NSSAFFL: Scotia Division Week 1 Recap

HALIFAX WEST WARRIORS 27, DR. JOHN HUGH GILLIS ROYALS 7:

At Mainland Commons under Friday Night Lights, the Halifax West Warriors began the 2012 regular season campaign on a winning note.  The Warriors defeated the Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals 27-7; however, the victory may have come at a cost.

Running back and top Warriors offensive gun David Nisbet was hurt during the game.  Consequently, Nisbet may have suffered a possible knee injury.

Quarterback Scott Borden led the way for the victors as he has three touchdown passes in the game.  Javon Parris chipped in on the offensive assault with 114 rushing yards while receiver Quintynn Parsons scored a major and amassed 108 yards.

Defensive back Josh Sampson caught two interceptions while linebacker Luke Byrne and defensive back Ahmed Ramadan each registered 10 tackles.

With this win, the Warriors are 1-0-0 while the Royals are 0-1-0 with the loss on the season.

“It was a good first game for us,” comments Warriors head coach Dave Kelly.  “We had some growing pains but overall the young players did well.”

“Scott Borden and Javon Parris really picked up the load for the offense.”

The Halifax West Warriors will seek their second straight win of the season when they travel to Acadia to face the Horton Griffins on Friday September 14th, 2012 at 7:30pm.  As for the Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals, they will try to get into the win column when they host the Cole Harbour Cavaliers on Sunday September 16th, 2012 at 2:00pm.

AUBURN DRIVE EAGLES 56, NORTH KINGS EDUCATIONAL CENTRE TITANS 6:

At Burnside Turf in a Saturday early evening game, the Auburn Drive Eagles dismantled the North Kings Educational Centre Titans 56-6.

With this win, the Eagles are now 1-0-0 on the season.  As for the Titans, they are 0-1-0.

Eagles quarterback Ben Meade had seven completions in 11 attempts for 141 passing yards and three touchdowns.  Running back Angus Fraser scored three majors while rushing for 198 yards in 10 tries and another touchdown score on a 32 yard reception.  Running back John Cole found the end zone twice and had 47 rushing yards in six attempts. Receiver Kaereece Riley scored a touchdown and four receptions for 67 yards while receiver Daniel Soulay scored a major.

Defensively for the victors, Josh Thomas had a solid performance as he caught four interceptions, two tackles and two tackles for a loss.  Trae Colley caught an interception, had a fumble recovery and registered five tackles on the day.  Montell Thauvett amassed six tackles including three for a loss while Cole, Mathew Cohoon and Nathan Simmons each had a sack.

“We got huge efforts from our key players on defense, Josh Thomas, Trae Colley, John Cole and played outstanding in every phase of the game,” comments Eagles head coach Chris Anstey.  “Angus Fraser really established himself as the player we have pressed him to be all training camp and his performances on specials and as a returner were outstanding but the way he ran the ball was the biggest impact on the game.”

“You always like to see a player who has all the tools hit the switch and find the Zone and Matt Cahoone was as dominant on both lines of the scrimmage as anyone was in the game today. I am excited to see what the season holds for Matt.”

Additionally, Anstey was extremely impressed with the play of his pivot.

“Going into the season one of our biggest concerns was finding an efficient QB that would allow us to be a balanced offence,” explains Anstey.  “Ben Meade was tremendous this evening and was dynamic every time he had the ball in hands.”

“For a guy to step in to that position after never playing organized football or the position before and perform like that, we couldn’t be happier as a staff.”

Anstey says there were several keys to the victory for the Eagles.

“I think the biggest key today was the buy into the new direction of the program and the leadership of our grade 12 players and captains,” assesses the Eagles head coach. “They were mentally prepared and physical ready for a demanding game and started out very strong.”

“Our first year players really took advantage of their opportunities as well and played the full 60 minutes we expect.”

While this was a huge win for the Eagles, there are a couple of areas of weakness that were exposed during the game.  Those will be the things the team plans to work on in the coming days.

“We missed a lot of opportunities to take advantage of turnovers and have to be shaper as we move forward,” says Anstey.  “Our discipline was also a BIG concern.”

“I believe we had four or five touchdowns called back for horrendous unacceptable penalties that were completely avoidable.”

The Auburn Eagles host the Central Kings Gators on Friday September 14th, 2012 for their next game at Burnside Turf.  Game time is 7:00pm.  Meanwhile, the Northeast Kings Educational Centre Titans will travel to play the JL Ilsley Judges on Sunday September 16th, 2012.  Kickoff is 1:00pm.

HORTON GRIFFINS 28, AVON VIEW AVALANCHE 9:

At Avon View on Sunday afternoon, the visiting Horton Griffins took care of business on the field as they defeated the Avon View Avalanche 29-8.

With the win, the Griffins are 1-0-0 while the Avalanche are now 0-1-0 as a result of the loss.

The Avalanche opened the scoring as a fumble recovery led to a touchdown score.  Then the Griffins conceded a safety on a punt return to give the Avalanche two extra points.  However, that would be all the points the Avalanche would get up on the scoreboard.

Running back Zack Gouthro got Horton’s first score on a 19 yard touchdown rush.  However, the team were not successful on their conversion attempt.  Running back Cam Davidson added to the point tally when he rushed into the end zone on 8 yard run.  Once again, the Griffins were not successful for additional points as they tried a two point attempt.

In the second quarter, Gouthro found the end zone again on a 12 yard run and Duncan Hill was successful on his conversion attempt.  At the half, the Griffins built up a 26-9 lead after quarterback Kyle McMullin connected with Brandon Whitman for an 80 yard touchdown score and the conversion attempt was good.

The final points of the game came in the third quarter, when the Avalanche conceded a safety on the punt.

Offensively, McMullin had five completions in nine attempts for over 130 passing yards while throwing one touchdown and one interception in the game.  Davidson was electric on the field as he amassed 150 yards alone on punt returns and close to 300 all-purpose yards.

On the defensive side of the ball for the Griffins, Whitman and Mike Boylan caught interceptions while Jake Melanson registered two sacks.  Once again, the Griffins displayed on the field why they have the top defense in the league as they did not give up any points to the Avalanche offense.

“I think the key was a solid defense and the running game of Zach and Cam,” assesses Griffins head coach Alec Hyndman.  “Avon View has a solid defense, but being able to run two running backs at them all day really wore them down.”

“Given the fact that we played in the rain and mud, I was very happy with how we played as we have a lot of guys that are new to football, but some of those new players made big impacts for us. It’s hard to get going in those types of conditions, but we moved the ball well, and played solid on defense.”

Two challenges the Griffins need to shore up are injuries and discipline before their next matchup.

“We really need to work on the penalties,” comments the Griffins head coach.  “I lost count of how many we took, and that is going to be a big focus for us as we get set for our game versus Halifax West Friday night.”

“With the short week, getting healthy is also going to be important, we aren’t out anyone, but we have some bangs and bumps that we need to look after.”

As for the Avalanche, the team gives full credit to the Griffins on a well-earned victory.

“It was a well-deserved win for Horton,” says Avalanche head coach Steve LaLonde. “They showed their experience and did not falter after being behind 9-0 early to us.”

“Horton is a very good team and showed why they are the pre-season favorite. They showed why they were the Division 1 Provincial finalists last year.”

In his postgame assessment, LaLonde drew on the strengths and shortcomings of the Avalanche.

“Offensively, we had some success moving the ball; we were in the red zone many times but could not finish our drives and I believe that comes with installing a whole new offense and guys still learning the system and also learning to work together as it is almost a whole new squad on offense,” assesses the Avalanche head coach.  “Defensively, we had some success and caused a couple of turnovers but had difficulty consistently stopping their run but again performed very well and never quit.”

“We made Horton work for everything they got.”

Ultimately, LaLonde is proud of how the players responded on the field in their first regular season game.

“I was very proud of my players who fought hard to the end and never quit,” says LaLonde.  “We showed we can play with the big boys and as I told the team, we will get better week by week and our goal is to peak by playoff time not now.”

“Our goals have not changed and our philosophy is to improve each week.”

The Horton Griffins face one of the major tests of the year as they get set to host the Halifax West Warriors on Friday September 14th, 2012 at Acadia.  Kickoff is slated for 7:30pm.  As for the Avalanche, they have a bye this week.

JL ILSLEY JUDGES 6, CENTRAL KINGS GATORS 3:

In a Sunday afternoon game at Canning, the JL Ilsley Judges prevailed in a tight game against the Central Kings Gators 6-3.

With this win the Judges are 1-0-0 on the season while the Gators slide to 0-1-0.

Skylar LeBlanc scored the game’s only touchdown for the Judges on a 63 yard punt return.  The Gators only score of the game came on the last play of the half as the team was successful on a 17 yard field goal attempt.  Judges tailback Tristen Oliver carried the ball 21 times for 129 yards.  On defense, LeBlanc and Falon Hodge combined for 13 solo tackles in the win.

“Despite the low score, both teams put up numbers on offense but sputtered inside the 30’s,” reflects Judges head coach Steve Saunders.  “The weather, which seemed to change every five minutes from sunshine to torrential rain, had an impact on the throwing game as quarterbacks had a hard time gripping the ball.”

“I think both teams were pleased with the play of the many rookies in the game on both sides of the ball.  Few penalties, big hits, it was a great season opener with either team capable of walking away with the two points.”

The JL Ilsley Judges will host the Northeast Kings Educational Centre Titans at Rockingstone on Sunday September 16th, 2012.  Game time is 1:00pm.  As for the Central Kings Gators, they will play on the road as they face the Auburn Eagles on Friday September 14, 2012 at Burnside Turf.  Kickoff is slated for 7:00pm.

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