Saint John’s men’s football team was off to a stormy start on Saturday with lighting and thunder delaying the already late start from 7 to 8:30 pm.
The crowd remained to support the teams in the near freezing temperatures.
Electing to receive the ball off the coin toss did not help the seawolves fortunes as they quickly conceded a safety to the 4 and 0 Hurricanes in the first quarter.
Shortly into the 2nd quarter, the Hurricanes kicked a field goal kick, taking a 5-0 lead over the Seawolves.
Late in the second quarter, the Seawolves using the wind to their advantage, managed to get on the board with a field goal.
The Seawolves, with only 5 seconds on the clock, managed to pot another kick, taking the lead, 6-5 at the end of the half.
The Seawolves lead was short lived as the Hurricanes faked a punt for a touchdown by Anton Sianchuk, changing the board to 12-6, 9 minutes into the 3rd Quarter.
Shaken up, the Seawolves, were punished for their mistakes throughout the rest of the game, two fumbles returned for touchdowns and conceding a series of safety’s.
Holland College Hurricanes, are first overall, and the Seawolves fourth in overall standings, the differences clearly apparent in the second half.
Finishing the game at 11:30pm, and no 4th quarter was played, with Saint John going down 40 – 6.
In a statement on the team’s website Barry Ogden, who sits on the Atlantic Football League’s board of governors, expressed frustration with UNBSJ.
“Our local players find it very hard to compete against this overwhelmingly imported teams (who have) lots of resources. This is not the reason I set up the Atlantic Football League. I am proud of our players. We will ask UNB Saint John again for 1 pm games at our Community Paid for Stadium. We pay all our own bills. Next Saturday we play at UNB Fredericton at 1 pm .How does UNB Fredericton get 1 pm games ?”
The Saint John Seawolves close out their season hoping for their first win next weekend, as stated above, in Fredericton at 1pm.
