By Rick Rivers
The sun was still up as the rematch between the defending AFL champs, the Dalhousie Tigers and the Holland College Hurricanes kicked off. The weekend before the Tigers for the first three quarters had been quite dominant in their 41-9 victory on the island. For this tilt on Wickwire Field both defences dominated for three quarters, in front of an estimated two thousand relatively quiet fans. Among them was a good size contingent from Holland College.
It is hard to believe the first half ended in a 0-0 shutout. The black and gold fans did get a little enthusiastic on a Drew Kinley INT but the ‘O’ did not take advantage. The only real excitement in the first half for Dal supporters came on a long sideline run by
Dal QB, Dante Gabrielli. Later Gabrielli would hit Ethan Lord on a
short pass and Lord would get major yards after the catch with his speed and moves.
The titanic defensive struggle continued well into the second half with both defences showing they had come to dominate the opposing ‘O’. Holland’s ‘D’ had limited the Tigers star RB, Caden Quong to short gains. Dal penalties had also stifled potential first downs. Jonas Anderson started the second half at QB completing a few short passes. Dalhousie finally negated their zero with a 37 yard FG by Liam Masner. Minutes later the Tigers gave up a safety touch. A good soccer score, 3-2 was now seen, but that would change shortly.
The Hurricanes scored the first TD on a 19 yard pass from Ben Chomolok to Keiler Purcell. This was the immediate result of the Tigers turning the ball over on downs on a third and one deep in their own end. John MacGillivray made the PAT giving HC their first lead, 9-3. The Hurricanes gave up a safety and the Tigers scored another FG making a close 9-8 score for Holland.
The Tigers’ offence finally returned to last week’s form mid-way through the 4th, Quong getting first downs on runs and Anderson completing short passes to numerous receivers, led by Lord. The offensive line allowed Anderson to score on a QB sneak, but a two point convert was missed. The black and gold now led 14-9, with less than 3 minutes to play.
Earlier, Evan Collins made the defensive play of the game running down Chomolok to prevent a crucial first down. Matt Irvine, AJ Irving, Julian McCarty, Drew Kinley and Oranye Egbuna made numerous big plays breaking up passes and delivering hard tackles on receivers and backs. Logan Steeves was again a standout on the Dline, while Egbuna’s last minute INT sealed the game victory. Defence wins championships!
Offence wins games and in the last minute Quong carried the ball numerous times with the final one resulting in a deserved TD. Masner converted, making the final score, 21-9, a Dal victory!
Hope to see another large crowd at Wickwire on Saturday at 4 PM for Homecoming when the rivalry resumes with the UNB REDS.
GO Tigers!!
