Tyler Curnew made numerous tackles for the Kennebecasis Valley high school Crusaders this season. On Saturday, he made the biggest one of his life.
The Crusaders capped off a perfect season on Saturday afternoon with a 49-48 come from behind victory against the Mathieu-Martin Matadors. The Game was won in double overtime as regulation was not enough to determine who brought the trophy home.
The Matadors came out hard in the first half of the ball game, They used a blend of speed and power, frustrating the Crusaders defence. Phil Long broke various long painful gains on the Crusaders. Mathieu-Martin jumped to an early 14-0 lead. There defence held there ground most of the first half. Led by Middle Linebacker Jean-Francois Richard , the Matadors kept tailback Quentin Chown contained and out of there end zone.
When all seemed to go in the Matadors favor with only one play left in the first half , The Crusaders offence woke up, Quarterback Ryan Foster found streaking receiver Zach Chambers in the Matadors end zone making the score 14-7 as the 1st half ended. The Matadors led the way for most of the game. After the Matadors returned a Kickoff for a touchdown late in the 4th Quarter , many thought it was the Matadors day and the Crusaders had finally been beat. On their next possession,Chown scored a quick touchdown for the Crusaders, they were forced to attempt the onside kick, the Crusaders recovered and started moving the ball in Matadors territory once again. The Crusaders went on to tie the game at 42 and force overtime. Both teams failed to put up any points on their first drive. Ryan Williams broke loose to give the Crusaders the lead, they added the extra point, making the score 49-42. The Matadors went on to tie the game on a great 3rd down pass play, a fumbled snap on the extra point caused Alexandre Theriault to attempt to run in the ball and Tyler Curnew made the game winning tackle.
” It’s a great day to be a Crusader, the boys worked hard and stuck it out, they boys could have gave up on themselves,but never did, it shows the Character of this football team ”- said a smiling coach Chris Hopkins , winning the High School Crown in his first season as a head coach.
Quentin Chown led the way with 4 second half touchdowns , capping off a great high school career with the Crusaders, one of the most dynamic and exciting tailbacks the league has ever seen. The Crusaders finished the season undefeated and will be remembered as one of the most dominant teams to ever play in the 10 man division.
As another high school season wraps up in New Brunswick , it could not have been a better championship game on Saturday afternoon, Both teams worked hard and could have came out with the trophy.
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