In week seven, Avon View surprised Central Kings 32-17 Nov. 1 in Windsor, handing the Gators their second straight loss after a 5-0 start.
According to Avon View head coach Jim Bryan, the Avalanche “had a balanced attack” and scored their touchdowns on “a 70-yard punt return, a fake field goal, nice blocking on a long run and a smash through the line from the three-yard line.”
Avon View took over second-place in D-3 with the win. Both the Avalanche and Gators were at 5-2, but Avon View held the tie-breaker in terms of point differential, beating CK by 15 and losing by 12 in their head-to-head games.
Avon View could finish first by beating NKEC by 14 points or more in their Nov. 8 game in Canning. Otherwise, the Avalanche would host CK in a playoff semifinal.
As for the Gators, head coach Larry Priestnall had “no explanations” for his team’s sudden reversal in fortunes following a 5-0 start to the season.
“It was a sloppy game, and we made a lot of mistakes,” Priestnall said Nov. 4. Offensively for the Gators, Eric Holliefield and Nick Clarke caught touchdown passes from Connor Ross, and Geoff Mullen kicked a field goal.
“We were missing a few players, but that’s not really an excuse.” He added, “it’ll be back to the drawing board and back to basics for us” at practice this week.
In the other D-3 game, the Dr. John H. Gillis Royals earned their first victory of the season, improving to 1-6 with a 22-14 win over West Kings Oct. 30 in Antigonish.
Glenn Rowe and Jadon Abriel, both of whom have played well for the Wolverines all season, had the West Kings touchdowns.
West Kings head coach Aaron Evans termed the result “a disappointing end to the regular season. Our team played well this year, but just couldn’t seem to find a way to win.”
West Kings fell to 1-7 in its regular season finale, and will only qualify for the post-season if Dr. Gillis loses to Central Kings Nov. 8 in Cambridge by 30 points or more.
NKEC, which leads the division at 6-1, had the Oct. 31 weekend off.
On the final weekend of the regular season, NKEC looks to clinch first place in hosting Avon View Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. in Canning – a game that has a real bearing on the fortunes of both teams.
The Gators host Dr. J.H. Gillis in Cambridge, also Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. “This weekend is very important for everybody,” Priestnall said. If Central Kings and Avon View were both to win, “we could end up with three teams tied for first at 6-2.”
Meanwhile, in D-1, the Horton Griffins, who will miss the playoffs, fell to a disappointing 0-7 with a 50-14 loss to Sir John A. Macdonald Oct. 31 at Acadia.
Horton trailed 15-0 at the half, and though the Griffins scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half – one on a 40-yard catch and run by Parker King and the other on a short run by Isaac Melanson – it wasn’t nearly enough.
“We had a few injuries in key spots early in the second half, and younger players ended up having to fill in which was a difficult thing to ask them to do,” Griffins’ head coach Steve Melanson said.
Both King and Isaac Melanson had strong games, with Melanson playing on defence and special teams as well as taking an occasional turn on offence. MacKenzie Carr, coming back from injury, also had a strong game defensively.
Horton has its final regular season game Nov. 6 against Citadel on the Burnside turf.
“It’s been a frustrating year,” coach Melanson said, “but we are a young team. We continue to do well in the first half of games, but run out of gas in the second.”
In week seven, Avon View surprised Central Kings 32-17 Nov. 1 in Windsor, handing the Gators their second straight loss after a 5-0 start.
According to Avon View head coach Jim Bryan, the Avalanche “had a balanced attack” and scored their touchdowns on “a 70-yard punt return, a fake field goal, nice blocking on a long run and a smash through the line from the three-yard line.”
Avon View took over second-place in D-3 with the win. Both the Avalanche and Gators were at 5-2, but Avon View held the tie-breaker in terms of point differential, beating CK by 15 and losing by 12 in their head-to-head games.
Avon View could finish first by beating NKEC by 14 points or more in their Nov. 8 game in Canning. Otherwise, the Avalanche would host CK in a playoff semifinal.
As for the Gators, head coach Larry Priestnall had “no explanations” for his team’s sudden reversal in fortunes following a 5-0 start to the season.
“It was a sloppy game, and we made a lot of mistakes,” Priestnall said Nov. 4. Offensively for the Gators, Eric Holliefield and Nick Clarke caught touchdown passes from Connor Ross, and Geoff Mullen kicked a field goal.
“We were missing a few players, but that’s not really an excuse.” He added, “it’ll be back to the drawing board and back to basics for us” at practice this week.
In the other D-3 game, the Dr. John H. Gillis Royals earned their first victory of the season, improving to 1-6 with a 22-14 win over West Kings Oct. 30 in Antigonish.
Glenn Rowe and Jadon Abriel, both of whom have played well for the Wolverines all season, had the West Kings touchdowns.
West Kings head coach Aaron Evans termed the result “a disappointing end to the regular season. Our team played well this year, but just couldn’t seem to find a way to win.”
West Kings fell to 1-7 in its regular season finale, and will only qualify for the post-season if Dr. Gillis loses to Central Kings Nov. 8 in Cambridge by 30 points or more.
NKEC, which leads the division at 6-1, had the Oct. 31 weekend off.
On the final weekend of the regular season, NKEC looks to clinch first place in hosting Avon View Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. in Canning – a game that has a real bearing on the fortunes of both teams.
The Gators host Dr. J.H. Gillis in Cambridge, also Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. “This weekend is very important for everybody,” Priestnall said. If Central Kings and Avon View were both to win, “we could end up with three teams tied for first at 6-2.”
Meanwhile, in D-1, the Horton Griffins, who will miss the playoffs, fell to a disappointing 0-7 with a 50-14 loss to Sir John A. Macdonald Oct. 31 at Acadia.
Horton trailed 15-0 at the half, and though the Griffins scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half – one on a 40-yard catch and run by Parker King and the other on a short run by Isaac Melanson – it wasn’t nearly enough.
“We had a few injuries in key spots early in the second half, and younger players ended up having to fill in which was a difficult thing to ask them to do,” Griffins’ head coach Steve Melanson said.
Both King and Isaac Melanson had strong games, with Melanson playing on defence and special teams as well as taking an occasional turn on offence. MacKenzie Carr, coming back from injury, also had a strong game defensively.
Horton has its final regular season game Nov. 6 against Citadel on the Burnside turf.
“It’s been a frustrating year,” coach Melanson said, “but we are a young team. We continue to do well in the first half of games, but run out of gas in the second.”
