
Tie game boosts Vipers' confidence


MONCTON - On paper, you might be fooled into thinking the Maritime Women's Football League championship final is a mismatch, but a closer look tells you that couldn't be farther from the truth.
The Moncton Vipers will look to win their first MWFL SupHer Bowl against the powerful Saint John Storm squad today in Halifax at 4 p.m..
The Storm rolled to a 5-0-1 record during the regular season, massively outscoring opponents 192-14 as they were rarely challenged throughout the year.
The only catch? The one blip on their otherwise flawless record came at the hands of the Moncton squad, which tied Saint John 8-8 the last time the two teams met in week five.
"I think that boosted our confidence to know we are capable of competing with Saint John, while everyone else in the league has been easily swayed by them," said Vipers quarterback Jenny Miller. "This can go either way as long as we can stay in it."
Saint John easily handled Moncton 34-6 the first time the team's played in week two.
The Vipers will look to turn a corner today and hand the Storm their first loss of the year and earn the franchise's first championship.
"I think we're going to have to make sure we use all our offensive weapons, be it the run or on the pass. Just keep control of the ball and keep their offence off the field as much as possible," said Vipers head coach Gilles Lavoie. "We have gotten better game in and game out as the year has gone on. We have a lot of new rookies who as the year has gone on they've learned the game a little bit and our veterans are strong. We should do fine."
Moncton got off to a sluggish 0-2 start this season before finishing with a 2-3-1 record which was good for a third place finish in the four team league. A 22-0 semifinal victory over the second seed Halifax XPlosion last week earned the team its spot in the league final, their second in as many years.
"We have a sour taste in our mouth because of last year," Miller said of the team's appearance in the 2007 SupHer Bowl, where they came up on the short end of a 15-14 score against the Capital Area Lady Gladiators. "This team this year is the one that is going to take it all. Coming out of third place going into the final, to take the victory it's going to be a sweet, sweet, sweet championship."
Saint John held opponents to zero points in four of their six regular season contests this year and on average only allowed 2.3 points per game, while scoring 32 points of offense per game. Moncton averaged 15 points per game in the regular season and allowed an average of 13.3 points against them.
Numbers alone and it appears there's no contest. In the end however, the game is played between the lines, where of course, anything can happen. Underdog or not, there's certainly no lack of confidence for Moncton.
"Most people will think of it as an upset if we beat Saint John, but from our point of view it's what's going to happen," Miller said. "Definitely they know that we are contenders in this and it's going to be a hard fought battle. The team that shows up to play is going to be the team that will win - and that will be us."




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