NSSAFFL: Nova Divison Week 8 Recap

As the regular season of the Nova Division of the Nova Scotia Student Athletic Federation Football League (NSSAFFL) has almost come to a close, some teams were hot on the pursuit for spots to compete for the Tier 1 championship title.  For others, it was an opportunity to fine tune their games before the postseason begins this upcoming week.

In the game of the week matchup, the Charles P Allen Cheetahs delivered a significant blow to the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars in their hopes to be one of four teams to vie for the title.  The Cheetahs prowled over their Truro counterparts 51-13.  Even though the Cougars have one game remaining, this result does jeopardize the Cougars chances to make the Tier one championship playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Sir John A MacDonald Flames continued their winning ways as the team extinguished the Prince Andrew Panthers 49-12.  With one game remaining on the schedule for the Flames, the team looks to have the second seed locked up and will host their semi-final game in the Nova Division playoffs.

Finally, the Citadel Phoenix ended their regular season undefeated as the team tamed the Lockview Dragons 40-9.  The Phoenix has secured home field advantage for the entire playoffs.

The Dartmouth Spartans enjoyed a bye this past week.

Here are the complete results for Week 8 action in the Nova Division:

CHARLES P ALLEN CHEETAHS 51 COBEQUID EDUCATIONAL CENTRE COUGARS 13:

Under Friday Night Lights at Burnside Turf, the Charles P Allen Cheetahs punched their ticket to the Tier 1 championship playoffs while delivering a blow to the Cobequid Educational Cougars hopes.  The Cougars preyed on the Cheetahs 51-13.

With this victory, the Cheetahs end the regular season with an impressive 4-2-0 record.  Meanwhile, with one game remaining to play, the Cougars drop to 2-3-0 on the season.

Cheetahs quarterback Sean Muir led the way offensively as he connected with receivers Alex Bayne and Connor Morrison for touchdown passes.  Additionally, the pivot ran into the end zone for two majors.  Taylor MacDonald and Jesse Boudreau also added tallies for the victors.

Chase Kodejs continued his stellar performance on special teams this season as the kicker was successful on six conversions and three field goal attempts.

As for the Cougars, quarterback Gab Bagnell had seven completions in 17 attempts for 112 passing yards, one touchdown and threw an interception in the game.  Kyle Scott scored a touchdown on a 75 yard kickoff punt return.  Furthermore, the Cougars receiver amassed 78 yards on three catches, a 46 yard run and a touchdown catch.

Linebacker Calder Saunders led the Cougars defensive unit with 12 tackles.  Defensive end Adam Kaulbach registered eight tackles while Jesse Snow had eight tackles and three sacks.  Defensive back Aidan Roy had an onside field recovery and added four tackles.  Linebacker Travis Park caught an interception in a losing cause.

The Cobequid Educational Cougars will host the Sir John A MacDonald Flames in the final regular season contest of the Nova Division at James MacPherson Stadium in Truro on Tuesday October 30th, 2012.  Kickoff is 2:00pm.  The Cheetahs have completed the regular season.

SIR JOHN A MACDONALD FLAMES 49, PRINCE ANDREW PANTHERS 12:

At Burnside Turf on Thursday evening, the Sir John A MacDonald Flames looked strong going into the playoffs as they doused the Prince Andrew Panthers 49-12.

With this win and one game remaining in the regular season, The Flames move to a 4-1-0 record and have locked up the second seed in the playoffs.  As a result, the team will host the semi-final game in the Tier 1 championships.  Meanwhile, the Panthers end the regular season with a 0-6-0 (zero points) mark.

At halftime of this game, the Flames enjoyed a 42-6 lead over the Panthers.

Offensively for the Flames, Chandler Tufts led the way by scoring three majors while registering 44 yards on five catches.  Hayden Clarke (two carries for 37 yards with longest as 22 yards, six yard catch), Hezekiah Armstrong (two carries for 47 yards with longest as 38 yards, a nine yard catch), Thomas Hoyt (two catches for 71 yards) and Brian Leader (a 26 yard catch) each found the end zone once in the victory.  Flames quarterback Lorenz MacDonald had five completions in 10 attempts for 156 passing yards.

On special teams, Leader had a big day as he amassed 457 kickoff return yards which is an average of 57 yards per kickoff.  As for the Flames defensive unit, linebacker Keith Langille led the way as he registered nine tackles in the game. Nate Rostek chipped in with five tackles and one quarterback sack while John Perrot caught an interception and returned the ball for 35 yards in the win.

The Panthers did get on the scoreboard as Nick Green scored on a five yard touchdown run after a string of many consecutive yet successful drives by the offensive unit.  Quarterback Riley Potter found Luke Young in the end zone and hit him with a 40 yard pass for the major.

Gordie Bedwell and Ian Melanson led the Panthers defensive unit as Bedwell caught an interception while Melanson registered a sack.

The Sir John A MacDonald Flames will travel to Truro for their final regular season game of season as they will face the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars on Tuesday October 30th, 2012.  Kickoff is 2:00pm at James MacPherson Stadium.  The Panthers have completed the regular season.

CITADEL PHOENIX 40, LOCKVIEW DRAGONS 9:

On Sunday afternoon at Huskies Stadium, the Citadel Phoenix ended their regular season with an undefeated record while continuing their consecutive winning game streak at 42 games (since 2008) by taming the Lockview Dragons 40-9.

As a result of the win, the defending provincial champions go into the playoffs boasting a 6-0-0 (12 points) record, nabbing the number one seed in the playoffs and home field advantage throughout the entire postseason.  Meanwhile, the Dragons end their regular season with a 1-5-0 (two points) mark.

Phoenix running back Scott Baigent and quarterback Darius Lameire led the way offensively for the Phoenix.  At 10:48 of the first quarter, Baigent got the Phoenix on the scoreboard as he ran into the end zone for a major.  Wide receiver Isaiah Thomas scored for the Phoenix on a 38 yard touchdown reception at 10:22 of the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Dragons conceded a safety in the end zone to the Phoenix at the 2:21 mark. However, the Phoenix would strike again as Lameire would connect with wide receiver Drew MacIsaac (93 receiving yards on three receptions) for a 40 yard touchdown pass.  In the final minute of the quarter, Baigent would add two more majors (58.6 and 9.4 seconds) to propel the Phoenix to a 37-0 lead at halftime.

AJ Case was successful on a 24 yard field goal attempt at 7:56 of the third quarter to give the Phoenix a 40-0 lead.  However, the Dragons would get on the scoreboard as quarterback Daniel Mader ran into the end zone for a five yard score at the 12:49 mark of the fourth quarter while the conversion attempt by Colin Murney was good.   Finally, the Phoenix conceded a safety to the Dragons at 2:05 of the final frame of the game to round out the scoring.

To match his three touchdown scores, Baigent also amassed 126 rushing yards on 15 carries to lead the Phoenix offensive unit.  Lameire had six completions in 12 attempts for 206 passing yards, one touchdown and threw an interception in the win.  Wide receiver Byron Kavanagh contributed with a 42 yard catch in the game.

Even though the Phoenix decisively won the game, the team felt the Dragons were a formidable opponent and had high praise for their football program.

“Lockview is a fine football team with some terrific athletes,” commented Phoenix co-head coach and defensive coordinator Jeff Lawley after the victory. “It was a fun game to be involved with a class team lead by a fantastic coach, Mike Korecki.”

Both the Citadel Phoenix and the Lockview Dragons have ended regular season play.

Photos 1,3 and 5 courtesy of Mark Kays
Photos 2 and 4 courtesy of Cathy Connell

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