Ontario opens with convincing win against Manitoba

Photo credit: Tanya Everitt

Game stats

An explosive Team Ontario stormed out to a 25-point halftime lead on its way to a 39-0 shutout against Manitoba in game 2 of the 2013 Football Canada Cup at Rocky Stone Field in Moncton, NB.

Ontario opened the scoring on the game’s first drive which began at the Ontario 39-yard line. They marched down the field, showcasing the running back trio of Trey Humes, Khaliel James, and Raishaun Provo. A Khaliel James 9-yard rushing gain set Ontario up inside the Manitoba 10-yard line. Starting quarterback Nate Hobbs found James on second down 9-yard pass to pull ahead 7-0 following the Michael Tarbutt extra-point.

On the opening play of the second quarter, Ontario pressured Manitoba starting quarterback, Drenin Busch, leading to a Gurjant Singh fumble recovery and an Ontario first down near their own 30-yard line.

Ontario was unable to capitalize on the turnover as a Manitoba sack for a loss of 8-yards on 2nd and 10, led to an Ontario 2-and-out.

After Ontario’s defense forced a Manitoba to 2-and-out, quarterback Liam Putt found receiver Cameron Wright to make the score 15-0 after Tarbutt added another extra-point conversion.

With under two minutes left to play in the 2nd half, Manitoba decided to gamble on 3rd and long at mid-field with a fake punt run. Starting quarterback Drenin Busch (who also handles Manitoba’s kicking duties) made a break for the 1st down marker but was tackled short of the 1st down by Team Ontario defensive back Trevel Thomas-Wright, forcing a turnover on downs.

Khaliel James added an 18-yard touchdown run at 1:02 of the second quarter to put Ontario ahead by 22.

After forcing a quick Manitoba 2-and-out, Ontario added a late Michael Tarbutt field goal with 5.5 seconds to play in the 1st half to widen the halftime lead to 25.

To open the second half, a Manitoba fumble on the opening kick-off was recovered by linebacker Rik Van Espen to give Ontario the ball at the Manitoba 5-yard line. After juggling the exchange on 2nd down, Raishaun Provo gained control of the ball to punch it in for 6. With the Tarbutt extra-point, Ontario widened its lead to 32 at 11:20 of the 3rd quarter.

Ontario added its final touchdown when quarterback Nate Hobbs found receiver Ben Field on a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Despite the result, Manitoba displayed an impressive trio of their own. Running back Alex Taylor tallied 60 yards on 11 attempts, Devonn Shepard added 52 yards on 3 carries while Liam Haime ran for 37 yards on 5 carries.

Ontario moves on to play Alberta on Thursday at 4 PM (AT) while Manitoba moves on to the mini round-robin which begins at 11 AM on Thursday.

This post is also available in: French