Joey Payeur
It was a day when even the ducks were carrying umbrellas.
A lengthy rainstorm left the Muskies and three other teams muddling through the mud for a series of scrimmages last Thursday in Kenora.
It also muddied the waters for Muskie head coach Chad Canfield when it came to determining the potential of his team heading into this Friday’s WHSFL season-opener here at 3 p.m. versus the St. John’s Tigers from Winnipeg (not the St. John’s-Ravenscourt Eagles as reported in last week’s Times).
“The rain caused a lot of turnovers for all the teams,” noted Canfield.
“Our defence played really well and the special teams weren’t bad, other than having guys missing out there because we haven’t practised much the changeover from offence or defence to special teams,” he added.
The Muskies’ day began with the first of three 20-minute scrimmages coming against the host Broncos.
In a defensive struggle, the Muskies prevailed 1-0 on a missed field goal by kicker Cody Bell, who also is one of the four candidates to play quarterback for the black-and-gold this season.
“We got to the one-yard line but we couldn’t punch it in,” Canfield recalled.
“We [then] tried the field goal, although we had no uprights because we were playing on a soccer field,” Canfield added.
“It was a judgment call from the referee and he said we missed it.”
The second scrimmage was against the Dryden Eagles, who used their size advantage along the defensive line to eke out a 7-0 victory.
“We got physically outplayed from an offensive perspective and that put a lot of pressure on our defence,” said Canfield.
“Our defence really stepped up, though.”
The Muskies thought they had scored on a 40-yard scramble by another quarterback contender—veteran Ben Whitburn. But a holding penalty well away from the play nullified the major.
“We have to talk to them about how to play away from the ball,” admitted Canfield, whose team’s only physical woes during the day came from cramping due to not drinking enough water.
The Muskies then closed out their afternoon against the Grant Park Raiders from Winnipeg.
The Raiders, who compete in the ‘AA’-level Kas Vidruk Division of the WHSFL, clearly were dominant throughout the day against their three ‘A’-level opponents from the Andy Currie Division, including a 14-0 shutout over Fort High.
“We couldn’t move the ball on them at all,” noted Canfield.
“[But] our defence played really well and I’m very happy with them.”
Defensive standouts highlighted by Canfield included defensive end Aaron McDowell, middle linebacker Tanner Gill-Roisin, and safety Braden Webb.
On the offensive side of the ball, running back Dougie deBernardeaux was lauded for his performance while Grade 9 newcomer Eric Matthews got a leg up over his competition in the quarterback derby with his play.
“Eric’s not the biggest guy in the world but from a footwork and technical standpoint, he was the best one out there,” Canfield said.
“He’s probably in the lead right now. But we’ll keep an open mind,” he stressed.
Canfield said practice this week will lean heavily towards working on figuring out how to put points on the board.
“It’ll come down to drawing up plays to maximize the talent of the players we have out there,” he explained.
Canfield didn’t have much in terms of a scouting report on the incoming Tigers, who struggled to an 0-7 record in the Currie Division last season compared to the Muskies at 3-5.
“St. John’s has struggled the last few years,” Canfield said of the Tigers, who were outscored 255-33 a year ago.
“It’s probably a nice way for us to open up the season at home.
“But you never know in this league what up-and-comers other teams have,” he warned.
“Sometimes the teams that were a juggernaut last year end up at the bottom of the division and vice-versa.
“We didn’t play them [the Tigers] last year, but we have beat them both times we’ve faced them since I’ve been here,” Canfield noted.
