Down to crunch time for inter-park gridders

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

The Chronicle

Pierrefonds and Kirkland were the places to be last weekend for amateur pigskin fans interested in taking in a couple of highly intriguing North Shore Football League inter-park attractions.

Sunday morning’s peewee showdown at A Ma Baie Park in Pierrefonds saw a couple of 7-1 clubs lock horns. It was the second meeting of the season between the Alexander Park Roughriders and A Ma Baie Alouettes, with the Als having delivered the Roughriders their only loss of the season, 48-20 on Aug. 19. Following that contest, the Als went on to win their next five games to run their unbeaten string over a three-year span — one that included a provincial title last year — to 23 games before finally losing to the St. Lazare Stallions on Sept. 23.

Those who withstood the steady rain and cool temperatures were treated to one of the most entertaining contests of the season, as the Roughriders came from behind with two late scores to earn an exciting 30-28 victory. The win vaulted the Roughriders into first place, while the Als fell to third, and are in danger of missing a quarter-final bye. Trailing 28-14 heading into the fourth quarter thanks to a couple of quick back-to-back early third-quarter Alouettes TDs, the Roughriders roared back to tie it in the fourth, first on a 25-yard TD scamper by quarterback Mario Porecca midway through and then on a 20-yard TD run by running back Evan Wiley with about five minutes left. Faced with the option of scrimmaging for a one-point conversion or placekicking for the two-point conversion, Roughriders head coach J.B. Wiley opted for the latter. His decision paid off, as Shawn Steen put it through the uprights to put his team up by two. The defence held the fort the rest of the way.

“These kids showed so much character by coming back,� said Wiley. “Many people would have given us up for dead after they scored two touchdowns in the third. But our defence kept us in good field position and our offence prevailed�

Meanwhile, 24 hours earlier at Parc des Bénévoles in Kirkland, the storyline heading into the atom encounter between the St. Lazare Stallions and Lakeshore Panthers was twofold. First off, both clubs entered the contest with impressive 6-1 records, although the Panthers’ record could have very well been 7-0 had they not been forced to forfeit a game on Aug. 26 against the St. Lazare Silver Stallions due a mix-up concerning the contest’s starting time. Secondly, the game marked the return of longtime Lakeshore coach Mike Dutton, who switched over to the St. Lazare atoms at the start of this year.

It was a bittersweet homecoming for Dutton and the Stallions, as they dropped a 32-6 decision to head coach Neil Butler’s Panthers.

“You can coach as much as you want, but if the kids don’t play for each other on the field, they won’t do well on the field. These kids all played for each other,� said Butler, who was an assistant coach last season under Tom Young on a powerful Panthers team that advanced to the North Shore final, only to lose to the Sunnybrooke Chiefs.

They also played very good defence, shutting out the Stallions during a first half that ended with the visitors holding a commanding 24-0 lead. Ryan DeFillipo scored a touchdown for the Stallions early in the third to make it 24-6 but the boys in burgundy couldn’t mount any kind of comeback afterwards.

“Usually, the team that makes the least amount of mistakes wins, and on this occasion, we made the most,� said Dutton. “I guess it will be back to basics at our practices this week.�

Elsewhere last weekend, in atom games, the St. Lazare Silver Stallions defeated the Western Patriots 24-6, Sunnybrooke easily got by the Lakeshore Cougars 40-6, Westpark slid by Ile Bizard 38-34 and Alexander Park upended A Ma Baie 22-12. In mosquito matches, the St. Lazare Stallions marauded over the Western Patriots 50-6, Sunnybrooke nipped Alexander Park 42-40, Westpark and Ile Bizard played to a rare 8-8 tie while Alexander Park beat A Ma Baie 22-6. In peewee play, St. Lazare Stallions shut out the Western Patriots 49-0, Lakeshore Cougars easily got by Sunnybrooke 38-14 and Westpark defeated Ile Bizard 14-12.