Pirates, Devils, Mustangs victorious Thanksgiving Monday

There is something about the playoffs that just brings out the best in the Joe MacDonald Youth Football League.

Consider, for a second, that a pair of tyke semifinal games on Thanksgiving Monday would see the teams separated by a combined total of just three points. In fact, three of the four post-season encounters that were contested would come down to the final few plays.

None was closer than the late tyke game, as Carter Will scored his fourth touchdown of the game, rushing in from four yards out with less than two minutes to play, propelling the Pirates to a 24-23 win over the Colts.

This back-and-forth encounter had a bit of everything. After Reid Laxton recovered a fumble on the second play from scrimmage for the Colts, James Barrow rumbled 42 yards, setting up a field-goal attempt by Ben Larsen that drifted wide, but through the end zone, for a single point.

The Pirates replied quickly as Will turned the corner and sped 75 yards for his first major, giving his team a 6-1 lead. That score would remain unchanged through until half-time, thanks in part to a pair of Pirates' interceptions by Jonah Sacchetto, helping to hold the Colts at bay.

The floodgates opened in quarter three, with the tone set early. Barrow would take the opening kickoff of the second half and bring it all the way back, giving the Colts a 7-6 lead. Exactly three plays later, it was Will, weaving his way back and forth across the field, dodging tackles left and right, eventually racing in for a touchdown on a run that covered officially 60 yards, but might have well seen Will logging more than 100 yards.

The Colts countered with Larsen, once again, as the running back carried three times for 35 yards, scoring from the 16 and adding a two-point conversion through the uprights.

Back came the Pirates, as quarterback Eric Huneault hooked up with Roberto Zulich on a 43-yard pass and run, setting up the third major by Will, this time from 14 yards out.

Trailing 18-15, the Colts needed a spark, receiving it via the passing game as Larsen hauled in a 21-yard TD pass, adding the convert to give his team the lead, once again, 23-18. With the Pirates pinned deep in their own territory, Connor Craftchick recovered a fumble for the Colts, giving the third-place team a chance to put the game on ice.

No such luck, as the Pirates came up with a second impressive defensive stand, providing their offence one more crack, with 1:50 to play. Will darted for a gain of 22 yards, and the Huneault/Zulich tandem went to work, covering 20 yards, allowing Will to score what was likely his easiest major of the game.

For a change, his route to the end zone was relatively direct.

"The coaches always tell me to go forward," said Will after the game. "But when I'm running, I go one way, then I see people, so I need to go the other way.

"I'm just thinking, 'don't get hit.' And if I'm going to get hit, then I try to cover the ball."

The game was marked, in part, by key contributions from just about every player on both sides, with Alex Boudreau and Peter Guerra coming up with key tackles for the Pirates defense, while Paige Lemaitre provided a nice 1-2 punch in the Colts backfield, alongside Larsen.

"In our first game of the season, we were struggling the whole game," acknowledged Will. "But as the season went on, we all developed and got better."

The early tyke encounter proved every bit as thrilling as the Demons upset the Storm 18-16, earning a berth in the championship final this coming Saturday at 5 p.m. at James Jerome.

In Bantam play, the Mustangs knocked off the Hurricanes 29-24 after the teams split the two-game regular season set. Riley Shea recorded three touchdowns for coach and former St. Charles College Cardinal James Howatt, who commended his defence on coming together and holding tight through the second half, with the Hurricanes pressing.

With his starting quarterback knocked out of the game, and his second stringer out of town, Hurricanes' coach Randy Stevens turned to Jarod Zyma-Guerrete, who filled in admirably, helping to keep the contest close to the end.

Despite still nursing a knee injury, Mason Bond returned to the Hurricanes lineup, with teammate Joel Richer picking up a key interception. The Mustangs will now face the Devils, who ran away from the Raiders by a final score of 52-8.

The Bantam final, which officially brings the 2014 JMYFL season to a close, kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday evening.