Staff
Any good feelings stemming from the Muskie football team’s Homecoming win quickly were snuffed out this past Friday.
The black-and-gold were trounced 64-14 by the East Kildonan Collegiate Reivers to drop to 2-3 in the Andy Currie Division (‘A’) with two games left in the regular season.
Head coach Mike Cuzzolino cited too many absences from practice and bad fundamentals as the reasons for Friday’s loss.
“We had 30 absences from practice this week and we weren’t able to scrimmage, or prepare properly, and as a result, our fundamentals like tackling really suffered,” he said yesterday morning in an e-mailed response to the Times.
“Lots of guys are sick and because we only have a roster of 30, guys are starting to get banged up,” Cuzzolino noted.
“So we are struggling to stay healthy and get good numbers to practice.
“We have always maintained that to get better, we need to be at practice,” he stressed. “That’s where you win.
“You win during the week, trying to improve and practice hard to make yourself and others better, so we’ll have a better week this week.”
A week after racking up 39 points in their win over the Tec Voc Hornets, the Muskies only managed a pair of touchdowns versus the Reivers.
Brady Meeks hit Sean Huziak on a 12-yard catch-and-run while running back Sekina Scheibler scored on a three-yard run.
Meeks finished the game 5-for-14 for 73 yards and the one touchdown.
Scheibler, meanwhile, finished with 225 yards on 24 carries but only could get into the end zone once.
Graham Anderson led the defence with seven tackles on the day.
“The big difference is we didn’t have enough bodies at practice, so guys weren’t prepared mentally or physically for the game,” Cuzzolino reiterated.
“We had 30 absences [prior to] our loss to East Kildonan, compared to 12 for the week versus Tec Voc.
“So our dedication to practice needs to improve for us to improve as a team,” he said.
Currently tied for sixth place with St. Norbert at 2-3, the Muskies face a crucial road showdown with the Celtics this Friday before closing out the regular season Oct. 20 against the St. John’s Tigers (3-2).
A pair of wins would leave the Muskies with a 4-3 record, which should put Fort High in the top five to keep it in the top spot for the WHSFL bowl championship series.
“These next two weeks are crucial to us,” Cuzzolino stressed. “We need to prepare now like [the] playoffs start today.”
And he is optimistic his team will come through.
“The only thing we need to do to turn things around is just come to practice, and use practice as a means to prepare, and improve our skills, not just something to get through in order to be eligible to play,” Cuzzolino remarked.
“This is a very good Muskie team, we have all the ability and heart,” he noted. “We need to do all the little things, though, in order to be successful, like being really good at fundamentals so we can compete in every game.
“The guys know this, they understand it, and we will be much better going forward,” he predicted.
“I’m fully confident in this group that this will no longer be a problem for us.”
The Kenora Broncos and Daniel McIntyre Maroons continue to lead the 10-team Currie Division with perfect 5-0 records.
The West Kildonan Wolverines sit in third place at 4-1, followed by the Tigers and Reivers at 3-2.
Tec Voc (1-4) trails the Muskies and Celtics, with the Maples Marauders and Churchill Bulldogs tied for last at 0-5.
