Day-old pastries are difficult enough for the human stomach to entertain, never mind one from 12 months ago.
But it’s not so much indigestion as it is anticipation that the Fort Frances Muskies varsity football squad is feeling inside, as they prepare to chew on the toughest part of last year’s doughnut.
The Muskies will attempt to put their winless 2002 season behind them when they travel west to face the Grant Park Pirates in the opening game of their Winnipeg High School Football League campaign Friday afternoon.
Last year, the black-and-gold had their hands wrapped around the Pirates’ necks for what would have been their only victory of what was a frustrating year, only to lose their grip in the late going.
Leading 17-13 early in the fourth quarter on home turf, the Muskies watched Grant Park running back Garret Gamble scamper 40 yards for the eventual game-winning touchdown in a 21-17 Pirates’ victory.
“They’re a very similar to us,” said Muskies head coach Bob Swing. “They rely on their power, and they’ve got a very good running back.
“We can’t have too many mental breakdowns. A football season is one long journey.”
It must have seemed like more like an endless road for the Muskies Friday night across the river, as the International Falls Broncos flexed their muscles in hammering Fort Frances 68-0 in their annual pre-season clash at Sports Stadium in the Falls.
While the Muskie offence was befuddled for most of the game, collecting only one first down in the opening half, quarterback Andrew George said signs of improvement began to rear their head as the game wore on.
“It was not a good performance, but it’s going to get better, and you could see that happen throughout the game,” said George, who played three quarters before giving way to Ty Griffith in the fourth.
“It was a combination of not getting enough time to throw the ball along with the receivers not getting where they needed to be on their patterns, and then myself making bad throws.
“I’m not making excuses, but the Broncos have had 13 two-a-day practices already,” he added. “This was our first day as a full team, really.”
Defensively, the Muskies were successful in reaching the point of attack, but were less effective in making something happen when they arrived.
“Guys were coming at us, and we weren’t wrapping up,” said middle linebacker Tyson Dennis. “I did it, too. Guys would come at me and I’d be standing straight up.
“But this was a learning game,” he continued. “This just makes next week’s game more important.”
Lopsided scores usually give coaches migraine headaches, and would make them think otherwise about approaching such challenges. But Swing would rather have his team fall off the mountain than never try to climb it.
“It’s a good benchmark for us,” he reasoned. “We know we’re not going to play anyone better than this all season. (The Broncos’) system is simple enough that we can learn from it. It’s an easier teaching tool to play games like this.
“Am I disappointed? Not at all. This is our first game. We haven’t even practiced as a full team. We don’t get anything out of beating International Falls.
“The Falls is running execution times three right now,” continued Swing. “We’re at the point where we’re making sure our stance is right, our alignment is right. Then we’ll get around to teaching technique and execution. If you don’t play against the best, you won’t be able to gauge where you are. It gives you a false sense of security.”
The Falls had an early touchdown run by Jordan Hedlund called back in the first quarter after the Broncos were tagged for illegal procedure. But after punting the ball back to the Muskies, the Falls capitalized on a bad snap by the Muskies on their subsequent punt attempt, forcing punter Rick Ricard to eat the ball at the Fort Frances 8-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage after that, Rhegy Gelo scored the first of his four rushing touchdowns when he blasted through the Muskies’ defensive wall up front on a handoff and drove his way into the end zone.
Hedlund dropped quarterback Brett Bahr’s pass on the two-point conversion to keep the score 6-0. The Broncos attempted two-point conversions on all but two of their nine touchdowns in the game.
After Fort Frances again went three and out in the U.S.-rules contest, International Falls marched down the field and hit pay dirt when Travis Sohlman repeated Gelo’s feat, crashing through for another eight-yard major, with Bahr sneaking in for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 advantage.
The second quarter belonged to the Broncos, and specifically to Gelo.
The Grade 10, 180-pound fullback rumbled 24 yards on the first play of the Broncos’ first possession of the second quarter, with Hedlund catching the two-point conversion for a 22-0 lead.
Then on a sweep to the left, Gelo busted several tackles and motored down the sidelines to score his third touchdown, with the single point convert boosting the lead to 29-0.
He then made good on a third-and-goal from the Muskie seven-yard line, pulling off an end run to the right as he eluded the diving tackles of defenders Kevin Tysz and George Morken, with another single conversion making it 36-0 at half-time.
In the third, the Broncos took the ball on the opening kickoff, returning it to their own 47. After calling time out before their first play, the Falls then executed perfectly on a Bahr to Wyatt LaVigne pass that saw the receiver work himself open behind the secondary and complete a 53-yard pass-and-run play, with Sohlman running in a two-point convert to make it 44-0.
Dean Kuckkahn extended the lead later in the quarter with a three-yard touchdown run, followed by another two-point convert jaunt by Sohlman.
Then on the first play of their next drive, Sohlman emerged from a group of black-and-gold tacklers, and sprinted 56 yards for a touchdown, and added the two-point conversion himself on a quick-hitting rushing play to build the lead to 60-0.
Backup quarterback Devin Clark capped the scoring, breaking free on a fourth-and-one play and rambling 47 yards for the touchdown, with Jake Larson adding a two-point conversion along the ground.
Muskies defensive lineman Mac Lougheed missed the game with post-concussion syndrome after being injured in practice earlier in the week.
During the game, it was fullback Shane MacDonald’s turn to get knocked for a loop, as the Muskie veteran had to leave in the second half with a concussion of his own.
“We have to work on what we have in place already, not rip everything up and go back to the drawing board,” said Swing. “People will see the progress.”
The Muskies play their first four regular-season games on the road, before finally opening their home schedule Oct. 3 against the Churchill Bulldogs in the Homecoming game.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
