Seawolves primed for historic contact

September 26, 2009 by John MacNeill of the Telegraph Journal

The wait is over.

After four years of planning and weeks of preparation, the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves are ready to serve some no-holds-barred, smash-mouth football in the opening game of the Atlantic Football League’s inaugural season.

The Seawolves club team is in Fredericton today to make history with the University of New Brunswick Red Bombers at 7 p.m. at Chapman Field. The Red Bombers haven’t grazed the gridiron in 30 years, and while the Seawolves have never housed a football team, they’re just as pumped to make their debut.

“The guys are pretty fired up. We’ve had to hold them back in practice because we can’t run full tilt on our own players, so some of the guys are waiting to unleash (against the Red Bombers),” head coach Dave Grandy said.

“It’s exciting for them; they want to show us what they’re fully capable of. And as coaches, we’re excited to see it.”

Grandy and his coaching staff haven’t revealed who will be starting for the Seawolves today in an effort to keep the players competing hard for spots during their 16 pre-season practices.

That includes quarterbacks Jeremy McAulay and Eoin McIntyre, whom Grandy said will both see reps in Fredericton.

“They both bring different assets to the team and right now we’re looking to use both of them in there,” he said.

The 5-foot-10, 213-pound McAulay has played under Grandy before and “has a good understanding of what we expect from him out there.”

McIntyre, at about 6 feet and 175 pounds, can scramble a bit better than his teammate and has a skill-set that makes him a more mobile quarterback, Grandy said. As for the opposition, Grandy’s deep roots in the provincial football scene gives him an edge as he’s already seen a good chunk of the Red Bombers’ roster in action.

Grandy expects Andrew Hubbard, who he considers one of the Maritime Football League’s most talented receivers, will be a big piece of Fredericton’s puzzle.

“(Hubbard) is one of the guys we’re looking to shut down. He’s talented, so it’s hard to shut someone like that down, but at least you know that’s one of their go-to guys so you can plan around that,” he said.

Another force will be veteran quarterback Brendan Cornford, who, along with Hubbard, played for the Capital Area Gladiators in the MFL.

“He’s a big game quarterback with good throwing ability. I’m sure they’re going to look to stretch the field on us and good deep to Hubbard.”

“We know a bit of their base offense, in terms of personnel, but we don’t know formations and we don’t know plays. So we’ll be looking to play some good, fundamental football,” Grandy said.

“It’s a special time right now being the first teams in the new group, so it’s exciting to showcase this new league.”

The start of the three-team loop isn’t the only thing the Seawolves have to look forward to, however.

Next month, the squad of 45 players will venture to McGill University in Montreal, Que., to play an exhibition game with the junior varsity side of the Redmen.

The Seawolves will play in the Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, home to the Redmen and Montreal Alouettes, on Oct. 10. “It’s a rather historic place,” Seawolves president and general manager Barry Ogden said.

“This will give (the Seawolves) a vision; when they walk into that stadium overlooking the whole city of Montreal, I think they’ll just be blown away.”

Ogden engineered the exhibition game, which he hopes will become an annual event, in conjunction with McGill’s head of football alumni, Sonny Wolfe.

He’d hoped to organize a similar trip to Maine to play against the Husson College Eagles, but the plans fell through this year. Ogden said he’s already got the gears churning for a possible match up next season.

“This is the first time a team from Saint John has ever gone (to McGill) to play football at this level. The players are really, really excited,” he said, adding the players and team raised all the funds needed for the trip.

Although the squad will only face the junior varsity side of the Redmen, Ogden admitted it will be a challenging match. But for the football enthusiast and community activist, he’s more interested in the experience the players will get out of it.

“I’ve told them what they have to do is carry themselves with pride and do their best,” Ogden said.

“I just want them to have good character and never give up.”