By: Aarkash Siwakoti & Alex Quevillon
With a narrow victory over Fleming and a lopsided blowout against Loyalist a week before, the Algonquin men lead the division over Fleming after handing them their first loss of the season.
Having scored 69 points in their first two games, the Thunder more than doubled their points for on Sept. 29.
The team’s blazing speed was a major factor in the dominating 90-20 win against the Loyalist Lancers.
Team captain and fly-half Brian Hue had a very strong game making 10 conversions to lead the team with 20 points. His accurate kicks helped his team dominate after every try.
Several Algonquin players such as lock Stephen Byford and hooker/centre Liam Birkwood had two tries each in the game.
“Communication is the key,” said Hue. “We played for each other and supported each other when we went on runs. We communicated a lot and it was great.”
As a less experienced team, Loyalist still managed to put up a fight against Algonquin in the first half. Loyalist was able to score four tries against the Thunder’s more relaxed defence. The teams looked even until the Thunder players showed how speed and fitness are a huge factor in scoring.
“We have a very fit team and are very proud of their fitness,” said assistant coach Bob Shaw.
“We are always on top of the ball, always going and that’s why we are so disappointed about them not making those four stops. They are fit enough to have made those defensive plays.”
The crowd seemed to enjoy the fast-paced plays and the speed shown by the Algonquin players. President Kent MacDonald was in attendance to show his support for the Thunder.
“Both the men and women played extremely well today,” said MacDonald. “The strong first half allowed the coaches to put in other players, which is a good thing. We get to see the other student athletes get a chance to play and get on the field.”
Thunder head coach Geoff Tomlinson was happy with the win but thought the team was not trying as hard defensively.
“We’re happy because the guys followed the game plan as best as they could,” said Tomlinson.
“We are not happy because they got lazy and the other team got 20 points. We have to react better to the plays.”
“We have to work on our defence a lot before next game,” said Tomlinson.
“We’re going to be playing a very well coached team, who are going to play a very structured game unlike today. “I’d much rather win a game 22-20 than by a score like today because you don’t learn anything from it.”
Heading to Fleming, Algonquin boasted an identical 3-0 record to their host on Oct. 6.
Clealy, Tomlinson’s focus on defence was the right message to send his team as the Thunder squeaked out a 12-9 victory in enemy territory. Algonquin were the first to get by the Fleming squad.
The now-division leading Thunder finishes the year with matches against Seneca and Fleming respectively.