Capital Area Minor Football Association
"DQ" Middle School Football League
  2008 Game Summaries (Ages 12-13)

By Bill Hunt 
Published in the Daily Gleaner on November 10, 2008
Appeared on Page B1

The George Street Crusaders had it all working Sunday afternoon at Chapman Field.

The Crusaders, the Capital Area Minor Football Association champions, steamrollered the Lancaster Abbies 32-0 to capture the Bob Pierce Memorial Trophy as provincial peewee football champions.

The Fredericton Junior Black Kats beat the Hampton Huskies 20-8 to win the bantam title later in the day, marking the first sweep of the titles ever for the Capital Area loop.

The Crusaders played solid defence all day and that allowed them time to get the offence untracked.

Quarterback Matt Murphy finished off a couple of drives with quarterback keepers for touchdowns in each of the first and second quarters to give the Crusaders a 16-0 halftime edge.

Halfback Noah Zilbert completed a 22-yard halfback option pass to Klinton Miller on a third and long and then took it 24 yards to the house on the next play and then booted the two-point convert to make it 24-0, and fullback Blake Murphy completed the rout with a 27 yard touchdown run as the Crusaders cruised to the win. They'll host the Nova Scotia champions for the Maritime championship on Sunday. The time and location is still to be determined.

"After our second touchdown, I just know our team felt really good and really pumped up," said Zilbert, who demonstrated good speed to get outside and, when the situation called for it, demonstrated he could throw the ball downfield on the halfback option too.

"I think both offence and defence were really good today," he said.

"After our second touchdown, we started building some momentum," said Matt Murphy. "I was pretty nervous, but after kickoff, on the first play, the nerves started leaving."

The Crusaders controlled things pretty much the entire afternoon, but couldn't take advantage right away. Off the kickoff, they held the Abbies on downs and partially blocked the fourth down punt to set up first and 10 from the Lancaster 16. Zilbert fumbled on the next play though.

Lancaster couldn't move the chains though, and after punting from the end zone, the Crusaders had it first and goal from the seven. Once again, they couldn't punch it in, although a pass from Murphy to Mark Stewart that was deflected to Klinton Miller certainly looked like a major. Stewart couldn't take it in on fourth and goal either and Lancaster once again took it on downs.

On the next series though, the Crusaders got it back first and goal from the one after Stewart made the key tackle on fourth down. Murphy took it over on the next play, Zilbert booted the first of his four converts, and the Crusaders were off and running toward the title.

"I tried to keep the team confident and tell them 'It's OK, we'll get it back,'" said Matt Murphy. "And then, on one of the next plays we got a touchdown, so it was OK."

"I'm so excited. I don't have feelings right now," said Stewart. "I'm so happy we won. They were better than I thought they'd be."

Head coach Dave Zilbert paid tribute to the Crusaders defence. He said the atmosphere at Chapman Field, with a raucous home crowd, contributed to the effort.

"We've been known for our high-powered offence all season, but it was the defence that was the key," he said. "We kicked off in the first quarter and pinned them deep, four and out in their first series. That was key to the momentum swing. And the parents, with the big cheering section and the college-like atmosphere in here, it gave our kids a real boost. When you're 12 and 13, that can mean almost as much as skill."

Zilbert was happy for all his youngsters. "I'm very pleased for the players. It's been a long road since August 18, since the first day of training camp."

Where it goes from here remains to be seen.

Both the Crusaders and Black Kats are scheduled to host Maritime championship football games this Sunday, but with the inflatable bubble due to go up at Chapman Field, the facility won't be available unless officials from the Capital Association can talk UNB into delaying construction of the bubble for another week.

Coach Zilbert feels Crusaders have 'real shot' at N.B. peewee football title

For the George Street Crusaders, the peewee division champions of the Capital Area Minor Football Association and the team to beat for the provincial championship Sunday at 1 p.m. at Chapman Field, everything starts with Z.

Well, head coach Dave Zilbert doesn't come right out and say so, but consider that, when he took over the football program at George Street Middle School four seasons ago, the team was down to eight players, and there was talk of consolidating their resources with nearby Albert Street.

Now there are 35 players, five of them Grade 8 captains, one of them, his 13-year-old son Noah, "a dominant offensive player," says his dad; another, fullback Blake Murphy, a "fullback and a hard-nosed player," and one, slotback and lead blocker Mark Stewart, "the best all round player in the league."

"Our top three kids are the best three players in the league," said the senior Zilbert, who leads the Crusaders into battle against the Lancaster Abbies of Saint John on provincial football's version of Super Sunday this weekend.

"If I had to start a team, these are the three players I would take," he said.

The Crusaders have lots of weapons mind you. Quarterback Matt Murphy never played the game before, but Zilbert talked him into coming out because his oldest son Nolan and Matt's older brother, Ryan, are team mates on the FHS varsity football team.

Dawson Harrison is the centre and a key cog in the offensive line, clearing holes for the Crusaders' stable of backs.

"We have a high-powered offence," coach Zilbert said. "We can run, we can throw ... we have 100 plays we could call. We look for good athletes and we try to have the right kids in the right positions."

Case in point: Grade 8 receiver Louis Richard, who moved in from Saint John, is a rookie, but an impact player on the Crusaders crew.

"We can put him in any position and he'll do well," Zilbert said.

It's all added up to an 8-1 record overall, with their lone loss a 32-26 defeat at the hands of the Oromocto Tigers in their regular season finale when Noah Zilbert and Matt Murphy, both of whom play bantam AAA hockey as well, were on the ice trying out in September.

The basic nucleus of the Crusaders team play both ways, allowing George Street to field a strong defensive unit as well.

But Zilbert says all 35 players are on hand at practice, doing their part to make the starters better and sowing the seeds for a strong squad next year too.

The Crusaders have been knocking on the door for a while: they lost the last three provincial peewee finals to arch rival Albert Street.

But last week, they steamrolled the Tigers 38-6 in the CAMFA final at Chapman Field after edging the Eagles 20-16 in the semis. Zilbert believes their chances of capturing the area's first provincial peewee banner since 2002 are "very good."

"This is our first year of having a real shot at it," said Zilbert, who will hand the reins over to assistants next season, watch Noah move on to bantam football at FHS and oldest son Nolan complete his varsity career with the Black Kats varsity entry.

The FHS Junior Black Kats also play for the provincial banner on Super Sunday at Chapman, hosting Hampton in the bantam boys football final at 3 p.m. and trying to put the wraps on an unbeaten season.

The Kats worked double overtime last week to pull out a 24-19 victory over the Oromocto Junior Blues. Garett Gee had a pair of touchdowns, including the winner.

Nov. 2                                         Championship

                               George Street Crusaders 38 Oromocto Tigers 6 

           The Crusaders got a pair of first quarter touchdowns and two converts from Noah Zilbert to jump out to a quick 16-0 lead. From there they never looked back.
           Blake Murphy and Matt Murphy added second quarter touchdowns. With Zilbert converting one of them the lead was stretched to 30-0 with less than three minutes to go in the half. 
           Finally Zilbert passed to Blake Murphy for a TD in the last minute of the half. Zilbert added the convert to give the Crusaders a commanding 38-0 halftime lead.
              Dylan Purdle scored the Tigers only major late in the second half. 
          With the win the Crusaders earned the right to host the provincial PeeWee championship game. They will host the Lancaster Abbies on Sunday, November 9 at 1 pm at Chapman Field. The Abbies defeated the Sackville Titans in the other provincial semi final.   

Oct. 26                                         Semi Finals

                               Oromocto Tigers 34 Nashwaaksis Nordics 6 

           Tigers pivot Kaleb Paget hooked up with Josh McDonald for three TD passes. Andrew Solano and Dylan Purdle added six pointers on the ground. Solano also booted a pair of converts. 
           Nick Duthie replied for the Nordics. 

                            George Street Crusaders 20 Albert Street Eagles 16
       
           The Crusaders jumped ahead 8-0 on Noah Zilbert's touchdown run and kicked convert. They increased the lead to 14-0 when Zilbert passed to Louis Richard for another major.
           The Eagles narrowed the gap to 14-8 when Mike Hudson went 80 yards to paydirt and Quenton Crouse added the convert.
            Albert Street took advantage of a George fumble deep in its own end which they converted into a Ryan Colpitts touchdown. Crouse's convert put them ahead 16-14 with three minutes to go.
           However the Crusaders put together a long drive in the final minutes that lead to Mark Stewart's 15 yard touchdown run and a berth in the championship game.  
           
Oct. 19                                         Quarter Finals

                               Nashwaaksis Nordics 30 Oromocto Panthers 25 

           Nick Duthie scored two TDs for the Nordics. Gabe Roy and Logan Steele added one touchdown each. Alex Maillet kicked four converts.
           Chris Carr rumbled for three Panthers majors. Tristan Chappelle added one more plus a convert. 

                                   Albert Street Eagles 46 S.A.W. Knights 13
       
            Mike Hudson scored three touchdowns for the Eagles. Quenton Crouse and Bryn Dvies added two more six pointers apiece. Crouse also booted two converts.
           Knights QB Corey Morehead threw a pair of TD passes to Caleb McGary. Morehead also ran for a convert. 

                       George Street Crusaders 50 Devon-PSA Wildcat-Gladiateurs 0
       
            Blake Murphy and Matt Murphy each scored a pair of touchdowns for the Crusaders. Noah Zilbert and Aidan Khoury added one six pointer each. Matt Murphy also threw a TD pass to Mark Stewart. Zilbert kicked four converts.

Oct. 15                   Nashwaaksis Nordics 27 Devon-PSA Wildcat-Gladiateurs 18

           Nick Duthie ran for a pair of TDs for the Nordics. Logan Steele added another touchdown on the ground. QB Alex Maillet passed to Ben Cripps for six more points. Alex Duguid kicked one convert and ran for another.
           Wildcat-Glads pivot Turner Sturgeon ran for one TD and passed to Alex White for another. White also returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown.          

Oct. 13                   Albert Street Eagles 52 Oromocto Panthers 0 

           Eagles QB Bryn Davies threw three touchdown passes to Mike Hudson and one each to Quenton Crouse and Andres Cifuentes. Davies rushed for one TD and Crouse rushed for two more TDs. Crouse also kicked a pair of converts.       

                                  Oromocto Tigers 35 Nashwaaksis Nordics 0 
       
            Andrew Solano ran for one TD and a convert, kicked field goals from 15 and 30 yards plus booted two converts for the Tigers. Pivot Kaleb Paget ran for one six pointer and passed to Josh McDonald for another. Dylan Purdle had the other Oromocto major.

                                   S.A.W. Knights 31 Devon-PSA Wildcat-Gladiateurs 0
       
            Knights QB Corey Morehead hooked up with Caleb McGary for three touchdown passes. Morehead also connected with Lucas Flewelling for another six points. Dallas Tomah ran for another major. Dakota Acott rushed for a convert.

Oct. 11                           Oromocto Panthers 32 S.A.W. Knights 27

           Chris Carr's four touchdown performance powered the Panthers to victory. QB Tristan Chappelle hit Dylan Taylor for the other major as well as a convert. Chappelle also ran for a convert.
           Dallas Tomah had a pair of touchdowns for the Knights. Knights pivot Corey Morehead ran for one TD and passed to Caleb McGary for another. Dakota Acot ran for two converts. Tomah also ran for a convert. 

Oct. 8                Oromocto Tigers 32 George Street Crusaders 26 

           The Tigers opened the scoring when QB Kaleb Paget hit Josh McDonald with a five yard touchdown pass. The Crusaders responded quickly with Blake Murphy's 60 yard romp to leave the score 6-6 after one quarter.
           The second quarter belonged to the Tigers as Andrew Solano and Dylan Purdle scored TDs. Solano converted one of them to make it 20-6 for the Tigers at the half.
           Murphy got loose again early in the second half for another 60 yard run. Louis Richard added the convert to narrow the gap to 20-14. However the Tigers came right back with a 50 ramble from Purdle to restore the lead to 26-14 after three quarters.
           In the fourth Mark Stewart and Murphy scored majors to knot the score at 26-26 with three minutes to go. However the Tigers put together a time consuming 70 yard drive that finished with Paget scoring from 5 yards out on a naked bootleg to make it 32-26 with only 13 seconds on the clock.
           The Crusaders were not quite finished. On the first play from scrimmage Stewart got loose down the left sideline and went all the way to the Tigers 15 yard line before being nudged out of bounds with time expired.  

Oct. 5                                         Commander's Cup III

                                  Oromocto Tigers 50  Oromocto Panthers 12

           Andrew Solano ran for 3 TDs, ran for one convert and kicked three converts for the Tigers. QB Kaleb Paget passed to Josh McDonald for a pair of majors. Paget also ran for a convert. Dylan Purdle and Ronnie Gerard added a touchdown apiece.
           Chris Carr had both Panther scores.  

                      George Street Crusaders 34 Devon-PSA Wildcat-Gladiateurs 7 
       
            Noah Zilbert lead the Crusaders with 3 TDs. Mark Stewart and Chris Pond added one six pointer each. Bailey Townsend and Ryan Scolten kicked converts.
           Ryan Cyr returned a kickoff the Devon-PSA TD.Turner Sturgeon ran for the convert.           

                                   Albert Street Eagles 50  S.A.W. Knights 0
       
            Mike Hudson and Quenton Crouse each had a pair of touchdowns for the Eagles. Ryan Colpitts, Ben O'Benis and Bryn Davies all added one TD apiece. Crouse booted one converts. Bennett Wilson split the uprights for three more extra points.

Oct. 1                George Street Crusaders 30 Albert Street Eagles 26 

           Nolan Zilbert paced the Crusaders attack with two touchdowns and three converts. Mark Stewart and Blake Murphy each added a touchdown.
           Eagles pivot Ryan Colpitts threw two touchdown passes to Bryn Davies and one each to Quinton Crouse and Mike Hudson. Crouse also kicked a convert.

Sept.  24          Oromocto Tigers 38 Devon-PSA Wildcat-Gladiateurs 14 

           Andrew Solano ran for a pair of Tigers six pointers as well as booting four converts. QB Kaleb Paget ran for one touchdown and passed to Josh McDonald for another. Dylan Purdle has the other Oromocto TD.
           Ryan Cyr rushed for both Devon-PSA TDs. Alex White ran in both converts.

Sept.   17          Oromocto Panthers 22 Devon-PSA Wildcat-Gladiateurs 13 

           Alex White ran for a TD and a convert for Devon-PSA. Turner Sturgeon had the other major.
           Panthers scorers were not reported.

                               Albert Street Eagles 26 Nashwaaksis Nordics 0
       
            Mike Hudson ran for one TD, caught a pass from Ryan Colpitts for another and returned an interception for a third major to power the Eagles to victory. Colpitts also hooked up with Bryn Davies for six points. Quinton Crouse kicked a convert.  

Sept.   14                  George Street Crusaders 34 S.A.W. Knights 6

           Mark Stewart paced the Crusaders with two touchdowns. Noah Zilbert, Blake Murphy and Kieran Smyth had one major each. Zilbert booted a pair of converts.
            Corey Morehead had the Knights major.          

                        Albert Street Eagles 28 Devon-PSA Wildcat-Gladiateurs 12
       
            Mike Hudson had a pair of TDs for the Eagles. Quinton Crouse scored one touchdown and kicked two converts. Andreas Cifuentes had the other Albert major.
            Ryan Cyr had both Devon-PSA touchdowns.

                                   Nashwaaksis Nordics 6 Oromocto Panthers 6
       
            Steve Williams had the Nordics TD on a 40 yard run. Tristan Chappelle replied for the Panthers.

Sept.   10                  George Street Crusaders 44 Nashwaaksis Nordics 0

           Noah Zilbert scored 4 TDs  and kicked 3 converts for the Crusaders. Blake Murphy and Mark Stewart added one major apiece. Stewart also booted a convert.           

                                          Oromocto Tigers 38 Oromocto Panthers 6
       
            Kaleb Paget and Andrew Solano each had a pair of TDs for the winners. Paget passed to Greg Price for another six points. Solano kicked four converts.
            Daniel Brochu scored the lone Panthers major. 

Sept.   7                         George Street Crusaders 46 Oromocto Panthers 0

           Noah Zilbert scored 3 TDs  and kicked 5 converts for the Crusaders. Mason Moore, Blake Murphy and Matt Murphy added one major apiece.            

                                          Albert Street Eagles 39 Oromocto Tigers 8
       
            Mike Hudson paced the Eagles with 3 six pointers. Bryn Davies added two more touchdowns on passes from QB Ryan Colpitts.  Quentin Crouse had the other Eagles major. Colpitts ran for a one point convert and Bennett Wilson kicked a two point convert.
             Andrew Solano had a TD and a convert for the Tigers.
   
                                            S.A.W. Knights 6 Nashwaaksis Nordics 6

             Corey Morehead had the Knights major. Gabe Roy replied for the Nordics.