Sunday, August 14, 2005
Titans clobber Demons in Empire League showdown last Saturday at Billings
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| Titans quarterback Sean Hoas (14) is pursued by Ottawa defender before firing a pass in 38-0 victory.(Photo Andrew Clark) | |
Titans clobber Demons in Empire League showdown
Dan Rosenburg
The much-anticipated Empire Football League "grudge" match between the Montreal Titans and Ottawa Deacon Demons turned into a "bust" last Saturday at Billings. The Titans waltzed away with a resounding 38-0 triumph.
The win gave the Titans a 4-1 record but the team received bad news about their scheduled Aug. 20 home-field meeting with Amsterdam Zephyrs. In short, the Zephyrs are no more. Hence, that game has been cancelled, through no fault of the Titans.
In addition to that, the Green Mountain Gladiators no longer exist either. They were supposed to be the visitors here on Sept. 24. In their absence, the Broome County Dragons have been recruited to travel to Chateauguay for an exhibition game that night instead. That will be the Titans' last home appearance until the playoffs.
Local fans were looking forward to the Titans-Demons matchup, largely because of the return to Chateauguay of former Montreal Condors head coach Wilbert Scott, now president and coach of the Demons. The Condors used to play their home games at Laberge Park here before the Titans came along.
But the Demons showed a marked lack of offence Saturday and never succeeded in working the ball past midfield. One of the few times they threatened to do so, they fumbled on their own 40 and James Elias of the Titans recovered. Seven quarterback sacks, including three by Corvell Isaacs and two by Jean-Marc Michel, did not exactly aid the Demons' cause.
The Titans, on the other hand, controlled the game virtually at will from the moment Michael Coles barrelled over the goal line on a 13-yard rumble and then caught a rare Andrew Blevings pass in the end zone for a two-point conversion in the opening period.
A 29-yard pass from quarterback Sean Hoas to Patrice Bernard bolstered the lead to 14-0 at the half.
Treldon James of the Titans electrified the crowd by returning the second-half kickoff 75 yards to paydirt. A two-point convert pass from Hoas to Marvin Joseph and a safety touch upped the count to 24-0.
Blevings bulled over on runs of 30 and six yards in the fourth quarter, and another safety rounded out the assault. Geoff Brown finished up at quarterback in relief of Hoas, who went down with suspected rib injuries. His brother Tyrel was unable to suit up because of an eye injury.
The Titans were also missing vacationing placekicker Dave Miller-Johnston and running back Neville Johnson, out with an ankle injury.
"Now we play the big boys," said Titans head coach John Mouland, referring to the fact that the Titans finish the regular season with three consecutive road games, beginning in Watertown tonight and against powerhouses Albany (5-0) Metro Mallers Aug. 27 and Orange County (4-0-1) Bulldogs on Sept. 10.
If Sean Hoas can't answer the bell tonight, he'll be spelled by back-up quarterback Michael Hyatt.
Mouland admitted his keen disappointment at the token opposition offered by the Demons last week and added that he was particularly upset at the disgusting action of Ottawa's Luc Lacelle who was ejected by referee Roger Villeneuve for kicking a fallen Titan when he was down.
