Fredericton
High School Varsity Black Kats Football |
# |
Name | Position |
# |
Name | Position | |
3 | Greg Madsen | DB | 48 | Connor MacMillan | DL | |
5 | Andrew Hickey | QB | 49 | Dylan McGuire | OL | |
6 | Bobby McIntyre, Captain | WR/DB/QB | 50 | Ben Thompson | OL/DL | |
10 | Simon Bissonette | DB | 52 | Dylan Sullivan, Captain | OL/DL | |
11 | Elias Youssef | DB | 53 | Dan Reid | LB/P | |
15 | Chris Murary | DB | 55 | Fraser Boldon | LB | |
16 | Tyson Piercy | SB | 56 | Zach Piers | DL | |
18 | Matti Rautio | DB | 57 | Brad Richardson | LB | |
19 | Heidi Erdle | SB | 63 | Mark Wright | OL | |
20 | Mike Ballem | DB | 64 | Oliver Gorman-Asal | OL | |
21 | Shawn Spencer | LB | 65 | Greg Ryan | OL | |
22 | Bert Atwin | DB | 67 | David Bryden | OL | |
27 | John Alexander | DB | 69 | Steve Soucy | OL | |
28 | Ben Collins | RB | 77 | Mike MacDonald | DL | |
31 | Mike Kennah | WR | 80 | Kevin Stewart | WR | |
32 | Justin Conn, Captain | LB/K | 85 | David Carr | SB | |
34 | Derek Madsen, Captain | RB | 87 | Mark Buckingham | WR | |
36 | David Kingston | LB | 88 | Andrew Hubbard, Captain | WR | |
39 | Ian MacDonald | RB | 95 | Zach Fitch | DL | |
42 | Paul Anderson | OL/DL | 99 | Brendan Lawrence | DL |
Head Coach: Larry Wisniewski |
Assistants: Gary Norcott, Jared Harding, Murray
Appleby, Nathan Stokes, Ian MacMillan, Eric Neilson, O.J. Burnett, Don Davis |
Trainer: Sarah Dewitt |
Fredericton High School Varsity Black Kats Football |
2005 Schedule |
||||
Date |
Opponent |
Field |
Time |
Score |
Regular Season |
- | |||
Sa Sep. 10 | Bye |
- |
- | - |
Sa Sep. 17 | at Hampton High School Huskies | Hampton | 1:00 PM | L 0-1 |
Sa Sep. 24 | vs Saint John High School Greyhounds | The Jungle | 1:00 PM | W 41-0 |
F Sep. 30 | at MacNaughton High School Highlanders | Rocky Stone | 4:00 PM | W 41-8 |
Sa Oct. 8 |
vs Oromocto High School Blues |
The Jungle |
1:00 PM | W 16-0 |
Sa Oct. 15 | vs Harrison Trimble High School Trojans | The Jungle | 1:00 PM | W 52-6 |
Sa Oct. 22 | 5th
Annual North-South Bowl Game at Leo Hayes High School Lions |
The Lions Den |
1:00 PM |
W 33-0 |
Playoffs |
||||
Sa Oct. 29 |
Quarter-Final vs Tantramar Regional High School Titans |
The Jungle | 1:00 PM | W 48-8 |
Sa Nov. 5 |
Semi-Final vs MacNaughton High School Highlanders |
The Jungle | 1:00 PM | W 31-0 |
Sa Nov. 12 |
Final vs Oromocto High School Blues |
The Jungle | 1:00 PM | W 26-9 |
Week 10- Nov.
11-12 As published on page C3 on November 15, 2005 McIntyre provided plenty of inspiration for Black Kats in their title quest Schoolyard
McIntyre was featured for his work in local minor football circles as a prelude to Saturday's provincial high school football final. He was quick to point out how proud he was of the Capital Area Minor Football Association's contribution to a game featuring minor alumni on both the Oromocto High School and Fredericton High School teams. But as for his secret source of pride, and no doubt concern, he had to keep that quiet. Quiet, that is, until a minute remained in the final and the Black Kats had all but lifted the Ed Skiffington Trophy, emblematic of the provincial high school football championship, after beating the Blues 26-9. That's when McIntyre came over to me to tell me his secret. "My son, Bobby, played this whole game on a broken leg," he said. I was astounded, and displaying my well-honed reporter instincts, I replied with a sharp insightful question. "Huh?" I said. "A what? Did you say a leg? Really?" Well, Edward R. Murrow wouldn't have been proud but who could blame me? After all, Bobby McIntyre had just been one of the stars of the game, two interceptions and a bunch of other stuff. But I did find out what Terry McIntyre was talking about once I picked my jaw up off the ground. It seems Bobby had been injured against Leo Hayes in the final game of the regular season. He was pulled down from the side and the torque of the tackle snapped his fibula. Ouch! I wanted to know if McIntyre, the son, had taken some kind of freezing agent, morphine or some such thing. No, his father told me, just Ibuprofen. "He's one tough little guy," said Terry McIntyre beaming with pride. Yes he is. I catch a cold and I'm home for three days. "I didn't play last week," Bobby McIntyre said after the game. "And I couldn't stand watching from the sidelines anymore." So he used the emotion, the adrenaline and yes the Ibuprofen, sucked it up and went out to play the final game of his high school career because he will graduate in the spring of next year. "This is the game of my life," McIntyre said fighting back tears of joy no doubt in advance of some tears of pain that would follow when the adrenaline left his system some hours in the future. "I played the game of my life. I'll probably never play like that again. It was the most beautiful game I've ever played and I'm just ecstatic." The only time it was obvious was after his second interception of the game around the Oromocto 40-yard line. He went down and stayed down for a while. When he got up, he limped a bit, but was soon back in the game. "I landed right on the fracture," he said, and again I add, OUCH! "I hurt for five seconds but when I knew we had the ball, the pain went away."
Daily Gleaner | Football
mpower@dailygleaner.com After Bobby McIntyre's second interception of the day, he got up slowly, and appeared to be milking the moment in front of a large group of Oromocto High School fans. That might have been what the fans thought. But they would have perhaps been a tad more sympathetic if they had known the truth. The truth is that McIntyre of the Fredericton High School Black Kats played the entire provincial football final game Saturday with a broken leg. Not only did he play, but he played well, witness the two picks, as the Black Kats returned to the top of the provincial high school football mountain with a 26-9 win over the OHS Blues at FHS Field. "That will rank high in my memories of this sport," said FHS coach Larry Wisniewski of McIntyre's effort. "That was one of the turning points of the game when he made his interceptions. They were emotional lifts for the team in a very tough football game, a game that was decided by heart and courage." The win gives the Black Kats the Ed Skiffington Trophy for the second time in three years and 11th time since 1986. Despite a broken fibula suffered in the Kats' final regular season game, McIntyre was an integral part of a Black Kats defence that all but grounded the potent offence of the Blues. "I couldn't stand the thought of watching this from the sidelines," McIntyre said choking back his emotion. "As the game got closer, the leg felt better and better, the adrenaline kicked in and I was able to focus on playing the game." The Blues were held to just 144 total yards of offence and although they got their one touchdown-and a two point convert through the air, it was the only dent the passing game put in the Black Kats all day.Brian VonRichter's passing arm had been a central weapon for the Blues all season but he was held to 55 yards through the air, completing only four of 15 attempts and being intercepted three times. That left the Blues to try to win the game on the ground, and they came close. In fact, this game was tied 9-9 with nine minutes to play. OHS running back Kyle Roesler carried 18 times for 79 yards, good but not good enough against a gritty Fredericton defence led by McIntyre, one among several key defensive cogs on this day. Kats took control of what had been an evenly played game going into the final quarter, scoring 17 points over the final eight minutes. Fourteen of those points in the final 2:21. The OHS defence did its part most of the way before finally failing in the closing minutes. The Blues kept the Kats to 199 yards of total offence, much of it coming late in the day. Derek Madsen was the workhorse running the ball with 15 carries resulting in 68 yards. His longest run was a 27-yard touchdown gallop with less than a minute to play. FHS quarterback Andrew Hickey also stepped up to put his mark on the win. Hickey's passing didn't play much of a role as he was just two of 10 for 21 yards and picked off twice. His running, however, was perhaps the difference in the game as he ran for 64 yards on eight carries scoring two touchdowns. The Kats built a 9-0 lead over the first 18 minutes. They scored a touchdown in the first quarter on a nine-yard run by Hickey, however, Justin Conn missed the convert though. Midway though the second quarter FHS added a field goal on a Conn kick from 21-yards out. Both those scores came as a result of failed laterals by the Blues that instead hit the turf and became free balls recovered by quick as a cat Kats. But FHS also made mistakes and let the Blues back into the game with a minute to play in the half. With OHS on its own 36-yard line, the Blues worked a hook and ladder gimmick play for a major gain. That was bad but worse for FHS were a pair of flags including an objectionable conduct penalty that placed the ball on the Kats' 14-yard line. It opened the door for a 12 yard VonRichter to Jeremy Bigger strike for a touchdown. Those two then hooked up for a two-point convert to send the teams to the half with FHS now only up 9-8. OHS completed the comeback with 29 seconds left in the third quarter when Jory Smith's 30-yard field punt was wide but through the end zone for a single point. OHS appeared to have momentum but the Kats dug deep and hit back and eventually took control. "They had thrown every thing they had at us at that point," Hickey said. "We knew we had something left though. We knew we could still get it done." Starting at their own 35-yard line, the Kats launched an 11-play, four-minute drive to set up a 15-yard field goal by Conn with 8:20 to play. "The turning point came when Andrew Hickey fumbled the ball (on the drive), but picked it up and ran a broken play for a big gain instead of it being a turnover," McIntyre said. "That was maybe the difference between two great teams in a close game." OHS coach Rob Wilson agreed that was the beginning of the end. "They went on that two snap and fumbled. We would have had the ball, tie game, eight or nine minutes left. It was huge," Wilson said. "Right there, if anything drove Fredericton to the win it was right there, and we just ran out of steam." It was all FHS would need. OHS would get the ball four more times combining to move forward 15 yards in total and losing the ball on a punt, two interceptions and a turnover on downs. While that was going on the Black Kats offence supplied 14 nail in the coffin points on a 10-yard touchdown run by Hickey and a 27-yard ramble to the end zone by Madsen to finally slam the door tightly shut. "Anybody that was here knows this was a game much closer than the score," Wilson summed up. "At the end we got forced into a position where we had to take gambles and a very good (FHS) team won those gambles and won the game. We had a good day, they had a great day." NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
The Fredericton High School Black Kats captured their second provincial 12-man football championship in three years with a 26-9 win at home over the Oromocto Blues in the Ed Skiffington Trophy game on Saturday. Quarterback Andrew Hickey had two touchdowns and Justin Conn added two field goals for the Black Kats, who lost 13-9 to the MacNaughton Highlanders in last year's championship game. It's the 11th title in school history for FHS, while OHS is still looking for its first banner. The Blues have come up short in the final in three of the past nine seasons. "Neither team would say they executed particularly well, but it was really a good football game on an emotional level. The kids know each other and they pretty much knew what to expect from each other," said Kats coach Larry Wisniewski. Conn split the uprights to break a 9-9 tie in the third quarter and the FHS defence took it from there. Hickey ran for his second TD late in the fourth quarter and Derek Madsen tacked on another to round out the scoring. Brian Von Richter found Jeremy Biggar from 12 yards out for the lone OHS major and the duo connected again for a two-point conversion. Jory Smith punted a single to tie it late in the third quarter. "Both teams wanted to play very hard, both did and it became a game of courage and heart. We were lucky enough to come out with the championship," said Wisniewski. Two players from each school were recognized with major awards earlier in the week. Fredericton's Andrew Hubbard was named the Western Conference's most outstanding player and teammate Dylan Sullivan got the nod as outstanding offensive lineman. Oromocto's Kyle Roesler was named outstanding offensive player and Curtis Fox received the outstanding defensive lineman award. Oromocto's coaches, led by Rob Wilson, were recognized with the coaching staff of the year award. Dave Breen of the Hampton Huskies was named outstanding defensive player, rounding out the major award winners. Joining Hickey and Hubbard on the offensive all-star team are teammates Dylan Sullivan, Ben Thompson and Derek Madsen. Oromocto's Jeremy Biggar and Jory Smith were also named all-stars, joining Roesler. Other offensive all-stars are Piers Doiron and Joel Seale of the Saint John Greyhounds, Keith Judge of the Huskies and Patrick Casey of the Leo Hayes Lions. Conn, recognized for his efforts at linebacker, earned a spot on the defensive all-stars, along with fellow Black Kats John Alexander, Zach Piers and Bobby McIntyre. Mike McCarthy, Ryan Soles and Matt Flemming represent Leo Hayes on the defensive all-stars. Eric Smith and Curtis Fox got the nod from OHS, as did Phil Dobson and Brandon Humphrey of the Greyhounds. Breen rounds out the defensive all-stars. In the Eastern Conference, Randy LeBlanc of the Tantramar Titans was named player of the year. Shea Lenehan of the Riverview Royals and Nicholas Kukkonen of the Harrison Trimble Trojans tied for the offensive player of the year award and Josh Davies of MacNaughton got the nod as defensive player of the year. Royals Jeff Crossman (offensive) and Chad Anderson (defensive) swept the linemen awards. Riverview, led by rookie head coach Mark Lenehan, also picked up the coaching staff of the year award, while the L'Odyssée Olympiens were presented with a fair play award after their 0-6 debut season. Riverview also led the Eastern Conference with nine all-stars. Crossman, Lenehan, Sterling Keirstead and Greg Diamond made the offensive team while Anderson, Andy Stultz, Tom Budd, Mike Miller and Kyle MacEachern got the nod on defense. MacNaughton placed Shawn Moores, Mike Earle and Jordan Richard on the offensive team while Kukkonen, Tyler Gillcash and Donovan Boucher represent Harrison Trimble. Stephen Bohan and Randy LeBlanc of Tantramar, Scott LeBlanc of L'Odyssée and Brendan Saunders of the Moncton Purple Knights round out the offensive all-stars. On the defensive side of the ball, Harrison Trimble's Corey Gillcash, Alderic Keith, Justin Wright and Matt Kenny were recognized, as were Lucas Wilson, Kylan Estabrooks and Jeff Bird of Tantramar. Rounding out the defensive all-stars are Josh Davies and Bryce Wade of MacNaughton, Marc Daigle of L'Odyssée and Jordan Beyea of Moncton. Tom Lutes of Riverview and Mike McCarthy of Leo Hayes received the Bill Glendinning Award for sportsmanship and academics. NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
Telegraph-Journal Jamie Barefoot proved that he's the best 10-man high school football player in New Brunswick and teammate Colin Flynn-Breen wasn't too shabby either as the Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders won their second straight provincial championship with a 41-14 win over the St. Stephen Spartans Friday. Barefoot, who received the 10-man division's most outstanding player award on Wednesday, and Flynn-Breen were an unstoppable combination as the Crusaders battled back from a 14-13 halftime deficit. Both schools had vocal support as fans on the hill at Simonds High School took turns drowning each other out with fight songs and megaphones, but KVHS had the edge on the field and completed its second straight undefeated season. Flynn-Breen found a seam and chugged in for a 65-yard rushing touchdown early in the third quarter and Barefoot added a long run of his own to make it 26-14. Barefoot then delivered on defence with the game still in doubt in the fourth quarter, intercepting a rainbow from St. Stephen quarterback Matt Sode and returning it 16 yards to set up Flynn-Breen's fourth TD rumble of the day. Barefoot added a second major and KVHS tacked on a safety to round out the scoring. "It's amazing, there's no words to describe it," said Flynn-Breen during a raucous victory celebration that included dancing, hugging, team pictures and an impromptu on-field ho-down led by banjo-playing Crusader Ben Reinhart. "We knew what we could do. We just had to come out and perform." Barefoot and Flynn-Breen said the Crusaders coaching staff, led by Rob Martel, challenged them to raise their game in the second half. "The coaches talked about us having to step it up in the second half," said Barefoot. "Our defence was really bad in the first half, so we had to step it up." "We knew they were going to come out hard," said Flynn-Breen. "We just had to come out harder and play smash-mouth football." St. Stephen had been battling, slowly working its way up the field with first downs when Barefoot closed the door with his interception. "I was watching the quarterback. I saw his eyes going to that side and I saw the guy cut up," said Barefoot. "I was able to see it almost in slow motion. It was a good pass, but I was just able to get there before him." His team winning the Nick Desilets Memorial Trophy capped an incredibly successful year for Barefoot, who had never played organized football before this season. Primarily a basketball player, he said he never expected to achieve so much in just one year. "When I first started, I figured if I could get on the field, I'd be happy. I just wanted to play," he said. "To have a season like this, with such great people around, was just great. I couldn't have imagined this." St. Stephen wasn't expected to be in the final, much less win it. Sode, who was named the division's outstanding offensive player, said he was proud of the way his team battled after a strong playoff run put them in the final against the powerhouse Crusaders. "We fought hard all game, we played our game and did what we could," he said. "It would have been nice to win it, but we had a pretty good season." Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
mpower@dailygleaner.com Try as they might the Oromocto High School Blues can't portray tomorrow's New Brunswick High School Football League championship game as just another game. The Blues will travel 15 minutes down the highway to visit the Fredericton High School Black Kats for a one game showdown to decide the championship in the first ever Ed Skiffington Trophy game between two local teams. Game time at FHS field is 1 p.m. "It is just another football game in a way," said OHS coach Rob Wilson. "And then again it's the biggest game most of our kids have ever played. But we want to keep the focus on doing what we have done the last few weeks and not trying to do too much." And of course it also pits the two long time regional rivals against each other, and yes there is a rivalry, not approaching the historical and sometimes ugly competition between the hockey teams from the two schools. "It's more a case of having a lot of respect for each other," said Blues receiver/running back Eric Smith. "We know each other well. It gets pretty hot when we play, but for the most part it's more respecting each other than not liking each other." The Blues are 0-for-2 in championship appearances. The Black Kats, of course, are perennial contenders. "We're very aware of what they can do," said Wilson. "We've been giving it all a lot of thought, we know what the keys to their team are and they know us just as well. In that way it's different from the usual playoff game where you're up against a team you may not even have played this season." These teams went head-to-head. In fact, the Blues' only loss in a season in which they've gone 7-1 was a 16-0 loss to the Kats on a cold, rainy Oct. 8. "We're not thinking about that game at all," said OHS running back Kyle Roesler. "That was a regular season game and this is playoffs. It's a totally different mindset. This is a much bigger game. We are just going out there with a clean slate to show them what we're made of." The Black Kats are also 7-1, with their lone loss coming in their season opener, 1-0 at the hands of the Hampton Huskies. Roesler is expecting the game to come down to the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win. "That's the key," he said. "Whoever executes their game plan the best should win. "If you want to look back at that game we lost to them that's the one thing we can take away from it: that day we didn't execute, we made some mistakes that killed us. "Now we have more experience, we're more confident. We've practiced a lot since then and we've got some guys in the lineup we didn't have the first time we played." One of the biggest factors in Oromocto's confidence is the fact they beat a highly motivated tough as nails Saint John High School team in the semifinal last week. "If anybody had any doubts I think they went away against (Saint John)," Roesler said. "That was as rough and intense a game as any of us have ever played, and we won it. We showed everybody that we're for real." Roesler has blossomed into one of the best running backs in the province in his second seasoon with the Blues. He can expect to play a big part in the Blues' game plan and the Black Kats plan to defend. "There's some pressure on me," Roesler said. "But on the other hand I only do what I do because of my teammates. If I make a bunch of yards on a carry it's more about the blocking of the guys in front of me than anything I do. In that way I don't think any one guy will win this game, it'll be a team effort." Win or lose the Blues have been a big part of the school year so far at OHS. "There's a lot of talk around the school," Roesler said. "That's great. A lot of people are excited." Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
bhunt@dailygleaner.com Terry McIntyre will be a proud parent Saturday afternoon, no matter what happens. His youngest son Bobby will suit up with the Fredericton High School Black Kats when they pursue the New Brunswick High School Football League championship Saturday. But in a sense, they’re all his boys. “I personally know almost every kid on both teams,” said McIntyre, whose 10-year stint as president of the Capital Area Minor Football Association officially ends next month. “I wish them all well. Even though my son is on the Black Kats, I have to sit back and take a broader view of things.” Most of the Black Kats and the Oromocto High School Blues, the team the Kats will battle for supremacy in provincial pigskin circles at FHS Field at 1 p.m., are products of the Capital Area Minor Football Association, the organization over which McIntyre has presided for the past decade. He’s the man who spearheaded the expansion of the program into Oromocto in 1996. Many of the kids who were at the grassroots of the program then will be front and centre in The Jungle -- that’s what they call FHS Field on game days -- Saturday. He’ll be just another parent on the side hill overlooking the field Saturday. It’s fitting perhaps, in that he’ll get a good overview of the whole thing. “In 1996, we started a squirt flag football league, mainly because Bobby didn’t have anywhere to play,” Terry remembers. “He bugged me for a year. The team I coached that year had Bobby, Andrew Hickey, Andrew Hubbard and Steve Soucy.” All are keys if the Kats hope to nail down the provincial championship Saturday. Hickey, of course, is the quarterback; Hubbard a key wide receiver and kick return specialist; McIntyre a wide receiver and Soucy a key offensive lineman. “I taught those guys everything they know,” he said, tongue planted firmly in cheek. Despite their vast football experience, none have ever won a championship -- a drought they hope to end against the Blues Saturday. And while Terry hopes for a happy ending for number 6 -- Bobby -- he feels good for all of them. “We’re quite proud of the fact that the two teams are from here and, on average, 80 per-cent of the kids from the two teams came out of our system,” he said. “But I don’t measure our success by how many championships we have or how many the high school has. It’s a feather in the hat. But if I got into it and measured my success by that, I probably got into it for the wrong reasons. I got into it for some kids to have some fun, respect themselves and respect others and those higher goals.” FHS running back Derek Madsen considers the Saturday showcase a dream matchup.
“In JV (junior varsity) we had the finals in the Capital Area, and they beat us in a close game. So this will be the once and for all final game to prove that we’re number one.” McIntyre remembers that game well. It was an 11-0 victory for the bantam Blues that day. The best of both teams have blended together on Capital Area elite teams in the spring. The Kats won the head-to-head meeting in the regular season, a 16-0 mudslide on Thanksgiving Weekend. “I hope they get to play on a relatively dry field on a relatively dry day, so they can display their skills.” McIntyre predicts a spirited, but sportsmanlike contest. He believes it will be close. “This one could conceivably go into overtime,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to be high scoring,” He won’t pick a winner. “They know one another extremely well,” he said. “There are some guys who are friends with one another even though they’re on opposing teams. That causes me great joy. The game is a violent one, but you’re less apt to cheap shot someone who is a friend of yours.” They’re all McIntyre’s friends. “Even though my son is on the Black Kats, I’ve got a lot of kids on that Oromocto team I have great affection for,” he said. “I’ve known some of these kids for six, seven and eight years and I’ve watched them in their triumphs and in their sorrows.” He’ll watch -- and feel for -- both Saturday. NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
Telegraph-Journal Ben Reinhart hopes to play a victory song on Friday afternoon. Reinhart, 17, is an offensive lineman and linebacker for the Kennebecasis Valley High School Crusaders football team. He and his KVHS teammates (8-0) host the St. Stephen Spartans (6-3) at 1 o'clock Friday afternoon to do battle for the Nick Desilets Memorial Trophy, symbolic of New Brunswick 10-man high school football supremacy. The only other Week 10 game is set for Saturday, also at 1 p.m., as the Oromocto Blues travel to Fredericton to take on the Black Kats for the Ed Skiffington Trophy, the top prize on the 12-man circuit. The Crusaders will be looking to pluck their second straight provincial championship banner and, if successful, Reinhart will pluck out a tune on his banjo. It's a post-game tradition he started as a rookie last season and the Crusaders haven't lost a game since. "Ever since last year, about three or four games in, after we won I always brought the banjo and we had a ho-down," explained Reinhart, who has been playing both banjo and high school football for about two years. "It's a good time to party and celebrate." "He's really good," said teammate Ryan Crouse, a receiver/cornerback who is also a Grade 12 student. "There's not too many banjo players in Quispamsis so I'd say he's top-notch in Quispam." But Crouse said Reinhart is an even better at playing football than he is at playing banjo. "I'd have to say football because he stops points getting on the board and helps put points on the board," said Crouse. Reinhart said he's not sure which he likes better, but he knows he likes to do both on the same day, because that means another KVHS win. "It's a combined passion," he said. With the Spartans on a four-game winning streak and coming off an upset victory over the second-seeded Rothesay High Redhawks, Reinhart knows he and his teammates will have to earn this ho-down. After starting the season 2-3, St. Stephen has picked up four straight wins and hasn't lost since Oct. 8. "It's going to be a tough game to play," said Reinhart. "Since we last played them (a 40-7 KVHS win in Week 4), I think they've improved so much it's hard to even tell what they're going to be like." "Their quarterback (Matt Sode) is fast and he's got a pretty accurate pass," added Crouse, the team's only four-year veteran. "They're going to come after us. It's going to be our toughest challenge in the last two years." If the Crusaders rise to that challenge and win a second straight provincial title, it will be music to their ears. NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
Telegraph-Journal Even the brash, all-jerk Terrell Owens would have trouble coming up with original touchdown celebrations if he saw the end zone as much as St. Stephen Spartans quarterback Matt Sode does. Sode has passed, run and kicked his way onto the scoreboard all season, running the Spartans' offence all the way to Friday's provincial championship game against the host Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders at 1 p.m. But even while ringing up points on the ground, with his arm or with his kicking leg, and being named the league's most outstanding offensive player and all-star at the awards banquet on Wednesday night, Sode remains soft-spoken and humble, a good team guy. "All our guys are pretty much the same way, just toss the ball back to the referee. They don't need to do any dances or anything," said Spartans coach Tom Hart. "That's a reason we've made it this far. It's not because we have the best football players but we think we have probably the best football team." Sode, a Grade 11 student who was a receiver with the Spartans last year - his first season in football - was a reluctant quarterback early on. "I wasn't even sure if I was going to play quarterback this year," he said. The Spartans coaching staff recognized that Sode - who also plays hockey, soccer and rugby - had QB potential and groomed him to lead the offence. "We needed somebody there that would have leadership skills, a lot of athleticism and good decision making," Hart said. "He's shown all that, he's done all that." Sode has had some huge games, including three touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown, six extra points and one punt for a single in a 60-6 win over the St. Malachy's Saints on Oct. 15. "This is only his second year and he looks like he's been doing it for years now," Hart said. But Sode counts last week's 21-14 semi-final win over Rothesay as the highlight of the season so far. He scored a rushing touchdown and kicked an extra point in that game but it was the win and the chance to play for the Nick Desilets Memorial Trophy that made that game special. "For sure, it's Spartan history," Sode said of St. Stephen's first appearance in the championship. The Crusaders are tough and they beat St. Stephen 40-7 on Oct. 1. Sode did the scoring in that loss with a touchdown and an extra point. He's looking for more from himself and his team in the rematch. "It's going to be a tough game but if we play well I think we can pull it off," Sode said. Daily
Gleaner | David Ritchie Daily
Gleaner | Mike Power Week 9- Nov.
4-5 As published on page C1 on November 7, 2005 Blues earn it the ol' fashioned way
mpower@dailygleaner.com The Oromocto High School Blues earned their chance to play for the Ed Skiffington Trophy the hard way. The Blues earned their ticket to Saturday's provincial high school football final against Fredericton High Schol with blood, sweat and bruises. This past Saturday in semifinal action, OHS beat the Saint John Greyhounds 16-6 at OHS Field in an old-fashioned football game featuring stinging hits. It was a battle. "It was a very unusual football game," said visibly relieved OHS coach Rob Wilson moments after the final whistle. "It was really classic football. They (Saint John) came here ready for us. They are so big and strong and they hit us with everything they had." It was the degree of obvious respect between the teams during the game and after that set this one above the ordinary. "They (Saint John) are a great team," said Blues defensive lineman Curtis Fox. "Our hats are off to them. They hit us harder today than any team has this season. They pounded us and we pounded them. Then they would offer you a hand back to your feet. It was quite a game." Indeed it was, and while a pair of second half touchdowns by the Blues decided the outcome on the scoreboard, the game was won primarily by the Blues stopping the Greyhounds four times on key third down conversion attempts. Each stop provided a dramatic reversal for SJHS and a lift for the home side. "Those stops played a big role," said SJHS quarterback Nick Bonner. "If we could have converted on third down, even a couple of times, this would have had a different ending. That's my opinion anyway. "But they made the stops, they played a great defensive game. We wanted it badly but so did they. We came out today thinking we could win this, but so did Oromocto. They have a great team and they earned the win today." The score stood at 1-0 for OHS at halftime, the only point coming on a missed field goal attempt by Eric Smith of the Blues from 25 yards out with a minute remaining in the first quarter. The first half was a collision of two determined defensive squads with OHS being a bit better by virtue of a couple of those third down stops. The most dramatic a third and one blast of the line by Fox that saw him wrap up running back Piers Doiron three feet behind the line with the Greyhounds on the Oromocto 40. "Our defence was talking to each other," Fox said. "We're good at opening a hole in those situations. After that, it's a matter of hitting the hole and making the tackle." One other major difference all day that had a major effect in the outcome was penalties. The 'Hounds were plagued by flags all day while the Blues were nabbed only a couple of times. The calls against Saint John were often badly timed reversing key gains on offence and keeping Oromocto drives alive. "It's a frustrating part of the game," Bonner said. OHS finally put together a scoring drive six minutes into the second half. It started with another stop on third down of the 'Hounds giving the Blues the ball on the Saint John 50.Six play later quarterback Brian VonRichter hit Smith in the end zone on a 19-yard toss for the touchdown. Smith's convert went wide making it 7-0. The Greyhounds picked themselves up and marched back down the field for a touchdown of their own, finishing a seven play drive with a one-yard plunge by Phil Dobson with 2:16 to go in the third quarter. With a missed convert the score stood 7-6. The game and momentum turned on the ensuing kickoff though. Smith received the kick and burst through coverage for a 75-yard scoring dash that sucked the wind out of the Greyhounds sails. "I broke with the ball and I could see my teammates ahead of me blocking," Smith said of the run. "I just ran they did all the work perfectly picking up the blocks, I went for the hole, then looked over my shoulder and saw them chasing me. I thought no way they're catching me." The two-point convert catch by Bigger made the score 15-6. It would be enough for the win. The only scoring in the last quarter was on a missed field goal attempt by Smith that officials blew down mistakenly before Saint John could run the ball clear of the end zone. Given the choice of a do over kick by OHS or allowing the point, Saint John coach Wayne Tipper chose to leave the point on the board. From there, the Blues strategy was simple when they had the ball. They put it in the hands of workhorse back Kyle Roesler who ran for 92 yards on 10 carries over the final 11 minutes, literally running out the clock. Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
bhunt@dailygleaner.com First, Dylan Sullivan buried the medal. Then, he buried the memory. Sullivan and his Fredericton High School Black Kats faced the Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders of Moncton in New Brunswick High School Football League semifinal play Saturday - one week earlier than last season, when the teams squared off for the provincial championship. The Highlanders won the provincial championship in an epic battle that day, on a game that came down to the last play and a pass to the far right corner of the end zone that FHS receiver Hunter MacDonald couldn't corral. Sullivan, the Black Kats huge offensive and defensive lineman, and wide receiver Andrew Hubbard each brought their second place medals from last year"s game. Just before the game started, they went to the spot where the ball fell in the end zone that day, and buried them. "It was just a way to make sure all the guys remembered what happened," said Sullivan. "I think it was my idea, actually. It was kind of like the lucky loonie. That's what inspired us." Then they went out and buried the Highlanders. Sullivan helped blow holes that helped Black Kats running back Ian MacDonald score a pair of touchdowns on runs of nine and one yard, quarterback Andrew Hickey go untouched 19 yards on a quarterback keeper up the middle to score another; and running mate Derek Madsen rumble for 131 yards on 13 carries. Oh, and Hubbard pulled down a 34-yard pass in the end zone for another touchhdown as the Black Kats steamrollered the Highlanders 31-0. The Black Kats host the provincial final again next Saturday, this time against the rival Oromocto High School Blues. OHS beat Saint John High School Greyhounds 16-6 Saturday, setting up a final showdown between two arch geographic rivals, each of whom finished the regular season with 5-1 records in the Western Conference.
"It feels great," said the soft spoken Sullivan. "Our whole team played tough. We were really fired up by some of the comments in the Moncton paper. They said they were going to hit us so hard in the first quarter that we were going to want to go home." Ironic then, that Hickey could march the Kats down the field with such surgical precision on their first possession, moving them from the MacNaughton 43 to the 19 on three running plays and then, facing third and one, prance through a gaping hole untouched for a 19-yard TD to open the scoring. "The turning point was probably the first drive, when they realized they couldn't really stop us," said Sullivan. "We were physically dominating them, and we had more intensity." Hickey was more charitable. He felt the turning point wasn't until the third, when Hubbard latched onto his 34-yard aerial that, with the convert, made it 28-0. A 32 yard Justin Conn field goal completed the scoring. "They had a couple of interceptions that gave them some momentum, but the first score of the second half really turned it around." The fact is, it was all but officially over long before. It was still the first quarter, Kats up 7-0 when they stalled at midfield and kicked the ball away. Highlanders punt returner Wayne Crossman, the most dynamic of the Highlanders all day, recovered the punt and dashed up the right sideline. He appeared bound for paydirt until Kats' linebacker Justin Conn made a desperation dive that tripped him up at the 14. On third and goal from the FHS seven a couple of plays later, they got another series when the Kats' David Kingston was called for pass interference against Highlanders receiver Jordan Richard in the end zone, setting up the Highlanders first and goal from the four. An incomplete pass, illegal procedure call and a fumble gave the Kats the ball back on the 20. Three plays later - the biggest among them a 57 yard up the gut run by Madsen - MacDonald was in the end zone, the convert made it 14-0, the rest was window dressing. "During the game, we really pounded them," said Madsen. "We wanted to prove to them that they couldn't come to our house for a second time to take us over." "We had so many chances throughout the whole game to score, and we just couldn't capitalize," said a disconsolate Crossman. "We wanted to come in here and score points at least. But it didn't happen. NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
The defending champion Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders and second-seeded Rothesay Redhawks were on a collision course for the New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association 10-man high school football championship game. The only problem was, somebody forgot to tell the St. Stephen Spartans. St. Stephen threw a wrench in Rothesay's plans as the Spartans and Redhawks clashed in a semifinal matchup on Friday night at Shamrock Park. The Spartans (6-3) came away with a 21-14 win, earning themselves a date with host KVHS (8-0) in Saturday's Nick Desilets Memorial Trophy championship game at 1 p.m. Matt Sode, Brett Hooper and Joel Wilcox ran for touchdowns, Sode added an extra point and Zack Nixon forced a safety for the Spartans, who led 12-6 at halftime. The Crusaders, who haven't lost a game in two years, were an overwhelming favourite to beat the fourth-seeded Simonds Seabees in the other semifinal, and they did, 27-0. Jamie Barefoot led KVHS with two TDs, Colin English and Colin Flynn-Breen had one each and Matthew Noftell kicked three converts. In 12-man semifinal action, the Saint John Greyhounds put up a good fight but lost 16-6 to the Oromocto Blues. Eric Smith scored both Oromocto TDs, including a 78-yard kickoff return just seconds after Saint John's Phil Dobson scored a TD to bring the Greyhounds within one late in the third quarter. Brian von Richter connected with Jeremy Bigger for the two-point conversion on that major and Smith also kicked for two singles on missed field goal attempts to round out the scoring. The Fredericton Black Kats were 31-0 winners over the defending champion MacNaughton Highlanders in a rematch of last year's 12-man final. Fredericton (7-1) will host Oromocto (7-1) in the Ed Skiffington Trophy championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
FREDERICTON - MacNaughton Highlanders' chase for their second straight New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division championship came to an end on Saturday. Highlanders were blanked 31-0 by the Fredericton High Black Kats in a provincial semifinal here. The game was a rematch of last year's provincial final - also at the FHS field - which MacNaughton won 13-9 for the school's first-ever New Brunswick football title. Fredericton High will host the Oromocto High Blues in the provincial final on Saturday. Oromocto High beat the Saint John High Greyhounds 16-6 in the other semifinal Saturday. At Fredericton High, quarterback Andrew Hickey scored on a 19-yard touchdown run on the opening drive and the Black Kats never looked back. Running back Ian MacDonald ran for a pair of touchdowns and Hickey also threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Hubbard, one of two Fredericton High veterans who buried their second-place medals from a year ago in the end zone right before the opening kickoff. Black Kats grabbed the momentum early on. It was still the first quarter, Fredericton High was up 7-0, when it stalled at midfield and kicked the ball away. Highlanders punt returner Wayne Crossman, the most dynamic of the Highlanders all day, recovered the punt and dashed up the right sideline. He appeared bound for paydirt until Black Kats linebacker Justin Conn made a desperation dive that tripped him up at the 14. Facing third and seven from the FHS seven a couple of plays later, MacNaughton got another series when the Black Kats' David Kingston was called for pass interference against receiver Jordan Richard in the end zone, setting up the Highlanders first and goal from the four. An incomplete pass, an illegal procedure call and a fumble gave Fredericton High the ball back on the 20. Three plays later, MacDonald was in the end zone, the convert made it 14-0 and the rest was window dressing. Black Kats built up a 21-0 halftime lead. MacNaughton had a couple of chances late in the first half, getting to the 20 before one drive died. Defensive back Bryce Wade picked off passes on consecutive FHS series in the final minute of the half, but time, and the Black Kats defence, shut them down. "They have a great defence, and it forces you to be on your best offensively," said MacNaughton head coach Ed Wasson, who said the Highlanders missed injured all-star running back Mike Earle. "They cut down our screens, they did a lot of things well. We just didn't have enough weapons to push them around today." Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff You don't have to remind the MacNaughton Highlanders of their last image of the Fredericton High Black Kats. Just five weeks back, the Black Kats rolled into Moncton and thumped the Highlanders 41-8 in Week 4 of the New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division regular season. The win marked revenge for Fredericton High, which lost to MacNaughton 13-9 in last year's provincial championship game in Fredericton. "It was a tough one to lose for sure. We felt confident, but we had no idea what was coming at us. They flat out beat us," said Highlanders veteran linebacker Josh Davies, one of 12 players back from MacNaughton's first-ever New Brunswick championship squad last season. "There's always revenge and they got there's on us and now we're on even terms. Now, we're going back up to their place and try to take what they had from us." Highlanders get another crack at the Black Kats Saturday when they meet in a provincial semifinal at 1 p.m. at Fredericton High. The other semifinal has the Oromocto High Blues hosting the upstart Saint John High Greyhounds, also Saturday at 1 p.m. The winners meet in the provincial final the following weekend. MacNaughton finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 3-3 regular season record. It blanked the Leo Hayes Lions 16-0 in a quarter-final last week. Fredericton High came in first in the Western Conference at 5-1 its only loss came in a 1-0 setback to the Hampton High Huskies in its first game of the season. Black Kats have since reeled off six straight wins, including a 48-4 quarter-final victory over the Tantramar Titans last Saturday. Fredericton High has an explosive offence, led by quarterback Andrew Hickey, and a stingy defence, which gave up just 15 points in six regular season games. Highlanders are well aware. "We like the fact we're underdogs. We want to come out and play them hard and leave everything on the field," Davies, a MacNaughton captain, said yesterday during a break in practice at Rocky Stone Memorial Field. "We're hoping to give them a good surprise in the first quarter. We need to come out and hit them hard and make them not want to play us anymore and hopefully carry that momentum through our defence to our offence." Davies said the Highlanders are a different team than the Black Kats faced in the regular season. "We had to smarten up as a team after that," the 17-year-old Grade 12 student said. "I think our confidence has really boosted. Our defence had a rough go, but we shut out Leo Hayes last week and we've come together as a team, like a family." Grade 11 rookie quarterback Eric Daigle will lead his MacNaughton offence into Fredericton High Saturday without running back Mike Earle, who's gone for the rest of the season with a separated shoulder. Highlanders head coach Ed Wasson has other offensive weapons, including slotback Jordan Richard and running backs Wayne Crossman, Nick Mulligan and K.J. MacNeil. "We've got nothing to lose. We need everyone's best effort and we hope they are overconfident," said Wasson, who will need a big effort from his defence, too. "They are the type of team that is explosive and can score on any one play, so we have to be aware of that and stop the big plays. They have a couple of studs we've keyed and we're going to try to shut them down." NB Telegraph-Journal |
Minor Leagues Daily Gleaner | Mike
Power Week 8- Oct.
28-29 As published on page C1 on October 31, 2005 Trimble feeling the Blues
mpower@dailygleaner.com At playoff time in the sport of football, if you can do what you do well while exploiting the weakness of you opponent, good things happen. That's the recipe the Oromocto High School Blues used Saturday afternoon to easily knock off and knock out Harrison Trimble High School Trojans of Moncton by a 39-0 score. By virtue of their lopsided win, the Blues advance to the semifinal stage of the provincial high school playdowns.Thanks to a 26-7 upset win by the Saint John High School Greyhounds over the Riverview Royals, the top seed from the East Conference, the Blues will now get to stay home and host the Greyhounds in Saturday's semifinal at 1 o'clock. With the elimination of the Royals, the Blues, second in the west to FHS with a 5-1 record, inherit the second seed. Saturday, the Blues pounced on Trimble mistakes with authority and scored on the ground and in the air from close in and from afar in an impressive show of both preparation and execution. "We practiced all week on our blocking to get our passing and running down right," said Blues receiver Jeremy Bigger. "We knew we would be up against a tough defence. We saw some gaps in the (HTHS) secondary early in the game. With our blocking allowing us time and room, we were able to work those holes pretty well I think." Pretty well indeed. After some early problems - Blues quarterback Brian VonRichter was 0 for 4 with an interception on his first four tries to the air - the Blues lit up the Trojan secondary completing 13 of the next 20 pass attempts for 189 yards and two touchdowns. "We were a bit surprised how muddy and slippery it was out here," Bigger said of a swampy OHS Field. "But once we got used to it, Brian was putting it right into our hands. We started doing what we were supposed to do and catching his passes." Mixed with Oromocto's grinding ground game and stone cold solid defence, the Blues were quickly on their way to the win after a scoreless first quarter. In fact, just one play into the second quarter they got on the scoreboard as VonRichter finished a 10 play drive with a 13 yard pass to Bigger in the end zone for six. Joey Smith shanked the convert on a muddy patch of the pasture. Three plays after getting the ball back, defensive back Mitchell Carr picked off a Donovan Boucher pass to start a second Oromocto scoring drive at the Trimble 36. Smith made it 9-0 with a 25 yard field goal. As the second quarter went along, the visitors could do no right and the home side no wrong, at least on this day. Trimble tried a third and long conversion at the OHS 41 and failed. Two plays later VonRichter connected with Bigger on a 65-yard pass and run strike for another major score with 5:22 played in the quarter, Smith's convert was blocked. Three minutes after that, OHS got a big punt return from Eric Smith and got another 15 yards from a face masking call against Trimble. They turned that set of circumstances into a one yard touchdown run by Kyle Roesler after an 18 yard pass from VonRichter to Bigger set up the play. This time Smith banged out the convert to send the teams to halftime with OHS up 22-0. It should also be noted that most of this was being done without a big contribution by Roesler who led the Blues in rushing. Although he did come in to finish off the final touchdown drive of the half it was a rare appearance by the feature back who was resting a "minor injury to his arm," according to Blues coach Rob Wilson. "It shows a side of this team a lot of people didn't think we had," Bigger said. "We have good depth, we have guys who can do the job, we're not just a one or two guy offence." Wilson couldn't have agreed more. "It's a luxury we haven't had a lot in the past," he said. "Kyle could have played, if the game was close he would have played, but he had a little tweak so we were able to rest him and the guys who filled in did a great job." The Blues continued to punish the Trojans mistakes in the second half. Bigger recovered a fumble on a Trimble punt return to set his team up at the Harrison Trimble 16. Two plays later VonRichter worked the old hook and ladder play as he pitched a touchdown to Eric Smith after the quarterback ran into the grasp of the defensive line. Jory Smith hit the convert tom make it 29-0 5:15 into the half. "We executed very well out there today," Wilson said. "They made a mistake and we turned it around on them putting points on the board. At the same time our guys listened to the game plan and did the job, by the second half I would say the whole thing was kind of steamrollering Harrison Trimble a bit." Oromocto took advantage of another mistake by their visitors early in the fourth quarter as Carr picked off Boucher for the second time on the day. "We had a healthy secondary for the first time this year," Wilson said. "We had two d-backs out there today nobody has even seen before. People thought we were weak out there but we were injured, now we're healthy." Eric Smith rounded out the scoring with a seven yard touchdown run with 1:15 to go in the game, it came as a result of a Trimble fumble, Jory Smith converted to wrap up the scoring. Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
bhalliha@dailygleaner.com After going 3-0 away from home in the regular season, the Tantramar Titans came to the end of the road quickly Saturday. Big plays propelled the Fredericton High School Black Kats to a 34-0 halftime lead en route to a 48-8 victory in provincial high school football league quarter-final action before 250 fans on a crisp fall afternoon. The game wasn't as lopsided as the score would suggest. The Titans racked up 330 yards against the vaunted Kats defence - FHS surrendered just 15 points in six regular season games - but they couldn't match the Kats' offensive finish. Saturday at 1 p.m., the Kats will host Moncton's Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders in a rematch of last year's final while the Oromocto High School Blues will host the visiting Saint John High Greyhounds in the other semifinal. The turning point came early at FHS. After Tantramar moved the ball 48 yards on its opening drive, the Kats were facing third and inches on its first series. Rather than punt from their own 40, FHS opted to go for it and Andrew Hickey, on a quarterback keeper, squirted through the wall of defenders and raced 70 yards to the end zone. "Our defence struggled a little bit at the start," Hickey said. "Their offence was moving the ball, so that play helped us get rid of the nerves and give us the momentum. I don't know how I got through everybody. All I can say is our blocking was good and I bounced off tacklers until I found a hole." Justin Conn missed his only convert in seven attempts, but he would hook up with Hickey for a huge play late in the first quarter. On second and seven from their own 48, Hickey zipped a pass to Conn cutting across the middle and he took it in for a 62-yard TD and a 13-0 lead. Hickey, on another QB keeper, ran in for a three-yard TD to cap an 81-yard, seven-play drive and a 20-0 second quarter cushion. Titans Grade 10 quarterback Joey Burns, who was 15-for-27 for 237 yards, moved his team to the FHS 14-yard line on the next series. On third and inches, the Titans gave the ball to running back Randy LeBlanc but FHS rookie defensive lineman Zach Piers burst through and compressed LeBlanc for a two-yard loss. "Our first two quarters weren't that great defensively," Piers said, "but we stepped it up in the second half and got things under control. My play was a big stop, I guess, because it prevented them from getting points on the board and kept our guys fired up." The Kats took over on downs and struck right away. Hickey aired the ball out and hit Andrew Hubbard in full stride near midfield. He went 94 yards, untouched, to the end zone to make it 27-0. "You either stand up and play like men or you fold the tent and go home," Titans head coach Dave Burns barked to his players. The Kats kept coming, though. Chris Murray picked off a Burns' pass at midfield and returned it to the 14-yard line. Two plays later, Ian MacDonald ran it in from four yards out for a 34-0 lead. "Our offence kept pushing and eventually we tired out their defence, I think," Hickey said. With a minute to go before halftime, the Titans took advantage of a botched punt to start at the FHS 22. Burns hit Stephen Bohan at the three-yard line but the ball was jarred loose and the Kats recovered the fumble. After a scoreless third quarter, the Kats capped a clock-eating, 10-play drive when Derek Madsen rambled the final 14 yards to make it 41-0. Backup back Ben Collins scored on a 19-yard run to up the lead to 48-0. The Titans finally got on the board with two minutes remaining. Jeff Bird gathered in Burns' pass for a 78-yard gain to the FHS 18, then ran the ball the next two plays to get into the end zone. Burns connected with Bohan for the two-point convert and the 48-8 final. "It wasn't a 48-8 football game," Titans coach Burns said. "I think we played them pretty straight up, but the big play hurt us. We'd stop them and stop them, but then they'd get the 80-yard touchdown or the quarterback sneak ... but I thought we grinded it out and moved the ball very well against them, probably the best anybody's moved the ball against them all season." Burns says the Titans will be heard from again. "We're only graduating four players this year and we plan on being around next year," he said. "Our kids battled. They never quit a play. We certainly gained some valuable experience for next year against a very solid FHS team." Hickey finished 5-for-9 for 178 yards passing and ran the ball three times for 80 yards and two TDs. Madsen carried the ball 13 times for 126 yards while MacDonald chipped in with 60 yards on 11 carries. LeBlanc led the Titans' ground game with 75 yards on 16 carries. The Highlanders, who beat the Kats 13-9 here in last year's thrilling final, knocked off the Leo Hayes St. Mary's Lions 16-0 Friday night. FHS hammered MacNaughton 41-8 in Moncton on Sept. 30, but Hickey and Piers say you've got to respect all opponents at this stage of the season. "We're not taking them lightly, that's for sure," Hickey said. "They're a good team." "I watched last year's final, just cheering the Black Kats on," Piers said. "It will be fun to be in the middle of it this year and to have homefield advantage again. But we'll have to practise hard this week. They've got a pretty good running game. We'll just have to keep contain on them. And we have to work on our pass coverage, which wasn't that great today." NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
The Saint John High School Greyhounds are getting used to must-win situations. After beating the Riverview Royals 26-7 in New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association 12-man football quarter-final action on Saturday, they've guaranteed themselves at least one more. With the score 7-6 Riverview at halftime, the Greyhounds exploded for three touchdowns after the break. Phil Dobson rushed for a pair of TDs and quarterback Nick Bonner had the other and added a two-point conversion. In the first half, Piers Doiron returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown to give SJHS a 6-0 lead. Shea Lenehan responded with a rushing TD and Andrew Lewis added the point after for the Royals. Two weeks ago, the Greyhounds needed to pull off a desperate last-minute victory to stay alive. Last week, they could only watch as other teams decided their playoff fate. Saturday, they will have to win a road game against the Oromocto Blues, the team that got SJHS into the playoffs with a one-point win over the Hampton Huskies. Oromocto beat the Harrison Trimble Trojans 39-0 Saturday to advance to a semifinal matchup against SJHS. In the other quarterfinals, the Fredericton Black Kats thumped the Tantramar Titans 48-8 and the defending champion MacNaughton Highlanders stayed alive with a 16-0 win over the Leo Hayes Lions.
On the 10-man circuit, both winning teams pitched shutouts in the quarterfinals. Matt Sode ran for a TD, passed for another to Kyle McCormick and added three extra points as the St. Stephen Spartans hammered the St. Malachy's Saints 51-0. Brett Hooper had two rushing TDs, Joel Wilcox and Mike McSorley had one each and Brad Copping and Zach Nixon added majors on fumble recoveries. Mike Ingersoll and Darcey McKinney contributed interceptions on defence for the Spartans. In the other matchup, the Simonds Seabees got past the Harbour View Vikings 30-0. Lee Maloney, Josh Davis and Chris Slade had rushing TDs and Steve Oickle caught a pass for the other Simonds major. Kyle Skerry converted all four TDs and Marshall Vail forced a safety in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring. The Seabees now prepare for the defending champion Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders. Simonds will attempt to be the first team to beat the Crusaders all season as they visit KVHS at 1 p.m. Saturday. St.Stephen earned a Friday night date with the Rothesay Redhawks in the other 10-man semifinal. That game is set for 7 p.m. at Shamrock Park.
Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff The New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division playoffs came to a sudden end for three of the four Eastern Conference teams on the weekend. Riverview High Royals, Harrison Trimble Trojans and Tantramar Titans each lost their respective cross-over quarter-finals on Saturday. The defending provincial champion MacNaughton Highlanders, who blanked the Leo Hayes Lions 16-0 in the first quarter-final Friday night, are the only Eastern Conference team still alive in the playoffs. MacNaughton meets the Fredericton High Black Kats in a provincial semifinal Saturday in Fredericton. It's a rematch of last year's New Brunswick championship game, which the Highlanders won 13-9. Oromocto High Blues host the Saint John High Greyhounds in the other semifinal Saturday. In Riverview Saturday, the Greyhounds came into town and upset the Eastern Conference champion Royals 26-7. Saint John High scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second half to get by Riverview High. "We're absolutely gratified. Our young men went up there and played like champions," said Greyhounds head coach Wayne Tipper, whose team trailed 7-6 at halftime. "We played a very physical game and I think our kids wore them down in the first half and then came out very strong in the second half." Phil Dobson ran for a pair of touchdowns for Saint John High. Nick Bonner ran for another major and Piers Doiron returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the win. Shea Lenehan scored on a 80-yard touchdown run for Riverview High. Andrew Lewis kicked the convert. "You have to bring your A game to a playoff game and we just made uncharacteristic mistakes we normally didn't do," said Royals head coach Mark Lenehan, who highlighted the strong two-way play of receiver/safety Greg Diamond. "I can't take anything away from Saint John. They played a clean, hard-hitting game and were well prepared and took advantage of our mistakes. But we're still happy with our year. We didn't have a lot of Grade 12s and this gave us a good base for next year." In Fredericton, Western Conference champion Fredericton High went ahead 34-0 at halftime en route to a 48-8 victory over Tantramar. The game wasn't as lopsided as the score would suggest. The Titans racked up 330 yards against the vaunted Black Kats defence - Fredericton High surrendered just 15 points in six regular season games - but they couldn't match the Black Kats' offensive finish. Quarterback Andrew Hickey ran for two touchdowns and threw a pair of touchdown passes in the win. Tantramar finally got on the board with two minutes remaining on a Jeff Bird touchdown run. Quarterback Joey Burns connected with Stephen Bohan for the two-point convert and the 48-8 final. "It wasn't a 48-8 football game," Titans head coach Dave Burns said. "I think we played them pretty straight up, but the big play hurt us. We'd stop them and stop them, but then they'd get the 80-yard touchdown or the quarterback sneak ... but I thought we grinded it out and moved the ball very well against them, probably the best anybody's moved the ball against them all season." Burns says the Titans will be heard from again. "We're only graduating four players this year and we plan on being around next year," he said. "Our kids battled. They never quit a play. We certainly gained some valuable experience for next year against a very solid FHS team." In Oromocto, Oromocto High blanked Harrison Trimble 39-0. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff It was a win and they'll take it. But the MacNaughton Highlanders know they'll have to be even better if they're to defend as New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division champions. Highlanders opened the playoffs with a 16-0 victory over the Leo Hayes Lions in a cross-over quarter-final at Rocky Stone Memorial Field last night. With the win, MacNaughton earned a ticket to a provincial semifinal next week. "This is a good win and our rookies showed a lot of heart. We'll take it, but we know we're going to have to improve for next week," said Highlanders Grade 12 slotback Jordan Richard, who scored a pair of touchdowns in the victory. "Our offence is going to have to improve, we played a pretty good game tonight, but it wasn't our best." MacNaughton finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 3-3 record. Leo Hayes was third in the Western Conference, also at 3-3. The other three cross-over quarter-finals are scheduled for today at 1 p.m. The Eastern Conference champion Riverview High Royals host the Western Conference fourth-seeded Saint John High Greyhounds. Also, the Eastern Conference third-seeded Harrison Trimble Trojans visit the Western Conference second-seeded Oromocto High Blues and the Eastern Conference fourth-seeded Tantramar Titans head to Fredericton High to meet the Western Conference champion Black Kats. At Rocky Stone last night, MacNaughton's Andrew Spinney recorded an interception on the final play of the first quarter of a 0-0 game and the Highlanders had the momentum the rest of the night. The interception led to a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eric Daigle to Richard the first of two on the evening - as MacNaughton took an early 7-0 lead. "That was a turning point and a really big play. Our offence wasn't really doing too much then and that turned it around," said Richard, a member of last year's Highlanders team, which beat Fredericton High 13-9 in the provincial final. "Our defence came through there and was solid all night. They pulled this out." Both offences struggled to put points on the board. MacNaughton had two touchdowns negated by penalties, while Leo Hayes managed just one first down all night. Leading 9-0 midway through the fourth quarter, the Highlanders added some insurance when Daigle and Richard hooked up again - this time on a 17-yard touchdown pass - as MacNaughton went ahead 16-0. But just when it looked like this was a done deal, the Lions finally came to life with five minutes remaining. It came on a lengthy punt return by Leo Hayes' Dan Mason, who brought his team into Highlanders territory for the first time in the second half. Lions failed to score on that drive, but got even better field position with 2:15 left to play when Ben Cornford blocked a Wayne Crossman punt and gave the visitors the ball on the MacNaughton 12-yard line. But just as soon as the drama started, it ended. On the very next play, Matt Robertson intercepted Leo Hayes quarterback Pat Casey in the end zone to secure the Highlanders win. Crossman punted for a pair of singles and Nick Mulligan kicked two converts for MacNaughton, which led 8-0 at the half. "It was a big win for our defence and our offence chipped away at it," said Highlanders head coach Ed Wasson, whose team was without injured running back Mike Earle. "The one advantage I think we have over other teams is that we have more weapons. We don't have just one running back. We can give the ball to other guys." And as for the rest of the playoffs, Richard feels the defending champs have lots of potential. "I think we definitely can go all the way again," the slotback said. "We're going to have to have a really good week of practice and play a tough game next week, but I think we can do it." Daily Gleaner | High
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mpower@dailygleaner.com The Oromocto High School Blues know they have their work cut out for them when the New Brunswick High School Football League playoffs begin tomorrow. The Blues took second place in the Western Conference with a shiny 5-1 record, their only loss coming to division champion Fredericton High School. But a high finish in the standings hasn't earned them a soft first round opponent. The Blues will at least have the advantage of home field as they host the Harrison Trimble Trojans at 1 p.m. at OHS Field. They think every little advantage helps. "We are giving (HTHS) a lot of respect," said Oromocto receiver Eric Smith. "We look at it as any team out of the other side can score and can play. Any team in the league is a tough game." The Trojans, coached by Perry Kukkonen one of the great names in New Brunswick football, are indeed a tough team. They"ve won three provincial high school crowns in the past six seasons and 14 in the school's history. The Blues are still chasing their first New Brunswick title. "They can really throw the ball," Smith said. "That's the strongest part of their game. We need to go looking to shut that down, and the best way to do that is keep our offence on the field as much as we can." Trimble scored 166 points in their six games as they finished with a 3-3 record. Offence is no problem for them. The Blues also scored 166 points. The big difference in the teams is on defence: OHS was second best in the league allowing only 41 points. The Trojans surrrendered 132 points, tied for ninth in the ten team league. "We know we can beat this team," said OHS coach Rob Wilson. "But we also know they are very dangerous, if we dare to take them at all lightly they can really pack a scoring punch." The Blues have some firepower too. Their scoring total is what it is because they faced Western Conference defensive powers like FHS, Leo Hayes and Saint John. "We have a great quarterback and we can put the ball up," Smith said. "But we also have a great running game. (Running back) Kyle (Roesler) has done a lot for us. We can throw when we have to but at this time of year the weather isn't always the best for that and you also have to look at the defence you are up against." If there is a mild surprise for the Blues it is in one of those areas that doesn't get a lot of attention but is the bread and butter of a good offence. "Our blocking on offence is something I thought would come slowly this year," said Smith a four year veteran in his final season. "But I think the last month of the season it has been amazing. We didn't do that well in our first game. It showed we had a lot of young players in those roles, but they've caught on so quick, we've really showed what the OHS Blues can do." The Blues also head into the second season having witnessed a serious lesson in life and gaining some perspective even though not directly involved. Monday, the Blues played their last regular season game at Hampton winning by a single point. The game had been held over from Saturday because of the sudden death of a member of the Hampton football team. The game was played two days after the funeral and had become a focal point for Hampton High School's grief, with much of the student body turning out for the game. "I know a bunch of us have been through that kind of thing before," Smith said. "But it was still so emotional. It was hard to just go out with the normal attitude you try to bring to a game. I have to give Hampton a lot of respect and credit for the way they handled the whole day. They were a great team." Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
Telegraph-Journal It's been an up-and-down season for the Saint John High School Greyhounds football team, but the bottom line is, they still have a season. The Greyhounds came up with a last-minute 29-26 win over the defending 12-man champion Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders two weeks ago to keep their playoff window open with a 3-3 record. The team could then only watch as the Oromocto Blues battled the Hampton Huskies on Monday with the final Western Conference postseason berth hanging in the balance. Hampton needed a win or a tie to advance, but fell agonizingly short, dropping an 18-17 decision on home turf. The Huskies finished with a 3-3 record as well, but lost the season opener to the Greyhounds, giving the tiebreaker edge to SJHS. Saint John High's players said they did their best to contain their excitement after Monday's game, but it was hard. Not only is their season alive, but the Greyhounds have a chance to eliminate last year's nemesis as they visit the Riverview Royals (4-2) for a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday at 1 p.m. In other 12-man quarterfinals Saturday, the Tantramar Titans (3-3) visit the Fredericton Black Kats (5-1) and the Harrison Trimble Trojans (3-3) are at the Oromocto Blues (5-1). Both games are also at 1 p.m. Friday night, MacNaughton (3-3) hosts the Leo Hayes Lions (3-3) at 7 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field. Meanwhile, on the 10-man circuit, the St. Malachy's Saints (0-7) visit the St. Stephen Spartans (4-3) and the Simonds Seabees (3-4) host the Harbour View Vikings (2-5). Both games are at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Rothesay Redhawks (5-2) and Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders (7-0) have byes into the semifinals, where Rothesay will play the highest-seeded quarterfinal winner. Last year, Riverview eliminated Saint John High in the quarterfinals and also beat them in the regular season. Saturday will be the first meeting between the two in 2005, but veterans still have a bitter taste in their mouth. "It's revenge time," said running back Piers Doiron, the Grade 12 student who delivered the winning touchdown against MacNaughton. "Third time's a charm." Greyhounds coach Wayne Tipper said Doiron's performance against the Highlanders was one for the memory banks. With time for two final plays in the dying seconds, Tipper was giving the team a game plan in case Doiron didn't reach the end zone on his first try. "Piers looked at me in the huddle and said, 'Don't worry, we won't be going twice,' " said Tipper. "In Piers and Phil [Dobson], we have one of the best one-two punches out of the backfield Saint John High has ever had." Dobson, a fellow senior, was another star in that game, rushing for 150-plus yards and a TD of his own. But both he and Doiron are quick to share the credit. "If the O-line does their job, then me and Phil will just stick to the holes," said Doiron. "We've definitely really come together as a team over the last couple of weeks," said Dobson. "We're really confident that we're going to come out on top against Riverview this year." This year's team has a new weapon in receiver Joel Seale, a Grade 11 student and first-time football player who made the transition from basketball. "He should have played a lot sooner," said Grade 12 linebacker Kyle Burtt. Although the team has had an up-and-down season, losing badly to Fredericton but also knocking off the defending champs, Seale believes the playoffs will be their time to shine. "Last game we showed how good we can play," said Seale. "This team showed that when something's on the line, we can come through." Although he stopped short of guaranteeing a win, Dobson did provide one prediction. "I guarantee it's going to be a game you don't want to miss." Times & Transcript |
High School Sport Week 7- Oct. 21-24 Daily Gleaner | High School SportsAs published on page C1 on October 25, 2005 Grid Blues finish 5-1
The Oromocto High School Blues were tested to the limit before emerging with an 18-17 win over the Hampton High Huskies in the regular season finale for the New Brunswick High School Football League. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, however, the sudden death of Hampton defensive end A.J. Hourihan last Thursday and his funeral Saturday required a scheduling change. With their win - the margin of victory was a single point on a missed field goal attempt by Eric Smith from about 30 yards out with six minutes remaining - the Blues finish at 5-1 on the season and in second place in the west division behind the pennant winning Fredericton High School Black Kats. As a result, OHS will host Harrison Trimble High Trojans of Moncton, the third seed in the East Division, in one of four cross-over quarter-final games. Blues' coach Rob Wilson says the game will in a likelihood take place Saturday at 1 o'clock at OHS Field. Yesterday, it was veteran running back Kyle Roesler scoring both touchdowns for the Blues, one from six yards out and the other from three yards out. Both scores came in the first half. Hampton, which finishes 3-3 and because it lost to Saint John High Greyhounds in their head-to-head meeting, out of the playoff picture, actually led 17-14 at the half. However, Smith kicked a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter and added his single late in the fourth. Hampton had two subsequent possessions but couldn't move the ball on the Blues' defence. Offensively, Roesler had 50 yards rushing while quarterback Brian Von Richter completed 13 of 17 passes for 190 yards. Jeremy Biggar was his main receiver, hauling in seven passes for 120 yards. "It was a pretty emotional day," said Wilson. "They had a lot of their student body there and it made for an emotional game. Even after the game, there was a lot of emotion. They played a great football game against us today." The Kats, who also finished 5-1 but ahead of OHS because they won the head to head meeting, will host the fourth seed Tantramar High Titans from the East Saturday at 1 o'clock at FHS Field. Leo Hayes St. Mary's Lions, third seed in the West with a 3-3 record, will travel to Moncton to take on East second seed Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders while the fourth seed in the West, Saint John High, makes the trek to Riverview to take on East top seed Riverview Royals in the other quarter-final matchup. NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
The Hampton High School Huskies battled until the final whistle of their New Brunswick high school football season, but fell just short, losing 18-17 to the Oromocto Blues on Monday and finishing out of the playoffs with a 3-3 record. "I'm disappointed for the kids because they played really well. They played as well as they could," said coach Andrew Peters. "The kids were down at first but we told them, 'Hey, you played a [heck] of a game.'" The Huskies played with heavy hearts after the sudden death of defensive end A.J. Hourihan last week. "We were dedicating the game to A.J., but as I told the kids, you play for yourself as well," said Peters. "The kids were really focused, but at the end of the game it was certainly emotional." Oromocto improved its record to 5-1, good for second place in the Western Conference and a quarterfinal date with the Harrison Trimble Trojans (3-3), who placed third in the East. The Saint John High Greyhounds slip into the fourth spot at 3-3, thanks to a win over Hampton in the teams' season opener. Saint John will visit the top Eastern seed, the Riverview Royals (4-2), in the quarterfinals. "I guess it's a testament to our conference to be 3-3 and not in the playoffs. It's a great conference and we feel we have a great group of kids. It's a shame that they're not playing next week, but we just fell in a tough conference this year," said Peters. "The coaching staff couldn't be more proud of those guys." Other quarter-final match-ups will see the top seed in the West, the Fredericton Black Kats (5-1), host No. 4 in the East, the Tantramar Titans (3-3), while the West No. 3, the Leo Hayes Lions (3-3), will visit the defending champion MacNaughton Highlanders (3-3), who finished second in the East. Daily Gleaner | High
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mpower@dailygleaner.com There were no surprises in the 5th Annual North-South Bowl high school football showdown Saturday, no matter how much fans of the Leo Hayes St. Mary's Lions hoped there would be. The Lions fell 33-0 to their cross-river Fredericton High School Black Kats at Leo Hayes Field in the last game of the regular season for both teams. By virtue of their fifth straight win, the Black Kats finish out their West Division schedule with a 5-1 record, good for first place in the division. They will host the fourth place East finisher, Tantramar, in playoff action Saturday. The Lions end up 3-3. The Oromocto High School Blues, 4-1, face Hampton High Huskies today in Hampton. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but was postponed until today at 3 o'clock because of the tragic death of a Hampton player. FHS would get the nod over OHS because it beat OHS in their head to head meeting. If Hampton pulls off an upset, they will finish 4-2 and finish second. Saturday the Black Kats were everything they were supposed to be with an effective offence and potent defence. The defence was particularly steely, allowing the Lions' offence just four first downs. The Leos' offence penetrated the Kats' side of the field only once. And that time after a sack, a penalty and a three-yard loss on a running play, ended up scrimmaging at their own 40-yard line to punt. Workhorse back Derek Madsen led FHS with 119 yards rushing on 18 carries scoring one touchdown. Quarterback Andrew Hickey scored a touchdown on five carries for 25 yards. In the air Hickey was four for 13 for 39 yards. The Black Kats totaled 281 yards on offence. "We knew we were facing a real good defence today," said FHS centre David Bryden. "We thought the best way to go was to run up the middle. Smashmouth. We wanted to run to the outside but that really wasn't there today. It's great to have a guy like Madsen in a game like this." The Lions had just 69 yards of total offence with nobody running for more than nine yards. In the air quarterback Pat Casey was effective hitting on six of 12 passing attempts for 45 yards. Matt Wood was nothing for four with one interception. Bottom line, the Black Kats did many things well. They moved the ball when they had it. They showed a powerful kicking game and a dangerous kick returner in Andrew Hubbard. Most of all, the offensive and defensive line play was dominating. "We started kind of slow this year," Bryden said of the offensive line that led Madsen on his runs. "But we've really picked it up and we've been getting better every week." The best thing going for Leo Hayes was their bulldog tough defence although they could only do so much, clearly tiring late in the game after logging a lot of time on the field. The only scoring in the first quarter was Justin Conn's 30-yard field goal, made tougher because he missed his first attempt and got a second, and closer, crack at it because the Lions were flagged for being offside. That offside was mistake number one that came back to haunt the Leos. Mistake number two was deciding to go for it on a third and a yard from their own 44-yard line late in the opening quarter. Casey had no sooner taken the ball from centre than John Alexander of FHS shot through the line to stuff the quarterback. Three plays later Conn connected on a 35-yard field goal to double the lead. Mistake number three was a Casey fumble just past the three-minute mark of the second period. Connor MacMillan recovered for FHS and within seconds Hubbard scampered 21 yards to score the first touchdown of the day, which Conn converted for a 13-0, lead. "One or two mistakes," said Lions linebacker Ben Cornford. "We let it get away, but against a team like (FHS) that's what they can do. We played a good game, we played tough, but we just have to learn from it and be ready for the next game." On the last play of the half Hickey plunged two yards for a second touchdown, Conn's convert was off but it still was a demoralizing 19-0 deficit the Lions carried to the intermission. Early in the second half, the Lions held off their visitors but couldn't put any points of their own on the board. With five minutes to go in the game Madsen scored on a punishing 11 yard run for a 25-0 lead. No sooner had they kicked off but FHS got the ball back and scored when Chris Murray intercepted Wood on the LHHS 15 yard line and ran it back for the score, Conn made the convert. The final point of the game came on the ensuing kickoff when the Lions conceded a touchback on Conn's booming boot into the end zone. In East Division action Saturday, Riverview High Royals improved to 4-2 with a 29-21 win over Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders, who finished 3-3. NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff First place wasn't even on the radar screen for the Riverview High Royals a couple months back. Well, times have changed now. Royals beat the defending provincial champion MacNaughton Highlanders 29-21 in a New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division game Saturday at Rocky Stone Memorial Field to clinch first place in the Eastern Conference. Riverview High, winners of its last three games, completed the regular season with a 4-2 record. MacNaughton finished in second place at 3-3. "At the first of the year we were hoping for second, third or fourth place - just to get into the playoffs - but finishing first is a real plus for us," Royals head coach Mark Lenehan said. "I think the key is that we started to gel and our guys realized that first place wasn't out of reach. First place gives you enormous home field advantage and they started to focus on that." The game completed the Eastern Conference regular season. Harrison Trimble Trojans (3-3), in third place, and the Tantramar Titans (3-3), in fourth place, locked up the final two playoff berths Friday night. Cross over quarter-finals against Western Conference teams are scheduled for this week, however the Western Conference final standings have yet to be determined after Saturday's game between the Hampton High Huskies and Oromocto High Blues was rescheduled to today. Fredericton High Black Kats, Leo Hayes Lions and Oromocto High have all clinched playoff spots. With a win or tie today, Hampton High gets the final one, but a loss sends the Saint John High Greyhounds to the post-season. What is known is that MacNaughton will host the Western Conference third-place team Friday night at 7 p.m. at Rocky Stone in the first quarter-final. The other three quarter-finals will follow on Saturday at 1 p.m. Riverview High entertains the Western Conference fourth-place team at a field to be determined; Western Conference regular season champion Fredericton High hosts Tantramar; and Harrison Trimble visits the Western Conference second-place finisher. On Saturday, the Royals led the Highlanders 21-14 at the half. Riverview High broke the game open in the second half when running back Shea Lenehan scored on a 55-yard touchdown run. MacNaughton later scored on a 15-yard run by Nick Mulligan, but that's as close as it could come. Lenehan paced the Royals, rushing for 200 yards on the afternoon with three touchdowns. Quarterback Andrew Lewis tossed a 75-yard touchdown pass to Greg Diamond. Lewis also kicked four converts to go along with a single. "For our team, I thought we executed well offensively. We were missing a few guys because of sickness and injury and we still managed to execute well," Lenehan said. The other Highlanders touchdowns came from Jordan Richard, on a five-yard pass from quarterback Eric Daigle, and Nick Law, on an 11-yard toss from Daigle. "It was an excellent game by both teams for the conference championship. It was hard hitting and a solid game," said MacNaughton head coach Ed Wasson, who along with assistants Tim Phinney and Peter Miller, was suspended from the game after getting ejected in a loss to Saint John High the week before. Highlanders running back Mike Earle suffered a separated shoulder against Riverview. He won't be in uniform Friday. In another game Saturday, Fredericton High blanked Leo Hayes 33-0. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff He was the smallest player on the field. But did he ever put the Tantramar Titans on his shoulders and lead them past the Moncton High Purple Knights to a playoff berth last night. Five-foot-six running back Randy LeBlanc ran for three touchdowns as Tantramar blanked Moncton High 47-0 in a New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division game at Rocky Stone Memorial Field. Titans, who completed the regular season with a 3-3 record, locked up the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the win. Purple Knights, 1-5, were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. "This is amazing. It feels awesome to be headed to the playoffs," said LeBlanc, a Grade 11 running back who also kicked five converts in the victory. "We needed this game and now we'll see what we can do in the playoffs." In another game yesterday, the Harrison Trimble Trojans blasted the L'Odyssée Olympiens 63-19 at Rocky Stone. The regular season concludes today with the lone Eastern Conference game featuring the defending provincial champion MacNaughton Highlanders (3-2) and the Riverview High Royals (3-2) playing for first place at 1 p.m. at Rocky Stone. MacNaughton, Riverview High, Harrison Trimble (3-3) and Tantramar (3-3) are in the playoffs and will play in cross over quarter-finals against the Western Conference next weekend. Moncton High (1-5) and L'Odyssée (0-6) failed to make the post-season. At Rocky Stone last night, LeBlanc used the strong lead blocking of Jeff Bird and his offensive line to run all over Moncton High. By the time the first half had ended, he had rushed for nearly 200 yards and the three touchdowns on five, 21 and 32-yard runs. Tantramar head coach Dave Burns gave him the rest of the night off. "My blocking was amazing, especially Jeff Bird, he was taking out like three guys, and then the whole line was just amazing," said LeBlanc, 17, in his second season with the Titans. "I love getting the ball, it's my baby. I love the touchdowns and helping the team win." Titans quarterback Joey Burns threw three touchdown passes to Stephen Bohan, who was also dominant as a defensive lineman. The two hooked up on 13, 17 and 63-yard passes. Callum Hardie scored Tantramar's other touchdown on a seven-yard run. Titans led 33-0 at the half. Purple Knights showed some flashes of offence, most notably running back Justin Lafrance, but turnovers three interceptions, two blocked punts and a fumble were costly in the end. Earlier yesterday, running back Jordan Kenny was a one-man wrecking crew with four touchdowns, including three in the second half, as Harrison Trimble rolled over L'Odyssée. Kenny crossed into the end zone on runs of one yard, 11 yards, 25 yards and 30 yards. Nicholas Kukkonen added two majors, on a 65-yard pass and run and a 28-yard run for the Trojans. Other touchdowns were recorded by Kirk Wright, on a 50-yard pass, Corey Gillcash, on a one-yard run, and Ben Kinden, on a 60-yard interception return. Kyle McLaughlin converted all nine Harrison Trimble touchdowns. Halftime score was 28-7 for the Trojans. Tailback-turned-quarterback Pierre Mouawad scored all three touchdowns for the Olympiens, who had scored only three touchdowns all season. He ran for a 40-yard major in the first half from his tailback position and in the second half, as the quarterback, scored on a three-yard bootleg and a 30-yard run. Scott LeBlanc converted one touchdown. L'Odyssée head coach Terry Kennedy liked what he saw in the second half and said it bodes well for the team next season. "With about 20 players returning next season, I think this game should help us in the future," Kennedy said. "We tried a few different things in this game and we're excited about next year." Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
mpower@dailygleaner.com If five minutes after their first game of the season you had told the Leo Hayes St. Mary's Lions football team that, on the last day of the regular season, they would be playing for first place in their division they might have believed you. They would have been in the minority, though. The Lions opened the season with a 21-0 loss to the Oromocto High School Blues and looked every bit like the team with no offence that they were portrayed to be in preseason. Oh, they gave the Blues a run for their money but never came close to scoring any points. "We knew coming in we had a pretty good defence," said veteran Leos linebacker Craig Oliver. "I guess the question was whether we could score points or not." And while they haven't scored many points, their total of 44 in five games is third worst in the 11-team league, they have gotten a lot of mileage from a solid defence. The Lions have surrendered just 64 points, and remember 21 of those were against the Blues. "For us it was about doing our job and giving the guys on offence a chance to develop," Oliver said. "We knew we didn't have a lot of guys (on offence) who had played here before, but coach kept telling us they would get better and they have." They will have a great chance to measure themselves tomorrow just to see how good the offence has become and how strong the defence is when really put to the fire. The Lions will host the Fredericton High School Black Kats in the North-South Bowl game at 1 p.m. at their home field. Although it's a long shot, involving tiebreakers and mathematics, the Lions technically are in the hunt for first place. "That's not really on our minds," Oliver said. "We know what we're up against in this game. They are a very strong team, we will have to be right on our best game to compete with them. "We want to compete with one of the best teams in the province and, if we do a good job, pull out the win. But we know this will be tough." And that's not just a case of the Lions playing dead. It really is a mismatch on paper. While the Black Kats are 4-1 and the Lions 3-2, just one win less, the reality is far more intimidating. The Black Kats are on a four-game win streak after losing a swampy game to Hampton, 1-0, in their opener. Since then they are 4-0 outscoring opponents 150-14 in that stretch. Those wins have been against top teams including a 16-0 win over OHS and a 41-8 humbling of defending provincial champion Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders. "You have to respect them," Oliver said. "We know a lot of the guys on that team, they know us. We're not going to let them scare us, but you have to respect a team like that." The Kats hold down first place followed by the 4-1 Blues, who finish their schedule tomorrow on the road against 3-2 Hampton. So to get into a tie-breaking situation the Lions would need to upset FHS while scoring a lot of points and have OHS lose. Unlikely? Yes, it is. But, hey, it's a long way from 21-0 on a hot day in September. "We've been working hard," said Oliver, who as a Grade 12 student will be playing his final regular season game with the Lions tomorrow. As good as the season has turned out to date there is still one thing missing: a nice big upset of a top team, say, for example, the FHS Black Kats. "We've had a good season," Oliver said. "And we're not done yet, but (tomorrow) if we don't come out to play our best game we won't have much of a chance. It should be a good game if we come to play. "Games like this are fun if you play well win or lose. The teams know each other and respect each other. It's why you play the game really." NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
Telegraph-Journal The formula is simple for the Hampton High School Huskies football team: win and you're in. Win (or tie) against the Oromocto Blues (4-1) on the season's final day and the Huskies (3-2) advance to the New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs. Lose, and the final invitation to the 12-man division's postseason dance goes to the rival Saint John Greyhounds (3-3), who beat Hampton 20-14 in the first week of the season. It's been an up-and-down year for the Huskies. After the Saint John game, they beat the Fredericton High Black Kats for the first time in school history. They followed that with a tough 8-0 loss to the Leo Hayes Lions, but have bounced back for two straight wins to keep their playoff hopes alive. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hampton High. In other 1 p.m. starts, Leo Hayes (3-2) hosts Fredericton (4-1) and Riverview (3-2) takes on MacNaughton (3-2) at Rocky Stone. Harriston Trimble (2-3) plays L'Odyssee (0-5) and Tantramar (2-3) meets Moncton (1-4) in a Friday night doubleheader at 4 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field in Moncton. Saint John High has a bye. On the 10-man circuit, Simonds (3-3) battles Harbour View (0-6) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Shamrock Park. On Saturday, St. Malachy's (1-5) hosts St. Stephen (3-3) at Shamrock and Rothesay (5-1) visits Kennebecasis Valley (6-0). Both games are at 1 p.m. Although OHS is a perennial powerhouse that has outscored its opponents 117-24, the Huskies veterans believe anything is possible.
"I'm loving our guys' chances," said running back Andre Rochon. "That's the only goal in mind for us, just to keep on going. Win this game and keep on going from there on. There is no other option." For Rourke, Rochon and fellow seniors like receiver/cornerback Dave Breen, linebacker Chris Moran and defensive lineman A.J. Hourihan, Saturday's game could be their last in a high school uniform. "They're a really dedicated group of kids and have shown a lot of leadership," said coach Andrew Peters. "I told them [at the beginning of the week], 'You could be down to your last four practices, so you want to do the best you can.'" Saint John's players can sympathize, but don't expect them to feel bad if Hampton loses its final game. After Piers Dorion kept the Greyhounds' playoff hopes alive with a last-minute touchdown in Friday night's 29-26 win over MacNaughton, coach Wayne Tipper said his team isn't ready for its season to end either. "We're continuing to practise this week," said Tipper. "We're going forward as a team that, two weeks from now, is entering the first round of the playoffs." Tipper said several players and coaches would be on hand to give Oromocto some fan support on Saturday. "I'm not sitting here wishing [Hampton] any bad luck," said Tipper. "[But] we hope Oromocto prevails. "I know those kids out in Hampton want it as bad as my kids at Saint John High. You've just got to let the cards fall where they may. It's out of our hands now." "I'm sure they'll be there Saturday cheering for Oromocto," said Peters. "It would be great for a win for us to knock them out. "It would be a shame for this to be our last game because we love the sport so much," said Rochon. "We have to give 110 per cent every single play. Play every play like it's your last one. If we do that, we sure have a good chance." Times &
Transcript | High School Sport Week 6- Oct. 14-15 Daily Gleaner | High School SportsAs published on page C3 on October 17, 2005 Kats run roughshod
mpower@dailygleaner.com Blowouts in the New Brunswick High School Football League are fairly common. Usually they're sloppy affairs. Rarely are they as methodical and decisive as the one played in the city on Saturday. Fredericton High School Black Kats dismantled the Harrison Trimble Trojans to the tune of 52-6 at FHS Field. The Kats improve to 4-1 and are on a four game win streak heading into their final game of the regular season Saturday, a meeting with their cross-river rivals from Leo Hayes. The Lions dropped to 3-2 after losing to Riverview High Royals 42-0 Saturday in Riverview. Shea Lenehan ran for four touchdowns to pace the Riverview attack. In one other game Saturday, Hampton High Huskies improved to 3-2 with a 41-0 win over Moncton High Purple Knights. Unless the Lions can pull off an upset in that game the Kats will be the champions of the western conference. How one sided was the Kats win over Trimble. The numbers are pretty staggering. FHS ran up 383 yards of total offence and was led on the ground by Derek Madsen's 145 yards on 18 carries, two of which resulted in touchdowns. Ben Collins also was a workhorse with 72 yards on 15 carries. He scored one major. "The plan early was to run the ball up the middle pulling their defence in," Madsen said. "Then we'd let (QB Andrew) Hickey do what he does best, just throw the ball. It didn't work right away. They actually stuffed me up the gut a couple of times, but it came together as the game went along." Hickey, the first year starter at QB, carried just three times for a total of 12 yards. Once Hickey carried for a key third down conversion and on the other carries resulted in touchdowns. Tidy indeed. In the air, Hickey completed five of 13 passing tries for 129 yards. One was a 25-yard strike to Bobby McIntyre for a touchdown. FHS place-kicker Justin Conn was seven for seven on touchdown conversions and he also picked up a single point on a missed field goal. "For me, I think this was our best game on offence," Madsen said. "In the first half we didn't have any penalties and our offensive line was just amazing. We have really started to gel as a unit. You can feel it." As good as they were with the ball, the Black Kats were better without it as the defensive unit continues to be a place where opposing offenses go to die. The Trojans, who came in fourth in scoring in the league were held to just 34 yards of total offence. On the ground Jordan Kenny was the best of a thin bunch with 28 yards on five carries. He almost scored the HTHS touchdown but fumbled on the line. Teammate Kirk Wright fell on the ball for the points. In the air, quarterback Donavan Boucher tossed it up 18 times, only five of which were caught by teammates, Fredericton defenders caught two others. Boucher amassed just 10 yards in total. "We kept the intensity up and pressured the quarterback," said defensive (and offensive) lineman Ben Thompson. "Our d-backs really stepped up as well. We haven't really seen as good a passing game as Trimble has so it was good to see them play so well in this situation." The Trojan offence have only two first downs. They weren't helped by starting every offensive series but one in their own half of the field. Only twice did they cross mid-field. The one time they did get good field position was after Tyler Gilcash picked off backup QB Bobby McIntyre late in the game. That began a series of events that saw Wright score, but even then it wasn't easy. Five times inside their own 10, three inside their own one, the Kats stuffed and stopped the Trojan scoring try. If not for two undisciplined penalties by FHS Harrison Trimble would have turned the ball back over on downs. FHS opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on a one-yard plunge by Hickey set up by a 43-yard completion by Hickey to Andrew Hubbard. Conn missed 15 yard field goal try early in the second quarter but FHS still got a point on the kick making it 8-0. Hubbard returned a punt 40 yards midway through the second quarter to roll the scoreboard over to 15-0. Then came the final 1:58 of the half that would have Trimble coach Perry Kukkonen yelling at his troops at halftime about lack of commitment and effort loud enough to be heard back home in Moncton. It started with 1:58 left on the clock, Hickey plunged over the line for a touchdown. Two plays from scrimmage later the Trojans had to punt. On the next play Hickey hit Tyson Piercy for a 43-yard catch and run that set up Madsen's two-yard scoring run with 37 seconds remaining. The halftime score was 36-0. NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
The Saint John High School Greyhounds finished up their regular season with a dramatic win over the MacNaughton Highlanders in Friday night football action at Shamrock Park. After last week's grueling 2-1 loss to Leo Hayes, the Greyhounds battled back for a 29-26 Week 6 victory over the defending 12-man champions in a game that saw the lead change hands five times. With the score 26-21 Highlanders in the dying seconds, running back Piers Doiron charged into the end zone from five yards out and quarterback Nick Bonner followed up by turning a bobbled snap into a two-point conversion. Doiron and Bonner each had a touchdown earlier in the game and Phil Dobson had the other for SJHS. J.J. King blocked a key MacNaughton extra point attempt in the fourth quarter. Jordan Richard, Mike Earle, Wayne Crossman and Eric Daigle scored the majors for MacNaughton. In other 12-man action, Andre Rochon rushed for 186 yards and two TDs, Matt Ryan had two TDs and Marcel St. Pierre and Mike Brien had one each as the Hampton Huskies rumbled to a 41-0 win over the Moncton Purple Knights on Saturday. Hampton improved to 3-2 while Moncton fell to 1-4. Meanwhile, Riverview beat Leo Hayes, also by a 41-0 score, and Fredericton pounded Harrison Trimble 52-6. On Friday, Oromocto beat L'Odyssee 61-0. OHS and FHS remain tied for first in the Western Conference at 4-1, while Leo Hayes slipped to a third-place tie with Hampton at 3-2. SJHS, which has a bye in the season's final week, sits fifth at 3-3. The top four teams advance to the Week 8 quarterfinals. In Week 6 10-man games, the Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders remained the only unbeaten team with a 26-6 win over the Rothesay Redhawks. Colin Flynn-Breen, Jamie Barefoot, Chris Rigby and Ryan Crouse had the KVHS majors as the defending champions moved to 6-0. Ryan Ferguson scored the lone TD for the Redhawks, who fell to 5-1. Elsewhere, the Simonds Seabees beat the visiting Harbour View Vikings 41-0. Quarterback Kyle Skerry ran for two TDs and kicked five converts for the Seabees, who also got two TDs from Stefan Wood and one each from Chris Slade and Kurtis Nicholson. Defensively, the Seabees were led by Lee Maloney (eight tackles and a sack) and Alex Leblanc (six tackles and three sacks). Meanwhile, the St. Malachy's Saints traveled to St. Stephen to receive a 60-6 beating from the Spartans. Matt Sode threw for three TDs, ran for another, kicked six extra points and punted for a single. Darcey McKinney caught two of Sode's TD passes and Kyle McCormick had the other. The Spartans also got three rushing TDs from Joel Wilcox and one each from Mike McSorley and Zack Nixon. McKinney, Mike Ingersoll and Josiah Wilcox all had interceptions on defence. Both Rothesay and KVHS have clinched byes into the Week 9 semifinals, while the other 10-man teams will battle in the Week 8 quarterfinals. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff Shea Lenehan sees his Riverview High Royals improving week after week and it's starting to show in the standings. He also sees the Royals getting even better. Lenehan, the team's speedy running back, ran for four touchdowns and Riverview High thumped the Leo Hayes Lions 42-0 in New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division action Saturday in Riverview. With the win, the Royals moved into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with the defending provincial champion MacNaughton Highlanders. Riverview High improved to 3-2. Leo Hayes dropped to 3-2. "We're happy we're playing well and we know we're getting better, but there's bigger games ahead," said Lenehan, the 17-year-old Grade 12 student whose team lost 22 players from a year ago. "We know we haven't peaked yet and we're still looking up. We want to take it as far as we can this season." In other games Saturday, the Fredericton High Black Kats (4-1) bombed the Harrison Trimble Trojans (2-3) 52-6; and the Hampton High Huskies (3-2) blanked the Moncton High Purple Knights (1-4) 41-0. There's just one week remaining in the regular season and the six-team Eastern Conference is very tight. The top four teams make the playoffs. Riverview High and MacNaughton (3-2) are tied for first place with six points. They'll meet Saturday at 1 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field with the winner taking first. Harrison Trimble and the Tantramar Titans (2-3) are tied for third place with four points, while Moncton High is fifth with two points. L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-5) are last and have been eliminated from playoff contention. In Riverview, Lenehan set the tone again for the Royals, rushing for 265 yards and the four touchdowns. He scored on seven, 10, 25 and 26-yard runs. "I'm satisfied so far, but I couldn't be scoring the touchdowns without everyone else doing their job," said Lenehan, in his second season with Riverview High. "It's not just me scoring the touchdowns. There's 11 other guys helping out and doing their job." Royals quarterback Andrew Lewis threw a pair of touchdown passes a 15-yard pass to Greg Diamond and a 25-yard toss to Matt McKinley. Alex Reid kicked a pair of converts and Lewis also kicked one to go along with a single. Riverview High also recorded a safety. Royals head coach Mark Lenehan praised his defence. "The defence just paved the way for us again and played another excellent game. I could mention all their names," he said. "I think our guys are starting to mature. We're making fewer mistakes, but we know we still have a long way to go." In Fredericton, Derek Madsen ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns as the Black Kats rolled over Harrison Trimble. Fredericton High racked up 383 yards of total offence. Quarterback Andrew Hickey also had a pair of majors. Other Black Kats touchdowns came from Ben Collins, Bobby McIntyre and Andrew Hubbard. Kirk Wright had the lone touchdown for the Trojans, who trailed 36-0 at the half. "They had three or four big plays in the first half and that was the big thing. Our offence couldn't sustain a drive, so we've got to do a better job than that and come out with a better effort," Harrison Trimble head coach Perry Kukkonen said. "Fredericton has a really physical defence and I knew that going in, but I thought the kids might respond a little better than they did." Trojans can lock up third place in the Eastern Conference with a win over L'Odyssée Friday at 4 p.m. at Rocky Stone Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff They are two teams going in two different directions. Oromocto High Blues are preparing for what they hope is a long and successful playoff run. L'Odyssée Olympiens will watch the post-season from the sidelines. Blues used an impressive ground attack to bomb the Olympiens 61-0 in a New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division game at Rocky Stone Memorial Field last night. Oromocto High is 4-1 and sits atop the division's Western Conference. Olympiens are 0-5 for last place in the Eastern Conference and were officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. "We were coming off our first loss (16-0 to the Fredericton High Black Kats last Saturday), so we had nothing to lose and we came out hard and did our best and it turned out good," said Blues running back Kyle Roesler, who scored four touchdowns. "It was a fantastic win and it gets our spirits up, but we're not letting our heads get too big. We're concentrating on going into the playoffs and doing our best." Meanwhile, the Saint John High Greyhounds upset the defending provincial champion MacNaughton Highlanders 29-26 in Saint John last night. At Rocky Stone, Oromocto High scored six of its nine touchdowns on the ground as it rolled over L'Odyssée. Roesler led the way, scoring on five, 55 and 80-yard runs. Brennan Foley added a pair of majors on one and nine-yard scampers. It started early for the Blues. Jeremy Bigger broke free for a 43-yard touchdown run just 2:07 into the game. Roesler found the end zone for the first time on the evening a few minutes later with a 80-yard run and then Eric Smith returned an interception 63 yards for another major. All of a sudden it was 21-0 Oromocto High and the first quarter wasn't even over yet. "All week in practice we focused on our blocking schemes that was mostly our problems at FHS - so we picked that up a bit and it turned out good," said Roesler, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student. "My blockers were amazing and our defence held up strong and didn't give up many yards." The other Blues touchdowns came from quarterback Brian Von Richter, on a 24-yard pass to Bigger and 41-yard pass to Roesler. Smith also kicked six converts to go along with two interceptions. L'Odyssée, a first-year team of mostly Grade 9 and 10 players, was well overmatched against Oromocto High. "Our boys played hard. We're a young team, a junior team playing against senior teams and the boys will get through this season and next year they will be on the other side of the score," said Olympiens head coach Terry Kennedy, whose team trailed 47-0 at the half. In Saint John, the Greyhounds scored the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds remaining for the win over MacNaughton. The touchdown came after a Highlanders pass interference penalty. Greyhounds led 13-6 at the half. MacNaughton quarterback Eric Daigle threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Richard and also scored on a one-yard keep. The other Highlanders touchdowns came from Mike Earle, on a 12-yard run, and Wayne Crossman, on a 20-yard run. Three MacNaughton coaches were ejected from the game and the team racked up 200 yards in penalties by halftime. Today at 1 p.m., Riverview High Royals (2-2) host the Leo Hayes Lions (3-1), Harrison Trimble Trojans (2-2) visit Fredericton High (3-1) and the Moncton High Purple Knights (1-3) head to Hampton High to meet the Huskies (2-2). Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
For The Daily Gleaner One of the most important aspects in the success of the Fredericton High School football team this year has been their Conn game. Not that the Black Kats are running a shell game on the side or bilking widows out of their money. Instead a big part of their 3-1 record in the New Brunswick High School Football League, including three straight wins, is the play of senior Justin Conn. Conn is a potent combination of linebacker and place-kicker for the Kats and has contributed much to the FHS team in both roles this season. Conn will have a chance to work on both of his jobs again tomorrow when FHS hosts the Harrison Trimble Trojans in a 1 p.m. start at FHS Field, aka "The Jungle." Today the Leo Hayes St. Mary's Lions, who also have a 3-1 record, will look to keep pace with a game at Riverview. The Royals are 2-2. The Trojans are a bit of an unknown quantity, as are most of the teams from the Eastern Division. What is known is that they are 2-2 and are coming off a gaudy 59-7 win over Moncton High School a week ago. "Our coach has told us they have a lot of speed," Conn said."They have good players and we hear they are very much like the (provincial champion) Bernice MacNaughton team. We also know they have a strong quarterback who likes to throw the ball, so we have to adjust to them." While linebacker is one of those positions that tend to get a lot of glory, it's the kicking game where Conn really gives the Black Kats an added dimension. "I know there's been a lot of good teams that haven't had a good kicker and it's hurt them," Conn said. "On the other hand, it can make a good team even better. "Take our first game of the year, we lost on a kick through the end zone (1-0 at Hampton). We had a few chances to kick a field goal or get it at least through the end zone and we didn't take those chances and it cost us the game." On the other hand it hasn't hurt the team much since, including last week when they Kats played Oromocto High School in torrential rains and won 16-0. In that game both coaches agreed that an early kick through the end zone to score a single point putting FHS ahead early was the crucial point of the game. That win has given the Kats the hammer in their conference as far as a tiebreaker should they end up tied with the Blues for first, OHS is also 3-1. It's also a confidence builder given that the Oromocto team they beat is a veteran unit with expectations as high as those of FHS. "When you play a good game like that in those circumstances it can be hard to keep it rolling into the next week," Conn said. "But we want to keep that momentum going. We don't want to settle with that. It's a test for us to see if we can keep playing at that level when it isn't OHS or one of the teams we know." Conn has a kicking background having played some competitive soccer until he was "13 or 14, but I stopped when I got to high school pretty much." His background in soccer may have helped his technique but it wasn't the main reason he took up the kicking game. That story is much simpler. "Actually I never kicked in (junior varsity)," he recalled. "But last year the coach just asked us who can kick the ball, so I just kept at it and practising as much as I could." Despite all the testimony about how important a good kicking game is Conn, who also plays some tight end, still likes linebacker best. "I like to play defence," he said preaching the FHS gospel. "To me it's the heart of the team, the most important part of the team. The defence doesn't get in the papers much. They don't get a lot of attention, but we know that what we do is important to the team and that counts for a lot with us." Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff Mark Lenehan is only in his first season on the job, but he's already made an impact. The Riverview High Royals rookie head coach has turned the school's football team into a football program. "What that means is that Monday through Saturday, academics come first and after that there's little time in the day besides football," said Lenehan, who has replaced former Riverview High bench boss Paul Beardsworth. "After practice, they are in the weight room or watching game film or in mandatory study hall four days a week. In the off-season, we demand the players do cross training and weight training and follow a proper diet. This is the first year we've really instituted it." Royals (2-2) resume New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division play Saturday when they host the Leo Hayes Lions (3-1). Game time is 1 p.m. at the Riverview High field. In other league play this week, the L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-4) entertain the Oromocto High Blues (3-1) at Moncton's Rocky Stone Memorial Field and the MacNaughton Highlanders (3-1) are on the road to face the Saint John High Greyhounds (2-3) in a pair of 7 p.m. games tomorrow night. On Saturday, two other games are scheduled for 1 p.m. Harrison Trimble Trojans (2-2) visit the Fredericton High Black Kats (3-1), while the Moncton High Purple Knights (1-3) head to Hampton High to meet the Huskies (2-2). Tantramar Titans (2-3) have a bye. It was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Royals they lost 22 players from last year's team which was defeated in a provincial semifinal by Fredericton High - but they are in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. There's just two more weeks remaining in the regular season and there's a log jam in the middle of the six-team conference. The top four teams make the playoffs. MacNaughton has a hold of first-place, while Riverview High, Harrison Trimble and Tantramar sit in a three-way tie for second spot. Moncton High is fifth and first-year L'Odyssée finds itself in the basement. "We've got a young team, but we're pretty happy in our position. We're aiming for a playoff spot and that's where we are right now," said Lenehan, who was the running backs coach under Beardsworth last season. "We're really pleased with our progress and we're having a really good time. I've got a great coaching staff with me and this is going to be a year-round program and the kids have responded well to that." Royals are coming off a 36-0 home win over L'Odyssée last Saturday. The team's offence features running back Shea Lenehan - the head coach's son - along with second-year quarterback Andrew Lewis and an offensive line anchored by Jeff Crossman, Sterling Keirstead and Tommy Lutes. What has impressed Mark Lenehan the most though is his defence. "The defence has been playing very good the last three games. The guys have been tough and are coming together nicely." The Riverview High defence is led by Chad Anderson, Andy Stultz, James Gallant, Kyle MacEachern, Mike Miller and Mike MacLeod. Royals take on a Leo Hayes team, which lost its first game of the season but has since reeled off three straight victories. Week 5- Oct. 7-8 Daily Gleaner | High School SportsAs published on page C3 on October 10, 2005 Kats' Hubbard unfazed by the elements
mpower@dailygleaner.com If Andrew Hubbard was a racehorse, they'd call him "a mudder," meaning a competitor who prospers in rain and mud. In actuality, Hubbard is a Kat -- the Fredericton High School stripe -- but he's still a pretty mean mudder. Hubbard's running bedeviled the Oromocto High School Blues' defence as he scored a touchdown and set up another to lead the Black Kats past the Blues 16-0 Saturday in New Brunswick High School Football Leaegue action in the rain at FHS Field. With the decision, both teams are now 3-1 on the season and share top spot atop the western division. More importantly, the win gives FHS a potentially crucial tiebreaker for home field come playoff time. In other action Saturday, Leo Hayes St. Hary's Lions improved to 3-1 with a 2-1 victory over Saint John High Greyhounds in the rain and mud at Shamrock Park. In Moncton, Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders took over the lead in the east with an 18-13 win over Tantramar High Titans. Riverview High Royals hammered winless Ecole L'Odyssee. The game at FHS was played in a torrential downpour with temperatures that dropped to about seven degrees by kickoff and it appeared it might end up as one of those 1-0 or 2-0 rain soaked oddities until Hubbard broke loose. FHS got on the scoreboard early with a punt through the Blues end zone for a single point. They had backed OHS up on the kickoff and forced them to punt it back giving the home side good field position. When the Kats couldn't move the ball they took the single point on the kick and put up what would prove to be the winning point some two and a half hours later. "For me, that was the turning point of the game," said OHS coach Rob Wilson. "Actually the coin toss was the turning point. They got the kick and backed us up deep in our end which led to that point." Indeed while it was just one point everybody seemed to see it the same way. "In a game like this, scoring first is crucial," said FHS coach Larry Wisniewski. "Playing with a lead when the field is only going to get worse, the footing is not going to improve and fatigue will set in much faster because of the cold, is huge." Before the first quarter was done the Kats defence caught Blues' quarterback Brian VonRichter in the end zone for a single point to double the lead. It appeared the 2-0 score might stand up as the teams settled into a pattern of punt and hope for a mistake as the ball slopped around on the ground. But midway through the second quarter Wisniewski pulled a rabbit, or a Hubbard, out of his hat. As the Blues defence concentrated on FHS workhorse back Derek Madsen plowing north to south in the middle, suddenly there was the diminutive Hubbard breaking runs east to west and stringing out the defence. "Hubbard is short and quick," Wisniewski said. "He takes short quick steps and on a wet field that is better. (OHS) didn't have a sense of Hubbard's speed because we'd run the other backs a lot in the first quarter. "He seemed to suddenly appear and there's this guy out there who seems faster than all the other rabbits on the turf. He seems to like the muck and his foot pattern gives him traction that others don't get." Hubbard's first major contribution came midway through the second quarter as he ripped off three consecutive runs of about 10 yards each, going toward the outside and moving the ball to the OHS 20 yard-line. "Our line was making the blocks for me," Hubbard said. "I was able to get that quick step to the outside and once I got out there we made some yards, but I couldn't have done it without the line holding (OHS) up." And he had found a weakness in the formidable Oromocto defence. "The defence played very well today," Wilson said. "But we had these same little breakdowns in the same areas again and again and we have to get them fixed. The defensive breakdown to the outside was just a case of people not knowing their jobs, and that's disappointing." To make matters worse, when the Blues tried to compensate for Hubbard going wide the Kats suddenly sprung Madsen up the middle and the powerful back rumbled almost untouched up the middle for a 20-yard touchdown. Justin Conn hit the convert to send the teams to halftime with FHS up 9-0. Late in the third quarter Hubbard pretty much nailed down the win as he once again found the chink in the OHS armour to race 48 yards for a touchdown of his own, which was converted by Conn for the final score of the afternoon. "It feels awesome how it turned out," Hubbard said. "We really came into this game thinking (OHS) would shut us down on the run. But we really came up big. Everybody did their job and we made it work which was big because really the pass wasn't there for us. If we hadn't made the run work it might have ended up differently." Inside, the final three minutes Oromocto had their best chance of the day to score and at the very least put some consolation points on the board as penalties backed up an FHS drive and forced a shallow punt. VonRichter found Jeremy Bigger for a 10-yard gain and then the Blues banged out another first down on the back of punishing halfback Kyle Roesler who took his team to the 28 of FHS. The drive would die however as VonRichter put up a desperation pass that came to rest in the arms of Fredericton defensive back Bobby McIntyre. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
In an ugly game full of mud and turnovers, the Leo Hayes Lions eked out a 2-1 win over the Saint John Greyhounds in Week 5 12-man high school football action on Saturday. Saint John's Phil Dobson opened the scoring with a punt through the end zone as the rain poured down in the first half at Shamrock Park, but Matt Flemming replied with a pair of second-half singles, including one in the final minute after Mike McCarthy's interception gave Leo Hayes possession on the Greyhounds 25-yard line. In other 12-man games, the Fredericton Black Kats knocked off the previously unbeaten Oromocto Blues 16-0, the defending champion MacNaughton Highlanders beat the Tantramar Titans 18-13, the Harrison Trimble Trojans thumped the Moncton Purple Knights 59-7 and the Riverview Royals posted a 36-0 win over L'Odyssee Olympiens. In 10-man action, both the Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders and Rothesay Redhawks ran their records to 4-0. KVHS pounded the St. Malachy's Saints 48-0 while Rothesay knocked off the Harbour View Vikings 41-0. Rothesay's Chris Brooks, Justin Mousek and Aaron McDevitt each rushed for a touchdown. Simon Pearn connected on a four-yard passing TD to Rob Grant and also caught a 20-yard TD pass from Mike Cote. David Thompson recovered a fumble in the Vikings end zone for the other Redhawks major. Meanwhile, KVHS did all of its scoring in one half before the game was called due to rain. Colin Flynn-Breen and Charlie Harroun led the way with two TDs each. The Simonds Seabees won the other 10-man game, 7-1 over the St. Stephen Spartans in the annual Nick Desilets Memorial Game. Lee Maloney returned a punt 120 yards into the Spartans end zone in the final minute to win the game. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff The annual Homecoming Game turned into the Nicholas Kukkonen Show last night. Kukkonen scored three touchdowns and led the Harrison Trimble Trojans to a 59-7 pounding of the Moncton High Purple Knights in front of a huge Homecoming crowd in New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division action at Rocky Stone Memorial Field. "It wasn't too bad at all, but I'm just happy with the team's performance. After our loss two weeks ago (a 21-1 defeat to the Riverview High Royals), when we didn't show too much class with too many misconducts, we came out here tonight with a goal to not take too many penalties and fired up because it's Homecoming," Kukkonen, a Grade 11 receiver, said moments after the victory. "Homecoming is big for both schools. All week that's what everyone talks about." Trojans improved their record to 2-2 with the win. Purple Knights dropped to 1-3. Kukkonen - the son of long-time Harrison Trimble head coach Perry Kukkonen - started the show with a 63-yard scamper, which set up a five-yard touchdown run by Kirk Wright in the opening minutes of the game. That was just the start. Trojans quarterback Donovan Boucher then threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Kukkonen. Just minutes later, the two hooked up again on a 91-yard bomb for another major. A couple minutes after that, Matt Kenny intercepted Moncton High quarterback Ryan Wareham and that set up an eight-yard touchdown run by Kukkonen. All of a sudden it was 28-0 in the second quarter. Purple Knights never recovered. It was a coming out party for the Harrison Trimble offence, which had scored just 11 points in its previous two games. "Our O-Line has been struggling a bit lately and we wanted to come out here and set the tone. We were able to put points on the board and hopefully we can build off that," said Kukkonen, a 16-year-old in his third season with the Trojans. "I think our O-Line blocked and played a hell of a game and our defence was great. Our passing game worked and our running game worked. We have a new running back - Jordan Kenny - and he brings a spark to our team with his speed." Harrison Trimble led 31-7 at the half. Other Trojan touchdowns came from Dave Arseneau, on a two-yard plunge, Jordan Kenny, on a 20-yard run, Wright, his second of the evening on a 45-yard run, and Nick Gillcash, on a five-yard run. Kyle McLaughlin added all eight converts and also kicked a 22-yard field goal in the win. Moncton High struggled offensively and only managed a touchdown late in the first half on a two-yard run by Jordan Beyea. "We're happy with our first half. We went out and moved the ball, but they got a couple big plays early and it was too much. We played our kids and they were outgunned and that's Homecoming this year," Purple Knights head coach John Allanach said. "I'm not worried. I'm proud of our kids. We didn't take too many penalties and kept our cool and played the best football we could tonight." Four games are also scheduled for today at 1 p.m. Tantramar Titans (2-2) host the MacNaughton Highlanders (2-1), Riverview High Royals (1-2) entertain the L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-3), Fredericton High Black Kats (2-1) are home to the Oromocto High Blues (3-0) and the Leo Hayes Lions (2-1) visit the Saint John High Greyhounds (2-2). Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
For The Daily Gleaner Football fans will be treated to the very definition of what a "big game" is as part of this Thanksgiving weekend. Two of the best teams in high school football, arguably the two best teams in the province this year, will meet for their only regular season get-together tomorrow. Add in the fact they are both local area schools with a storied rivalry and what more could a football fan, or football player, want? "It's why you play the game," said Fredericton High School quarterback Andrew Hickey looking ahead to the showdown with the 3-0 Oromocto High School Blues. "There's a lot of respect between these teams. We take it seriously but it's also fun. You get really excited and pumped up all week before these games." Game time is 1 p.m. at FHS Field as the 2-1 Black Kats take on the undefeated Blues in a contest that could go a long way to deciding first place in the Western Conference. The other local team, the Leo Hayes St. Mary's Lions, on a roll of their own with two straight wins after a loss to OHS in their opener, will be on the road tomorrow for a game against Saint John High School with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Shamrock Park. The OHS-FHS game should be a duel of the two defensive units. The two teams have combined to allow just 17 points this season in what adds up to six games. That said, both can also move the ball as well as any team in the league. The Black Kats lost 1-0 to Hampton in a rain-swamped opener but have put 41 points on the board in each of their last two games. The Blues haven't scored less than 16 points in any game this year. Of course Hickey should know all about big games. He's played in a few. For example, he was a member of last year's edition of the Kats, a team that went all the way to the provincial final. In addition he's seen a few, having had two brothers play for FHS before him in David and Sean. "Both my brothers were great players," Hickey said. "All I can do is work hard and hope to be as good as they were. It's a source of pride for my family for sure." And a little bit of pressure as well perhaps? "A little bit," Hickey said. "There are some expectations for me by other people, but really I don't pay a lot of attention to that stuff. I do what I can and try to do the best I can on the field." Hickey is very humble about his part in a family dynasty at FHS, but coach Larry Wisniewski, who's coached all three brothers, calls it a source of pride for the family and the team. "I think any football program that's been around for any time at all develops those patterns," Wisniewski said. "It shows that the quality of athlete is transmitted from one generation to the next, that the desire is transmitted from one generation to the next. "It's kind of neat for us," the coach said. "They come in having thought about playing here since watching their brothers play so they are motivated to do as well as their brothers did. They arrive motivated and prepared in a way other kids might not be because they didn't grow up with that culture and that outlook." Hickey is still a work in progress: with one more year to play after this one, he still has time to explore potential as yet untapped. "He's coming along," Wisniewski said, "because he's a good athlete and competitive. People overlook the fact he was a D-Back and receiver last year. He's only played three games at quarterback for us this year so he's still learning the position, which is probably the most complicated and sophisticated position on the field. "He's fun to watch now and I think he will be for the rest of the year. With time he will learn more and get that much better. I think he can develop to the point where he will go on to the next level of the game." While he might be getting in his on-the-job training, Hickey is aware of the role he has to play in tomorrow's meeting with the Blues. With a solid defensive line the OHS defensive secondary has proven suspect at times. That means an opposing quarterback's ability to pick apart the coverage and get the ball into the hands of his talented group of receivers could decide the outcome. "I love throwing the ball, all quarterbacks do," he said. "I have good receivers, guys who can get open, then it will be my job to get them the ball. "But we have to establish the run as well," Hickey said. "If we are going to have any success passing we need to find a way to run on (OHS). We know this is a game we will have to be at our best in, offence and defence." In Eastern Conference action today, Harrison Trimble hosts Moncton High, both 1-2. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff He's a running back, kicker and the punter. Sometimes he'll throw a pass. Sometimes he'll be the receiver. Grade 12 rookie Jordan Beyea seems to do it all for the Moncton High Purple Knights. And he never played a single football game before this season. "I didn't know what to expect coming in, so it's been surprising," Beyea, 17, said during a break in practice this week. "It's a little more pressure on me, but I'm having a blast. It's a lot to learn as a first-year player, but I'm just trying to take it all in stride and enjoy it." Beyea's Purple Knights hook up with the Harrison Trimble Trojans in the annual homecoming game tonight at Rocky Stone Memorial Field. The New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division game starts at 7 p.m. Both Moncton High and Harrison Trimble are 1-2 on the season. Four games are also scheduled for tomorrow at 1 p.m. Tantramar Titans (2-2) host the MacNaughton Highlanders (2-1), Riverview High Royals (1-2) entertain the L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-3), Fredericton High Black Kats (2-1) are home to the Oromocto High Blues (3-0) and the Leo Hayes Lions (2-1) visit the Saint John High Greyhounds (2-2). At Moncton High, Beyea is known more for his basketball skills, but he's made the transition to the gridiron look easy. In a 29-13 win over L'Odyssée earlier this season, Beyea scored on a 25-yard run, threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Justin Lafrance and kicked a 15-yard field goal to go along with two converts. "In games, I've had my ups and downs, but we've made some progress. It's a team sport and the guys here have really helped me out a lot," Beyea said. "I just love this game. I love just love 45 guys all coming together as a team. It's a lot different than a lot of other sports." Purple Knights head coach John Allanach has taken notice. "Jordan's an athletic leader and we're glad to have him on our team. He's having a blast and Friday night you'll see more of that," Allanach said. The annual homecoming tilt between the two city rivals attracts thousands of fans to Rocky Stone each year and is the biggest game of the regular season. But Moncton High, which is coming off a 60-7 loss to Saint John High last Friday, isn't listening to all the hype. "We're treating this game like any other game. We're not worrying about the hype," Allanach said. "We want to execute on offence, have guys flying around on defence and go out and have some fun and not put any added pressure on this young team to do something that maybe they're not ready to do at this point." Over at Harrison Trimble, Trojans head coach Perry Kukkonen said this game could be the turning point of the season for his club. With both teams at 1-2 - Riverview High is also 1-2 in the Eastern Conference - a win tonight would help push for a playoff berth later in the season. "I think it will be a defining moment for us. The kids have to respond in a positive way," said Kukkonen, whose team had a bye last week and lost 21-1 to Riverview High in its last game in Week 3. "If we want to keep our playoff hopes alive we need to put a solid effort in and come out with a victory. Our kids are working very hard in practice and I expect it should be a very football game." The key for Harrison Trimble is a big performance from its offence, which has scored just 11 points in the last two games. "We have to establish some consistency on offence. We've struggled the last couple games to move the ball consistently. We really need to turn the corner," Kukkonen said. Week 4- Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Daily Gleaner | FootballAs published on page C3 on October 3, 2005 Blues survive Royal attempt at comeback
The Daily Gleaner The Oromocto High School Blues passed their first major test of the New Brunswick High School Football League season Saturday, but some sloppy work late in the game cost them a high grade. In going 3-0 on the season, the Blues started strong but struggled in the second half in a 16-8 victory over Riverview High Royals Saturday at OHS Field. The Blues led 16-1 in the fourth quarter but had to hang on with their fingernails to eke out the win over the Royals, who slipped to 1-2 with the loss. "We were told this was our first real test and it sure was," said OHS kicker/linebacker Jory Smith. "It was two good teams and they kept coming at us even when we got up. We wanted to see how we'd play against a top team and we did all right." Once again, workhorse running back Kyle Roesler was the backbone of the Blues attack as he ran for 164 yards on 29 carries and scored a touchdown. In the air, quarterback Brian VonRichter was 5 for 12 passing for 91 yards. He connected for one touchdown and was picked off three times. Jeremy Bigger was his favourite target with three catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. VonRichter was more than matched by Riverview signal caller Andrew Lewis who was 11 for 23 while throwing for 133 yards. Lewis was picked off twice. Lewis also pulled it out leading a pair of dramatic drives late in the game with OHS up 16-2 and less than four minutes remaining on the game clock. The first started at the Oromocto 50-yard line. Lewis connected on four passes on four consecutive plays to put his team on the OHS one-yard line. "We saw that one of the OHS defensive backs was biting on everything," Lewis said of the sudden passing success. "We would fake him and get our guys going deep on that side and had a lot of success." Two plays later he dove with the ball across the goal line for the Royals' first major score of the day. Suddenly what looked to be a very secure situation for OHS wasn't quite so solid. The home side was helped immeasurably by Tim Moore blocking the attempted conversion kick by Lewis. But the lead was down to eight points with 2:43 to play. On the football field, 2:43 can be an eternity as the Blues soon found out. They couldn't move the ball on the ensuing series and had to punt into a cross wind that occasional gusted into their face with 2:29 still on the clock. One of those gusts gave the Royals the ball on the OHS 45. Lewis went to work right away, hitting Greg Diamond near the right sideline for seven yards. Then came three more completions back to back to back. A pass interference call against OHS placed the ball on the Oromocto one with 1:03 remaining. It took a determined goal line stand by the Blues defence to get the ball back on downs on the two-yard line. All OHS had to do was kill the final 49 seconds. An anonymous and dejected Riverview player on the sidelines could be heard to wistfully moan "I wish they would fumble," as Oromocto lined up for second down. Whomever that player was, he should have asked for more. No sooner had the words left his lips than VonRichter dropped the handoff and Riverview's Mike Miller fell on the loose ball. With 20 seconds to play the Royals had the ball on the two and renewed life. Fullback Dan Faucette got the first two tries for the visitors. The first time he tangled in the line and got nowhere. On second down, linebacker Jory Smith of OHS slipped the line and caught Faucette in the backfield for a small, but dramatic loss. "I just saw a gap and saw (Faucette) coming my way," Smith said. "I brushed off the fullback and got (Faucette) around the waist and I wasn't letting go." With eight second left the Royals finally went back to the passing game that had served them so well but Lewis' dump to Diamond was too high, ending the game in dramatic fashion. "These two teams didn't know much about each other coming in," Jory Smith said of the finish. "(Riverview) figured out we could stop the run and started to throw with a lot of success. We had to go back to our zone to see if we could stop them, but they kept making the good plays." The frantic finish lit up a game that had ambled along very much under Oromocto's control through most of the first three quarters. "Our line hadn't been blocking in the first half," Lewis said of his team's late transformation. "They really stepped it up in the second half, but right on the last series they let down again and it killed us, we weren't getting the blocks right off the line." OHS recovered a Riverview fumble in the opening moments of the contest and were marched down the field by VonRichter's passing and Roesler's punishing running. It ended with a one-yard two-step through the line for Roesler to open the scoring. Jory Smith's convert missed. With 10 seconds left in the first quarter VonRichter hooked up with Bigger for a 15 yard scoring strike to give the Blues and iron grasp on the game. Again Smith's extra point attempt was wide. Riverview scraped back a point on a punt through the end zone with 10:38 to play in the first half. But OHS got that back when Smith's 15 yard field goal attempt was caught in the wind but went out the back of the Royal's zone. The 13-1 margin stood through halftime; in fact neither would score again until Smith split the uprights with a 24-yard field goal two minutes into the fourth quarter.
NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Titans were edged 21-20 by the Hampton High Huskies in a New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division game here on Saturday. Both teams are now 2-2. "We're pleased to be .500 at this stage of the schedule, especially with the teams we've had to play," Burns said. "But I thought we could have played better. We had our chances in the red zone and came up short. It's disappointing, but I have to give Hampton credit, they came to play. We had our opportunities, but couldn't put them away and it came back to haunt us." In other games Saturday, the Oromocto High Blues beat the Riverview High Royals 16-8 and the Leo Hayes Lions blanked the L'Odyssée Olympiens 34-0. In Sackville, Tantramar trailed 21-11 in the fourth quarter, but cut the lead to three when quarterback Joey Burns threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Stephen Bohan. Then late in the game, the Titans forced the Huskies to give up a safety to make it 21-20, but that's as close as the home team could get. "We just ran out of time, but it was a good football game, a real physical affair," Dave Burns said. Joey Burns also threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Callum Hardie. Randy LeBlanc kicked a 15-yard field goal to go along with a convert and single. At Oromocto High, the Blues went ahead 12-0 in the first quarter and then held on for the win over the Royals. Oromocto High improved to 3-0 on the season. Riverview High dropped to 1-2. Blues led 16-1 in the fourth quarter, but the Royals started a comeback when Andrew Lewis scored a touchdown on a one-yard quarterback keep. Riverview High then missed the convert. Royals later got into Oromocto High's red zone, but weren't able to score again. Blues made two goal-line stands in the final minute for the dramatic victory. "We were in a hole from the beginning, but in the second half of the game we basically took over and our defence played fantastic," Riverview High head coach Mark Lenehan said. "We had plenty of opportunities to score, but just couldn't get it done. Our defence played fantastic, but they had a very strong defence, too. It was really tough battle." Running back Kyle Roesler ran for 164 yards and scored a touchdown for Oromocto High. Quarterback Brian VonRichter connected for a touchdown with Jeremy Bigger. Lewis was 11-for-23 while throwing for 133 yards and was picked off twice. He also punted for a single point. At Leo Hayes, it was the Pat Casey Show. The Lions' Grade 12 quarterback/punt returner/defensive back returned a punt 75 yards for one touchdown, took a quarterback sneak 44 yards for another and intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards to paydirt for one more, helping lift Leo Hayes over L'Odyssée. Running back Matt Wood had the other Lions touchdown. Kicker Matt Flemming converted all four and added a 22-yard field goal as Leo Hayes improved to 2-1. Olympiens dropped to 0-3, but head coach Terry Kennedy sees his young squad going in the right direction. "We're not playing for the score," he said. "We're playing to get better every week. This time we were on the wrong side of the score. But I say if these kids stick with it and stay positive, there are going to be some teams on the wrong side of the score." Daily Gleaner | High
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Canadaeast News Service The Fredericton High School Black Kats were looking for some revenge, especially the veterans on defence. The Black Kats pinned the defending champion MacNaughton Highlanders on their half of midfield most of the game and cruised to a 41-8 victory in New Brunswick High School Football League action yesterday at Rocky Stone Memorial Field in Moncton. The Highlanders beat the Black Kats 13-9 in last year's provincial final at FHS. "That was in the back of everyone's mind," said veteran Fredericton High defensive lineman Zack Fitch. "Most of the defensive guys were on last year's team and we've been looking forward to this game," said the 17 year-old Grade 12 student. "We didn't forget what happened last year and we wanted to get even with them. This was a game we had to win." The Black Kats and Highlanders each have 2-1 records. In last night's other game, the Saint John High Greyhounds routed the Moncton High Purple Knights 53-7. The Greyhounds improve to 2-2 while the Purple Knights drop to 1-2. Today, Oromocto High Blues (2-0) host the Riverview High Royals (1-1) at OHS field, L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-2) visit the Leo Hayes Lions (1-1) at Leo Hayes High School field and the Tantramar Titans (2-1) entertain the Hampton High Huskies (1-2). All games are scheduled for 1 p.m. Fredericton High's punishing defence owned the day. The Black Kats were bigger, quicker and more physical than the Highlanders and they controlled the line of scrimmage. They lived in MacNaughton's backfield, not allowing the Highlanders to generate any sort of running game and not giving quarterback Eric Daigle any time to find receivers, who were usually covered anyway. "We expected it to be a pretty close game," Fitch said. "MacNaughton has a good team with a lot of real fast runners. "It was our job to contain them and not let them get outside on us. We forced them into the middle then make our tackles. We didn't give them much room." Receiver Andrew Hubbard led the Black Kats offence with touchdowns receptions of 25, 33, and 38 yards from quarterback Andrew Hickey. Hubbard also had three touchdowns in the Kats' 41-0 win over Saint John High a week ago. Hickey also dove in for a pair of majors yesterday and Iain MacDonald ran for a five-yard touchdown. Justin Conn kicked five converts. Mike Earle scored MacNaughton's only touchdown on a 46-yard run in the fourth quarter. The Highlanders earlier recorded a team safety Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff Fredericton High Black Kats were looking for some revenge, especially the veterans on defence. Black Kats pinned the defending champion MacNaughton Highlanders deep in their half of midfield most of the game and cruised to a 41-8 victory in New Brunswick High School Football League action yesterday at Rocky Stone Memorial Field in Moncton. Highlanders beat the Black Kats 13-9 in last year's provincial final. "That was in the back of everyone's mind," said veteran Fredericton High defensive lineman Zack Fitch. "Most of the defensive guys were on last year's team and we've been looking forward to this game," said the 17 year-old Grade 12 student. "We didn't forget what happened last year and we wanted to get even with them. This was a game we had to win." Black Kats and Highlanders each have 2-1 records. In last night's other game, the Saint John High Greyhounds defeated the Moncton High Purple Knights 60-7. Purple Knights are 1-2 and the Greyhounds are 2-2. Today, Oromocto High Blues (2-0) host the Riverview High Royals (1-1), L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-2) visit the Leo Hayes Lions (1-1) and the Tantramar Titans (2-1) entertain the Hampton High Huskies (1-2). All games are scheduled for 1 p.m. Fredericton High's punishing defence owned the day. Black Kats were bigger, quicker and more physical than the Highlanders and they controlled the line of scrimmage. They lived in MacNaughton's backfield, not allowing the Highlanders to generate any sort of running game and not giving quarterback Eric Daigle any time to find receivers, who were usually covered anyway. "We expected it to be a pretty close game," Fitch said. "MacNaughton has a good team with a lot of real fast runners. "It was our job to contain them and not let them get outside on us. We forced them into the middle then make our tackles. We didn't give them much room." Receiver Andrew Hubbard led the Black Kats offence with touchdowns receptions of 25, 33, and 38 yards from quarterback Andrew Hickey. Hickey also dove in for a pair of majors and Iain MacDonald ran for a five-yard touchdown. Justin Conn kicked five converts. Mike Earle scored MacNaughton's only touchdown on a 46-yard run in the fourth quarter. The Highlanders earlier recorded a team safety. Highlanders coach Ed Wasson paid tribute to the Kats' defence. "They played with more vigor and passion than we did, but we have a young team that's learning from its mistakes," Wasson said. "We're hoping that all of these lessons will pay off for us in the long run." Daily Gleaner | Football
The Daily Gleaner A year has made a big difference for the Oromocto High School football Blues, and not just in the standings. Indeed, the Blues' standing in the provincial high school football league are greatly different from this time a year ago. After two games in the 2004 season OHS had just a tie and a loss to show for their efforts. This time around they are 2-0 and the only team in the 11-team league that has yet to concede a point. That record will be tested tomorrow at 1 p.m. when the Blues play their third and final home game of the regular season at OHS Field. The visitors will be the Riverview Royals. That game is one of two in the area tomorrow. The Leo Hayes St. Mary's Lions will be hosting L'Odyssee Olympiens, also in a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Lions are 1-1 on the season while the first-year L'Olympiens are 0-2. The Blues will face a Royals team that is 1-1 in what could be their first real test of the season. With that in mind, the Blues are very much aware that this time last year they were looking for a break. This year the mission is to build on their success. The key could be understanding the difference between being confident and cocky. "We don't want to get caught up in ourselves," said OHS quarterback Brian VonRichter. "We knew we had a lot of guys coming back, so we knew what to expect in a lot of ways. "It's less stressful this year with a group of guys in Grade 12," he said. "We have a good group of guys. A lot of us have been together for a while, so we know enough not to be getting ahead of ourselves. We won't deny we're a good team but we won't be thinking we're better then we are." It hasn't hurt the Blues that they've had a couple of weeks to practise coming off a bye week. "It came at a good time on our schedule," VonRichter said. "We have two tough games coming up, first with Riverview and then FHS. An extra week to get things practised before those two teams can't hurt. "Some of our guys think the bye is bad and kind of breaks our momentum, but they will just be that much more eager to play this week." A key for the Blues the rest of the way will be discipline. In week one against Leo Hayes, OHS was zinged for close to 200 yards in penalties. They cut down on that a week later in a win over Saint John High School, but it remains a concern. "I think we have it under control," VonRichter said. "It was a lot better from game one to game two, so I would think it will be that much better from game two to game three." VonRichter is in his second year with the varsity Blues. He also played for Oromocto's provincial champion bantam team prior to moving up to varsity. This will also be his last as he will graduate in the spring. If OHS has a question mark it is right in front of VonRichter. Some feel the Blues will go as far in the end as their offensive line will carry them. With a strong offensive backfield and a veteran defence the question mark is the offensive line, a young group responsible for protecting VonRichter. "They get a bad rap," VonRichter said. "We have such a good defence it's not fair to compare the two lines right from the start of the year. A couple of guys on the O-line haven't played varsity before and in the first game Leo Hayes blitzed a lot, that's not their fault, it's just bad luck we had to play them on the first day. "Nobody has really seen how good this group can be yet. They get better in every practice. Certainly as they get better our offence gets better, but there wasn't much wrong with them to begin with." FHS plays in Moncton today against MacNaughton Highlanders. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport
Times & Transcript Staff SACKVILLE - Tantramar Titans running back Randy LeBlanc has scored seven touchdowns during the first three games of the New Brunswick High School Football League season, but he doesn't regard them as personal achievements. "I've been pretty lucky because I've got some amazing blockers," said the 17 year-old Pointe-du-Bute native. "When we get a touchdown, it's a team effort. There's no way I could get touchdowns without those guys blocking in front of me." Titans take a 2-1 record into Saturday afternoon's home game against the Hampton Huskies, who are 1-2. Game time is 1 p.m. in Sackville. On the schedule tomorrow the MacNaughton Highlanders (2-0) host the Fredericton High Black Kats (1-1) at 4 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field. Also tomorrow, Moncton High Purple Knights (1-1) host the Saint John High Greyhounds (1-2) at 7 p.m., also at Rocky Stone. On Saturday: L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-2) visit the Leo Hayes Lions (1-1) in Fredericton and the Oromocto High Blues (2-0) host the Riverview High Royals (1-1) at 1 p.m. Harrison Trimble Trojans (1-2) have a bye this week. In Sackville, long-time Titans coach David Burns has been impressed with LeBlanc's open field quickness, but also acknowledged the effort of others on the offensive unit. "He's surrounded by great personnel," Burns said. "Randy is so dangerous when he gets the ball so it's important for other guys to open up the holes for him. "We're lucky enough to have a team that works hard and they work well together," the coach said. Fullback Jeff Bird has been a tower of strength. LeBlanc said Bird often "blocks two guys at a time" and enjoys every second of it. Slot backs Callum Hardie and Stephen Bohan have also given LeBlanc ample room and the offensive line has stood tall and determined all year long. "We're all friends and that helps us communicate on the field," said LeBlanc, a Grade 12 student. "We've come up through minor football in Sackville together and that's a big advantage. We played peewee and bantam together and now we're the same group of guys in high school. We've always supported each other very well on and off the football field." Burns is expecting a difficult game against the Huskies, whose only win was a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Black Kats. "Hampton is a tough, in-your-face kind of team with a lot of great athletes on defence," Burns said. "That's where they put their emphasis. They try to hold other teams down then grind out a win. "We've have to be ready to play a tough, physical game. I'm hoping home-field advantage will be a factor. We haven't been home for a couple of weeks so it's nice to get back to Sackville for a game." Week 3- Sept. 23-24 Daily Gleaner | High School SportsAs published on page C1 on September 26, 2005 Kats bust out
The Daily Gleaner From shutout to blowout, it didn't take long for the Fredericton High School Black Kats to turn around their fortunes offensively. A week after losing their New Brunswick High School AAA Football League season opener 1-0 to the host Hampton Huskies, the Kats scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and went on to rout the Saint John High Greyhounds 41-0 Saturday in their home opener at FHS field. "I'm very happy we found out we can score points," Kats head coach Larry Wisniewski said, "because walking around school for a whole week trying to explain the 1-0 score was a little tiresome, to say the least. Now I don't have to do that and for that I'm grateful." FHS rookie quarterback Andrew Hickey, who's trying to fill the cleats of offensive MVP Ryley Boldon, looked comfortable after struggling in his first start at Hampton. "We played really well," Hickey said. "Everything seemed to click the first half. Our plan was to establish the running game, which we did, and that opened up some paths." "Personally, I felt a lot better. We put some points on the board and I got that pressure off my back." With 200 fans looking on, the Greyhounds started the opening drive at their own 36 and, thanks to their two-pronged running attack of Piers Doiron and Phil Dobson, quickly pushed the ball to the FHS 49. The first of several follies followed, however. Saint John quarterback Nick Bonner pitched the ball back to Dobson, but it was over his head and Kats' David Kingston pounced on the loose ball at the Greyhounds' 36-yard line. With fullback Derek Madsen working inside and Ian MacDonald rushing outside, the Kats were in the end zone six plays later, capped by MacDonald's four-yard run. Justin Conn kicked his first of five converts for a 7-0 lead. FHS used some trickery to double its lead minutes later. Facing a third and 14 at the Saint John 37, the Kats faked the punt and snapped the ball directly to receiver/backup quarterback Bobby McIntyre. He fired a 20-yard strike to Conn, who rambled the rest of the way for the touchdown. The Kats cashed in again in the first minute of the second quarter. Hickey hooked up with McIntyre for a 16-yard reception in the corner of the end zone for a 20-0 cushion. Andrew Hubbard scored the final three touchdowns in three different ways. With five minutes left in the first half, he ran 20 yards for a 27-0 lead. He took Saint John's second half kickoff and returned it 63 yards to paydirt and he capped the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 90-yard catch-and-run play with Hickey. Hickey had hit Hubbard in full stride one play earlier for what would have been a 75-yard pass-and-run touchdown play, but a penalty pushed the Kats back to their own 20-yard line. No matter. Hickey scrambled out of the pocket, hit Hubbard near midfield and the sure-handed, fleet-footed receiver was off to the races again. The Kats also had their share of big plays on defence. Bert Atwin and McIntyre picked off Bonner passes, Brad Richardson recovered a blocked punt and Greyhound rushers were caught at, behind or just beyond the line of scrimmage a dozen times. Saint John got into the red zone just once, turning the ball over on downs at the 18, and Bonner's longest completion, a 40-yarder to Kyle Hiltz from his own one-yard line, came in the game's dying seconds. The Kats head to Moncton's Rocky Stone Memorial Field on Friday for a 4 p.m. kickoff against the Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders, 2-0. Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
The Daily Gleaner Leo Hayes St. Mary's Lions head coach Lee Hoyt had hoped his young squad wouldn't go soft after two weeks away from game action. And while the Lions did pull out an 8-0 win over the visiting Hampton High Huskies in provincial high school football league action on windy Saturday afternoon at Leo Hayes Field, Hoyt and Co. know there are still some kinks to work out. "There were certainly times throughout the game where we got stopped quite a bit but you know, it's an encouraging win for the kids," said Hoyt. "Having a young team and a bunch of guys who have never played before, having two weeks off (you wonder) are they going to be ready? But I really worked the coaching staff and said, 'you know what? It's our job to prepare the kids."' With the win, Leo Hayes improves to 1-1 and sit tied for second in the western conference with four other teams including the Fredericton High Black Kats. Kats also won their Saturday tilt 41-0 against the Saint John High Greyhounds at FHS Field (see separate story). Scoring got underway quickly at the Lions Den. With the wind at his back, Lions' Matt Flemming got all of his kickoff attempt and sent the football sailing over the heads of the waiting Hampton returners. The ball bounced through the back of the end zone giving Leo Hayes an early 1-0 lead.
Starting at about midfield, Pat Olsen and Matt Wood got enough yards on the ground for a first down. Sitting on second down and 10 yards to go, quarterback Pat Casey called his own number and scampered almost 10 more yards into Huskies territory. With only inches, Leo Hayes decided to got for it. Subsequently, Casey darted up the right side from just over 40 yards out and went the distance for the major. That was all they needed. "That was actually designed for two or three yards," he said. "We were just going for the first down and I just went untouched to the line and kept going with it." Flemming's convert split the uprights and the 8-0 lead before the end of the first quarter. With the wind blowing as hard as it was, both coaches said it did force them to the ground more but Hampton was ready to go in the air as necessary. "We have a lot of faith in (quarterback) Nick Rourke and we have a lot of faith in our passing game and you know we just never got it going today," said Huskies coach Andrew Peters. The Huskies have only scored 15 points through three games this season, winning one. Saturday, the closest they came to pay dirt happened a handful of drives after the Lions scored their touchdown. Starting on the Leo Hayes 32-yard line, Hampton's Kevin Morell put up two good runs for a combined 28 yards and got his Huskies to first and goal. After trying another run and then a pass that fell incomplete, Hampton was basically in for a gimme of a field goal. Instead, the Huskies faked and the pass was dropped, turning the ball over. "Definitely we wished we had used the wind more to our advantage," Peters said. "Our offense is struggling, struggled last week, and so we've got to get the offense together. Defensively, we're happy where things are going." Casey said the two-week hiatus gave the young offensive core a chance to adjust but he knows eight points won't be enough to win the rest of their games. "We've just been working on our offensive line for a long time...and we're just going to keep working on it and go from there," he said. "We've still got a ways to go, but the first couple of drives I think we had some success with the offensive line and it really just takes time playing together more than anything else," said Hoyt. Next up for the Lions is a home game Saturday against the first year L'Odyssee Olympiens who are winless in two starts after losing 35-7 to Tantramar High Titans. Kickoff is 1 o'clock. NB Telegraph-Journal |
High School Sports
The defending champions kept on rolling in Week 3 New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association football action. The Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders came into Simonds and beat the Seabees 42-18 on Saturday to improve to 3-0 in one of three games on the 10-man circuit. Colin Flynn-Breen, Jamie Barefoot and Chika Ikejiani each had two touchdowns for KVHS. The Crusaders scored every which way, getting both a punt return and a kick return TD from Barefoot, while one of Ikejiani's majors came on an interception. Matthew Noftell kicked four converts and the Crusaders got a safety to round out the scoring. John True Lamos was named KV's player of the game. Lee Maloney (65-yard punt return), Steve Oickle (45-yard reception) and Marshall Vail (80-yard reception) had the majors for Simonds. Simonds quarterback Kyle Skerry threw both TD passes as the Seabees dropped to 1-2. In other games, the Rothesay Redhawks also remained unbeaten, thanks to a 50-6 win over the St. Malachy's Saints at Hampton High. St. Mac's got its first points of the year thanks to a 55-yard TD run from John Brideau. The 0-3 Saints held the Redhawks to a 22-6 halftime lead before running out of steam after the break. Rothesay got two TDs each from Adam Estey and Justin Mousek and Matt Graham, Brad Vincent and Chris Brooks added majors. Mike Cote kicked three converts, Brooks added one and Mousek and Aaron McDevitt chipped in two-point converts. The St. Stephen Spartans shut out the Harbour View Vikings 33-0 in the other Saturday tilt. The Spartans moved to 2-1 thanks to two TDs each from Joel Wilcox and Zach Nixon and one from Kyle McCormick. Harbour View dropped to 0-3. St. Stephen QB Matt Sode threw a TD pass to McCormick and also kicked three converts. One of Nixon's TDs came on a blocked punt in the fourth quarter. In 12-man action, the Fredericton Black Kats bounced back from last week's 1-0 loss to the Hampton Huskies with a 41-0 victory at home over the Saint John Greyhounds. Andrew Hubbard led the Kats with three TDs - one running, one receiving and one on the opening kickoff return of the second half - as FHS moved to 1-1. The Greyhounds fell to 1-2. Meanwhile, the Huskies lost 8-0 at Leo Hayes, Riverview beat Harrison Trimble 21-1 and Tantramar thumped L'Odysee 35-7. Saint John takes on the Moncton Purple Knights (1-1) in one of two Week 4 games on Friday night at Rocky Stone Memorial Field in Moncton. The Black Kats battle the defending champion MacNaughton Highlanders (2-0) in the other. Saturday, Riverview (1-1) visits Oromocto (2-0), L'Odyssee (0-2) is at Leo Hayes (1-1) and Hampton (1-2) travels to Tantramar (2-1). The 10-man schedule sees Harbour View visit St. Mac's on Friday night at Shamrock Park. On Saturday, St. Stephen is at KVHS and Simonds hosts Rothesay, although it is officially the Redhawks' home game Times & Transcript |
High School Sport Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports
Times & Transcript Staff Riverview High Royals knew they had to make some adjustments. Only six days after surrendering 38 points, the Royals defence stood tall yesterday and led Riverview High to a 21-1 win over the Harrison Trimble Trojans in a New Brunswick High School Football League game at Rocky Stone Memorial Field. Royals have a 1-1 record and the Trojans are 1-2. Royals linebacker Kyle MacEachern said his team never panicked after opening the season with a 38-36 loss to Tantramar. "We kept our heads up and went back to practice this week and worked real hard," the 16-year-old said. "We knew our team was better than we looked in the first game and we had to make a couple of minor changes," he said. "We stuck together and the defence came up big. Everyone worked as a unit. It wasn't one or two guys - it was everyone." Last night, the Tantramar Titans improved their record to 2-1 with a 35-7 victory over L'Odyssée Olympiens. L'Odyssée, an expansion team, is 0-2. League play resumes this afternoon with a pair of games in the Western Conference. Hampton Huskies (1-1) visit the Leo Hayes Lions in Fredericton and the Fredericton High Black Kats (0-1) host the Saint John High Greyhounds (1-1). MacNaughton Highlanders (2-0), Moncton High Purple Knights (1-1) and Oromocto High Blues (2-0) all have weekend byes. Yesterday, Royals led 7-1 at halftime. Andrew Lewis scored a touchdown on a one-yard quarterback sneak and the Royals added a single punted by Lewis. Trojans scored their only point on a missed field goal attempt by Kyle McLaughlin. Trimble's offence was stymied after starting quarterback Donovan Boucher left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. Nicholas Kukkonen took over from Boucher for the rest of the game and he scrambled for a handful of long gains on broken plays, but Riverview's defence shut down the Trojans for the most part. Trimble was also hurt by a lack of discipline. At one point, with the score still within reach, the Trojans were called for three straight objectionable conduct penalties to erase good field position. "Our offence was incredible," MacEachern, a Grade 12 student, said. "They held the ball and put together some long drives. Our defence could have been winded, but the offence stayed on the field for a long time." Shea Lenehan scored two touchdowns on short off-tackle plunges, for the Royals in the second half. Lenehan and Corey Betts were a formidable tandem in the backfield, effectively chewing up yard and valuable time on the clock. Lewis added a convert and a single. Last night, Randy LeBlanc scored all five of Tantramar's touchdowns and added converts on them all as well. He ran for 328 yards on 27 carries. Jeff Bird chipped in with 114 yards rushing on nine carries. Pierre Mouwad had L'Oyssée's major. Scott LeBlanc added the convert. Titans coach Dave Burns said both teams played aggressively and he was pleased with this team's progress. "Defensively, we were a lot tougher this week," Burns said. "L'Odyssée played tough, just as we expected they would be. They were real tough in the first half and we were able to break through in the second half." Olympiens coach Terry Kennedy was excited about his team's performance. "Tantramar has a great team that is well-coached," Kennedy said. "They took advantage of our mistakes as young team. "Our kids are getting better everytime they are on the field and they are playing with a lot of enthusiasm. It's a good sign for the future." Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports Times & Transcript |
High School Sport Week 2- Sept. 16-17 Daily
Gleaner | High School Sports
As published on page C1 on September 19, 2005 N.B. High School Football League Titans storm back for victory
Times & Transcript Staff Quarterback Joey Burns and receiver Stephen Bohan worked some magic Saturday. Burns threw three touchdown passes to Bohan as the Tantramar Titans rallied for a wild 38-36 win over the Riverview High Royals in New Brunswick High School Football League 12-man division action in Riverview. Titans evened their record to 1-1 with the victory. Royals are 0-1. Tantramar trailed 36-26 late in the fourth quarter, but Burns and Bohan cued the comeback when they hooked up on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 3:30 remaining to pull within four points of the lead. Then, after a stop on defence, the Titans got the ball back on their own 30-yard line and made one final drive down the field. With eight seconds remaining, Burns tossed a two-yard touchdown pass to Bohan to seal the deal for Tantramar. "It was a very intense game and we went in knowing it was a hostile environment at their home field for their first game," Titans head coach Dave Burns said. "It showed a lot of character. Our boys didn't quit and they played their hearts out in the second half." Joey Burns also found Bohan in the end zone on a 20-yard pass in the first half. Tantramar's other touchdowns came from Randy LeBlanc, on a six-yard run, Kylan Estabrooks, on a 80-yard punt return, and Matt Landry, on a 13-yard pass from Burns. Running back Shea Lenehan led the Riverview High offence. He ran for 208 yards on the day and scored three touchdowns on one, three and 40-yard runs. Quarterback Andrew Lewis threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Greg Diamond and also scored on a one-yard plunge. Lewis kicked all five converts for the Royals, who led 22-20 at the half. "I think the difference in the end was that the clock just run out. They scored with eight seconds left. It was a good game both ways," Riverview High head coach Mark Lenehan said. In other games Saturday, Hampton High Huskies (1-1) edged the Fredericton High Black Kats (0-1) 1-0, while the Oromocto High Blues (2-0) blanked the Saint John High Greyhounds (1-1) 19-0. Times & Transcript |
High School Sport Daily Gleaner | High
School Sports Times &
Transcript | High School Sport Week 1- Sept. 9-10 NB
Telegraph-Journal | High School Sports
Telegraph-Journal Times &
Transcript | High School Sport
(VIKTOR
PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT) SEAN HATCHARD Daily
Gleaner | Football KYLE RUNS WILD:
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DAILY GLEANER/DAVID SMITH PHOTO) MIKE POWER Times &
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(VIKTOR
PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT) SEAN HATCHARD Preseason- Sept. 4-9 Daily
Gleaner | High School Sports WORKHORSE
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DAILY GLEANER/STEPHEN MACGILLIVRAY PHOTO) MIKE POWER NB Telegraph-Journal | Football
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Herc/Telegraph-Journal) By Nathan White
He also said he was impressed by Simonds, which is making the drop to 10-man after being the only winless 12-man team in the province last year, and much-improved Rothesay, which was burned for a league-high 178 points last season in their debut. Greyhounds defensive coordinator Dave Grandy joined Saint John High in 2001 for the first of two straight seasons that ended with losses against Hampton in the AA final. Now the pair are the only Saint John area teams in the 12-man division, and they'll be renewing their rivalry right away, with a 1 p.m. start Saturday at Shamrock. "It's going to be a grudge match for sure," said Grandy, who listed running backs Piers Doiron and Phil Dobson, receiver Joel Seale, quarterback Nick Bonner, running back/ defensive back Dave Brown, defensive lineman Josh Stewart and linebackers John Livingston and Brandon Humphrey as his go-to guys. In other Week 1 games, Leo Hayes meets Oromocto and Moncton takes on defending 12-man champs Bernice MacNaughton today, while on Saturday St. Malachy's visits Simonds, Harrison Trimble battles Tantramar and Rothesay travels to St. Stephen. All Saturday games are slated for 1 p.m. Daily
Gleaner | High School Sports FANCY FOOTWORK
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DAILY GLEANER/STEPHEN MACGILLIVRAY PHOTO) BILL HUNT Times &
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Preseason- August 29-Sept. 3 Daily
Gleaner | David Ritchie One of the leaders of the parents' organization which acts
as a support group for high school football at Fredericton High School
laments about a program he perceives has been operating in 'obscurity.' |