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2003 Season
November 16 Maritime
Bantam Final Timberlea
Titans 12 Oromocto Junior Blues 7
A game Blues team came up just
short against, by far, the toughest opponent this year. The first half of the
game was a defensive struggle in which the Blues scored the only points on a
Jory Smith single on a punt.
In the third quarter the Blues
would score a touchdown on a 50 yard pass and run only to have it nullified by
an inadvertent whistle blown in error by one of the officials. This mistake
would prove very costly in this tightly played game.
Later in the quarter
Oromocto would score its only touchdown on a 30 yard run by Kyle Roesler. The
convert was no good leaving the Blues up 7-0 at the midway point of the third
quarter.
The Titans bruising
ground game slowly took its toll on the smaller Blues team. With less than a
minute remaining in the third quarter big tailback Matt Burke would bull into
the end zone from three yards out. The convert attempt was no good leaving the
Blues ahead 7-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Timberlea put together a
long fourth quarter drive sparked by the running of Burke. With only two minutes
remaining in the game he would score again from the two yard line giving the
Titans a 12-7 lead. Again the convert attempt was no good.
The Blues would mount one
last drive to try and win the game. They moved the ball from their own 35 yard
line to the Timberlea 35 yard line with only 45 seconds remaining. Brian Von
Richter's pass to John Christie at the Titan 20 yard line ,with no defenders
between him and paydirt, would bounce off the receiver's hands and go
incomplete. Timberlea was able to stop the Oromocto drive and run out the clock
to claim the Maritime Championship.
For the Blues it
was a case of bad luck. Rugged running back Jory Smith, the 2003 Capital Area
Junior Varsity Most Outstanding Player, had been injured in the N.B. final and
was only able handle kicking duties. His rushing contribution was sorely missed
against the big Titan defence. Also, Blues speedster Korey MacKenzie, who had
missed most of the season due to injury, was reinjured on the Blues last drive
of the game.
Oromocto also
played against a Titans team that was slightly older. In Nova Scotia Bantam
players are eligible to play as long as they don't turn 16 until after October 1
in the year of play. In New Brunswick Bantam players cannot turn 16 until after
December 31 in the year of play. This three month age advantage may well have
proven to be the deciding factor in this close contest. Timberlea's size
advantage on the line was the difference between the two teams on this day.
Needless to say, the two provinces need to get their age groupings the
same. If this does not happen, the future of this worthy event will be put
seriously in doubt.
November 9 N.B. Bantam
Final Oromocto Junior Blues 34
Riverview Junior Royals 16
BY MIKE POWER
for the Daily Gleaner
The Oromocto Junior Blues chewed
up the field, the clock and the Riverview Junior Royals on their way to winning
the provincial Bantam football championship.
The Blues scored four touchdowns with their
running game to beat the Royals 34-16 in front of about 300 onlookers at
MacKenzie Field to earn the right to advance to next weekend's Maritime
Championship in Halifax.
The win was vindication for many of
the Blues who fell two points short of a win in last year's provincial Bantam
semi-final game.
"The key to all of this was
perseverance" said Oromocto coach Jeff Murdock. "These guys came to
the dance last year and went away without the big one. They knew what it felt
like to be here. They wanted it bad enough today. The guys who came out for us
all year long were the guys who came to play today."
With the win, the Junior
Blues also become the first Oromocto football team at any age level to win a
provincial championship. "That's great", Murdock said. "Put it in
the history book."
Oromocto's running
game was a dominant factor in the win, not only scoring four majors but also
chewing up the field on drives that, even when they didn't result in a score,
left the defence with lots of field between the football and their goal line.
The other aspect of
the blue's ground attack was its ability to use up a big chunk of time on almost
every possession by the home team. And since they were playing with a lead
almost all afternoon, that was a big advantage.
Oromocto
scored first with a long drive that started deep in their own end. By the time
they reached the other end of the field, only 2:12 remained in the first
quarter. Tailback Jory Smith ran the ball in from 10 yards out to finish the
march. Smith's conversion kick sailed wide to leave the lead at 6-0.
A pair
of passes by quarterback Brian Von Richter set up the score; a 20 yard strike to
Smith and a second 20 yarder to Travis Nott. "It was a big touchdown,"
Murdock said. "We knew coming in that we pretty much had to get on the
scoreboard first. They don't give up a lot of points so we knew we had to take
the wind out of them a bit. We needed to put some quick points on the
board".
On its
next possession, Oromocto marched right back down the field on yet another time
consuming drive. This time a third and goal run by John Christie had the ball
knocked loose at the goal line but centre Zach Smith fell on the fumble in the
end zone to notch the touchdown. The conversion was no good leaving the Blues up
12-0 going to halftime.
Oromocto did suffer a huge loss on the drive that resulted in their second score
however. Just after crossing into the Riverview half of the field, Jory Smith
went down with an injury to his ankle. He didn't return.
"It was a major concern at the time", Murdock said. "Jory's a big
part of the team. At halftime we went to the guys and told them he wasn't coming
back and the guys would have to step up and fill the void and they did."
The Blues scored on each of their possessions in the third quarter to pretty
much ice the win. First it was Justin Lapointe banging the ball in from nine
yards out to put up points on the first drive of the quarter. Matt Graham kicked
a two point convert (Bantam rules) to make the score 20-0.
The next time Oromocto touched the ball, Kyle Roesler ran for 60 yards from
scrimmage to bring the ball inside the Riverview 10 yard line. Two plays later,
he scored from the four to make it 26-0 after the convert was no good.
While the lead may have seemed insurmountable, with 16 minutes left to play, the
Royals were at least going to try. They quickly fought back as on the ensuing
kickoff Shea Lenehan returned the kick 70 yards for a touchdown. Andrew Lewis
kicked the convert and with 15 minutes remaining it was 26-8.
An onside kick attempt by Riverview failed and the Blues used their ground game
to waste away almost 10 of the remaining minutes before having to give the ball
back. Three downs later however, Lenehan struck again, this time rambling 72
yards to put up six more points. Lewis converted for two more. Only 5:26
remained and the Royals were still down by 10 points.
"We needed a couple of more breaks, a short kick going our way, something
like that," said Riverview coach Steve O'Leary. "It didn't
happen."
Again the onside kick attempt failed and from that point Riverview couldn't stop
Oromocto's ground attack from grinding its way up the field. Travis Nott drove
the final nail in with a 25 yard scoring run on a perfectly executed reverse.
Graham finished up with a two point kick to round out the scoring.
"We got beaten by a real good team," O'Leary said. "We knew
coming in that we were the underdog. Oromocto ran the ball well and really
blocked well. Their blocking was probably the key to the win."
The Royals launched one final desperate drive with time running out. It ended on
the Oromocto 25 yard line with Chris Fleming's pick off of an Andrew Lewis pass.
November 2
Capital Area Final
Oromocto Junior Blues 14 Fredericton Junior Black Kats 0
In a battle of two unyielding
defences on a slippery field, it would be special teams that would decide the
outcome of the football game. After a scoreless first quarter the teams
continued to slug it out until the waning seconds of the first half when a
shanked Kats punt set the Blues up deep in the Fredericton end. The Kats defence
would hold leaving the Blues to settle for a 20 yard Jory Smith field goal to
put them up 3-0 at the half.
Late in the third quarter Kyle Roesler returned a
punt to the Kats 5 yard line. After changing ends the the Blues gambled on third
down with Roesler going in from three yards out. Smith added the convert to give
the Blues an 11-0 lead.
The Kats fumbled the ensuing kickoff and once again the
Blues were set up deep in Fredericton territory. However, the Black Kat defence
would once more hold the fort leaving Oromocto to settle for a 10 yard Smith
field go and a 14-0 cushion.
In the waning minutes of the game Fredericton went to
the air and marched all the way down to the Blues ten yard line. However, a pass
into the end zone was intercepted leaving Oromocto with their second consecutive
Capital Area championship.
October 26
Capital Area Semi-Final
Fredericton
Junior Black Kats 54 Leo Hayes Junior Lions 0
Justin Conn lead the Kats by
intercepting a pass for a touchdown, catching a pass from Andrew Hickey for a
touchdown, booting four converts and putting a kickoff through the Lions end
zone for a single.
Kats QB Bobby McIntyre connected with
Heidi Erdle on a TD pass as well as passing to Conn for a convert. Fredericton
also got rushing majors from Andrew Hubbard, Derek Madsen, Zach Piers and Brent
Hawthorne. The Kats defence recorded a safety touch.
October 19
Oromocto Junior Blues 60 Leo Hayes Junior Lions 6
Jory Smith rushed for four
touchdowns to lead the Blues attack. Kyle Roesler added two more. Travis Nott
added one six pointer. Blues QB Brian Von Richter connected with Chris
Bruce for a TD pass. Smith was good on five of eight convert attempts. The
Blues defence registered a safety touch.
Jeremy Peters had the lone Lions score.
Fredericton Junior Black Kats 42 Fredericton Bantam Black Kats 0
Junior Kats pivot Bobby McIntyre
threw touchdown passes to Andrew Hubbard, Daniel Reid and Justin Conn. Reid,
Derek Madsen and Zach Piers all rushed for six pointers. Conn also added three
converts.
October 13
5th Annual North-South Bowl Game
Fredericton Junior Black Kats 22 Leo Hayes Junior Lions 0
Andrew Hubbard scored a pair of
TDs for the Kats on a pass from QB Bobby McIntyre and on a 75 yard run. Derek
Madsen had the other touchdown. Chris Murray kicked two converts.
October 12
Oromocto
Junior Blues 50 Simonds Junior Seabees 6
Jory Smith rushed for three
touchdowns to lead the Blues attack. Kyle Roesler added two more. Blues QB Brian
Von Richter connected with Chris Bruce for a TD pass. Justin Lapointe
intercepted a Seabees pass and returned it for a touchdown. Smith was good on
four of seven convert attempts.
October 8
Fredericton
Bantam Black Kats 12 Leo Hayes Junior Lions 6
Black Kats kicker David Carr
recovered his own punt in the Lions end zone on the last play of the game to
lift Fredericton to a come from behind victory.
Leo Hayes had taken the lead in the dying
seconds of the first half on Lee Hughes' one yard run on fourth down. The Kats
got the equalizer when QB Craig Prime hooked up with Chris Murray on a 35 yard
touchdown pass with five minutes remaining in the game.
October 5
Fredericton
Junior Black Kats 53 Harbour View Junior Vikings 0
The Kats got rushing touchdowns from Chris Murray
and Derek Madsen. QB Bobby McIntyre threw touchdown passes to Justin Conn and
Kevin Stewart. QB Andrew Hickey connected with Andrew Hubbard for another
touchdown. Daniel Reid returned an interception for another six points. Conn
converted all six touchdowns as well as adding a 20 yard field goal. The Kats
defence also recorded a safety.
Oromocto Junior Blues 1 Fredericton Bantam Black Kats 0
Oromocto was awarded the win when
the Kats were unable to field a team.
October 1
Oromocto
Junior Blues 24 Fredericton Junior Black Kats 13
Blues QB Brian Von Richter rushed
for a seven yard touchdown and then threw one yard and two yard touchdown
passes to John Christie in leading Oromocto to victory. Jory Smith kicked two
converts and the Blues defence recorded a safety.
Kats QB Bobby McIntyre hit Justin Conn for
a 100 yard pass and run for one touchdown and then hooked up with Andrew Hubbard
on another pass for a 50 yard scoring play. McIntyre also passed to Kevin
Stewart for a convert.
September 28 Leo
Hayes Junior Lions 20 Fredericton Bantam Black Kats 20
Derick Johnston had two touchdowns
for the Lions. Quarterback Alex Byrne threw a touchdown pass to Steven Basque.
Johnston also booted a convert.
Andrew Hickey rushed for two Black Kat TDs.
Craig Prime connected with Mark Buckingham on a pass for another. Chris
Murray added a convert.
Oromocto
Junior Blues 41 Kennebecasis Valley Renegades 12
Jory Smith and Kyle Roesler each
had a pair of touchdowns for Oromocto. Stephen Lewis also rushed for a six
pointer. Blues QB Brian Von Richter hit Josh Hoyt with a touchdown pass.
Jory Smith added two converts and a single.
September 24
Fredericton Junior Black Kats 32 Leo
Hayes Junior Lions 0
Derek Madsen scored two touchdowns
for the Kats. Justin Conn had a touchdown, a field goal and three converts. Coty
McHatten scored the other Fredericton TD. QB's Andrew Hickey and Bobby McIntyre
each threw a touchdown pass.
September 21
Leo Hayes Junior Lions 34 Saint John
Central Outlaws 0
Derick Johnston had three
touchdowns for the Lions. Quarterback Alex Byrne threw touchdown passes to
Steven Basque and Luke McGarity. Johnston also booted two converts.
Oromocto Junior Blues 44 Fredericton
Bantam Black Kats 0
Justin Lapointe lead the Blues
with two touchdowns. John Christie, Jory Smith, Chris Bruce and Kyle
Roesler each had a six pointer. Jory Smith added four converts.
September 17
Oromocto Junior Blues 22 Fredericton
Junior Black Kats 6
Quarterback Brian Von Richter
threw touchdown passes to John Christie and Travis Nott to lead the Blues
attack. Kyle Roesler scored the other Oromocto TD on a one yard plunge. Jory
Smith added a convert. The Blues defence recorded a safety.
Derek Madsen had the Kats touchdown.
September 14
Fredericton Junior Black Kats 11 Hampton
Huskies 0
Derek Madsen scored the Kats
touchdown. Justin Conn converted it, as well as adding a 25 yard field goal.
September 10 Leo
Hayes Junior Lions 16 Fredericton Bantam Black Kats 14
Derick Johnston rambled for two
long touchdown runs and then converted both scores to put the Lions up 16-0 at
halftime. The Kats made things interesting in the fourth quarter. Quarterback
Craig Prime hit Chris Murray with a 20 yard touchdown pass. Murray booted the
convert to narrow the score to 16-8. With time running out Andrew Hickey
connected with Kevin Stewart for another TD pass. The Kats , however, were
unable to get the convert.
September 7 Fredericton
Junior Black Kats 48 Fredericton Bantam Black Kats 0
Brent Hawthorne rushed for two
touchdowns while Derek Madsen, Justin Conn, Heidi Erdle and Bobby McIntyre had
one each. Conn booted five converts and the defence recorded a safety touch.
Oromocto
Junior Blues 52 Leo Hayes Junior Lions 8
Kyle Roesler and Jory Smith
each had three touchdowns to pace the Blues. Chris Bruce added another. Smith
was good on five of seven convert attempts.
Steven Basque had the Lions six
pointer. Derrick Johnson booted the convert.
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