The Write Call -
Jack Drover has long been known for his strong convictions and beliefs and his readiness to share these words with others. One of these "gems" was formed when the CIS legalized the awarding of athletic scholarships and to paraphrase the recently-retired Mount Allison athletic director, he said teams with the deepest pockets would be the ones putting better numbers on the scoreboards. His words were driven home emphatically on Saturday when Laval hammered our own Mounties to the tune of 73-7 before more than 13,000 fans in Quebec City.
To be fair, there is a drastic difference in the approach to football by the two schools. The Laval squad is owned and operated by a group of Quebec businessmen with "deep pockets" and according to reports in Canada's national newspapers, the Laval budget in 2006 was more than $1.3 million. This would make them the New York Yankee of Canadian football while the Mounties would have about the lowest budget of the 23 schools in competition.
While the Laval coaching staff has the resources to criss-cross the nation to recruit with big bucks, they also have the nation's football mill in their backyard with both a strong CEGEP and junior program in the province.
In contrast, the Mounties have high entrance standards, a limited number of programs to offer and limited resources. Without the contribution of the Fifth Quarter Club providing external assistance, it is questionable if the local program would or could be sustained.
Four years ago, then Mount A president Ken Ozmon took steps to partially level the playing field. He allowed the team to operate under CIS rules rather than the much more restrictive ones imposed by the local administration. He also obtained pledges for $100,000 a year for three years and this has meant increased hope for the program but left them far short of their competitors in a number of areas.
The Fifth Quarter Club, headed by men like Peter Winters and some other former players, has played a key role in sustaining and maintaining the program so the combination of this group combined with Ozmon's contribution have resulted in football remaining as the last of the three major varsity sports at Mount Allison.
But obviously it is going to require a greater commitment from the entire university community in order to put the Mounties on a competitive level.
While the youthful and undersized Mounties absorbed a scoreboard thrashing on Saturday, their sixth consecutive defeat of the current campaign, coach Kelly Jeffrey said his defensive front performed better and got some pressure on the opposing quarterback, recording five sacks along the way.
Akwasi Antwi continued to pace the nation in tackles with another eight. Corner Jerome Oram chipped in with 5.5 and both Brad Daye and Luke Ekoh added five. Sacks were chalked up by Ryan Downe with a pair while Zack Nixon, Devon Spencer and Rakai Augustus each got one.
Coach Jeffrey felt his offense moved the ball fairly well, considering the quality of the opposition, and controlled play for 25 of the 60 minutes.
While again giving up more than 600 yards of offense - 650 to be precise - they managed to eke out 286 against their interlock opponents and normally should have notched a few more points. However, a lost fumble, a couple of interceptions and failure on a couple of third-down attempts failed to improve hopes.
Runningback Matt Pickett was the big man along the ground accounting for 54 yards on 14 attempts as neither team was overly successful as Laval had but 150 which included a trio of touchdowns.
Once again it was the phenomenal Gary Ross showing the nation he is among the premier players in this country. The leading receiver in the Atlantic Conference caught six passes for 131 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown pass from Hotchkiss, 26 yards rushing and 105 on runbacks for a total of 262 on the day. If he continues on his current pace and is back in 2010, he could rewrite the record books for both returns and receptions. However, even Laval declined to punt in his direction, offering him an opportunity to go to the house.
Victor Tremblay put together 169 yards for the winners that included one touchdown.
Laval struck quickly, scoring their first touchdown on a 31-yard pass from Benoit Groulx to Sam Levesque with less than two minutes gone in the game and by quarter time were up 28-0 as Groulx threaded the needle time after time for huge gains and led the winners to the dressing room with a 4- point margin as the visitors failed to get unwound, perhaps a little unnerved by the huge partisan crowd.
But Ross gained even more respect as he split the defenders on his 71-yard beauty to break the goose egg early in the third during which time the Mounties 'pulled up their socks' to hold the hosts to just one major, leaving the count at 52-7 after three; but the flood gates opened in the final session as the Mountie defense showed signs of tiring against a constant battering.
The defeat leaves the Mounties winless in six tries while Laval improved to 5-1, their only loss coming at the hands of University of Montreal, their only serious rival in the Quebec conference.
The game ended a gruelling part of the schedule for the Mounties who had played two tough back-to-back against St. Mary's Huskies, defending Atlantic champions.
It is now time for the local squad to prepare to put their first victory on the boards. This Saturday at 2 p.m., they will host Acadia Axemen in a return fixture.
The Axemen pummelled the Mounties 58-15 in the season opener but have gone winless since that time. They were beaten up on Saturday by Concordia and there is an expectation among the Mountie coaching staff and players that this is the game ready for the taking.
Hotchkiss has improved dramatically at quarterback, the offensive line has gelled and the running game has stepped up. This leaves the defensive unit to slow down the Acadia passing attack as they have shown an ability to contain the run.
Also on Saturday, St. Mary's improved to 5-1 with a tight win over McGill while St. FX was shocked by Bishop's Gaitors, falling in the Biggs Bowl to go to 5-l , setting up this week's battle between the evenly-matched Huskies and X-Men.
