One thing is for certain.
The Tier 1 playoff teams have been determined as the last week of the Nova Scotia Student Federation Football League (NSSAFFL) regular season unfolded.
CFC#35 Charles P Allen Cheetahs have locked up the first seed and home field advantage. The Cheetahs will host the fourth seeded Horton Griffins this upcoming weekend.
Defending provincial champions Citadel Phoenix will head into the playoffs as the third seed. The Phoenix will travel to Tantallon to battle second seeded Sir John A MacDonald Flames in a rematch of the 2012 championship.
With one game to still play, the remaining playoff seedings and teams have yet to be determined depending the outcome of Monday’s game between JL Ilsley Judges and Lockview Dragons.
Here are results from Week 9 action in the NSSAFFL:
CITADEL PHOENIX 28, HALIFAX WEST WARRIORS 0:
Byron Kavanagh had 12 completions in 13 attempts for 155 passing yards and two pass touchdowns as the Citadel Phoenix earned a 28-0 shutout victory over Halifax West Warriors.
Scott Baigent amassed 110 rushing yards on 10 carries and scored a major while Tyler Martin racked up 140 rushing yards on 12 carries for the victors.
Ethan Murphy scored on a 25 yard touchdown reception. Drew MacIssac had 65 receiving yards on three catches and scored a major while Benson Auld accumulated 54 yards on three catches and found the end zone once.
Defensively, David Dean recorded three sacks and registered four solo tackles. Additionally, Nate Adams caught an interception.
“Halifax West is a well-coached and talented team,” commented Phoenix Co-Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Jeff Lawley after the game. “Watch for them to have great success in playoffs!”
In spite of turning in a solid performance for the win, the defending provincial champions need to shore up one area of their game before their postseason begins.
“There were too many unforced penalties on our offense,” assessed Lawley. “We need to have a greater focus on reducing these as they can be drive killers.”
While the Warriors were already trailing 21-0 after the first quarter, the Warriors were still competitive throughout the game and hope to carry on that competitiveness into the postseason.
“We got down to a very good team after the first quarter, but the players didn’t give up and fought hard for the next three quarters,” said Warriors Head Coach Dave Kelly. “We have to take the lesson we learned from this game to play hard and carry it into the playoffs because we will face some tough teams in the Tier 2 playoffs.”
CFC#35 CHARLES P ALLEN CHEETAHS 59 COLE HARBOUR CAVALIERS 0:
The rain and wind conditions did not slow down CFC#35 Charles P Cheetahs as they ended their regular season campaign with a 59-0 crushing of Cole Harbour Cavaliers.
Taylor MacDonald tallied a major on a punt return as well as added 121 rushing yards on eight carries and two touchdowns.
Running back Aidan Majury also ran into the end zone twice and 124 rushing yards on 13 carries. Will Chamberlain and Jesse Boudreau also added majors for the Cheetahs.
Greg Hutchins figured prominently on the scoreboard for the 8-0 Cheetahs. Not only did he connect with quarterback Sean Muir for a touchdown, but he also added eight conversions and three rouges.
Of note, the Cheetahs defense finished the regular season without allowing an offensive point. In the game itself, Boudreau registered six tackles while Matt Bayne added four tackles to lead the unit.
SIR JOHN A MACDONALD FLAMES 41, COBEQUID EDUCATION CENTRE COUGARS 6:
Sir John A MacDonald Flames finished first in the Scotia Division with a 41-6 victory over Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars.
The key to the Flames engulfment of the Cougars was the play of the defensive unit.
“SJA defeated CEC with a strong defensive effort both against the run and the pass,” commented Flames Head Coach Steve Majury. “Our defense controlled the line of scrimmage & did a great job in coverage.”
“Our defense is peaking at the right time.”
Moreover, the Flames’ offensive unit overcame a slow start to turn in an equally good performance.
“Offensively, we started slowly then started executing and scoring on multiple drives in the air as well as on the ground,” explained Majury. “We continue to be explosive with big plays as well as running the ball well.”
As the Flames begin to prepare for the postseason, the team will work on one key area of their game.
“We must continue to focus on our execution as we look forward to our semifinal game this weekend,” added Majury.
For the Cougars, Andrew Murphy registered 11 tackles and amassed 83 yards on six punt returns. Aidan Roy added six tackles and recorded a sack while Adam Kaulbach had seven tackles.
Kyle Scott tallied the lone major for the Cougars and accumulated 56 receiving yards on four catches.
AUBURN DRIVE EAGLES 55, WEST KINGS WOLVERINES 0:
Defense led the way as Auburn Drive Eagles trounced West Kings Wolverines 55-0.
Roe Willis registered 12 tackles while Dion Thomas Hodges added nine tackles to lead the unit in the victory.
“It is hard to single out individuals within this group because Coach (Bryce) Fisher has them playing so hard as a unit that individual stats do not mean anything to them,” said Eagles Head Coach Chris Valardo in his postgame comments. “Our secondary has been tremendous with three take always, our linebackers (Lionel Thompson, Roe Willis and Dylan Wotten) have been outstanding and our defensive line had three sacks and several tackles for a loss in tonight’s win!”
Wotten was also successful on six conversion attempts while quarterback Colin Cluette connected with six different receivers for touchdowns in the game and ran into the end zone for another score.
“Our rookie quarterback Colin Cluette continues to impress by spreading the ball around to his talented receiver corp,” added Valardo.
CENTRAL KINGS GATORS 46, AVON VIEW AVALANCHE 0:
Ben Best rushed for 200 yards and tallied three majors as Central Kings Gators cruised to the 46-0 shutout victory over Avon View Avalanche.
Matt Priestnall added two touchdowns while Clayton Slawer scored a major.
Pivot Jacob Shephard amassed 220 passing yards and also connected with Trace Jarvis for a 70 yard reception along with the passing touchdowns to Priestnall and Slawer.
“The defense played well and had some good performances by Sam Jennings, Tommy Daniels, Isaiah Crossland- Belle, Andrew Bezanson and Riley Bowker,” commented Gators Head Coach Larry Priestnall after the game. “The team played well and finished off the regular season on a good note.”
SYDNEY ACADEMY WILDCATS 33, NORTHEAST KINGS TITANS 0:
The Sydney Academy Wildcats finish their inaugural season on a high note as the team earned a 33-0 shutout victory over Northeast Kings Titans.
While the Titans lost their final game of the regular season, three players turned in solid performance as it was their final game in a Titans jersey.
“Once again Eric Main played the entire game for us,” commented Titans Coach Scott Pope after the game. “He became our iron man all season and didn’t hesitate to step up to the plate each and every game that we had.”
“He was a force all season long on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Brandon Bigelow and Will Keddy also had strong games today with Keddy running for over 100 yards on kick returns and at the running back position. Brandon Bigelow had his strongest game of the year in his final appearance in a Titans jersey. He had a total of 15 tackles solo or combined with Main. As well he had a solid running game at fullback gaining important yards for first downs. These three are all graduating this year and have put their heart and soul into the program.”
Additionally, three other players left their mark on the 2013 season.
“Two other players that deserve credit are Gavin Schofield and Michael MacBurnie,” added Pope. “Schofield started his first game at quarterback and played admirably given the task that he was given for today.”
“He also had a strong game on defense making some good plays in the secondary. MacBurnie a rookie played a strong game on special teams and stepped up on the defensive side of the ball. Rodolfo Valdez had another strong game on the kicking front averaging 40 yards per punt.”
Turnovers proved costly for the Titans in their game against the Wildcats.
“We had too many fumbles in the game today,” assessed Pope. “This hurt us whenever we were starting to make headway with the ball.”
“Two turnovers turned into quick touchdowns for Sydney Academy. They also had an effective running game which we were only able to contain a few times. If we were able to contain the run the score could have been very different.”
All in all, the Titans progressed as a team as the season went on and are already looking ahead to 2014 and beyond.
“There was some growth with the team this year and we are looking forward to next year working to continue to make the team a success in the future,” said Pope.
HORTON GRIFFINS 38, DR. JOHN HUGH GILLIS ROYALS 7:
Player/Game Stats and comments not available at press time.
JL ILSLEY JUDGES 24 LOCKVIEW DRAGONS 0:
The JL Ilsley Judges rebounded from two consecutive losses to defeat the Lockview Dragons 24-0. This marks the first time in six years that the Judges have defeated the Dragons.
Joe Stuckless led the way with 153 rushing yards on 16 carries and 61 yard touchdown score.
In relief of injured pivot Ben LeBlanc, Liam Thompson connected with Riley Ambrose for a 71 yard touchdown reception and ran into the end zone for an eight yard score.
As for the Judges defense Eric Bowdridge and John Harris combined for 14 tackles while Jacob Brown picked off the ball twice in the final five minutes of the game.
Cheetahs Photo Credit: Karrie Ann Buchanan
Phoenix Photo Credit: Cathy Connell
Griffins Photo Credit: Troy Davidson
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