On Sunday afternoon, two rivals will square off in arguably the most highly anticipated game of the season. Both the Citadel Phoenix and Sir John A MacDonald Flames know the stakes are high and how much is riding on this one single game.
“This is a huge game for both teams,” comments Phoenix co-head coach and defensive coordinator Jeff Lawley.
Flames head coach Alan Wetmore thinks that the buildup surrounding this game is great for the players.
“I am happy that there is a game that all the kids can get excited about,” says Wetmore. “It makes for a great experience in their lives.”
For the last couple of seasons, the Phoenix has had the Flames’ number on the field. When the two teams met in the NSSAFFL league championship final in 2010, the Phoenix won their third consecutive title with a 45-7 win over the Flames. That marked the first time the Flames reached the league championship final in their seven year existence in the league.
On Sunday September 25th, 2011, these two teams squared off in what would be their only matchup of the entire season. Once again, the Phoenix defeated the Flames 36-23 en route to successfully defending their league championship title for the fourth straight time.
Both teams are coming into the 2012 NSSAFFL campaign under different circumstances. The defending Tier 1 Provincial Champions are a much younger and inexperienced team and could be vulnerable. Meanwhile, the Flames are starting on a clean slate after a very disappointing 2011 campaign and already appear to be a serious contender for the league championship.
Both teams realize the importance and the far reaching effects of this game.
“Playing against one of the best organization in the country gives our guys the opportunity to raise their level and in turn raise their standards,” explains Wetmore. “It is a great opportunity to bring more out of them as people.”
“Citadel is the bench mark for all of us and playing them and always makes us aware of how good we have to be to be able to win around here. Our guys are very competitive, motivated young men naturally and they always go out to try to represent themselves as best they can, no matter who they are playing.”
For their part, the Phoenix has been preparing for this matchup and knows it may be one of the toughest tests they will face in 2012.
“Sir John A is an extremely well coached team and we have great respect for their program so in order for us to compete with them on Sunday, our young team will need to play disciplined football,” comments Lawley. “Our coaching staff has been working hard with our young players to implement a system for them to compete.”
“We are hopeful they will be ready to compete with a top ranked team like Sir John A.”
The four time defending provincial champions exactly know what will dictate their success on Sunday afternoon against the Flames.
“The biggest factor for us to be in this game on Sunday will be how our lineman on both sides of the ball deal with the terrific athletes that Sir John A boasts on their roster,” assesses the Phoenix co-head coach. “Sir John A have a terrific kicking game that we see as a competitive edge for them to win the field position game.”
“Although we only have a few grade 12’s, we expect them to lead our team.”
On offense, the Phoenix hope that quarterback Darius Lamiere and receiver Drew MacIsaac will create some magic on the field to lead the team to victory. Additionally, they will be looking to offensive lineman Dequan Skeir to contribute while providing leadership.
Defensively, the team will be led by a core of veteran players in defensive end Nick Giacomantonio, linebacker Matt Nettle and defensive back Chris Folkins.
As for the Flames, they will be led by linebacker Keith Langille, defensive back John Perrott, receiver Nick Hartling and running back Hayden Clarke. Additional players to watch for include Chandler Tufts, Thomas Hoyt, Hezekiah Armstrong and Brian Leader.
Ultimately, Wetmore expects the team to respond in this pivotal game due to all the tools the coaching staff have given the players. It is the hope that those skills will enable the team to pull off an upset of epic magnitude.
“I expect all of our players to step up to the occasion,” explains the Flames head coach. “It is our job to give them the resources to deal with the pressure of the situation and then hope that they do.”
“As a high school football coach, you go out every day regardless of who you are playing, and coach the guys very complicated things with the hope that your methods of coaching is having an impact. It’s never about the other team.”
While the Flames do have obstacles they need to overcome, Wetmore hopes the team will have done enough away from the field to prepare for Sunday. Their ultimate goal is to reverse the fortunes of previous matchups against their opponent and finally have the Phoenix’s number on the field.
“It’s about the challenges you face day in and day out on the practice field so for me, I just hope to be a better team, players and coaches than we were last week,” comments Wetmore. “Planning for an opponent is for professionals.”
“After a 16 hour day and then putting the kids to bed, maybe I can put some Citadel game film on the laptop while I shovel dinner down my throat and watch NFL Network! All that we can do is try to be the best that we can be on Sunday and hope it is enough.”
The Sir John A MacDonald Flames will host the four time defending NSSAFFL Tier 1 Provincial Champions, the Citadel Phoenix in arguably the highly anticipated game of the season on Sunday September 16, 2012 at their school. Kickoff is 1:00pm.
Citadel Photos 1, 3 and 5 courtesy of Cathy Connell
Sir John A Photos 2 and 4 courtesy of Mark Kays
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