Lucas Punkari
Even though his team was shellacked 36-0 by St. Norbert in their WHSFL season-opener here back on Sept. 9, Muskie head coach Chad Canfield is confident of his squad’s chances when they face the Celtics again in a Currie Division quarter-final showdown tomorrow in Winnipeg.
“We are hoping to be more competitive with them this time around and we think that this will be a winnable game for us,” Canfield said.
“I wasn’t here for the season-opener in person [due to work commitments] but [assistant coach] Shane Beckett had informed me that from an offensive perspective, we were not really prepared for that game,” Canfield noted.
“But a lot has changed for us since then.”
Part of that change is the fact the black-and-gold finished off the regular season with a two-game winning streak—capped by a 7-0 victory over the St. John’s Tigers last Thursday in Winnipeg that gave Fort High a 3-4 record and the No. 5 seed for the post-season.
“It’s fantastic to have a winning streak to finish off the year,” Canfield enthused.
“I don’t know how long it’s been for Muskie football since we’ve had a two-game win streak, but it has definitely been a while.
“We’re really happy that we can do that, and three wins on the season is also great as that puts us in a nice place in the standings,” he added.
Although the score may not have indicated it, both the Muskies and Tigers made solid gains on offence in the first half last Thursday, only to sputter out before points could be scored.
“Both teams actually moved the ball really well, but they would just stall out whenever they would get really close to the end zone,” Canfield recalled.
It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Muskies were able to get on the scoreboard, when Harley Mainville pounded the ball across the goal line from three yards out.
“We had Colton Craig and Harley swapping in and out at running back at that point,” Canfield noted.
“Both guys were able to run the ball really well and they also gained a lot of yards per carry, which really helped us on that drive that gave us the lead.”
On the other side of the ball, the Muskie defence stood tall as the Tigers only were able to muster a field goal attempt while two defensive backs made key plays later on.
“Rob Payne and Braden Webb both made interceptions which were huge plays for us,” Canfield said.
“For Braden, I believe that’s his sixth or seventh pick of the year and for someone who is only in Grade 10, that is fantastic,” he lauded.
The improvements on both sides of the ball for the black-and-gold have led to one of their best records in a number of years—and something not many people thought would happen given the issues of trying to get players to come out at start of the season.
But for Canfield, he’s always felt this team had the ability to get the job done.
“They have been able to do it all along, but I think the biggest thing is that the guys have gained more confidence as the season has gone on,” he explained.
“Early in the year, I think the guys went out there expecting to lose,” he admitted. “But they are not doing that any more, and instead they have are saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got a shot here,’ and that has really changed the attitude of everybody.
“I think back to the game against Dryden where they scored first and we were able to come back and win late in the fourth quarter because we thought we could do it.
“If that had been last year or early this year, we would have just folded up shop and thought ‘the game’s over, we’re not going to come back,’” Canfield stressed.
Canfield hopes that new attitude carries over into tomorrow’s quarter-final tilt against the fourth-place Celtics, which will take place at 3 p.m. at Canad Inns Stadium.
“I’m expecting this to be a really competitive game,” he said.
“[Former Muskie] Adrian Huntley has those guys playing really well for only a third-year program, and they are a good team,” Canfield warned.
“We’re looking to have a good week of practice and then come up with a game plan after seeing what different things St. Norbert has come up with since Week 1, and hopefully it all goes well,” he added.
