Hurricanes Football Club to play Dalhousie in league semifinal

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Charlottetown, PE - The Holland College Hurricanes and the Dalhousie University Tigers meet in an Atlantic Football League semifinal matchup on Saturday afternoon in Charlottetown. The Hurricanes finished in first place during the regular season with a 5-1 record (6-2 overall), while the Tigers finished in fourth with a 1-5 record. The winner will proceed to the AFL championship game on November 19, which will be hosted by the ‘Canes if they prevail over the Tigers in this weekend's semifinal contest.

Despite the difference in their regular season records this year, the two teams match up well and have had some tremendous battles over the past two seasons. Holland College won both games against Dalhousie this year, but neither fans nor players have forgotten the 16-13 struggle back in September, when the defense thwarted a last-minute comeback attempt by the Tigers in front of a spellbound crowd at MacAdam Field.

The Tigers have an explosive offense led by quarterback Brendan Festeryga and running back Greg Pelly. Hurricanes Head Coach Mark MacDougall feels that containing this pair will be a key to his team's success.

In their final two games of the season, the Tigers offense started clicking, and we just can't let them get the jump on us in this game. Shutting down Festeryga and containing Pelly will be a priority for our defense and special teams." Pelly also returns punts and kickoffs for Dalhousie.

For their part, the Hurricanes will be looking for another big game from running back Dave Clark, who was APM Construction Services player of the game two weeks ago. The Charlottetown native has rushed for over 1,000 yards this season and he has helped to provide balance to an offensive attack that has also been getting great production from the arm of quarterback Nick Hunsley.

"This is the biggest game of the year for us," said Hunsley. "Football fans won't want to miss it!"

Game time is 1 p.m. at MacAdam Field on the UPEI campus. This Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Holland College's website at 1 p.m. AST.

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