FCC2018 RECAP: Momentum shift in second half powers Saskatchewan past Ontario

Saskatchewan put together a huge second half to defeat Ontario 32-8 to advance to the gold medal game at the 2018 Football Canada Cup at Shouldice Park in Calgary, Alberta.

Cameron Creechan got Ontario on the scoreboard first as he added a 27 yard field goal to give the team a 3-0 lead with 2:44 left in the first quarter.

Ontario would extend their lead as Creechan added his second field goal of the day (42 yards).  Additionally, Saskatchewan conceded a safety to give Ontario an 8-0 advantage with 2:41 before the half.

Saskatchewan’s Keegan Kaytor would sprint down the field in to the end zone to pull the team within two points before halftime.

At halftime, Ontario led Saskatchewan 8-6.

In the second half, there was a momentum shift in Saskatchewan’s favour as the team scored 24 unanswered points.

Emmett Steadman (5 yard) and Ryker Frank (1-yard) each tallied a major in the third quarter for Saskatchewan.

With 10:53 left in the game, Luke Hornung dove into the end zone for a 2 yard major.  Steadman would put the game out of reach with a 30 yard field goal to round out the scoring.

Offensive Players of the Game were Kaytor (Saskatchewan) and Ethan MacKinnon (Ontario).  Defensive Players of the Game were Ramsey Derbas (Saskatchewan) and Drake Bodi (Ontario).

“We started so poorly in the first quarter,” recalled Saskatchewan Head Coach Jeff Stusek of the game.  “We turned the ball over three times but we preached facing adversity all week.”

“Coming in, the game was going to change and we stayed with it; we had discipline and our special teams and defence hung in while our offence got rolling.”

As for Ontario, things were going into their favour until the momentum shift happened due to discipline and penalty issues.

“We had 19 penalties for 190 yards or 186 yards and you aren’t going to win many football games,”  assessed Ontario Head Coach Glen Mills after the game.  “We talked about it before the game, we talked about it at halftime and until the last drive of the first half, we had our penalties in check and we took three unnecessary roughness penalties on that drive and they were able to score and make it 8-6.”

“Then, a couple of penalties again and they regained short field and they had blocked punts and we just didn’t execute.”

Saskatchewan will tangle with Alberta for the gold medal on Sunday July 22, 2018 at 3:00pm MST while Ontario meets Quebec in the bronze medal game at 12:00pm MST.

FCC2018 DAY 2: Post-game interview with Glen Mills

FCC2018 DAY 2: Post-game interview with Jeff Stusek

This post is also available in: French