Lucas Punkari
The Muskie football team played the role of party pooper on Friday as it made the trek north to Dryden and defeated the host Eagles 21-17 in the first-ever night game to be played at Harry McMaster Field.
With the win, Fort High also improved its record to 2-4 and moved into a tie with Dryden for fifth place in the Currie Division standings.
“It was a neat experience for the kids, especially with the fact that we playing under the lights,” noted Muskie assistant coach Shane Beckett.
“The stadium was set up pretty good with the temporary lights that they had, and despite the poor weather conditions, they got a good crowd on hand and they got to see a real good show,” he added.
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout the contest, with the Eagles holding a 17-14 lead with just over five minutes to go in the fourth quarter and the Muskies finding themselves with a third down-and-eight situation near midfield.
“We started to have some problems moving the football near the end of the third quarter, and it continued on into the fourth quarter when we got into that part of the game,” Beckett recalled.
“On that third-and-eight play, we called a fake punt and it worked like a charm as Aaron Kellar ran for about 35 yards on that play,” he said.
“And the guys were able to pound the ball up the middle, with Colton Craig scoring the go-ahead touchdown with about three-and-a-half minutes to go.
“That put us up 20-17 at that point, and to be able to tack on that extra point was huge as that put Dryden down by four points,” Beckett stressed.
With a lot of time to work with, Dryden marched towards the red zone—and nearly had quarterback Ryan Martel score on a scramble with a little over a minute to go.
That set the stage for a dramatic third-and-goal play with just 42 seconds on the clock.
“Their quarterback was scrambling again because of the pressure by our linebackers, and he threw the ball up towards the end zone,” Beckett explained.
“But Braden Webb was right there to make his second pick of the game and he was able to run the ball out of the end zone, which allowed us to do a couple of kneel-downs and celebrate a victory.”
Craig led the Muskies on offence, finding the end zone on three separate occasions.
“I said to him during the game that it looked like he was running angry at times,” Beckett noted.
“He was going after guys all the time and he wasn’t shying away from any contact, and he was just doing some good, hard running.
“One of the things that we preach to our guys is to be the hammer and not the nail, and he was certainly doing that on Friday,” Beckett noted.
It’s often said that any football game is won by the work in the trenches, and Beckett also was quick to point out the play of both the offensive and the defensive lines was key to the victory.
“The offensive line was making holes for Colton and Harley [Mainville] to run through and our defensive line was plugging up the holes to prevent their running backs from getting major yardage,” Beckett said.
“One guy who had a great game and doesn’t get noticed all that often was our left defensive end Justin Whitecrow.
“He was a silent hero for us out there by forcing their running backs to the inside and into traffic,” Beckett lauded.
The black-and-gold will look to continue their momentum tomorrow afternoon in Winnipeg when they take on the St. John’s Tigers (1-5) in a game that will help determine who the Muskies will face in the quarter-finals next week.
“If we get a win there, along with a Dryden loss [to St. Norbert today], that would put us against St. Norbert in the first round, which would be a better match-up for us than facing a team like Sisler or Daniel Mac,” Beckett stressed.
“Right now we have two wins on the season, and since I’ve been here at the school, I haven’t seen a team with two wins, which is great for the program,” he added.
“Now it’s all about continuing to add that momentum and to move things forwards going into the playoffs.”
