Joey Payeur
Life on the road didn’t seem all that glamorous yesterday for the Muskie football team.
The black-and-gold—playing their first road game of the WHSFL season—were dumped 41-16 by the College Lorette Collegiate Scorpions.
“It was simple breakdowns that cost us,” lamented Muskie head coach Mike Cuzzolino, whose team looked quite different from the one that beat the Tec Voc Hornets 20-18 here six days earlier to open the season.
“We weren’t executing,” Cuzzolino noted. “We weren’t picking up the blitzes along our offensive line and the defence is still having a tough time containing the outside runs.”
The Muskies (1-1) tied it 7-7 with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Whitecrow to Cole Kowalski in the first quarter.
But Lorette went wild after that—scoring 34-straight points to lead 41-7 midway through the third quarter.
Andrew Hanson stopped the onslaught by tackling a Scorpions’ running back in Lorette’s for a safety late in the third.
Kowalski then added a second major when Whitecrow found him for a 35-yard score to close out the scoring.
The Muskie rushing attack, which had gouged the Hornets for 266 yards, only mustered 88 against Lorette yesterday.
Whitecrow provided the bulk of that yardage (44) on four unscripted runs when he couldn’t find an open receiver.
Cuzzolino blamed a poor effort at practice during the week as a key factor in the blow-out.
“We had guys away and the guys that were there were a little out of it,” he admitted.
“That’s what happens,” Cuzzolino added. “We got a little satisfied with ourselves after last week and we took it on the chin.
“But it’s a good learning experience for the kids.”
Whitecrow finished 10-for-20 for 198 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, along with one bruised and battered body.
“Brandon played unbelievably and showed true heart,” Cuzzolino said about his second-year pivot.
“He was a real warrior,” he added. “He got beat up and hit so much, but he kept getting up and getting up.
“He could barely walk off the field after the game. But you could see the fire and intensity was still there.”
The Muskies will look to rebound next Friday against the Daniel McIntyre Maroons (1-1) in their annual Homecoming game.
Kick-off is at a special time of 1 p.m.
