Who will win Day 2 at Football Canada Cup?

A football tournament like the Football Canada Cup is not like a ‘regular season’ or a ‘regular team’. One example of this is that Day 1 games are much different from Day 2 and Day 3 games. Some coaches will find this out tomorrow in Day 2 game action.

Two of the biggest factors going forward are HEALTH and COACHING.

With a limited 40-man roster staying healthy is a major factor in making the run for a medal. Injuries that normally heal in between one-week games may not have time to heal with 2 days of rest. Two immediate concerns are with British Columbia and Manitoba. Manitoba is down to one healthy quarterback, while BC has lost star Runningback #32 Stephen Spagnuolo for Day 2 of the tourney. BCs decision to bring 4 quarterbacks and 3 running backs may hurt them in game 2 unless one of those QBs can play running back…which one already has taken reps at other positions.

Factor number 2 is coaching. Game 1 there are so many things that are out of your control as a coach. Game 2 and 3 have more controllable factors and this is where coaching aptitude, coaching experience, and tournament experience come into play. The key is to out coach your opponent and not yourself.

CFC Predictions – We were 2 and 2 in the first day of games, incorrectly predicting British Columbia and Nova Scotia to lose.

DAY 2 PREDICTIONS

10:00 AM EAST ONTARIO VS. MANITOBA

In what was considered a ‘minor’ upset East Ontario lost to incumbent BC on day 1. The concern for East Ontario was not that they lost but how they lost. After going up 18 to 0 the team gave up 27 unanswered points to lose 27 to 18. They need better play from their front 7 and need to be more consistent on offense. Manitoba’s strength is their front 7 led by Connor Kitchen, DJ Lalama and Evan Gill. The problem is their front 7 probably won’t score any points.

East Ontario 20 Manitoba 6 FINAL SCORE

1:00 PM WEST ONTARIO VS. ALBERTA

It would not have surprised people if these two teams were playing on the ‘winners’ side of the semi-final. Both teams have great players and coaches…but who will show up on wednesday?
West Ontario may have the best defensive personnel in the tournament. But unless they can fix their OLine and QB issues it will not matter. Alberta was susceptible against the pass versus Nova Scotia and were inconsistent at the QB position. If they can fix these problems they could come out on top.

West Ontario 17 Alberta 15 FINAL SCORE

4:00 BRITISH COLUMBIA VS. SASKATCHEWAN

The interesting thing about the day 2 of games is taking into consideration how good the opponent that the team played against in game 1 and how will that play into game 2. We believe that BC played the better opponent in East Ontario but we do not believe that this will make a big difference. Saskatchewan is well coached and will be well prepared for this game. The big question is will their undersized front seven be able to utilize their quickness versus the big BC oline. The question for BC is how big a loss is #32 Stephen Spagnuolo reported ankle injury? This should be a great one.

BRITISH COLUMBIA 23 SASKATCHEWAN 22 FINAL SCORE

7:00 NOVA SCOTIA VS QUEBEC

We picked wrong in the first game when we picked Nova Scotia to lose. Nova Scotia QB Jesse Mills was the best player in the tournament on day 1. In order for NS to win a second game in this tournament he has to continue to be the best player. Quebec is the most balanced team at the tournament. This game will come down to the Quebec pass game and the Nova Scotia pass defense. The winner of that battle wins the game.

Quebec 24 Nova Scotia 17 FINAL SCORE