’ offensive game execution plan, they intend to spread the ball out as much as possible to four running backs and a core of receivers. The players have stepped up this season especially when the team got bitten by the injury bug and were down players due to other commitments.
One player on who’s been a pleasant surprise and has been the key to the success of the Judges offense has been pivot Ben LeBlanc.
“Rookie quarterback Ben LeBlanc, brother of AUS rookie of the year Jacob LeBlanc, may not have the best arm in our division but he certainly has performed under pressure getting the job done every week,” assesses Saunders. “He has only given up one pick, lost one fumble and has become a real team leader.”
“Not too many kids from a traditionally weak team have started their careers 5-0 at the pivot spot especially when we do not have a marquee player to hand off to every play.”
Defensively, the Judges do lack size; however, they’ve managed to make effective adjustments to their game plan throughout the season.
“Like offense, everyone has to know what is going on or the system breaks down,” adds the Judges head coach. “Defensive back Skylar LeBlanc, one of only two grade 12’s starting, is one of the smallest defensive players but is the heart and soul of the team and has shown that you don’t have to be big to make monster tackles.”
“Like offense, everyone has to know what is going on or the system breaks down,” adds the Judges head coach. “Defensive back Skylar LeBlanc, one of only two grade 12’s starting, is one of the smallest defensive players but is the heart and soul of the team and has shown that you don’t have to be big to make monster tackles.”
“Grade 11’s Eric Bowdridge and Lavante Gillis will have to step up their games this week if we are going to hold up.”
While the Judges have faced practice challenges, it could prove to become a slight advantage in the game.
“We are also in a tough situation with our ability to practise as we only have a grass field and it is very wet,” says Saunders. “This may work to a small advantage for us in a way as we have been on grass for most of our games this season and are certainly used to the rain having played in it three times.”
While the team concedes going into the game that they are not the favourites, they hope the momentum from the previous week’s game will carry over and lead them to victory on Sunday against a team that has had their number over the years.
“I am certainly not handing them the game this week but see ourselves as the decided underdogs,” comments Saunders. “We have been blown out by the West in recent years so it would be nice to get the monkey off our back.”
“Winning game five against Cole Harbour put us in a playoff spot but we still have two tough games to end off the season so, while this is for first place, we still have to keep in mind that the final games against Horton and JH Gillis are just as important. We have had to fight our way through every game this year so, we’ll throw a few more bucks in the tank and see how far we can go.”
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