Lucas Punkari
For the third week in a row, the Muskie football found out the hard way why the top three teams in the WHSFL’s Currie Division are far and away the ones to beat this season.
After falling to the 5-0 Sisler ‘A’ Spartans 23-7 here on Sept. 23, and then being blanked 40-0 by the 4-1 Daniel McIntyre Maroons in Winnipeg on Sept. 30, the black-and-gold dropped their third-straight game as they were dumped 39-1 by the 5-0 Elmwood Giants here last Thursday afternoon.
But despite watching his team’s overall record fall to 1-4, Muskie head coach Chad Canfield was happy with a few aspects of his team’s play.
“We’re starting to see some signs of life on the offensive side of the ball, and I’m also glad that we kept the game in check for the most part,” he explained.
“We knew that their running back [Tyree Cayer] was going to get one or two touchdowns on us, but I was pleased to see that we were able to keep him to just that,” Canfield added.
The Muskies actually opened the scoring when Aaron Kellar booted the opening kick-off through the end zone for a single point.
And in fact, the black-and-gold were able to eat up huge chunks of yardage throughout the first half but were unable to cross the goal-line.
Cayer and Giants’ quarterback Kingsley Khamphavong, meanwhile, both were able to hustle into the end zone to help the visitors jump out to a 18-1 halftime lead.
“We probably gained more yards in the first half of this game than we did in the last two games combined, as the offensive line was creating massive holes for us, but we just couldn’t punch it in, which was frustrating,” Canfield noted.
“I personally made some bad play calls throughout the first half where we should have got some points. And if we could have done things over again, I think that would have made the game a little bit tighter.
“But instead, we turned the ball over on third down a couple of times when we shouldn’t have,” he sighed.
After being somewhat dormant in the first half, the Giants’ ground game woke up for the final two quarters, with Cayer, Carlo Torres, and Josh Smith pounding their way through the Muskie defence and into the end zone to help Elmwood keep their perfect record intact.
“It was a different type of game for us as we had a lot of penalties and turnovers that we had to fight through, but we kept our heads in the game,” said Giants’ head coach Nathan Falk.
“Our defense was able to hold Fort Frances to a single point in the first half, and that really kept us in the game until we were able to get our offence rolling,” he added.
Although the Muskies were able to get some more yards with their rushing attack, a number of interceptions by first-year quarterback Ben Whitburn proved to be too much for the black-and-gold to overcome.
“Ben’s a young quarterback and he’s going to be fine,” Canfield said. “But it’s still a little early for him to be in a situation like that, especially when you are playing from behind.
“Even though we running the ball well and getting good chunks of yards, we were obviously in a situation where we needed to be throwing the ball, and those interceptions will just kill you ever time,” he stressed.
“Looking ahead, we’re going to be working with Ben to make sure that he knows where and when he’s throwing the ball, instead of just throwing it up for grabs.”
While the Giants were pleased to leave Fort Frances with a win under the belts, they know their toughest challenges lie ahead as they will be taking on the Maroons and Spartans during the final two weeks of the regular season.
“Without a doubt these are two biggest games of the season,” Falk stressed.
“The biggest thing that we need to fix going forward is our penalties, as we had over 120 yards again in this game.
“And if we are going to lose a game this season, it will be because of penalties and turnovers,” he warned.
As for the Muskies, Thursday’s loss to Elmwood was their final home game of the regular season. They are now preparing for a rare Friday evening tilt in Dryden against the 2-3 Eagles.
“That is a game we are all looking forward to playing,” Canfield enthused.
“We have a good relationship with the guys up in Dryden, so the game should be a lot of fun and we are looking forward to matching up with them,” he added.
But while both teams may get along off the field, the black-and-gold will be trying to spoil the party for their Northwestern Ontario rivals as Dryden will be hosting the first night game (6 p.m. kick-off) in their program’s history.
“I guess that would be nice if we were able to win there,” Canfield chuckled.
“Dryden has had the same kind of struggles we’ve had this year, and looking ahead to our last game of the year, St. John’s has had the same things to deal with.
“We’re slowly putting more of the pieces together and if we are able to get a couple of wins here before the end of the season, it would be huge for not only our program but momentum-wise as we go into the playoffs,” Canfield added.
