NSSAFFL: Scotia Division Week 8 Recap

DR JOHN HUGH GILLIS ROYALS 40 JL ILSLEY JUDGES 9:

Under Friday Night Lights in Antigonish, Dr John Hugh Gillis Royals pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the Scotia Division regular season as they cruised by JL Ilsley Judges 40-9.

With this win, the Royals have a 4-3-0 (eight points) record.  In spite of the loss, the Judges are in a first place tie with a 6-1-0 (12 points) record.

In his final game of the regular season as a Royal, Sam Demone had an exceptional performance on the field.  The Royals running back scored five touchdowns (31, 2, 5, 55 and 2 yards), amassed 338 rushing yards, including an 82 yard dash.

Brandon Warner also found the end zone for the Royals. Quarterback John Weir had six completions in nine attempts for 51 passing yards.

The Judges enjoyed a 9-0 lead early in the first quarter as the team capitalized on uncharacteristic fumbles from Demone and Sam Vautour.  As a result, the Judges got on the scoreboard with a major (missed conversion) and a field goal.

However, those would be the only points of the night for the Judges as the Royals defensive unit turned in a huge game performance.  Led by David Bond, the Royals defense stifled the Judges offensive unit and forced four fumbles (Alex Bond accounted for two of them) and picked off three passes in the game.

Royals head coach Dave Van Den Heuvel said that both units played key roles in securing the victory.

“Both the offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage,” reflected Van Den Heuvel after the win.  “The offense was led by senior left tackle An Di and junior centre Dylan MacDonald.”

“The defensive line was able to put pressure with Tackle David Bond leading the way. Sam Demone played with great vision and was helped by outstanding blocking all night.”

Judges head coach Steve Saunders was impressed by the effort the Royals put forth on the field and felt the Antigonish team deserved the win.

“JH Gillis played with a lot of emotion from the start of the game, Demone and a few others had career games and I have a lot of respect for them,” commented Saunders.  “They were well-prepared and did their jobs as a team.”

“Once you get a team up like they were, it’s hard to knock them down.”

In his postgame assessment, Saunders cited a number of reasons as to why the Judges ended up on the losing end of the game. For one thing, the team had trouble with motivation.

“If we had to lose a game, this was the one because we arrived late, didn’t get ready to play and it just kept getting worse,” reflected the Judges head coach.  “We were on a high from the West game and it was as if the season had ended for us.”

“Injuries made us move guys around and they just didn’t click so it was the perfect set up for JH Gillis.”

Discipline, focus and a rough defensive outing costed the Judges their undefeated regular season record.

“We had over 140 yards in penalties in the first half which negated some big plays and the guys just lost their concentration missing all their assignments,” assessed Saunders. “Defensively, we stunk and Royals running back Sam Demone feasted on it, breaking tackles for some big plays.”

The Judges now find themselves in a must win situation this upcoming week; however, weather could play havoc with the team’s game preparation.

“Our job is to get back on track this week as a loss to Horton this Friday would sure shake up the standings with a few ties possible,” said the Judges head coach.  “The weather will affect a lot of us with rain predicted and many of us will have our fields shut down so learning time will be limited.”

While the Royals have pulled up a huge upset, the team cannot sit back idly.  In the coming days, the team will look to improve on certain aspects of their game while continuing to key in on their strengths.

“Moving forward we need to continue to be more balanced on offense,” commented Van Den Heuvel.  “We also need stop digging ourselves holes by protecting the football early in games.”

“Our defense has continued to play strong, and even when teams do get yards on us, or start with a short field, our defense is able to bend and not break.”

The Dr. John Hugh Gillis Royals hope to carry momentum from this win into a key game against the Auburn Drive Eagles on Sunday November 4th, 2012 at Burnside Turf.  Kickoff is 1:00pm. Meanwhile, the Judges will try to get back into the win column as the team travels to Wolfville to take on the Horton Griffins on Friday November 2nd, 2012.  Game start is 7:00pm.

HORTON GRIFFINS 28 CENTRAL KINGS GATORS 7:

In a Sunday afternoon game, Kyle McMullin led the Horton Griffins to a 28-7 win over the host, Central Kings Gators.

As a result of the win, the Griffins move into a second place tie with a 5-2-0 (10 points) record.  The Gators drop to 2-6-0 (four points) on the season.

In the second quarter, McMullin connected with Zach Gouthro (72 yards on nine carries, 30 yards on four catches) for an 8 yard touchdown pass and the conversion attempt was good.  With the Gators conceding a safety on a punt, the Griffins held on to a 9-0 lead at the half.

Diego Oliviera booted a 24 yard field goal to start the scoring in the second half.  Subsequent to that, the Gators got on the scoreboard when Mitch Best scored a major on a 45 yard run and the conversion attempt was successful.

However, the rest of the game was all Griffins.  McMullin connected with both Brandon Whitman (93 yards on 13 carries, one yard run) and Jake Melanson (37 yards on two carries, a 29 yard pass) for touchdowns.  Oliviera rounded out the tallies as he was successful in kicking a 30 yard field goal.

On defense, Whitman Tyler Simmonds and Nathan Walsh all had picks to lead the team.

“Nathan Walsh, Brandon Whitman and Duncan Hill all played awesome for us on defense,” added Griffins head coach Alec Hyndman of the team’s defensive unit.  “The thing that makes me smile the most this year is that we never know who is going to be the stand out on defense and who is going to make those big plays for us.”

“It could be any of the 16 or so guys that get time on that side; they are just fun to watch.”

McMullin had 27 completions in 37 attempts, 251 passing yards, threw three touchdowns and one interception in the win.  So far this season, the Griffins pivot has 90 completions in 137 attempts (66 percent completion rate), 1166 passing yards, and 13 touchdowns and five interceptions.

“Kyle was really the key to this win as he was 27 for 37 and hitting six different targets really put Central Kings on their heels most of the game,” commented the Griffins head coach after the win. “He just knows how to find that open man, and really spreads things around, which makes covering us hard.”

“All while having 139 rushing yards from our two running backs.”

Offensively, Cam Davidson accumulated 67 yards on 12 carries and 15 yards on four receptions in the game.  This season, he’s registered 729 rushing yards on 102 carries (average of 7.5 yards per rush), five rushing touchdowns, 249 receiving yards on 23 receptions and two receiving touchdowns. Gouthro has 673 rushing yards on 97 carries (average of 6.94 yards per rush), six rushing majors, 109 receiving yards on nine catches and two receiving majors this season.

Whitman’s season statistics are 398 receiving yards on 27 catches and six touchdowns while Melanson’s are 111 receiving yards on six carries and one major for the Griffins.  Another key offensive gun for the team has been Mike Boylan (75 yards on three carries) as he’s amassed 262 yards on 18 catches and two touchdowns so far in the 2012 campaign.

Hyndman said the team faced the same continual problems this season:  a slow start and discipline issues on the field.

“We started out slow again this week, and when we did get something moving, we would take a penalty and kill the drive,” assessed the Griffins head coach.  “Central Kings came out firing at us, as we knew they would.”

“It was a hard hitting affair right from the get go; we started to slow down the game a little and move the ball in the second quarter, but again, took some bad penalties and it made it close right up through the third. With the way our defense has been playing, I still felt good even when it was only a five point lead.”

Overall, the Griffins head coach was impressed by the team’s effort on the field in spite of the problems.

“I think it was one of our better team efforts, on offense and defense but penalties need to come to an end, and quickly,” said Hyndman.  “On defense, the boys really played a full four quarters for us and they just keep on getting better.”

“Even as a Grade 10 for Central Kings, Mitch Best is a very strong running back, and besides 1 big play on us, they really shut him down. With three fumble recoveries and three interceptions, they continue to give us the ball on offense and that’s all we can ask for “play hard, shut’ em down and get me that ball”.”

The focus turns to their final game of the regular season this upcoming week.  With the stakes increasingly high this week, the team hopes the momentum of their winning streak will translate into success that will propel them into the playoffs.

“We have a tough game this week, with loads of implications on final standings and possible home playoff game(s),” commented Hyndman.  “We have been telling the boys for the past three weeks that every game is a playoff game; we put ourselves in this spot with two early season losses, but we have been given a chance to finish on top.”

“We have won five straight including the exhibition versus Sackville and we want to keep it rolling, continue to work on the little things and work extra hard this week on mental mistakes. We get to face JL Ilsley at home and that should give a boost for the guys. I expect it will be a close one, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

As mentioned above, the Horton Griffins host the JL Ilsley Judges for a key game on Friday November 2nd, 2012 in Wolfville.  Kickoff is 7:00pm.  As for the Central Kings Gators, the team has completed regular season play.

AVON VIEW AVALANCHE 51 NORTHEAST KINGS TITANS 6:

The Avon View Avalanche won their first game of the regular season as they thrashed the Northeast Kings Titans 51-6 in Canning on Sunday afternoon.

With this victory, the Avalanche are now 1-6-0 (two points) on the season.  The Titans are basement dwellers of the division, still winless, with a 0-7-0 record.

Avalanche quarterback Cory Whitney was the offensive spark in the win.  Whitney had eight completions in 10 attempts for 87 passing yards and one touchdown.  Running backs Matt Page, Matt Brison and AJ Whitehead scored majors for the victors.

“We had a break out game offensively,” assessed Avalanche head coach Rory Campbell after the win. “Our offensive line, led by Scott Barnett, played a great game and opened up holes all day for our running back trio.”

Defensively for the Avalanche, Kyle Fraser led the way as he forced two turnovers: an interception and a forced fumble.  Moreover, Page and Peter MacDougall each caught interceptions in the game.

Campbell said that the Titans were competitive throughout the entire game, in spite of the final result.

“Northeast Kings should be commended for their effort as they never quit until the final whistle,” added the Avalanche head coach.

As the confidence has increased for the Avalanche, Campbell is hopeful it will resonate into more positive results on the field in the coming days.

“It was nice to get our first victory of the year and see our hard work finally pay off,” reflected Campbell.  “Our guys will definitely be feeling the effects of this game for a few days.”

“Overall, we still have a lot of work to do, but hope to use this game to build momentum as we move forward.”

The Avon View Avalanche will host the Halifax West Warriors on Saturday November 3rd, 2012 for a key game in the Scotia Division.  Kickoff is 2:00pm.  As for the Northeast Kings Titans, they will travel to play their last game of the regular season against the Cole Harbour Cavaliers on Sunday November 4th, 2012 at Burnside Turf.  Game start is 4:00pm.

HALIFAX WEST WARRIORS 21 COLE HARBOUR CAVALIERS 0:

At Burnside Turf on Monday night, the Halifax West Warriors put up a huge defensive stand as the team kept the Cavaliers off the score sheet by winning 21-0.

The Warriors are now 6-1-0 (12 points) this season and back in a tie for first place in the Scotia Division.  Meanwhile, Cavaliers drop to 3-4-0 (six points) on the season.

“The defense played an excellent game,” explained Warriors offensive coordinator David Rent.   “They didn’t allow any points and made several big stops inside our own 10 yard line.”

“Third year players Luke Byrne and Ahmed Ramadan led the defense throughout the game.  Kendrin Butler made several key tackles preventing big gains.”

Offensively, quarterback Scott Borden had 11 completions in 23 attempts for 185 passing yards.  Quintynn Parsons scored two majors while registering 86 rushing yards on two carries and 101 yards on five catches.  Javon Parris found the end zone once while amassing 101 rushing yards on 17 carries.

“We ran the ball relatively well; however given the wet and windy conditions had trouble with our pass game,” added the Warriors offensive coordinator.

After getting this win under their belt, the Warriors still have one regular season game left which has playoff implications.

“We have one game left in the season; it can be tempting to look ahead to the playoffs, and forget our next game against Avon View,” commented Rent.   “They have some very good players and if we take our focus off of them, they will make us pay with a loss.”

“First place could very well be determined by our win if JL Ilsley loses to Horton, so for us this game is just as important as every other game this season.”

As mentioned above, the Halifax West Warriors will travel to play the Avon View Avalanche on Saturday November 3rd, 2012.  Kickoff is 2:00pm.  The Cole Harbour Cavaliers will close out their regular season hosting the Northeast Kings Titans at Burnside Turf on Sunday November 4th, 2012.  Game start is 4:00pm

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