FCC2017: Offence steers Manitoba to seventh place finish

by FBC

On Friday, Manitoba finished seventh at the 2017 Football Canada Cup in Wolfville, Nova Scotia after the team defeated New Brunswick 43-10.

This win was the first for the Manitoba squad during the tournament.  New Brunswick ended the tournament winless and in eighth place.

In the first quarter, Riley Vankoughnett connected with Jason Henderson for a 30 yard major to give Manitoba the early lead.  With 53 seconds left in the frame, Connor Green added a 20 yard field goal.

Vankoughnett snuck into the end zone for a one yard touchdown in the second quarter.  He would then find both Luke McMillan and Tyler Koniuk for majors.

At halftime, Manitoba enjoyed a 36-0 lead over New Brunswick after Green successfully booted his second field goal of the game.

New Brunswick started to get into a groove in the second half. Quarterback William Hicks connected with Will McNally in the end zone to give the team their first touchdown of the tournament.

Soon after, Ben George added a 32 yard field goal for New Brunswick.

However, Manitoba put the game out of reach when Austin Balan tore down the field for a8 yard touchdown.

Players of the Game for Manitoba were QB Vankoughnett (offence) and LB Eric Bujalski (defence).  New Brunswick Players of the Game were REC McNally (offence) and LB Zach Lloyd (defence).

Getting their first victory of the tournament was a satisfying way to finish for Manitoba.

“The game overall was well played,” commented Manitoba Head Coach Don Burrell.  “New Brunswick came out to play us and we had to play a solid 48 minutes.”

“They played well and I asked my team if they wanted to come up they had to play hard for it.”

As for New Brunswick, the team was disappointed with the outcome of Friday’s game but took some positives from it.

“We were a little shellshocked and a still a little emotional after our loss to Nova Scotia the other night; we just came out flat,” expressed New Brunswick Head Coach Chris Hopkins.  “We’re learning lessons the hard way for a very young football team.”

“I’m proud of our resiliency. They kind of decided in the second quarter they were going to push back and we decided to move the ball.  They played with great energy in the second half.  They play for each other and I am so proud of our guys.”

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