In case you were wondering if the Carson Graham Eagles were still sore about their heartbreaking loss in last year's AA football championship final, the answer was written all over the face of head coach John Buchanan Thursday afternoon.
Following Carson's 39-6 win over an undermanned Windsor Dukes team Thursday, Buchanan's face registered mock horror — or maybe even real horror — when a reporter made passing mention of last year's championship game, a one-point loss for the Eagles in which they were scrambling to kick the winning field goal in the dying seconds of the game but didn't get it off in time.
"Oh, you had to bring that up," he said, adding in a few other unprintable words with a chuckle. "Yes, it still stings. One second to go, chance to win the provincial title...." The loss gave the returning Eagles loads of motivation during the offseason but the redemption tour was derailed before it could hit full speed because of the labour dispute. Carson practiced in August but when September arrived and the picket lines went up the team, coached mainly by teachers, shut down, unlike many other programs that kept practicing and playing throughout the dispute.
"It's not the way we wanted to start the year. We can thank Christy Clark for that," said Buchanan, a longtime teacher from a family of teachers.
When the dispute was settled the Eagles raced back onto the field and have shown well despite diving into the regular season without playing a single exhibition game. Carson opened their season Sept. 26 with a tough matchup against Ballenas, a perennially strong team that played through the strike. The Eagles took command early and led 25-13 heading into the fourth quarter but, lacking their typical conditioning, fell apart in the fourth and lost 26-25.
Thursday was a different story as the Eagles were ready for a clash with their tough cross-town rivals but encountered a Windsor team with struggles of its own. Like the Eagles, the Dukes did not practice or play during the labour dispute and Thursday was their first game of the season. It didn't start well for Windsor as James McMichael, the only quarterback listed on their roster, was knocked out in the opening minutes and the team spent the rest of the game trying replacement players under centre while throwing just one pass the rest of the way. They were outgunned elsewhere as well — with only six substitutes on the sidelines, several players were on the field for nearly every play, offence, defence and special teams.
"You've got to give credit to Windsor," said Buchanan. "They were in a tough situation and they played hard through the whole game. It would have been a totally different game if they'd been at full strength."
The Eagles have a thunder and lightning one two punch at quarterback this year with Grade 12 starter Mike Worthen as the pass-happy pivot and Grade 11 backup Tyler Nylander subbing in as a major running threat. Nylander did a lot of the damage against Windsor, including a near 60-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown early in the second quarter to make the score 21-0. Windsor fumbled the next kickoff and just a few minutes later Nylander hit captain and two-way star Lucas Bill with a 21-yard touchdown pass. Flynn Heyes also racked up big yardage in the game and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns. Windsor's lone score came on a 56-yard rush for speedy running back Jacob Edmunds.
Both teams will be back on the North Shore for their next games with Windsor hosting Argyle Friday starting at 3 p.m. while Carson will continue their quest to get back to the championship game when they visit Sentinel Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Spartans.
The Eagles lost most of their starters from last season's team — including superstar running back A.J. Blackwell who was named MVP of the championship game despite the loss and now mans the backfield for UBC — but Buchanan said they have reloaded with talented players throughout the lineup.
"We've managed to fill most of those holes," he said. "Not A.J. — you don't really replace a guy like A.J. — but at all of the other spots we've brought in good players."
Team leaders this year include Bill, who makes big plays on defence as a safety and offence as a running back; running back/safety Russell Tolentino, receiver/defensive back Kieran Benedito and hulking tight end/defensive end Liam Doll who, when not playing football, is one of the top junior rugby players in Canada.
The road back to the championship game will be tough, particularly given the scrambled start to the season, but the Eagles have a shot at making it all the way once again, said Buchanan.
"We're in a tough conference, there won't be any easy games," he said. "We don't have as many players as last year but we have as much quality. If we can get through healthy, we have a chance."
