Nova Scotia squads secure Maritime football titles

Published in the Daily Gleaner on Monday November 22, 2010
Appeared on page B4

The Capital Area Minor Football Association teams came up short in Maritime football championship games Sunday before about 200 fans at Knowledge Park Drive Field.

In the peewee final, the Bedford/Sackville Saints beat the Oromocto Panthers 30-6.

The Dartmouth Destroyers also took the bantam championship back to Nova Scotia, downing the Fredericton Junior Black Kats 24-3.

In the peewee game, Andre Boudreault opened the scoring for Sackville with a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown. Garret Jewers added the two-point convert.

A tough defence by both teams resulted in the first quarter ending with the Saints still leading 8-0. In the second quarter, the Saints moved the ball well and Jewers caught a 15-yard pass in the corner of the end zone for a 14-0 lead. The point after by Jewers wasn't successful.

Just before the half, Oromocto had a continuous drive leading to a 39-yard touchdown run by fullback Tyler Feltis to put the Panthers on the scoreboard. The half ended 14-6 Saints.

In the third quarter, the Saints went back to work against a tough Panther defence. Aidan Majury scored on a two-yard plunge, followed by a Jewers convert.

In the fourth quarter, William Chamberlain scored on a 10-yard reverse play and Jewers kicked the convert to close out the scoring.

Most outstanding offensive players were Jewers and Feltis. Outstanding defensive player awards went to Tyler Robichaud for the Saints and Jake Riley for the Panthers.

In the Maritime bantam final, the Junior Black Kats opened the scoring on their first possession with a 38-yard field goal by Quentin Crouse.

The teams settled into a defensive struggle after that, with the Kats clinging to a 3-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Destroyers used a strong ground game to grind out the time on a long drive that the Kats were able to stop, getting a turn over on downs.

On the next Black Kat possession, defensive back Andrew Shaw intercepted a Fredericton pass and brought the ball back 15 yards to the Black Kat 32. This led to a late third-quarter touchdown when Destroyer halfback Tyler Gibson-Lorde caught a one-yard TD pass over the middle from quarterback Travis Stanfield. The convert by Liam Robinson was successful.

In the fourth quarter, on the next series by the Destroyers, fullback Shaun Robinson carried the ball into the end zone on an eight-yard run up the middle. The convert upped the lead to 16-3 and the Destroyers weren't looking back.

With time winding down, Stanfield connected with wide receiver Jake Moore in the corner of the end zone and Robinson's convert capped the scoring.

Top offensive players were Robinson for Dartmouth and Blake Murphy for Fredericton. Defensive MVP awards went to Shaw for the Destroyers and Robert DeMerchant for the Black Kats.