The Dalhousie Tigers were in town on Sunday, Sept. 22 to play the home team UNB Saint John Seawolves, in what would be a close battle of attrition on a rain soaked field.
The weather forecast had predicted 25-30 mm of rain for Saint John and at the time of kickoff, the forecast was proving to be visibly accurate. Neither team seemed deterred by Mother Nature, as both sides took to the field for the first quarter. The quarter proved to be a back and forth affair, as both sides battled both themselves and Mother Nature. However, both sides managed to put nine points up on the board and headed into the second quarter all squared up at 9-9.
However, Mother Nature proved to be the victor in the second quarter. The wind and rain began to pick up and play was delayed. Both sides headed to the dressing room hoping that the rain and wind would die down.
Fortunately, both team’s prayers were answered and the weather receded in time for the third quarter to begin. However, the weather continued to be a factor as both sides fumbled the ball and had trouble moving it down the field. The weather was not all bad though, as Dalhousie took advantage of the wind at their backs to kick a field goal late in the quarter, to take a 12-9 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fortunately for the Seawolves, the fourth quarter saw both teams switch sides, giving the Seawolves the advantage of wind direction. UNB Saint John failed to capitalize on this, missing two field goal attempts. Luckily for the Seawolves, their second missed field goal attempt saw the ball roll through the end zone and out, resulting in a rouge for the Seawolves. This gave UNB Saint John a single point and closed the score to 13-10.
The turning point in the game came with about five minutes remaining. Dalhousie was attempting to punt the ball away. However, the Tigers’ punter fumbled the ball and was unable to punt the ball away. The Seawolves tackled the punter and assumed possession of the ball deep in the Tigers’ territory. UNB Saint John took advantage of this field position, kicking a field goal with under three minutes to play and taking the lead 13-12.
The Tigers, refused to go down quietly and stormed the ball down the field, deep into Seawolves territory. With 21 seconds on the clock, Dalhousie lined up to kick a field goal, which would give them the win. The Seawolves’ defense, in a gut-check moment, came up big when it counted. UNB Saint John blocked the Dalhousie field goal attempt and recovered the ball with four seconds left, sealing their victory.
UNB Saint John let the clock run out and held on to win the game, 13-12.
With the win, the Seawolves improved to 2-0 on the season. Next up for UNB Saint John, is a string of road games, starting on Sept. 28 with a visit to our sister campus UNB Fredericton. The Seawolves are back in Saint John to close out the season, on Oct. 19 with the battle of UNB campuses, as UNB Fredericton comes to town.
