MontrealAlouettes.com
Montreal – The 27th annual Alouettes Classic certainly lived up to its billing.
On a cold Friday night at Percival-Molson Stadium – home of the Alouettes – Team Flory and Team Stewart went to battle, with the latter pulling out a 28-15 win in what proved to be a nail-biter until late in the game.
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Scott Flory and Anwar Stewart both led their respective teams through rigorous practices, meetings and video sessions all week in preparation for Friday’s Classic and it appeared as though their advice was certainly taken to heart by the city’s high-school All-Stars.
Stewart’s team, also led by former Alouettes offensive coordinator and current University of Montreal head coach Danny Macioca, came storming out of the gates thanks to quarterback Hugo Richard’s touchdown pass to receiver Alexis Bailey on their opening drive to make it 6-0.
Team Stewart extended their lead to nine on its ensuing drive thanks to an Alex Imamedjian field goal.
Although they were down on the scoreboard, Scott Flory’s troops refused to give up. Running back Serge Pilon got things going for the offence and gave his team excellent field position midway through the second quarter.
On their next drive, Team Flory put themselves back in the game, converting on a short rush from just ahead of the goal line, cutting Team Stewart’s lead to 16-7 at the half.
Flory’s group continued chipping away at Team Stewart’s lead in the third, eventually making it a three point game. Stewart’s offence continued to roll however, capping off the fourth with 12 unanswered points.
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| “Everything was unbelievable! The staff, the players, all the coaches – everyone did a great job and it was a great win,” said Stewart, celebrating shortly after the game. |
“Everything was unbelievable! The staff, the players, all the coaches – everyone did a great job and it was a great win,” said Stewart, celebrating shortly after his team’s win.
Stewart’s fellow coach, Maciocia, was equally pleased with the game.
“I’ve been here all week and the level of competition has been unbelievable,” said Macioca. “I’ve actually been in somewhat foreign territory since getting here, and had to go back some 15 odd years to remember how to handle kids of this age,” he added.
Maciocia also had some praise to lavish on his starting quarterback, Hugo Richard, who grabbed offensive MVP honours in a ceremony following the game.
“(Richard) has been outstanding all week long. I thought he played great tonight and I really think he’s going to be special for years to come.”
The young QB, meanwhile, seemed humbled following his MVP performance.
“It’s nice to hear those kinds of things being said about me by Coach Macioca, it really means a lot to me,” he stated in an interview shortly after receiving his MVP plaque.
As far as continuing his career in football is concerned, Richard is more focused on maintaining his level of play right now.
“I’d definitely like to continue, but I have to remain focused in order to do so,” said the 16-year old College Notre-Dame student.
If Richard does indeed plan on pursuing his football career to the fullest, he certainly chose the right stage to begin on.
