Mitch Calvert
It is time.
Time to put away the kid gloves and attempt to end a trying season on a high note.
Time to forget about the 0-6 record and lengthy injury list, and simply lay it all on the line.
The Muskie football team will conclude its WHSFL season playing purely for pride this Friday afternoon when they host the Portage Collegiate Institute Trojans (2-4) at Muskie Field.
“It’ll be nice to get a full week of preparation for this week’s game,” offensive co-ordinator Andrew George remarked. “It’s the last game for a lot of our players.
“I expect the best out of everyone this week.
“If we focus on our jobs and play to our potential, good things will happen for us,” he added.
Defensive co-ordinator Bob Whitburn only promised the team would be prepared and play hard.
“I’m not making any predictions for this week,” he noted. “We’re planning on having fun and letting everyone play.
“We’re going to work hard this week in practice and hopefully that works out for us and we have a good game.”
The Muskies will be facing a motivated Trojans’ squad, which needs a win to give it any chance at a playoff berth.
The Trojans lost a heartbreaker last Friday when the Grant Park Pirates scored a touchdown with just 22 seconds to go to win 15-12.
PCI, reeling after three-straight losses, trails Kenora (2-3-1) for the final playoff berth in the Kas Vidruk West Conference.
Kenora has a stiff test versus Vincent Massey (4-2) this week while the other divisional match-up sees Miles Mac (3-3) against River East (4-2).
The Muskies round out the West Conference standings at 0-6 after losing 41-6 to Tec Voc last Thursday in Winnipeg.
“Even though we lost 41-6 against Tec Voc, a lot of positives came out of the game,” George said. “We again moved the ball well on offence, and sustained long drives while eating up the clock.
“Near the end of the second, we were down 20-6 but inside Tec Voc’s 10,” he recalled. “We dropped one in the end zone and failed to score on third down.
“We still had them pinned inside their 10, but on second down they broke a long one for a touchdown.
“That was the back-breaker,” George lamented.
A common theme this season has been the Muskies’ lack of execution in the red zone.
“We got in the red zone a lot, but a few more turnovers and not executing when we needed to cost us,” George admitted.
“We moved the ball up and down the field,” he noted. “I think we only had to punt twice, but we either turned it over on downs or just couldn’t quite punch it in there.”
Quarterback Dan Brunetta accounted for the Muskies’ lone score on a one-yard run.
Fort High also lost the services of promising running back Tyler Abma, who went out with an injury early in the game.
“Abma is dinged up. We’re not even sure if he’ll be ready to go at this point,” George said Monday. “The kid doesn’t come off the field, and is one of our best players.
“Teams find out pretty quick they can’t run to Abma’s side on defence, and in terms of his offensive production . . . the kid had 400 yards and four touchdowns between both the Maples and Miles Mac games.
“So you imagine we will miss him if he can’t go.
“It will provide a great opportunity for others to step up and show they can play at a high level, as well,” George reasoned.
“The biggest key this week will be not only having our guys focused, but having a lot of our young guys ready to step up,” he stressed.
The list of wounded Muskies also includes veteran Britt Green, who went down with a season-ending leg injury after scoring on a 53-yard touchdown pass from Brunetta two weeks ago against Miles Mac.
“The one [injury] to Britt Green really hurt us,” Whitburn admitted. “You start looking at the depth charts and he’s on all of them.
“Trying to replace him was a bit of a kick in the pants, but it’s no secret we’ve been lacking in depth all year,” Whitburn added.
