Joey Payeur
Mike Cuzzolino wasn’t overly impressed with the Kenora Broncos’ offensive play-calling.
But he was less impressed by how his own team responded to it.
The head coach of the Muskie football team had a front-row view from the sideline at another big-time loss for his squad, which fell to 0-5 on the season after getting stomped 58-12 by the previously-winless Broncos on Friday afternoon in Kenora.
“Kenora ran, like, four plays. We didn’t show up,” conceded Cuzzolino.
“We knew exactly what they were gonna do—ground and pound. We failed to execute.
“Guys not playing positions properly and poor tackling on defence,” he noted. “Poor blocking on offence, unable to establish the run, receivers dropping balls, poor execution created that disaster.
“Poor fundamentals is the reason they scored 58 points. We beat ourselves,” stressed Cuzzolino, whose team was burned on the first play from scrimmage for the Broncos—a 67-yard touchdown run by Wesley Penner.
“First play, No. 39 [Penner] just took the ball, our contain broke down, and he was gone down the sideline,” he said.
“Just devastating.”
Coming off two-straight shutout losses, the Muskies appeared to have caught a break when Kenora starting quarterback Dylan Andrews had to leave the game early after re-aggravating a season-long ankle injury.
But back-up pivot Rhett Zurkan efficiently oversaw a Kenora attack that rushed the ball almost at will against an overmatched and under-sized Fort High defence—not that Cuzzolino was looking for excuses.
“Our guys just didn’t sustain blocks and on ‘D,’ we didn’t make any effort to get off our blocks,” Cuzzolino said.
“We were too slow.”
Penner added a 10-yard scoring run later in the first half while fullback Pacey Wickham busted into the end zone from 21 yards and four yards out.
Chase Neufeld’s six-yard touchdown dash and a one-yard burst by Zurkan made it 42-0.
Dougie deBernardeaux hauled in the kick-off after Zurkan’s major and raced 87 yards to the end zone to halt a streak of almost 10-straight quarters without a point for the black-and-gold to trim the lead to 42-6.
Zurkan scored on a second one-yard run in the third quarter for a 48-6 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, the tip play worked to perfection for the Muskies, with receiver Riley Argue getting a hand on quarterback Brandon Whitecrow’s pass and deflecting it right to Dylon Woolsey for a 20-yard touchdown catch.
Whitecrow mostly was under siege the rest of the game, though, completing just seven-of-20 passes for 102 yards.
Chase Copenace stood out on a trying defensive day for the Muskies—recording a team-high 10 tackles.
Meanwhile, the injury bug continued to feast on the depleted Muskies’ lineup as receiver Damon Nyberg left the game with a head injury.
Fort High began the game already without running back Sekina Scheibler (foot), lineman Bryce Gilbert (quad), defensive back William Lowe (lower-body injury), and receiver Winston Jourdain-Johnson (unknown).
“I think the guys are working hard but because we’re so young and inexperienced, they just don’t know how hard it is to win a football game,” said Cuzzolino.
“[Kenora head coach Chris] Penner said that he sees what we’re trying to do and to stick with it,” he added.
“Our program has been through so much turmoil over the years so it’s nice to receive that positive feedback.
“We need to get better at practice,” Cuzzolino conceded. “We need to go harder, get more intense, scrimmage like it’s a game every day.
“If we start winning in practice, we will start playing a lot better.”
The Muskies will close out the regular season this Friday at 3 p.m. when the Dryden Eagles, who sit atop the Currie Division (‘A’) with a 6-0 record, visit for Fort High’s annual Homecoming game.
The Eagles have been bashing their opponents all season, including over the Broncos (50-0), the Daniel McIntyre Maroons (38-0), and the Kildonan East Reivers (62-13)—all teams that defeated the Muskies by wide margins.
All signs indicate the Homecoming game may not be much of a contest. But Cuzzolino remained steadfast in his belief in his players and that anything can happen once two teams get inside the white lines.
“They’ve got to get fired up,” he stressed.
“Dryden is already talking about ‘Squish the Fish,’” he alleged. “They think we should just forfeit so we don’t get embarrassed.
“That fires me up.
“I love this game. I’ve played it nearly half my life,” Cuzzolino noted. “I’ve been part of championship teams.
“I have, like, five football memories that stand out. Four of them are winning championships.
“One is two years ago when [the Soo Steelers senior men’s team that Cuzzolino plays for] went into Sarnia with 16 players to their 50,” he recounted.
“We were 2-5. They were 5-2. They were a Goliath, first place in our division, and we went in and beat them 13-10,” Cuzzolino said.
“We fought for every little bit for that win. We played hurt and exhausted.
“This Muskie team needs to develop a win-at-all-costs mentality,” Cuzzolino suggested. “We need to learn to win.
“Dryden is really good. Are they unbeatable? Absolutely not,” he stressed.
“We’re coming for Dryden,” Cuzzolino vowed defiantly with the knowledge he likely will have Scheibler back for Friday’s game.
“We are not going to make it easy,” he pledged. “It’s going to be a war and I’m really excited for it.”
The Muskies will begin the first round of the WHFSL playoffs involving the bottom eight teams in the Currie Division next week.
Their opponent and location still is to be determined.
