The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE an opening day loss in the Atlantic Football League, several Bahamian players made an immediate impact in their debut with the Holland College Hurricanes football club.

The Hurricanes took to the road in their first game of the season and relinquished a fourth quarter lead in a 38-34 loss to the UNB Saint John Seawolves in New Brunswick, Canada.

Newcomers to the programme, Cardell Rolle and Eugene McMinns, provided a boost to the Hurricanes on both sides of the ball and paid immediate dividends on the recruiting investment by head coach Mark McDougall.

Rolle finished with six tackles and a forced fumble which he recovered and returned for an 87-yard defensive touchdown.

McMinns was the most dynamic player on the offensive side of the ball for the Hurricanes and finished with four receptions for 105 yards.

Hurricanes quarterback Christian Hackney connected with McMinns for three completions of at least 30 yards on the afternoon.

The first was a 35-yard strike in the first quarter but the Hurricanes would be unable to complete the drive.

After scoring the first touchdown of the game they trailed 11-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The pair connected on a key third and short conversion with a 30-yard pass and Layton Aitken finished the drive with a six-yard run for a 14-11 lead. They ended the half with a 20-18 lead.

Rolle’s defensive score would come late in the third quarter when he stripped Seawolves fullback Charlie Harroun and raced nearly the distance of the field for a 26-18 lead.

The Seawolves responded with 13 points in less than two minutes to take a 31-26 advantage.

Leslie Greene caught a pair of passes on the drive which led to the go ahead score for the Hurricanes as they took a 33-31 lead early in the fourth.

McMinns was again the go-to receiver for Hackney on a late fourth quarter drive when he pulled in a 40-yard catch. However, several miscues kept the Hurricanes out of the endzone.

Rolle, McMinns and Greene are three of 10 Bahamians on the Hurricanes roster for the 2013 season.

The others include Arrien MacDonald, who had an interception against the Seawolves, Revello Williamson Jr, Akeeb Rolle, Dale Knowles, Ishmiah Strachan, Xavier Hanna and Garret Cesaire.

In week two, the Hurricanes are scheduled to host their home opener on September 22 when they face the University New Brunswick Red Bombers in a rematch of the 2012 AFL championship game.

Both teams will be in search of their first win when they square off at the UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place.

The Red Bombers won 14-7, preventing the Hurricanes from claiming back to back AFL titles.

In 2011, the Hurricanes got the better of the Red Bombers in the title game when they won 28-0.

The Bahamian players have come along at an opportune time to use Holland College as a platform to advance their careers on the field.

AFL players have continued to gain notoriety throughout Canada, not just in advancing to a Canadian Inter-university Sport school, but possibly signing directly with a Canadian Football League franchise.

Players from the young five-year-old league will be invited to regional combines for the first time, hosted by the CFL.

Demetrius Ferguson and Alfred Cornish are a pair of Bahamians and former Hurricanes players to make the leap from the AFL to the CIS, as both players now suit up for the St Francis Xavier X-Men.

In an effort to scout more Bahamian talent like the current seven on the Hurricanes’ roster, the team hosted a scouting combine in New Providence in February, led by head coach MacDougall and Michael O’Grady, university vice president of innovation, enterprise and strategic development.

The vice president said the relationship between his institution and the Bahamas will continue to grow on the athletic front with the advent of the football club.