Week one of the Nova Scotia Varsity Football League (NSVFL) is in the books.
The defending junior varsity champions, the Dartmouth Destroyers suffered a loss to the Team Nova Scotia under-16 squad in an exciting thriller that went down to the wire. In the other game, the Metro Mustangs registered a decisive win over the Timberlea Renegades. It was a bye week for the Halifax Seahawks.
Here are the complete results for Week 1 action:
Team Nova Scotia under-16 24, Dartmouth Destroyers 16:
In the dying minutes of the fourth quarter in Halifax on Saturday night, the Dartmouth Destroyers had a 16-10 lead. However, their lead evaporated as Team Nova Scotia mounted a remarkable comeback with 2:46 left in the quarter.
Running backs Cameron Davidson and Nick Green ran collectively for a 65 yards. With 1:13 remaining in the quarter, Davidson scored a touchdown. Kicker Greg Hutchins made the conversion to give Team Nova Scotia a 17-16 lead.
With 33 seconds left, Green solidified the win with a 15 yard run off tackle while Hutchins was good on the conversion attempt.
With this victory, Team Nova Scotia is 1-0 in the standings while the Destroyers are 0-1.
“Overall a very good effort for our first game,” says Team Nova Scotia head coach Chris Valardo of the win. “Dartmouth is a talented team with some exceptional athletes and we were very fortunate to come out with the win.”
“Keep in mind our team is on average two years younger per player than the kids in the junior varsity league so to win against older, bigger and sometimes more experienced competition is always nice.”
Offensively for Team Nova Scotia, Davidson had 127 rushing yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile Green had 67 rushing yards and one score. Receiver Jared Melnyk amassed 90 yards in five catches and also had a 60 yard touchdown reception. Quarterback Cameron Valardo had seven completions on 12 attempts, 157 passing yards and threw no interceptions in the game. Duncan Patterson threw one touchdown pass and had no interceptions.
While the unit moved the ball down the field well, Valardo says there were times the offense was rusty as it was first game of the season.
“Our offensive line did a better job in the second half picking up the blitz but we need to improve our protections,” adds the Team Nova Scotia head coach of his assessment. “Our quarterbacks both played well; Duncan Patterson completed a 65 yard pass for a touchdown with under a minute left in the first half and Cameron Valardo let our two minute drill for 14 points to end the game and a comeback victory.”
On defensive, Jacob Melanson and Robie Holland each had two tackles which resulted in losses and registered a sack each. Brad Bevin had impressive outing as he had six tackles on the day. Finally, Nick Tzanteas had two interceptions for the victors. Hutchins had an exceptional day on the field as he had a 38 yard punting average along with a 35 yard field goal and three conversions.
Valardo says it was the defensive unit was the key to the victory.
“I thought that our defense played very well,” comments Valardo. “They gave us the opportunity to win the football game.”
“We had two interceptions and several stops in the second half which gave our offense the opportunities we need to score and win.”
Another key to the victory for Team Nova Scotia was the effort of special teams.
“Greg Hutchins and our special teams did a great job last night winning the kicking game and controlled the field position,” says Valardo.
(Note: game/player statistics for Dartmouth Destroyers were not available at press time.)
Next up for Team Nova Scotia is a date with the Halifax Seahawks on Friday April 27th at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium. Game time is 8:30pm. Meanwhile, the Dartmouth Destroyers will try to get into the win column in a contest with the Metro Mustangs on Friday April 27th at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium. Game time is 6:00pm.
Metro Mustangs 22, Timberlea Renegades 0:
At Huskies Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Metro Mustangs earned a shutout in their first regular season game against the Timberlea Renegades. As a result, the Mustangs have a 1-0 record while the Renegades are 0-1.
Running back Dustin Brogaard led the way for the Mustangs as he had 250 yards on 35 carries and scored one touchdown. He kicked a field goal and was good on a conversion. Overall, Brogaard accounted for 10 of the Mustangs points in the game. Linebacker Taylor MacDonald amassed 95 yards on six carries and also had a score. He accounted for six of the Mustangs points.
“Dustin Brogaard ran very strong while Taylor MacDonald handled the lion’s share of tackles on the defense and also ran the football for a touchdown,” says Mustangs head coach Greg Bayne.
Receiver Alex Bayne had 2 receptions for 60 yards and one touchdown while receiver Ryan Keays registered four receptions for 50 yards.
“Our offensive line did a phenomenal job,” adds Bayne. “I was very impressed with Sean Muir, our quarterback staying calm reading the defenses and making adjustments.”
“He’s a smart player.”
Defensively for the Mustangs, James Pelley had an interception while Trevor Howse had a fumble recovery. Jesse Boudreau and Drew Alexander each registered a sack.
“The keys to our win were the play of our defense, great pressure on their quarterback from Jay Hachey and the defensive line,” explains the Mustangs head coach of the defensive unit. “The defense stayed strong not allowing any points and you have to love a shutout.”
“Our blocking all-round was very good and allowed Brogaard keep getting first downs and keep their offense off the field.”
For the Renegades, speed back Hayden Clarke had 5 catches for 17 yards while tailback David Nisbet carried the ball 12 times for 58 yards. On defense, slotback Nate Rostek and Nick Bennett registered seven solo tackles. Finally, Patrick Logan had a fumble recovery in the game.
While the Mustangs earned a shutout, there are certain areas of their game they must improve on as the season progress. One area is kicking.
“We definitely need find a place kicker so that we can get points when we are in the red zone,” comments Bayne. “Too many times we were within the 20 or 10 yard line and came away with no points because of the lack of confidence in our kicking game.”
“That is going to hurt us in tight games.”
Another area for improvement is tackling.
“Our tackling at times was poor; too many missed tackles,” explains Bayne. “We will get right back to work on improving that.”
“We were lucky as a couple of big plays called back by the officials allowed us to get away with some bad tackling.”
The Mustangs will take their undefeated record into their next game against the Dartmouth Destroyers on Friday April 27th at Saint Mary’s Huskies Stadium. Game time is 6:00pm. The Renegades have a bye in Week 2 action.
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