BY JOHN DECOSTE
Kings County Advertiser/Register
The Horton Griffins continued their march toward an NSSAFFL Tier 1 playoff berth with a convincing 48-2 win over Sackville Oct. 22 in Wolfville.
The NKEC Titans’ hopes of securing a Tier 1 playoff berth took a hit, with a 13-8 loss to Cole Harbour Oct. 22 in Burnside.
In Wolfville, Horton led Sackville 28-0 at halftime en route to a lopsided win, which improved the Griffins’ season record to 4-3 with one regular season game remaining.
Robert Adams ran wild against the Kingfishers’ defense, racking up 194 yards on 28 carries (giving him 1,211 rushing yards on the season) and scoring five touchdowns.
Greg Brown shook off a hit to the head in his previous game to complete 6-8 passes for 142 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, one to Noel Morgan and the other to Sam Crawford.
“The pass over the middle was there for us all day,” said Horton head coach Alec Hyndman, adding Crawford did a great job subbing for Robert Lannan, who left the game after turning an ankle.
“I figured we would win,” he said, “but not nearly that easily.”
Above and beyond the offensive performance, the Horton defense “was just awesome,” recording “five or six” quarterback sacks and picking off three interceptions.
“Our defense has been great all season,” Hyndman said. “That’s one reason we’ve been able to score as much as we do, because the defense keeps on giving us such great field position to work with.”
Horton clinched a Tier 1 playoff position with the win. Where the Griffins will finish, and who they meet in the playoffs, will depend on the rest of the season results, including their season finale Nov. 8 against NKEC.
As for the Titans, they missed a chance to keep pace with Horton, dropping a disappointing 13-8 decision to Cole Harbour.
“Defensively, we played great, but our offense simply didn’t show up,” said a disappointed NKEC head coach Wally Archer, who saw his team fall to 3-3 with two regular season games remaining.
Cole Harbour scored both its touchdowns on special teams, via a kickoff return and a blocked punt. Jeff Longaphy had the lone NKEC touchdown.
NKEC hosted Halifax West October 30 in Canning, and wraps up the regular season with a make-up game against Horton Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at Acadia.
“If we’re successful this weekend,” Archer said last week, “our game with Horton will be for the Tier 1 playoffs.” Simply put: “if we win, we’re in. If we lose, we’re out.”
Central Kings, which had the Oct. 22 weekend off, was back in action this past weekend, tangling with the Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals in Antigonish in their regular season finale.
Avon View continued a truly forgettable season with a 42-0 loss to Dr. Gillis Oct. 24 in Windsor. The Avalanche wrapped up their regular season October 30 against the Sir John A. Macdonald Flames.
jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca
