Jessica George
After losing nine games in a row over the span of a couple of WHSFL seasons, the Muskie football team finally was able to pull out a victory, beating the Kenora Broncos 7-4 on Friday afternoon in their home-opener.
But getting the monkey off their backs is not the way quarterbacks coach Andrew George sees it.
“It’s a new season, so I don’t think we really look at it like breaking a streak,” he remarked. “We put last season behind us and we’re taking this season one game at a time.
“We’re expecting to win this year,” he stressed.
“Our [offensive] line showed great improvement compared to the first game opening holes for tailbacks Matt DePiero and Jordan Borden,” noted Muskie head coach Vince Gouin, referring to the team’s 30-21 loss to the host Garden City Collegiate Fighting Gophers in their season-opener back on Sept. 5.
DePiero ended up rushing for 167 yards against Kenora.
But the Muskie defence also was strong Friday, limiting the Broncos to just four points while cornerback Mike Sonnasinh picked off a pass in the fourth quarter and ran it back 67 yards for the winning score.
George noted the Muskies’ passing game didn’t really work out as the Broncos showed up with a highly-disciplined defence, but attributed this to the fact that rookie quarterback Dan Brunetta still is fairly young and not completely used to the position yet.
“He saw a really tough defence and it was a little tough for him, but he held in there and it was a good thing for him to see that style of defence because we’re going to see it again,” he remarked.
Gouin assured “the coaching staff will continue to work with him [Brunetta] and the rest of the offence with sustaining drives down the field and finish by putting points on the board.”
The Muskies (1-1) now are preparing to face another former NorWOSSA rival in the Dryden Eagles up there this Friday, in a game Gouin expects to be a tough one.
However, George believes their 7-4 win over Kenora shows the black-and-gold are on their way up.
