Hope springs eternal for the Nipissing Wild, despite a season-opening loss to the Toronto Jr. Argos, 21-7.
It was a scorching, July-like, thirty-plus degrees at field level, but the calendar still reads May, and the Wild are slowly blossoming into a club that all can be proud of.
The Argos scored twenty-one straight points to put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter, but the locals showed some gumption, putting together an effective drive to break the shutout, on an Adam Asselin touchdown plunge.
Quarterback Riley Gravelle struggled with timing with his wide receivers, but made some dazzling runs while eluding a strong Argos defensive line. Gravelle also kicked the conversion on Asselin's touchdown.
Defensively, the Wild showed a marked improvement over previous seasons, shutting down the passing game. Some long runs by the Argos' fleet set of running backs (led by Jaiden Hyland with three touchdowns) will have defensive coordinator Dan Webb looking to shore things up at next week's practices.
Special teams miscues and penalties seem to haunt this club, as one of the Toronto touchdowns came following a high snap over the punter's head. Throw in some untimely fouls and an interception, and what could have been a close game against a decent opponent got out of hand.
Not to say that there were not some very postive developments in Wild country. Following the game, Head Coach Tyson Brear was guardedly optimistic, telling Baytoday.ca "It's kind of a mixed bag right now. I think that we played well in spurts, but you could tell that we're a young team and it's the start of the season."
When asked about the special teams mistakes, Brear responded, "We made a lot of mistakes that are easily fixed.
"We competed with them. We didn't have any big plays. No forced turnovers. No big runs or returns. They were tough yards."
Looking forward to practice this week, Brear intoned that to improve, his players must feel "Urgency, on both sides of the ball, attacking the ball carrier. We were a half-second too late today."
Brear's optimism stems from the new direction the club is headed. When the new executive and coaching staff got together last August, "We wanted to establish a new culture, and add to it. It is more engaged for the guys. This is a process, and we are building," declared Brear.
The Nipissing Wild take to the road for a matchup with the Oakville Titans next Saturday.
