Maritime Football League
2008 Game Summaries

Week 2: June 6-7

For 30 minutes, the Capital Area DQ Gladiators were able to hang tough with the defending Maritime Football League champion Riverview Mustangs Saturday at Mackenzie Field in Oromocto.  

Unfortunately, league games last 60 minutes.

Gladiators, big winners over P.E.I. Privateers in their season debut last weekend, held the Mustangs to only a 7-0 margin at the half.

But Josh Scott returned the second half kickoff for an 80-yard touchdown and that propelled Riverview to an eventual 27-13 victory after they led at one point, 27-0.

In other action, Saint John Longhorns defeated UNBSJ Wolves 19-15, Dartmouth Knights routed Moncton Marshals 61-25 and Saint John Wanderers humbled Super City Mean Green 63-0.

In Oromocto, the Gladiators controlled play early on, driving the ball to the Riverview 12-yard line on their first possession before turning it over via a fumble. They also had two other promising drives end with turnovers.

Riverview's only points in the first half resulted when quarterback Kelly Nichols found Donovan Boucher alone in the end zone from eight yards out. Jordan Belyea added the convert.

The Scott touchdown to begin the second half propelled the Mustangs to take control, adding touchdowns from Francis Best and Justin Savoie in the third quarter. Belyea converted one of them and the Mustangs led 27-0.

The Glads did rally in the final quarter, with QB Brendan Cornford engineering two scoring drives that led to touchdown receptions for Jeff Taylor and Jay Thomas. Justin Conn added a convert to account for the final margin.

Conn executed a perfect onsides kick after the Thomas major but after driving the ball to the Mustangs 15, the drive stalled with four straight incomplete passes.

Gladiators host the 2-0 Saint John Wanderers on Saturday beginning 4 o'clock in Oromocto.

Meanwhile, the Capital Area Curves Lady Gladiators lost their second game in as many weeks 30-14 to the Halifax Xplosion Saturday at Mackenzie field.

Alex Black had a touchdown and convert for the Lady Gladiators while Connie Timmons accounted for the other major.

The two-time defending champions are winless in Maritime play this season.

Wanderers walk all over Green Machine in 63-0 victory

SAINT JOHN - The Saint John Wanderers were impressive on both sides of the ball and moved to a 2-0 with a convincing 63-0 victory over the Super City Green Machine of Halifax Saturday in Maritime Football League action Saturday. Piers Doiron scored three rushing touchdowns in the first half on scores of 22, eight and four yards to pace Saint John, which won the annual Peter Murray Memorial game play at Millidgeville Field. The Wanderers also scored three touchdowns on special teams as Jon Haines ran back a 75-yard kickoff for a major and added a 60-yard punt return. Tanner McDevitt scored on a 35-yard punt return on a first half scamper.

Quarterback Jon Hachey hit Ken Lawrence for a 17-yard passing touchdown and connected with Doug MacPhee on a 28-yard score. Nick Coombs added the other touchdown on a two-yard run.

Defensively, the Wanderers produced a whopping 15 sacks on the day and nab an interception which Aaron Gordon snagged. Chris Chesworth booted all nine conversions. During halftime, the Fundy Minor Football Association honored Kevin Gormley, a 12-year volunteer with the association. Gormley is also a teacher at St. Malachy's and assists out with two teams at the school.

In another game, the Saint John Longhorns got past the University of New Brunswick Saint John Wolves 19-15. Jim Mather caught two TD passes from Reece Roche for the winners while Dan Tibbetts caught the other. Justin Mousek scored a touchdown and added a field goal for UNBSJ while Jamie Barefoot scored the other major. In other action, Riverview downed the Capital Area Gladiators 27-13 and Dartmouth rolled past Moncton 61-25.

Moncton Marshals hammered 61-25 by Dartmouth Knights

OROMOCTO - The defending Maritime Football League champion Riverview Mustangs opened the 2008 season on a winning note Saturday.

The Mustangs scored three second-half touchdowns and cruised to a 27-13 victory over the Capital Area Gladiators in their regular season opener.

It was the second game of the season for the Gladiators, who dropped to 1-1.

Riverview led 7-0 at halftime and then put the game away in the second half. Josh Scott romped 86 yards for a kickoff return touchdown on the very first play of the second half.

The other Mustangs touchdowns came from Donovan Boucher, on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Kelly Nichols; Francis Best, on a seven-yard run; and Justin Savoie, on an eight-yard run. Jordan Beyea kicked three converts in the win.

Riverview head coach Rob Weir praised the play of his defence, which shut down the Capital Area running game. Matt Kenny (50 yard return) and John Forbes (80 yard return) each recorded interceptions in the win.

"Our defence was very, very strong. The score was 27-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter," Weir said.

"It was our first game of the season and it showed. We played well overall, but our timing was off."

Gladiators quarterback Brendan Cornford threw touchdown passes to Jay Thomas and Jeff Taylor in the loss.

In another game Saturday, the visiting Moncton Marshals were thumped 61-25 by the Dartmouth Knights. The Marshals dropped their record to 0-2.

In other weekend games, the Saint John Wanderers blanked Super City Mean Green of Halifax 63-0, the Saint John Longhorns edged the UNBSJ Wolves 19-15 and the Halifax Shockers defeated the P.E.I. Privateers 23-8.

Moncton hosts UNBSJ Friday at 8 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field while Riverview visits P.E.I. Saturday at 4 p.m.