Mitch Calvert
The Muskies commanded the respect of the rest of the Kas Vidruk Division in the Winnipeg High School Football League last Thursday afternoon, improving their record to 2-2 after a decisive 22-14 win over the visiting Maples Marauders in the annual Homecoming game.
Now comes the hard part.
The Muskies face the top three teams of the division in their final three games of the regular season, starting with a road tilt versus the Tec Voc Hornets on Friday.
“You always worry about a quarterback that’s mobile, and this week Tec Voc has a mobile quarterback and a very nice running back,” Muskie head coach Vince Gouin noted. “[The running back is] not very big but very shifty, has a good sense of balance, and can cut really well.
“We’re going to try to contain him and make the quarterback beat our secondary,” Gouin added.
The Muskies used a similar game plan to contain Maples’ mobile quarterback, as well as limit his passing yards until the Marauders started to open up the game in the second half.
Until Mike Sonnasinh recovered a fumble and dashed 80 yards for the game-saving touchdown, the Muskies’ defence had begun to bend but not break as they held onto a slim lead. Sonnasinh’s romp was the nail in the coffin, though, as the Marauders fumbled the ensuing kick-off to end all hopes of a comeback.
Blake Wepruk caught a touchdown pass and ran one in from the goal-line to pace the Muskie offence, but he also had four-and-a-half tackles and three forced fumbles while on defence.
Wepruk’s monster effort did not come without its consequences, however, as his status is in doubt for this Friday’s game.
“Through the first quarter, he felt something strained in his knee so he’s hobbling quite a bit, but we don’t know how severely as of yet,” Gouin noted. “But Jeremy Whitehead has been kind of
laying in the weeds there, but is a guy that needs to come up big here and if we can get the ball to him, he’ll be fine.”
Whitehead, who had 38 yards on two catches last Thursday against Maples, has the ability to break free in the open field and rack up some big yardage.
Quarterback Dan Brunetta finished 7-for-16 passing for 118 yards, with one touchdown and one pick. He also helped out his own cause with an interception on defence.
Justin Perreault also dominated defensively for the Muskies with four tackles (one of which prevented a two-point conversion in the second half) to go along with two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a blocked kick on an extra point attempt.
Tyler Romyn, meanwhile, followed up his player-of-the-week performance against Dryden earlier in the month with an effective two tackles and a sack against the Marauders.
Linebacker Mason McKay added eight-and-a-half tackles in the winning effort, Josh Stevens had an interception to go with four tackles and half-a-sack, while Matt DiPiero contributed on the defensive side of the ball with a pick and five tackles.
After rushing for league-leading yardage through the first few games, DiPiero’s production has slowed since the injury to fullback Tyler Abma in the Muskies’ home game against Kenora back on Sept. 12.
“Tyler Abma is looking to get a sports cast, just afraid of that finger getting jammed again,” Gouin remarked. “Since he got hurt, our running game hasn’t done half the amount that it should be [doing].
“The line is still making their blocks, but the second layer, the fullback, isn’t making the blocks so Matt just can’t break free like he was earlier in the season,” he explained.
Still, Muskie offensive co-ordinator Andrew George hopes to establish the running game and maintain a balanced attack against the Hornets this Friday.
“The light is starting to click on for a lot of our guys, and they are starting to understand our systems a lot better,” George lauded. “We will continue to work out the kinks in our running game.
“Tec Voc is very aggressive and hopefully we can use that to our advantage,” he added. “Our O-line is starting to make progress and we expect them to be able to match Tec Voc’s front seven.”
Gouin said the mobility of Tec Voc’s quarterback allows him time to look downfield, and he’s connected on some long passes in the team’s two wins so far this season.
“They [Tec Voc] throw the deep ball quite a bit, a variety of deep patterns, and the quarterback is getting a little bit of time and is just throwing it up there, and the receivers are making the catches,” Gouin gleaned from watching their recent game film.
“Their defence is very active, a swarm defence very similar to our defence, so it should be a real good test for us.”
The Muskies and Tec Voc currently are tied for fourth spot in the division, so a win would go a long way towards avoiding a first-round playoff match-up with the first-place Sturgeon Heights Huskies (4-1) or the 3-1 St. Paul’s Crusaders.
The black-and-gold host the Crusaders next Friday (Oct. 10) before wrapping up the regular-season against the Huskies on Oct. 17 at CanadInns Stadium in Winnipeg.
