FCC2018 RECAP: Timely opportunities helps Manitoba to defeat Nova Scotia

Manitoba rallied in the second half to defeat Nova Scotia 18-13 on Thursday afternoon at the 2018 Football Canada Cup in Calgary, Alberta’s Shouldice Park.

Nova Scotia opened the scoring when Ben Hadley added a 37 yard field goal to give the team the lead with 3:39 left in the first quarter.

Just 36 seconds into the second quarter, Manitoba’s Owen Brown added a field goal to pull the team within three points of Nova Scotia.

Manitoba had a bobbled snap and Nova Scotia capitalized on the mistake as Cole Cooper scored a defensive touchdown for the team with 7:58 remaining before the half.

At halftime, Nova Scotia had a 13-3 advantage over Manitoba.

In the second half, Manitoba scored 15 unanswered points.  Brown added his second field goal of the game in the third quarter.

With 7:23 left in the game, Isheanasu Matanga sprints into the end zone for a six yard major to give Manitoba the lead.

Nova Scotia conceded a safety to Manitoba to round out the scoring.

Offensive Players of the Game were Breydon Stubbs (Manitoba) and Dawson Kierstead (Nova Scotia).  Defensive Players of the Game were Austin Balan (Manitoba) and Cooper (Nova Scotia).

“Timely plays in the second half; we had a fake punt that might of not have been the best call in the world but our player made up for it and Austin did a great job to get us the first down,” commented Manitoba Head Coach Ryan Karhut after the game.  “We kind of had the wind in the fourth quarter which I wasn’t a big fan of and we had them pinned deep in their zone and we were fortunate to get another turnover in the red zone.”

“We got the ball rolling on offence to push it in to get the leading score so it was pretty timely in that sense.”

After a strong first half, discipline played a significant factor in Nova Scotia’s fate in the remainder of the game.

“The guys came out strong in the first half,” assessed Nova Scotia Head Coach Bryce Fisher.  “In the second half, we came out good but it’s kind of lack of discipline – some dumb penalties at key points in the game.”

“At some point, we’ve to rally together and pick things up.  They played a great game and rallied together and other than that, we have to move on to our next opponent.”

Manitoba will battle British Columbia on Sunday July 22, 2018 at 9:30am MST.  Meanwhile, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick square off in an all-Maritime battle at 10:00am MST.

FCC2018 DAY 2: Post-game interview with Bryce Fisher 

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FCC2018 DAY 2: Post-game interview with Ryan Karhut

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