"Our guys really wanted to get on the field and play the game,'' Teed said. "It's been a rough week. There were a lot of things much bigger than football going on at Trimble last week.''

Tantramar Titans beat the Trojans 14-0 at Rocky Stone Memorial Field in Trimble's first game since four of its students died in a car accident.

There were no extra-curricular activities at the school last week.

Trimble only practised two times in preparation for the game, but coach Teed did not use excuses.

"Our timing was off, especially on offence, but Tantramar played a great game,'' Teed said.

"They've got a hard-working and hard-hitting team,'' Teed added. "They executed on offence and their defence shut us down.

"It was tough game for us in terms of field position. We had a lot of two-and-out situations so we wound up punting the ball away a lot.

"Our defence kept us in the game, but we couldn't get anything done offensively.''

Both teams have 1-1 records.

Teed thanked the Titans for rescheduling the game, which was supposed to be played last Friday night.

"Tantramar showed a lot of class and they did everything they could to help us out,'' Teed said. "They were very supportive.''

Titans coach Dave Burns said helping the Trojans through a difficult time "was never an issue.''

"It has been on the minds of our kids, too,'' Burns said. "It was a difficult assignment to go in an play such an emotionally-charged game.

"It's also good for both teams to play this game and get back into the regular routine.''

Calum Hardie rushed for 30 and five-yard touchdowns. He also kicked both converts.

Hardie wound up with 150 yards rushing while Jake Mundle added 68. Joey Burns completed three of six passes for 70 yards and Zack Fisher was two-for-four for 30 yards.

"It was a physical game and both teams respect each other,'' Burns said. "We played well, but you're going to hear a lot from Trimble this year, too. They've got a solid football team.''

Three games are scheduled for this week.

Riverview High Royals (2-0) meet L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

In games scheduled for Friday, the Mathieu-Martin Matadors (0-1) host Tantramar at 4 p.m. in Dieppe and the Moncton High Purple Knights (1-1) clash with the Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders (1-0) at 7 p.m. at Rocky Stone.

Trimble has a bye this week.

In the 10-man conference Saturday, the St. Stephen Spartans improved to 2-0 with a 38-14 win over the visiting J.M.A. Armstrong Cougars of Salisbury.

Cougars dropped to 0-2. They have a bye this week then host Harbour View Vikings on Sept. 29.

Quarterback Jordan Heather hit receiver Curtis Hillier with a nine yard strike in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter and the Oromocto Beaver Brokerage Blues hung on for a rain-soaked 12-6 victory over the visiting Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders in a rain-soaked New Brunswick High School Football League contest at Oromocto High School's MacKenzie Field Saturday.

The win comes a week after the Blues lost their home opener to the Leo Hayes Lions in 37 degree heat and evens the team record at 1-1 on the season. The Crusaders drop to 0-2 on the season with the loss. In other conference games, Saint John High Greyhounds improved to 2-0 with a 20-7 win over Leo Hayes, Hampton Huskies shut out Simonds High Seabees 24-0, Riverview High Royals mauled Mathieu Martin Matadors 49-0 and Moncton High doubled L'Odyssee 16-8.

Heather's strike to Hillier came one play after Blues linebacker Tyler Patten separated Kennebecasis running back Jesse Bartlett from the ball with a hard hit and Josh Vance recovered the loose ball.

"It was a great feeling," said Patten. "Earlier in the game, I let a run go outside me, and I just knew. I (said) 'It's not going to happen again.'"

Heather made them pay instantly, hooking up with Hillier on the first play from scrimmage.

"Chris is one of our big targets this year," said Heather. "I knew they weren't covering some guys on that play, so I just threw it up for him and he came down with the ball."

"We were trying to set it up all game," said Hillier. "Jordan made a read there when we went all hooks there for a couple of series. He noticed that nobody was guarding the middle guy. He just said 'Chris, run right down the field' and it was right there. It was almost slow motion the way it happened because you could just see it open. We just came up with a great play at the right time."

In fact, there was almost too much time left, because the Crusaders got it back for one more crack on offence. Matt Harmon wrenched the ball away from Crusaders running back Barlett inside the ten yard line in the game's final minute and the Blues ran out the clock to preserve the victory.

"The defence played absolutely amazing," Hillier agreed. "They gave us good field position.''

Heather was forced to go to the air more than you might expect given the conditions - a steady rain which began about 10 minutes before the opening kickoff and never really let up - when running back Jordan Gardiner left midway through the second quarter due to a head injury. He was playing defence at the time and was hurt tackling Kennebecasis receiver Chris Randles.

He missed the next two series - Heather going right to the shotgun and firing four straight incomplete passes - tried it for one more, and retired for the day.

"He just wasn't comfortable with the way he felt," said Blues head coach Rob Wilson.

"We missed him with the running game, (on) options and some of our plays to the outside," said Jordan Heather.

Wilson believes the weather conditions "took a lot of our game away from us. Our plan was to come out and run. We are semi-determined that we are going to start running the ball and try to get something off that."

That plan was scotched when Gardiner went down however, and Jordan took to the air. "We had a hard time throwing the ball...it was slippery as heck," said Jordan Heather. "We couldn't really run the ball so we had to go to the passing game."

"Considering the situation, not a lot of quarterbacks could have thrown the way he did. I don't think very many could have."

The Blues were solid defensively too, intercepting Kennebecasis quarterback Brian Brigden three times and forcing Bartlett to cough the ball up three times on fumbles. Bartlett scored their only major, taking a pitch from Brigden and getting outside to dash 34 yards down the left sideline in the third quarter to give the Crusaders a 6-0 lead after a scoreless first half in which neither team was able to sustain much offence. The convert was blocked.

Blues kicker Mathew Richard cut the deficit in half with a 31 yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter, and the Blues collared Brigden in the end zone for a safety early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 6-5, just one play after Bartlett had dashed 105 yards for a touchdown only to have it called back on a clipping penalty.

The key play came as the Crusaders set up shop on their own four yard line after a punt and a holding penalty. Bartlett, their big truck of a back, took it out to the 14, then the 23 and was across the 25 when Patten popped him and the ball squirted loose.

He also picked off a pair of passes in what turned out to be a pretty good day's work for the 16-year-old Grade 12 student.

Still, the Crusaders had one more shot at it, with Brigden rolling left and taking off on a bootleg up the left sideline for a gain of 37 yards to get the Crusaders on the march just before the three minute whistle to full time.

They drove it inside the 14 - Brigden taking off on another 12 yard bootleg with the clock ticking, and Bartlett banged it inside the 10 before Brigden was thrown for a loss of three that left the Crusaders with third down and seven to go. Harmon stripped Bartlett of the ball on the next play and the Blues were able to celebrate the win.

Heather was 10 for 23 overall in passing for 96 yards. They added 47 yards on the ground.Kennebecasis QB Brigden was three for 13 in passing overall and threw three interceptions. He and Bartlett accounted for the lion's share of their 160 yards rushing on the day. "We must have had five different players filling in for Gardiner on defence," said coach Wilson. "But we did a great job of just standing them up, and we stuck it out. Patten played a great game. He flew all over the field today."

The Royals scored three first-quarter touchdowns and rolled to the win over the Matadors (0-1), who were playing their first game in the league after a two-year absence.

In a game last night, the Moncton High Purple Knights defeated the L'Odyssée Olympiens 16-8 at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

In Riverview, running back Dan MacArthur scored three touchdowns to power the Royals offence in the victory over the Matadors.

MacArthur scored on a 10-yard run and also caught six and 10-yard touchdown passes from quarterback Anthony Sears.

"It's nice to get off to a good start to the season, but we know it always gets tougher as the year goes on," said Riverview High head coach Guy Messervier, whose team led 42-0 at halftime.

"We still have a lot of things to improve on and the other teams are going to get better. We'll see later in the season how good a team we are."

Running back Matt Turple found the end zone twice for the Royals, rushing 25 yards and 35 yards for a pair of touchdowns.

The other Riverview High touchdowns came from Launce Burdock, on a 70-yard run, and Jeremy Sollows, on a 20-yard pass from Sears.

Matt Archibald kicked seven converts in the victory.

The Royals have outscored their opponents 95-0 in two games.

"What I liked from our defence this week was that it was a group effort. Last week, I thought a few guys really stood out, but today our whole defence was swarming," Messervier said.

"All the coaches noticed that. Whenever their running back hit a hole, there was just red jerseys all around him."

At Rocky Stone, Moncton High evened its record to 1-1 by beating L'Odyssée. The Olympiens dropped 0-2.

The Harrison Trimble Trojans (1-0) host the Tantramar Titans (0-1) tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Rocky Stone.

In the 10-man division, the J.M.A. Armstrong Cougars (0-1) visit the St. Stephen High Spartans (1-0) today at 1 p.m.

The Matadors, who had an opening week bye, will visit the Riverview High Royals (1-0) at 4 p.m.

New head coach Shane Mosher takes over an inexperienced Mathieu-Martin squad. About half the roster is new to football while the other half comes from the minor football ranks.

"This school has a lot of pride and the players really stick together. A lot of our kids worked extremely hard within the school talking to teachers and the athletic director to get this team going again," said Mosher, who was an assistant coach with the Moncton High Purple Knights last season.

"They're pretty pumped to hit the field for the first time and I'm pretty excited they have a chance to get this team off the ground."

Also tomorrow in the 12-man division Eastern Conference, Moncton High (0-1) hosts the L'Odyssée Olympiens (0-1) at 7 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

A game between the Harrison Trimble Trojans (1-0) and Tantramar Titans (0-1) will be played Sunday at 6 p.m. at Rocky Stone. It had originally been scheduled for tomorrow night, but was postponed to Sunday following the fatal car accident involving four Harrison Trimble students last weekend.

The defending New Brunswick champion MacNaughton Highlanders (1-0) have a bye this week.

Mathieu-Martin had won one provincial championship (1985) and reached the New Brunswick final on four other occasions -- most recently in 2001 -- before the team folded following the 2004 season.

Mosher isn't new to this type of situation. He started two minor football teams from scratch in his native Ontario and knows what kind of challenge is ahead.

"There's some advantages in that the players haven't developed any bad habits, but it's not a cakewalk. There's a lot of instruction and lot of teaching and the players have to learn how to crawl before they can walk. That's where we are right now," said Mosher, who has assistant coach experience in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport football ranks with both the Mount Allison Mounties and University of Waterloo Warriors.

"We want to get some experience running our systems. We're using only small offensive and defensive packages, it's nothing complicated. We want the players to get good at one thing before we get doing two or three things."

Mosher is new to the Dieppe school, but has gone back into its past to help him. His coaching staff features former head coach Terry Kennedy, who guided the Matadors to the 2001 New Brunswick championship game against Harrison Trimble, and former Mathieu-Martin all-star linebacker Guy Charest.

The Matadors face a tough task in their season opener tomorrow. Their opponent, Riverview High, blanked Moncton High 46-0 in Week 1.

"We know Riverview is big, strong, fast and talented, so we have our work cut our for us," Mosher said.

"Our objective this year is to work as hard as we can and be competitive on the field as soon as we can. How well we do that depends on how quickly we progress and how quickly we learn and also depends on how well the other teams do. If we win one game, we'll go for two. If we win two games, we'll go for three and go from there."

Key Mathieu-Martin players include linebacker Andre Bourque, defensive lineman Max Daigle, halfback Julian Cormier, running back Eric Lebrun, receivers Sylvain Lebrun and Patrick Arsenault and offensive linemen Sam Grandmaison and Jeremy Swan.

Meanwhile, the J.M.A. Armstrong Cougars (0-1) visit the St. Stephen High Spartans (1-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. in the 10-man division.

But in light of their tactics in their season opening 17-13 victory over the Oromocto High School Beaver Brokerage Blues last Saturday, a more fitting name for the Leo Hayes High School football team might be the Groundhogs.

The Lions backfield of Mitch Cormier and Tommy Broad ran roughshod over the Blues in their season opening win and when they got a little tired, Evan Underhill came off the bench to do it some more.

The trio totaled more than 250 yards rushing on the day, leaving quarterback Brendan Cornford - who became the starter by attrition last season, taking over with three games left in the season when Leo Hayes quarterbacks began falling like bowling pins - to mix in just enough passing to keep the defence off balance.

Cornford, "has really improved over the last year," said Lions' head coach Lee Hoyt. "He's been to some camps and worked with some coaches over the last year and the improvement is amazing. He really improved his arm strength, his accuracy, his drops, his touch passes, his footwork...coming from where he was last year, it's a 100 per-cent turnaround."

Broad is the second string quarterback, but he obviously has other responsibilities in the backfield. Mitch Cormier is the feature back - 154 yards on 22 carries in the opener, with Broad accumulating 87 more.

"With our different system and different looks, we're able to vary guys and give them a rest and we're able to cycle athletes through. That certainly makes a difference,'' said Hoyt.

Receivers are a work in progress.

"We have guys who can catch the ball, but that will be a position we need to grow in as the year goes on. We have some big kids for wideout and slotback. Josh Thomas will get some time at slotback. Our receivers do a good job running their routes and catching the ball when they need to," Hoyt said, mentioning rookie receivers Ryan Hearn and Cody Stewart in particular. "Offence always takes a little longer to put in. It's going to take a couple of weeks to work all the kids into the system."

Hoyt believes the defence will be strong. They surrendered a western division high 224 points in seven games last season but it's a more experienced group this season . The linebacking crew is anchored by seniors John Benson and Jake Thomas, "and around that we fill in with a bunch of players. I like to think we're not a team based on one or two players. We all have to work together. But those guys in particular are going to be big for our defence."

Keys on the line are Brendan Brooks and Josh Kilburn, with rookie Blair James stepping up from junior varsity into a spot on the D-line. "We have to fill some guys around those positions and go from there," Hoyt said.

New offensive co-ordinator Rick Kelly, running backs coach Jay Thomas, defensive co-ordinator Josh Thomas, linebackers and special teams coach Murray Appleby, defensive line coach Rich Pirie and defensive backs coach Shawn Fraser round out the Lions' staff.

"All the little things aren't all worked out yet, but it's fun to play the guys and see what they can do," said Hoyt, who takes the 1-0 Lions to Saint John Friday night where they face the Saint John High Greyhounds in a 7 p.m. kickoff at Shamrock Park.

The home opener comes up next Saturday, Sept. 22, when the Lions host the Simonds High Seabees. They won't face rival Fredericton High School Black Kats until North-South Bowl VII on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Leo Hayes Field.

Oromocto plays host to Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders in one of two divisional games Saturday. Game time is 1 o'clock at MacKenzie Field. Hampton Huskies play at Simonds in the other.

Both teams are loaded with young players, speed and few veterans.

For Parent and the Simonds High School Seabees, this season is unique in that the team returns to 12-man play in the Western Conference. The Seabees are joined in the conference by the Hampton Huskies, Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders, Saint John Greyhounds, Fredericton Black Kats, Leo Hayes Lions and Oromocto Blues.

"We're sort of starting with a blank slate," Parent said. "The calibre of play is stronger this season."

While the Seabees lost a number of veterans, Parent is excited about the youth on his squad. He cites team speed and intensity as reasons for optimism.

On offence, the Seabees will look to be a ball-control style team depending on the running game to control the tempo of play. Parent said they've got the backfield to get the job done.

Jared Hamm, one of the team's captains, will start at fullback.

"He's a great athlete, really big and athletic," Parent said. "He's got a tremendous attitude and will be a force to be reckoned with."

When not making plays of his own, Hamm will be the lead blocker for starting tailback Josh Davis, who racked up over 1,000 yards rushing last season. The running duo will take pressure off the passing game and allow the team to execute its plan of throwing high percentage passes.

The Seabees will open their season at home on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Hampton.

"They have a really strong program, so we expect a battle," Parent said.

The league actually opened last weekend with six games that saw SJHS drop KVHS 20-12, Riverview blank Moncton 46-0, Harrison Trimble dust off Odyssee 27-0, defending champion MacNaughton manhandle Tantramar 20-0, Fredericton beat Hampton 13-0 and Leo Hayes get past Oromocto 17-13.

Action this weekend will see Odyssee visit Moncton tonight at 7 p.m. at Rocky Stone Field while on Friday, Riverview hosts Mathieu Martin at 4 p.m. and Saint John High welcomes Leo Hayes at 7 p.m. at Shamrock Park. On Saturday, Oromocto hosts Kennebecasis Valley at 1 p.m.

While Simonds makes the jump to the 12-man league, Murphy and the Harbour View High Vikings are the defending champions in the 10-man division. Other teams in the division include the St. Malachy's Saints, St. Stephen Spartans, Rothesay Redhawks and JMA Armstrong Cougars.

Just like the Seabees, the Vikings have a lot of raw talent and few veterans.

"It was tough at graduation last year watching some of the guys leave," Murphy said. "The guys we've got this season are keen and raw, but a great group of athletes.''

With six returning players, three on each side of the ball, the coaching staff decided to convert veteran Kyle King from receiver to quarterback this season.

"With so many new people and that position being so crucial, we decided to go with a veteran kid," Murphy said. "(King) is a good kid and dependable."

The Vikings' first game was a 62-0 loss to the St. Stephen Spartans, but Murphy said the difference between the first game to the last will be huge.

"Our goal is to teach these guys the game of football and with any luck make the playoffs," he said. "We've got the talent, we just need the experience. We expect the team to improve more than anybody else in the league.''

The Vikings have a bye this weekend and will return to action next weekend when they host the Redhawks.

Other Week 1 results included Rothesay High recording a 29-26 victory over the J.M.A. Armstrong Cougars of Salisbury.

Action this weekend has the Redhawks visiting the St. Malachy's Saints at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Shamrock Park and St. Stephen hosting the Cougars at 1 p.m. on Saturday.