Early in the first quarter, Brett Lauther (Truro, NS) got the Huskies on the scoreboard as he successfully booted a 12 yard field goal to put the Huskies up 3-0. The X-Men tied it halfway through the frame as kicker Jeremy Ford (Halifax, NS) responded with a successful 18 yard field goal attempt.
At the 15 minute mark of the quarter, Huskies pivot Jean Legault (Sherbrooke, QC), who started in the game in place of Drew Jacobsen (Scandia, AB), connected with Kyle Wuthrich for an 11 yard touchdown pass. With the successful conversion attempt, the Huskies took over the lead by a 10-3 margin.
The Huskies continued to roll in the second quarter, as running back Michael Dawes (Winnipeg, MB) scored a major on a two yard run at the 7:01 mark. Subsequent to that, Wuthrich would found the end zone for the second time in the game as he connected with Legault for a 44 yard touchdown pass. The victors added to the score sheet when they added a safety and Lauther was successful on three straight field goal attempts (34, 39 and 21 yards).
At halftime, the Huskies enjoyed a 35-3 lead over the X-Men.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Huskies would once again struck in the final frame of the game. Offensive dynamo Melvin Abankwah (Etobicoke, ON) would score a major on a six yard run at 7:39 of the fourth quarter to increase the Huskies lead to 42-3. Finally, Dave Sabourin (Ottawa, ON) would put the game out of reach as he leapt into the end zone on a 1 yard run.
For his stellar performance, Abankwah was named player of the game as he amassed 206 yards on 18 carries (average of 11.4 yards per carry) and one touchdown in the victory.
This season, the Huskies have struggled to get find their offensive game. However, today it was evident on the field that the team had found it. Huskies head coach Perry Marchese said the success could be attributed to the play of Legault, who had eight completions in 15 attempts, 142 passing yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
“Jean Legault played just a perfect game,” explained Marchese. “It was exactly what we needed from him.”
“He’s an extremely smart quarterback. He made me look good in a lot of situations and change some plays. He had the day he needed to have today and we’ve very happy he did.”
The Huskies defense was consistent in delivering great performances once again. Neil King (Edmonton, AB) registered eight solo tackles to lead the Huskies defensive unit. Jonathan Langa (Toronto, ON) chipped in with six solo tackles, one assisted solo and a sack. RJ Cornish (Winnipeg, MB) and Kyle Norris (Stittsville, ON) each contributed with four solo tackles and one assisted tackle. Defensive lineman Rob Jubenville (Oshawa, ON) forced a fumble and registered a sack in the victory.
Marchese praised the consistent performance of the Huskies defensive unit and special teams throughout the season.
“It’s the same as it’s been all year,” commented the Huskies head coach. “They’ve been fantastic.”
“The teams, the defense have been fantastic all year round and they were great again today.”
Next week will mark Marchese’s first AUS playoff appearance as head coach of the Huskies. He said that he is pleased that the team will have the opportunity to play in the postseason.
“I’m excited for our guys,” reflected Marchese. “They’ve earned it and they deserve it.”
“Other than some scores, we’ve had a very competitive and hardworking year. We’re really excited to get a chance to play another football game.”
Overall, the team has exceeded the Huskies head coach’s expectations for the 2012 season.
“I don’t have win, loss score or stats expectations,” commented Marchese. “My expectation is that we compete every single time we step out on the field.”
“For the most part this year, we’ve done that.”
Now the focus for the Huskies turns to their opponents next week, the Mounties. One player that the team will look to shut down next week is rookie running back Jordan Botel.
“They’ve got a horse of a running back,” described the Huskies head coach. “The kid’s a beast who has 30 to 40 carries a game.”
“He’s a small target, runs really low, and bounces off of people and spins. He’ll be a focus for our defense for sure.”
Moreover, the Huskies will have to find a way to crack the Mounties defensive unit.
“They did a great job last time we played in stopping our run game,” added Marchese. “It’s no big surprise to anybody if I said we we’re a “run first team”.”
“They did a great job stopping our run so we’re going to have to address it.”
However, the Huskies believe that they can prevail next week, in spite of knowing it will be a huge battle on the field.
“We really do feel like as a group, if we bring a lot of energy, enthusiasm and excitement to the game, we’re pretty tough to beat and the fact we threw the ball pretty well today, which is going to help us next week,” said the Huskies head coach. “Mount Allison’s a great football team.”
“Last time we played them, they beat us so we’re expecting a war and we’re going to prepare for it.”
Photos courtesy of Mona Ghiz
(website: http://www.ghizphotos.ifp3.com/)
(twitter: http://twitter.com/vohra_ameeta)
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