JMH and MVHS battle in historic football game

Video, Photos: Cross-river rivals played the first game of football in Miramichi since 1969 in front of hundreds of excited fans

It was quite a night at the MVHS field.  Football was played in Miramichi for the first since it was last played at Harkins High in 1969.  Football alumni Don Grant and Eugene Walker took part in the opening ceremonies, and then the MVHS and James M. Hill teams took the field.

The teams were pretty jacked, and the emotions carried all the way through the game.  The city brought in two bleachers that they put next to the high school, and they were full of cheering fans.  The hill along the side of the field was covered with fans, and the fence that lines the field was elbow to elbow with people enjoying the game.  An estimated 600 people watched the game.  The canteen sold out of hotdogs and hamburgers in the third quarter, and the 50/50 was $500 and won by David Walls.  Oh yeah, and the game was great.

The Tommies kicked off to the Pulamoo who promptly ran several running plays that got them into field goal range.  3-0 blue and gold.

The Tommies drove the field and missed a field goal and an opportunity to tie the game.  The Pulamoo added another field goal and two touchdowns in the first half, and by the end of the half with a 20 - 0 score, the Tommie nerves were definitely showing.

Starting quarterback for the Tommies was Mike Walsh.  Walsh wasn’t that effective throwing the ball, and didn’t get much help in the first half from Tommie receiver Andrew Lanteigne who dropped a few catchable balls.  Walsh settled down but later made a mental error when he took off with the ball, gained enough yards for a first down, then tried to throw a forward pass, Resulting in a penalty and loss of yards.

Some miscommunication may also have had the tommies off balance, as they attempted back to back third down conversions in their own end of the field that resulted in them turning the ball over.  The assistant coach said it was a coaching error that the offence didn’t get the right plays.

Lanteigne, number 31,  had a great game carrying the ball, and was the dominant player in the second half with two long punt returns, several long rushes, and a receiving touchdown.  He was definitely the workhorse for the Tommies.  Lanteigne’s emotion got the best of him on one play in the first half -- after a big run he was knocked out of bounds, and he reacted by pushing the opposing player.  The long run was negated and he received a 15 yard penalty.

On the Pulamoo side of the ball, the Tomies defence got a steady diet of Mitchel Hallihan (pictured at left).  Hallihan, number 22, was handed the ball about twenty times from QB Jacob Vicker (aka Big Country), and made the most of it with several long dashes that resulted in two touchdowns. After the game, Hallihan was quick to say it was a team effort and credited his blockers for their effort.  “Country” also rushed the ball a few times, and was hard to being down by the smaller Tommies defenders.

Several players had good games:

• Mathew Daigle (7) came in and played QB for the Tommies and after throwing a few wobbly and short passes, settled i and had one pass for a touchdown, and rushing touchdown.
• Steven Matchett for the Tommies had a good game rushing the ball.  He was very quick and elusive, and also made a few big plays on defence.
• Jonathan Henderson of the Pulamoo had a good night kicking the football.  He made 4 point afters and two field goals.
• Mike Walsh scored a rushing touchdown.  He was thrilled, and in the future will be the answer to a trivia question:  who scored the first touchdown in the history of James M. Hill Football?
• Mitchel Halihan and Cole Trepanier were speedsters, and put on a show rushing the ball.
• Andrew Lanteigne was a stand-out for the Tommies, making gains whenever he touched the ball.
• Number 69 of the Tommies, Tanner Doyle, threw some massive blocks on some of the Tommies longest running plays.

The Second Half

The second half got off to a sloppy start with three turnovers in midfield within 4 plays.   The tommies got backed-up by penalties of the offside variety, and eventually threw a pick-6 that was returned for a score by Reilly Campbell.  The Pulamoo also scored in the second half on short TD pass to Drew Richardson, and a long run by Cole Trepanier.  Other than that, the Tommies put the pressure on the Pulamoo for the last part of the game, scoring four touchdowns, and attempting three on-side kicks while the time ran down.  The Pulamoo coach credited them with playing until the final whistle.  (pictured above is QB Mathew Daigle)

The final score was 40 to 26.

The teams play in the 10 man league in a schedule that is not uniform (meaning they may not play all the teams in the league).  All the games will be played at the MVHS field.  The Tommies are not playing next weekend, but the Pulamoo will play host to Hampton on Saturday at 1.    Can you say “Tail-Gate”?

Some the teams have been in the league a long time, and some have dropped back from the competitive 12 man league that the larger NB schools play in.  The Pulamoo expect a very tough game against Hampton on Saturday.

The Pulamoo and Tommies seem well matched (though MVHS has more speed on both sides of the ball)