2005 Season 

                                        Week 10- August 13   

August 13                                      Maritime Bowl IV 

                            Saint John Wanderers 28 Dartmouth Knights 18

MARITIME FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Wanderers complete undefeated season
Maritime Bowl IV victory caps memorable campaign

By Nathan White
Telegraph-Journal

     The Saint John Wanderers are officially kings of the Maritime Football League hill again.
     Saint John completed the MFL's first-ever undefeated season with a 28-18 victory over the Dartmouth Knights in Maritime Bowl IV Saturday at St. Mary's University in Halifax.
     The Wanderers took a 20-6 lead into halftime and then held on against the Eastern Conference champions. Quarterback Jon Hachey passed for one touchdown and ran for another to key the Saint John offence.
     "These guys just played an absolutely great game," said Wanderers coach Wayne Tipper.
     "John Hachey probably played the best game I have ever seen a Wanderer play on offence and Roger Muise played an absolutely outstanding game on defence." Muise, a defensive back, was named the game's most outstanding player.
Mike Thomas and Jon Haines had the other rushing TDs for Saint John. Dan Smith caught a 35-yard Hachey pass to open the scoring in the first quarter.
     Dartmouth QB Daniel Williams also had a TD pass and a TD run, and was named the game's most outstanding offensive player.
     "It's a good feeling to know that you're champion and undefeated," said Hachey. "We're the number one team to beat now." Hachey said he was confident the team could continue its run into next year, although he knows it will be tough to repeat.
     "We know we're the champions now," he said. "[But] just like for any other team, it's going to be tough to repeat.
They're all going to be gunning for us." Tipper said teamwork and balance were the keys to the team's championship season.
     "There was no area on the football team that was a defined weakness," he said.
     "The guys just really came together this year and played as a unit." Tipper expects all of his players to return next year to defend the MFL title.
     "We really see no reason why this Wanderers team can't continue for the next three- to five-year period," he said.
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     In the early stages of the first quarter neither team could move the ball with any consistency. Finally Wanderers DB Mike Thomas picked off a pass at the Knights 35 yard line. On the next play Saint John QB Jon Hachey found Dan Smith in behind the Dartmouth secondary for a TD pass. A bad snap prevented the conversion.
     Early in the second quarter Saint John took the ball at midfield and used a bruising running game to move deep into Knights territory. Mike Thomas would take the ball in from the 6 yard line for the TD. Jeff Gillies added the convert to put the Wanderers up 13-0. 
     Dartmouth returned a punt to the Wanderers 45 yard yard line. From there pivot Daniel Williams found Bruce Armstrong at the Wanderers 10 yard line. On the next play Mike Lynds went in for the touchdown. The convert was blocked but the Knights had narrowed the score to 13-6. That was as close as they would get.
     Saint John answered back on the very next series. Mike Thomas returned the kickoff to the Dartmouth 45 yard line. From there Wanderers quarterback Jon Hachey ran wide on the option and wound and weaved all the way to the Knights end zone. Gillies added the convert to put Saint John up 20-6 at halftime.
     In the third quarter the Wanderers had a chance to put the game away. They drove to the Dartmouth 1 yard line only to fumble and have Dartmouth recover the ball in its own end zone.
     In the fourth quarter Jon Haines would break loose for a 35 yard touchdown run to push the score to 26-6. The convert was blocked. Later on the Knights were backed up deep in their own end and conceded a safety giving the Wanderers a 28-6 cushion.
     With less than 3 minutes to go in the game Dartmouth recovered a fumble on the Wanderers 25 yard line. Williams found Armstrong in the end zone to narrow the count to 28-12. The two point conversion failed. The Knights would score one more time on the final play of the game on a 4 yard run by Williams.
     Wanderers defensive lineman Stewie Kincaide was named the most outstanding defensive player of the game. Williams garnered the offensive award. Saint John DB Roger Muise was recognized as the game's most outstanding player.

                                        Week 9- August 6   

August 6                        New Brunswick Conference Final

                             Saint John Wanderers 34 Riverview Mustangs 31

MARITIME FOOTBALL
Wanderers trim Mustangs in thriller
Telegraph-Journal

Saint John Wanderers edged the Riverview Mustangs 34-31 in the Maritime Football League's New Brunswick Conference final here Saturday.
Wanderers scored the winning touchdown with just five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Jon Hachey delivered a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mike Thomas for the deciding major. Saint John will now visit the Dartmouth Knights in the Maritime Bowl league championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. Dartmouth downed the Halifax Shockers 31-20 in the Eastern Conference final on Saturday. In Saint John, the New Brunswick final came down to a thrilling finish for the second straight season Saturday. Moncton Marshals edged the Wanderers 29-27 on a last minute touchdown in the conference final a year ago. Most players from last year's Moncton team are now with expansion Riverview.
The final two minutes of the game saw three touchdowns.
Saint John scored a major and added a two-point conversion to go ahead 28-24 with two minutes remaining.
Mustangs took the lead again with 1:11 on the clock when quarterback J.R. Gallant threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Steve Cormier to make it 31-28 Riverview.
Then in the dying seconds, the Wanderers clinched the victory with Hachey's touchdown pass to Thomas.
Hachey and John Haines each had two touchdowns for Saint John, which trailed 23-20 at halftime.
Wanderers head coach Wayne Tipper said his team made key offensive adjustments throughout the game.
"We started off with a real ball control type of offence then we spread them out by passing and running the ball wide," Tipper said.
"That was our game plan going in," he said. "We knew that Riverview had a great team with a lot of great athletes and we had to spread them out." Other Mustangs touchdowns came from Cormier, on a one-yard run, Gallant, on a four-yard run, and Chris Sparks, on a 10-yard fumble recovery. Kyle Sutton kicked a 31- yard field goal in the loss.
Mitt Pittman had a pair of sacks and Paul Best forced two fumbles and recovered another for Riverview.

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The two NBFC powerhouses collided at Canada Games Stadium in Saint John  in a classic struggle for provincial bragging rights. The 500 fans who attended the game were treated to a no holds barred showdown that featured both hard nosed defence and explosive offence by both teams.
The Wanderers took the opening kickoff and put together an 80 yard drive composed completely of running plays. Jon Haines banged into the end zone from five yards out. Jeff Gillies added the convert to put Saint John up 7-0.
Riverview responded with a drive of their own deep into Wanderers territory only to be stopped  on a 4th and 2 at the Saint John 20 yard line. On the ensuing series the Wanderers fumbled and Riverview recovered the ball at the Saint John 17. Working with a short field eventually Steve Cormier found the end zone from one yard out. The convert was blocked leaving Saint John up 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.
On the next Wanderers offensive series QB Jon Hachey got outside and tip toed down the sideline 50 yards for a TD. The convert was blocked. Saint John now lead 13-6.
At this point in the game Saint John committed a number of key turnovers and the Mustangs capitalized quickly. After the Wanderer defence had stopped Riverview the Saint John offence fumbled on its 10 yard line. Chris Sparks picked the ball up and sprinted into the end zone for a Mustang major. Kyle Sutton added the convert tying the game at 13-13.
On the next Wanderers offensive series they fumbled again, this time on their 30 yard line. Once again working with a short field Riverview  moved the ball in for a score, this time on a 5 yard QB draw by J.R. Gallant. Sutton added the convert and the Mustangs lead 20-13.
The Wanderers struck back quickly when QB Hachey found Dan Smith in behind the Mustang secondary for a 40 yard TD pass. Gillies' convert knotted the score at 20 with only a minute left in the half.
Riverview was able to get close enough for a 25 yard Kyle Sutton field goal to give them a 23-20 lead at the half.
The third quarter belonged to the defences of both teams. The Mustangs got close enough to attempt a 10 yard field goal but a bad snap nixed the attempt. 
In the fourth quarter Riverview had a 40 yard TD run by Steve Cormier called back on a holding penalty. They also got close enough for a 25 yard field goal attempt but it was wide and they had to settle for a single point and a 24-20 lead at the three minute warning.
With time ticking down Wanderers RB Jon Haines broke loose down the left side and went 80 yards for a TD only to have an illegal block on the Mustang 5 yard line negate the score. However Haines would not be denied and scored on the very next play. The snap on the convert was botched but holder Jon Hachey picked up the ball and found his way into end zone for a two point conversion to give the Wanderers the lead at 28-24 with about two minutes to play.
Riverview answered back quickly with a drive of their own that climaxed in a 20 yard touchdown pass from J.R. Gallant to Steve Cormier. Sutton added the convert and the Mustangs lead 31-28 with a minute to go.
However once more the Wanderers would respond. After a couple of fourth down conversions Saint John found themselves on the Riverview 30 yard line with only 15 seconds to go. Hachey found Mike Thomas at the Mustang five yard line and he dragged two Riverview defenders into the end zone for the decisive touchdown and a 34-31 lead. The convert was no good.
The Wanderers kicked off. After the tackle time had expired and the Saint John team had regained possession of the Burchill Trophy that they had lost  a year ago to a Moncton Marshals team made up mainly of players who were now Riverview Mustangs.  A year ago it was a the Moncton team that snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat in the dying seconds of the game. In 2005 it was the Wanderers who found a way to get it done when all appeared lost.
Quite simply it was a great football game. Both teams deserve credit for giving it their all.

August 6                                 Eastern Conference Final

                                Dartmouth Knights 31 Halifax Shockers 20

ON THE RUN: Knights rusher Mike Lynds is tackled by Shockers’ Alan Wetmore. (Photo: DARRELL OAKE)

“They always seemed to score when they got the ball on a turnover, and that killed us,” said the 25-yar old Halifax native. “Without those points, it was a different game. ”Dartmouth now moves on to play the winner of the Saint John Wanderers/Riverview Mustangs semifinal in next Saturday's league championship game at Huskies Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.

                                         Week 8- July 30-1   

July 31                        New Brunswick Conference Semi-Final

                              Saint John Wanderers 47 Simonds Longhorns 3

MARITIME FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Mustangs, Wanderers cruise into N.B. final

(Peter Walsh/Telegraph-Journal) John Roscoe, right, of the Saint John Wanderers returns a kick as Colin Broemeling of the Simonds Longhorns gives chase during Maritime Football League playoff action Sunday afternoon in Hampton.

Telegraph-Journal

The province's two senior football powerhouses earned their way to the New Brunswick finals with convincing Maritime Football League playoff wins on the weekend.
The Riverview Mustangs punished the Moncton Marshals 44-6 in their N.B. conference semi-final Saturday and the Saint John Wanderers did the same to the Simonds Longhorns Sunday, posting a 47-3 victory over their cross-town rivals.
The pair will battle for the Percy Burchill Trophy Saturday in Saint John, with the winner advancing to the Maritime Bowl against the Eastern Conference champion. The Wanderers won the only regular season meeting between the teams by a score of 14-10.
John Haines rushed for 185 yards and scored three touchdowns to power the Wanderers. Ty Sparks, Josh Brown, Doug MacPhee and Jeff Gillis also scored TDs for the winners. Andrew Chandler kicked a 35-yard field goal for the Longhorns.
In Eastern playoff action Saturday, the Halifax Shockers edged the P.E.I. Privateers 39-34 and the top-seeded Dartmouth Knights smacked the Capital Area Gladiators 50-13.
Dartmouth and Halifax will meet to decide the Eastern crown Saturday. The Knights beat Halifax 41-6 in the first week of the season.
The Maritime Bowl is set for Aug. 13 at St. Mary's University in Halifax.

July 30                        New Brunswick Conference Semi-Final  

                                Riverview Mustangs 44 Moncton Marshals 6

Maritime Football League
Mustangs earn ticket to final

(JOEL CULLIGAN / TIMES & TRANSCRIPT) Riverview Mustangs running back Steve Cormier scampers toward the end zone during Saturday’s Maritime Football League playoff game against the Moncton Marshals.

SEAN HATCHARD
Times & Transcript Staff

From one rivalry to another.
Riverview Mustangs thumped their cross-town rival Moncton Marshals 44-6 in a Maritime Football League New Brunswick Conference semifinal at Dobson Field in Riverview on Saturday.
Mustangs now move on to meet another rival - the Saint John Wanderers - in the conference final on Saturday in Saint John.
Riverview, an expansion team which rolled through the regular season and finished second in the conference with a 5-1 record behind Saint John (6-0), lost its only game of the season to the Wanderers 14-10 in Week 4.
"We're going down to Saint John and we expect another close game with the Wanderers, just like the last one. I feel if my boys play the way they're capable 
of playing, we'll be able to pull it off," Mustangs chief executive officer Mark Crandall said.
"I'm very confident of our team. The boys have the talent to go all the way to the Maritime Bowl championship."
The conference regular season champion Wanderers beat the fourth-place Simonds Longhorns of Saint John 47-3 in the other conference semifinal yesterday.
The New Brunswick conference winner will play the Eastern Conference winner for the league championship in the Maritime Bowl Aug. 13.
Riverview's win over Moncton Saturday was still a blowout, but not nearly as bad as the Mustangs' 77-0 victory over the Marshals in the season opener.
Riverview is made up mostly of players from last year's league championship Moncton team, which jumped ship to the upstart Mustangs in the off season.
Steve Cormier and Andrew Gallant led Riverview with a pair of touchdowns. Cormier found the end zone on eight and 44-yard runs, while Gallant ran for a 51-yard major and also caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from brother J.R. Gallant.
Other Mustang touchdowns came from Mike Pittman, on a 25-yard run, and Chris Miller, on a nine-yard pass from J.R. Gallant.
Riverview led 21-0 at the half.
Dartmouth Knights will host the Halifax Shockers in the Eastern Conference final on Saturday.
In conference semifinals on the weekend, Dartmouth defeated the Capital Area Gladiators of Fredericton 50-13 and Halifax edged the P.E.I. Privateers 39-34.

July 30                              Eastern Conference Semi-Final

                                   Halifax Shockers 39 P.E.I. Privaters 34

Privateers Lose Another Heartbreaker

The semi-final battle for the Eastern Football Conference took place on Saturday at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax.  The PEI Privateers could not hold on to the victory as the Halifax Shockers scored with 20 seconds left in the game to eliminate the Privateers from the playoffs with a final score of 39-34.
The game started out with the Shockers scoring as Adam Knee scored on a 1 yard plunge.  The point after was blocked.  The Privateers replied with a touchdown on a 12 yard sweep by Corey Chaloner.  Rob St. Pierre added the extra point. Andrew Harris scored another Privateer touchdown on a 25 yard run up the middle. Rob St. Pierre made the point after to make the score 14-6.  Shockers quarterback Chris Livingston added 6 points when he hit Mike Kennedy on a 5 yard pass.  The two point convert was no good.  The Shockers then scored on their next possession with a 35 yard punt return by Jamal Edwards. The point after by Dennis Delorey was good.  Livingston then hit Todd Brine for a 45 yard pass.  The point after was no good.  Just before the end of the first half, Jamie Holland reeled in a 25 yard pass and ran it into the end zone for PEI.  Rob St. Pierre made the extra point.  Halifax had the lead at the half by a score of 25-21.
The second half started out with on onside kick by Eric Johnson that was recovered by the Privateers.  After that, Andrew Harris ran for another touchdown.  Rob St.Pierre made the extra point to give the Privateers the lead.   Chris Livingston reclaimed the lead for Halifax when he found Dave Dehmel in the end zone for a 30 yard touchdown pass.
  Rookie Andrew Harris scored his third touchdown of the game on a sweep to put the  Privateers on top 34-32.  With only 20 seconds left in the game, Livingston hit Duncan Raymond in the end zone to give Halifax the win.
The Privateers finished the season at 2-4.  Halifax now meets Dartmouth Saturday for the EFC final.  The Maritime Bowl will be held at Saint Mary’s University on Saturday, August 13^th.  

July 30                            Eastern Conference Semi-Final

                           Dartmouth Knights 50 Capital Area Gladiators 13

In the first round of the playoffs, the Knights put a strong 50 points up on the board vs Capital Area.  The offence was spurred on by the ground game, lead again by Mike Lynds and Ryan Moxom.  Defensively, the Knights started soft, but aside from a penalty filled 2nd quarter, shut down the young Gladiator offence.
Rookie Gladiator QB Nolan Gervais hooked up with Jeff Taylor for both Capital Area touchdowns.

                                            Week 7- July 23

July 23               Simonds Longhorns 21 P.E.I. Privaters 20

July 23               Saint John Wanderers 27 Halifax Shockers 7

The Wanderers scored a touchdown in each quarter to take the victory and finish the regular season a perfect 6-0. Jon Haines scored on a 10 yard run. QB Jon Hachey scampered in from 5 yards out and Mike Thomas had an 80 yard sprint for six more points. Hachey also connected with Justin Cavin for a TD. Jeff Gillies was good on 3 of 4 convert attempts.
The Shockers points came late in the fourth quarter when QB Chris Livingstone found Todd Brine in the end zone for six. Alan Wetmore added the convert.

July 23               Moncton Marshals 20 "SJ" Seadogs 15

Maritime Football League
Marshals lock up playoff spot
Vipers unbeaten in women's league

(JOEL CULLIGAN/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT) Mandy Hamilton of the Moncton Vipers rushes out of the backfield on her way to a 60-yard touchdown at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

SEAN HATCHARD
Times & Transcript Staff

SAINT JOHN - No, the Moncton Marshals didn't expect this.
The defending Maritime Football League champions, who lost almost all their players and coaching staff to the expansion Riverview Mustangs in the off season, are headed back to the playoffs on a four-game winning streak.
Moncton completed the regular season with a 20-15 victory over the Saint John Seadogs here on Saturday.
Marshals, who lost their first two games of the season, have rebounded to win their last four. They finished third in the New Brunswick Conference with a 4-2 record.
"We were just hoping to get through the season and pick up a couple wins and we would have been pleased with that," Moncton head coach Todd Greening said.
"We're very pleased with our regular season to go 4-2 when everyone else thought we wouldn't be competitive. Our guys bought into the program and the work ethic and now they're reaping the rewards of it."
Saint John Wanderers (6-0) finished first in the New Brunswick Conference, ahead of Riverview (5-1), which had a bye on the weekend, in second, Moncton in third and the Simonds Longhorns of Saint John (3-3) in fourth.
Mustangs will host the Marshals in a conference semifinal Saturday at 4 p.m. at Dobson Field in Riverview. Mustangs thumped Moncton 77-0 in Week 1.
Saint John will play Simonds in the other conference semifinal.
In the Eastern Conference, the first-place Darmouth Knights (4-2) will entertain the fourth-place Capital Area Gladiators of Fredericton (1-5) and the second-place Halifax Shockers (2-4) host the third-place P.E.I. Privateers (2-4) in conference semifinals.
In Saint John Saturday, rookie running back Ryan Sabean scored a pair of touchdowns in the Marshals victory. He scored on a four-yard run and also caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Paul Guimond.
Guimond also tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass to rookie Kyle Spencer for Moncton, which led 20-1 at the half. Jeff Beal kicked a pair of converts in the win.
In other games Saturday, the results were: Saint John Wanderers 28, Halifax 6; Dartmouth 41, Capital Area 12; Simonds 21, P.E.I. 20.

Meanwhile, the Moncton Vipers remain perfect in the New Brunswick Women's Football League.
Vipers improved to 3-0 with a 60-8 win over the Capital Area Lady Gladiators of Fredericton Saturday at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.
Moncton sits in first place in the three-team league, while Saint John is second at 1-1 and Capital Area is third at 0-3. The first-place teams earns a bye directly to the league final.
Mandy Hamilton rushed for 121 yards and scored three touchdowns in the Vipers win.
Quarterback Jenny Miller threw a pair of touchdown passes to Megan Kay and another to Della Power.
Pierette Mazerolle and Kathryn Henwood also ran for touchdowns in the victory. Danni Martin added six converts.
"Our offensive front line were the MVPs. They pushed holes like you wouldn't believe. It was an offensive outburst and it's nice to see at this time of year," Moncton head Rob Jones said.
"Our defence was solid once again and had three quarterback sacks and three interceptions and our defensive line was in their backfield all day."
Vipers wrap up the regular season in Saint John next Monday.    

July 23               Dartmouth Knights 48 Capital Area Gladiators 12

On the last day of the regular season, the Dartmouth Knights (4-2) faced off against the Capital Area Gladiators (1-5).  Dartmouth opened up the game flying.   TC Croft had his first ever start at QB for the Knights, and moved the offence easily up and down the field.  The strong running game lead by Ryan Moxom, and the shut down play of the defence lead by DL Grant Myles, and DB Johnny Banfield, along with the special team play of Bruce Armstrong put 28 points on the board while shutting out the Gladiators in the first half.
On offence TC Croft moved the ball with Ryan Moxom and Mike Lynds on the ground, and spread the ball to many receivers.  Bruce Armstrong caught 3 of his his signature long bomb touchdowns. Defensively the Knights relied on strong QB pressure and tremendous coverage to come up with at least 5 sacks, and 4 interceptions.  Johnny Banfield returned 1 int for over 40 yards.  Rodney Fraser and Jack Mcdonald also had Interceptions.  The Gladiators were forced to switch their QB's several times because the D-Line was hitting the QB on nearly all passing plays.  Grant Myles was a strong force, with Ian David, Brad Brooks, Johnny Jebailey, Dave Jones, Ezban Helpard, and Noel St Pierre all coming up with solid pressure. 
Capital Area quarterback, Nolan Gervais threw two touchdown passes to Jeff Taylor.
The Knights finish the regular season in 1st place, and will host Capital Area again next Saturday in the first round of the MFL playoffs.

                                            Week 6- July 16-17

July 17               Simonds Longhorns 20 "SJ" Seadogs 17

MARITIME FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Longhorns clinch playoff berth by edging Seadogs

Telegraph-Journal

The Simonds Longhorns clinched a playoff spot with a 20-17 win over the "SJ" Seadogs at the Canada Games Stadium in Saint John in Maritime Football League action.
The Seadogs took a 17-7 lead into the fouth quarter but two touchdown passes from Reece Roche to Derek Langille gave the Longhorns the victory.
Mike Bennett led the Seadogs with a pair of TDs.
In Saturday's play, the Halifax Shockers beat the Capital Area Gladiators 40-9 and the Riverview Mustangs beat the Dartmouth Knights 55-21.
J.R. Gallant threw six touchdown passes and racked up 213 passing yards and Steve Cormier scored on and 85-yard kickoff return to lead the Mustangs.
In a late game Sunday, the Moncton Marshals blanked the P.E.I. Privateers 22-0. Ryan Sabian was involved in all three touchdowns, catching one, running for one and passing for one on a halfback option.
Regular season play wraps up with four games Saturday. Moncton visits the Seadogs, and Halifax takes on the Saint John Wanderers in a doubleheader at Millidgeville North, beginning at 2 p.m. Capital Area travels to Dartmouth and Simonds heads to the Island to meet the Privateers. Both games are 4 p.m. starts.

The Saint John Wanderers continued their undefeated run in the Maritime Football League with a 42-13 pasting of the P.E.I. Privateers in Charlottetown Saturday.
Jon Haines had three touchdowns to lead the Wanderers on offence and defence.  Haines scored on a 74-yard run on Saint John’s first play of the game, rushed for another TD and also added a 42-yard interception return as the Wanderers improved to 5-0 and clinched first place in the New Brunswick Conference.  Mike Thomas returned an interception for a TD as well and added a 55-yard scoring run for Saint John.
P.E.I.’s Steve MacPhee scored on a two-yard plunge and quarterback Tex Mutch hooked up with Adam Chaloner for a 35-yard strike in a losing cause.  Saint John’s other MFL teams were shut out in Saturday’s action. The “SJ” Seadogs came out on the wrong end of a 47-0 score against the Halifax Shockers and the Simonds Longhorns received a 56-0 drubbing at the hands of the second-place Riverview Mustangs.
The Moncton Marshals beat the Capital Area Gladiators 34-19 in the other game to move into sole possession of third place in the N.B. Conference. Simonds and Capital Area, both at 1-3, are tied for fourth, while the Seadogs bring up the rear at 0-5.
In the Eastern Conference, the 3-1 Dartmouth Knights, who had a bye over the weekend, sit in first place. P.E.I. held on to second at 2-2 while Halifax remains in the cellar despite notching its first win to move to 1-3.  Next week, the Seadogs and Longhorns meet at the Canada Games Stadium to battle for a spot in the MFL playoffs. The Seadogs need a win to stay alive while the Longhorns can clinch a post-season berth with a victory. Kick-off is set for 4 p.m. In other games, Halifax visits the Gladiators, the Mustangs play host to Dartmouth and P.E.I. travels to Moncton to take on the Marshals.
Chris Pinelli of the Privateers attempts to shut down the Wanderers Jon Haines.

July 9                 Riverview Mustangs 56 Simonds Longhorns 0

Maritime Football League
Mustangs rebound in convincing fashion

NEIL HODGE
Times & Transcript Staff

When the Riverview Mustangs win, they make sure they put an exclamation mark on it.
They’ve outscored opponents by an astonishing 256-14 in five games and that includes 246-0 in four victories. Their dominance continued in a 56-0 decision over the Simonds Longhorns in Maritime Football League action on Saturday at Dobson Field.
Riverview lost its previous outing 14-10 to the Saint John Wanderers, but rebounded in impressive fashion.
“Nobody here likes Saint John so losing to them kind of lit a fire in us today,” said Mustangs slotback Andrew Gallant, who scored three touchdowns on receptions of five, 58 and 28 yards.
“Losing to Saint John, watching them dance around on their field and yelling at us afterward, it kind of eats at you. We were determined to rebound strong and get back on track.”
The Wanderers, 5-0, and Mustangs, 4-1, have clinched the top two spots in the New Brunswick Conference. Both have one game remaining and if they end up with the same record the Wanderers get the nod by virtue of winning their head-to-head clash.
The Moncton Marshals, 2-2, have moved into third place. Simonds and the Capital Area Gladiators are both 1-3. The Saint John Seadogs are 0-4.  The Dartmouth Knights, 3-1, lead the Eastern Conference. The Prince Edward Island Privateers are 2-2 and the Halifax Shockers are 1-3.  Moncton evened its record at .500 with a 34-19 win over Capital Area on Saturday in Oromocto. In other action, Halifax trounced the Seadogs 47-0 and the Wanderers downed P.E.I. 42-13.
In Riverview, the Mustangs led 14-0 before the game was three minutes old and jumped ahead 42-0 by halftime. They amassed 402 total yards - 184 passing and 218 rushing.
Mustangs quarterback J.R. Gallant completed seven of 10 pass attempts and had six touchdown tosses. Other touchdowns were scored by Steve Cormier (13-yard pass and 30-yard run), Ryan Doucette (20-yard pass), Chris Miller (39-yard pass) and Mike Pittman (fumble recovery in endzone).  The Mustangs were dealt a blow when star running back Alex Best suffered a season-ending knee injury.
“It’s really hard to lose somebody like that because he’s such a good athlete.  We’ve just got to try to put this behind us and keep moving forward,” said Cormier, who had 116 yards rushing.

In Oromocto, Moncton dumped Capital Area and won its second straight game after opening the season at 0-2. The Marshals led 21-6 at halftime.  Marshals quarterback Paul Guimond connected on touchdown passes to Gaetan Beaulieu, Olivier Gallant and Jeff Beal. Ryan Sabean had a rushing touchdown and Kyle Spencer had an interception return for a touchdown.  “We had a solid passing game and mixed in the run well,” said Marshals head coach Todd Greening. “We did a good job moving the ball. On the other side, our defence had three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.  “We’re obviously pleased with our team’s progression since the start of the season. There’s a lot for us to feel good about the past two games. The biggest improvement in this game was our play on defence.” Riverview will face Dartmouth on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Dobson Field.

Moncton will battle P.E.I. on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

July 9                 Moncton Marshals 34 Capital Area "DQ" Gladiators 19

        The Marshals opened the scoring midway through the first quarter when Paul Guimond found Oliver Gallant behind the Gladiator secondary for six points. Jeff Beal added the convert. 
         On the next series Kyle Spencer intercepted a Capital Area pass and returned it for a touchdown. The snap on the convert was botched but Moncton was able to complete a pass for the two point conversion and a 15-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
          The Gladiators finally got their offence untracked in the second quarter. A long drive was capped by Nathan Paul's six yard run for a TD to cut the deficit to 15-6. However the Marshals responded with a drive of their own and a TD pass from Guimond to Gaetan Beaulieu to push their lead to 21-6 at half time.
           After a scoreless third quarter Gladiator QB Nolan Gervais rumbled into the end zone from 5 yards out and Nathan Paul added the convert to pull Capital Area to within 8 points. However that was as close as they would get.
           The Marshals would get fourth quarter touchdowns from Jeff Beal on an option pass and from another Guimond to Beaulieu pass play. Beal added one convert to give Moncton a 34-13 lead with only a couple of minutes to play.
           Gladiators QB Gervais would find Alex Paul in the end zone for major in the last minute of play to bring the Gladiators to a final score of 34-19. 

July 9                                 Halifax Shockers 47 "SJ" Seadogs 0

July 3                  Capital Area "DQ" Gladiators 33 Simonds Longhorns 17

Capital gridders get win

(DAVE SMITH PHOTO) AGILE RECEIVER: Jeff Taylor, of the Capital Area 'DQ' Gladiators, shows pretty good agility as he hauls in a pass during Maritime Football League action at OHS Field Saturday. Taylor had a pair of receiving touchdowns in the Gladiators 33-17 victory over the Simonds Longhorns.

The Daily Gleaner

Capital Area DQ Gladiators can call themselves winners for the first time this season in the Maritime Football League.
After opening the season with two losses on the road, the Gladiators broke into the winner's circle Saturday with a 33-17 victory over Simonds Longhorns at Oromocto High School Field.
Quarterback Nolan Gervais, who played his high school ball at Leo Hayes, provided the offensive spark for the Gladiators with a rushing touchdown and two touchdown passes to Jeff Taylor and one to Greg Wallace.
Linebacker and former Bishop's Gaiter Jamie Edwards had a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown for the Gladiators. Nathan Paul added a pair of converts while Gervais had another to complete the scoring.
Scoring for the Longhorns were former CFLer Craig Carr on a one-yard plunge and receiver Jim Mather taking a pass from quarterback Reece Roche for the other major. The two also combined on a two-point convert. Roche added a 20-yard field goal to complete their scoring.
In other league action in the weekend, the Moncton Marshals defeated Saint John Seadogs 41-25, Dartmouth Knights blasted P.E.I. Privateers 46-2 and Saint John Wanderers defeated Riverview Mustangs 14-10 in a game featuring two 3-0 teams.
Next up for the Gladiators is a home game against the Marshals Saturday beginning 4 o'clock at OHS Field.  

July 2          Dartmouth Knights 46  P.E.I.  Privateers 2 

                Charlottetown....The PEI Privateers won their first game as a franchise on Saturday, shutting down the visiting Saint John Seadogs, 25-0 at Colonel Gray Field. Several former and present PEI Tackle Football League stars played an important role in the shutout.
               Running back Andrew Harris, who was league MVP with the Charlottetown Timberwolves in 2002, made his debut with the Privateers and scored two touchdowns. Harris carried the ball 14 times and gained 91 yards.  Harris was diplomatic about his big day saying, “My blockers created the holes and lots of room for me, so I give them the credit for anything I did”. Another former Timberwolves player, kicker Anthony Scott, converted all three touchdowns and added a field goal and single point. The Charlottetown Colonels Corey Chaloner had the longest run of the day---49 yards---which led to receiver Todd Gaudin’s major in the 4^th quarter.
                The Privateers defense was outstanding. Eli Rashed (Colonels)helped anchor the defensive line that was very effective throughout the game.  Ageless Mark MacDougall and Bruce Ferguson also played a strong role. Only once did the Seadogs have a big play against the Privateers defense.  In the 4^th period Seadogs quarterback Justin Robichaud carried the ball himself on a 26 yard gain on a fake punt Saint John couldn’t muster a point as time finally ran out.
                Privateers Coach Joe Puiia was more than pleased to accept the first win for the club, which had gone 0-5 in its inaugural season in 2004.  “Our guys were up for the contest---there is doubt about that” remarked Puiia, “I was really impressed with our intensity on every play. They (offense and defense) didn’t make too many mistakes out there”.
                Puiia also had praise for quarterback Mike Chaloner who replaced the injured Tex Mutch.  Chaloner looked like a veteran QB as he led the attack.
                The two teams meet again next Sunday at 4.30 pm in Saint John.

June 18                  Saint John Wanderers 26 Dartmouth Knights 19

A very physical Saint John Wanderers team eked out a 26-19 win over the Knights at a scorching Halifax Wanderers grounds last Saturday.
Starting slowly the Knights fell behind early and trailed 19-13 at halftime. 
Late in the second half Mike Lynds scampered in for a 12 yd touchdown to bring the score within 1.
Saint John raced back with a quick score and then the Knights went on a quick offensive drive.  On the 2 yard line with less than 30 seconds to go the comeback victory was taken away by a Saint  John interception.
Knights TD's  were scored by Ryan Moxom, Bruce Armstrong and Mike Lynds.

                                                       Week 1- June 12 

June 12                        Riverview Mustangs 77 Moncton Marshals 0 

Expansion team opens season with easy victory

(VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT) Andrew Gallant of the Riverview Mustangs celebrates a touchdown against the Moncton Marshals in senior football action yesterday at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.

NEIL HODGE
Times & Transcript Staff

The Riverview Mustangs are an expansion team in name only. The Moncton Marshals are the defending champion in name only.
That much was obvious as Riverview hammered its cross-town rival 77-0 in the Maritime Football League regular season opener for both clubs yesterday afternoon in front of 400 fans at Rocky Stone Memorial Field.
"Of course, we wanted to win the game, but not by a score like that," said Mustangs running back Steve Cormier, who had touchdown runs of three, seven and 14 yards.
"They're basically a new team and it's their first game of the season. A lot of guys on the Marshals are high school kids and older guys who haven't played football for awhile. We have more experience than them and that's the big reason for the gap between these teams right now."
Moncton captured the Maritime Bowl last season, but it's now in a youthful rebuilding mode. The coaching staff and all but four players left the club to start up a new team in Riverview.
Yesterday's clash was billed as the Black and Blue Bowl, but there was no sense of battle.
Riverview scored 42 points in the second quarter, including 21 in the final three minutes, and took a 49-0 lead into halftime. Quarterback J.R. Gallant picked apart the defence seemingly at will in the first half and was then replaced by backup Chris Miller.
The Mustangs piled up 523 total yards - 235 passing and 288 rushing. Gallant and Miller combined to complete 11 of 13 pass attempts.
There were rushing touchdowns from Alex Best (one and 21 yards), Dave Hickey (one and eight yards) and Mike Pittman (21 yards). Jean-Francois Comeau, Andrew Gallant and Chris Sparks all had interception returns for touchdowns.
"We want to spread the ball around and that's not hard to do because we've got a lot of great athletes," said Cormier, whose club was also dominant on defence with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
"We always knew we had a strong offence. Right now, we're trying to get everybody knowing the plays and everything's starting to gel pretty good."
The way Moncton head coach Todd Greening sees it, there's not really 77 points separating these clubs. He believes the final score was deceiving.
"Every time we made a mistake they made us pay for it," he said. "They've got the speed and size to capitalize on the little mistakes that we made.
"We've been together for a couple of weeks and they've been together for a couple of years. Their average age is probably five to six years older than ours. That makes a big difference."
Greening commented on the spirit of the Marshals.
"I think it's mixed," he said. "Any time you have a loss like this, you feel it. We certainly feel we're capable of executing a lot better than this. A lot of what you saw today was first-game jitters for our young guys coming into the league."
In other action yesterday, the Saint John Wanderers dumped the expansion Simonds Longhorns 25-6 and the Dartmouth Knights defeated the Halifax Shockers 41-6.
Riverview will play its home opener against the Capital Area Gladiators of Fredericton on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Dobson Field. Moncton has a bye in the Week 2 schedule.

June 12                            Dartmouth Knights 41 Halifax Shockers 6

            Bruce Armstrong scored three touchdowns while Mike Lynds had two and Ryan Moxom added one. The Knights defence forced Shockers QB, Chris Livingstone  to scramble on almost every snap. Terry Holland had the lone Halifax TD.

June 12                            Saint John Wanderers 25 Simonds Longhorns 6

           The Longhorns opened the scoring when QB Reese Roche found Jim Mather in the end zone for a touchdown. From then on it was all Wanderers. Jon Haines and QB John Hachey rushed for touchdowns. Roger Muise returned a punt for another six pointer. Dan Smith added the final Saint John TD. The Wanderers defence was able to hold the Longhorns running back, former CFLer Craig Carr in check for most of the game.