Muskies score early, often against Sturgeon Creek

It’s rather rare in football to have a game decided on just the second play from scrimmage but that’s exactly what happened here Friday afternoon.
Muskie running back Terry LaBelle sprang a 50-yard touchdown run just 1:33 into the game to give the black-and-gold a 7-0 lead over the visiting Sturgeon Creek Schooners.
And they never looked back, scoring at will en route to a 62-0 whitewash in the annual Homecoming game before a large, boisterous crowd at Westfort.
In fact, the Muskies scored touchdowns on their first six possessions in the first half, and added a field goal by Daniel Rebeiro on their seventh, to grab a commanding 45-0 lead at halftime.
LaBelle, who was used sparingly at running back once again, scored his second major on the Muskies’ second series, taking a hand-off from quarterback Gary Wager and rambling 25 yards.
His brother, Doug, made it 21-0 when he hauled in a 38-yard pass from Wager. Dave Gemmell, Dana Preston, and Scott Witherspoon then added first-half touchdowns before Rebeiro booted the field goal.
The Muskies were just as dominating in the second half. After the defence stopped Sturgeon Creek on third-and-goal from their five-yard line, the offence marched down the field–capped by a nifty 30-yard end-around by Gary Wagner to make it 52-zip.
Actually, LaBelle had scored on a 105-yard run earlier in the series but it was called back due to a holding penalty.
Rebeiro later added his second field goal of the game and then Wagner closed out the scoring when he caught an 11-yard hitch pass from Wager on the last play of the game.
< *c>Sweet victory
Head coach Bob Swing said Friday’s victory was especially sweet considering his team dominated Sturgeon Creek on nearly every play. In fact, he admitted he could find very little wrong in the game.
“What can you say?” Swing said. “We just played a very good football game.”
Running back coach Greg Allan added he was impressed with the Muskies’ ability to run the ball with such great success.
“What can you say about a game that has a 62-0 score,” he remarked. “Everyone played so well. And as a team, [Sturgeon Creek] was just outmanned.”
Allan said he would have liked to have given the ball to both LaBelle and Preston more during the game but he stressed the coaches didn’t want to be accused of running up the score.
Even so, the Muskies managed to put 62 points on the board despite the fact the clock was run without stop time after the midway point of the second quarter when it already was 42-0.
It was simply a case of a very good football team playing a very poor one.
“[Sturgeon Creek] is a young and inexperienced team,” offered Allan. “But our offensive line played really well. Our guys were able to attack the holes, and when you run the ball well, the offensive line usually plays well.”
The tandem of Preston, a fullback known for creating huge holes with some stellar blocking, and LaBelle, a slashing type back with speed to burn, complement each other well in the Muskie backfield.
“I’ve been here since 1986 and I can’t recall us having a better one-two punch,” said Allan. “Preston is strong with a lot of power, who is a great blocker that you can see when watching the game film.
“He’s like our unsung hero while Terry has a lot of speed,” he added.
But the defence wasn’t too shabby, either, limiting Sturgeon Creek to few first downs and creating several big plays for turnovers. Chad Canfield and Terry Richards each had a fumble recovery while Aaron Caul added an interception.
The Muskies have a bye this weekend, then will travel to Brandon to take on Crocus Plains on Oct. 10.
Due to problems lining up exhibition tilts with Manitoba and American schools (the NorWOSSA league was scrapped), last Friday’s contest may have been the last Muskie home game this season.