St. Vital Mustangs defensive back Robert Lussier is no stranger to big games. He played in plenty of them as a member of the storied St. Paul’s Crusaders’ program, and stepped his efforts up further in 2016 when the Mustangs claimed their most recent MMJFL title. And while this past Saturday’s season opener on the road against the St. James Rods didn’t provide the same stakes as a title game, it still carried significant emotional ties.
First off, it was the final season opener of Lussier’s career. He’ll age out at the end of the season and completed his Bachelor of Commerce (honours) degree not long ago. His final run would’ve likely been last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the 2020 season being cancelled. With this in mind, the game last weekend was Lussier and company’s first in over 600 days.
“[The emotions] are high. How could they not be? I’ve been playing this game since I was ten years old. A lot of the guys have a lot of similar memories to mine,” he noted shortly after the contest.
“To be able to come back here after two years, it’s hard, but it’s more than worth the work. There’s just no place like a football locker room and being on that field and having the opportunity to play with the guys that you go to work with every single day. It means the world to me and I can’t be more thankful for it.”
Lussier and his teammates on defence didn’t show any rust against St. James. The intelligent safety showcased his football IQ with two interceptions as the Mustangs defence pitched a shutout in a 20-4 win.
Lussier’s first interception came with 7:30 to go in the first quarter and he added his second early in the second half. Both plays were a result of the veteran being in the right spot at the right time. The Rods were looking to spread out their opposition to take advantage of their size and skill with the likes of Foster Jasin and Riley Desrochers, but were handicapped by the loss of starting quarterback Nathan Leitao to a knee injury prior to the season starting. With a new gunslinger under centre, Lussier trusted his reads and make the opposition pay.
“For me it’s all about reads and understanding numbers,” he said. When they come with four receivers we’re going to sit over top on that stuff. My big goal is to take away the deep ball. If I’m able to read the quarterback and his eyes and understand what he’s looking for, then I know where he’s going to want to go with the ball. It’s all between the ears honestly and that’s the part of my game that I’m probably most proud of.”
The Rods’ only points came off of two safeties in the first quarter. They led 4-0 early, but surrendered field position many times due to untimely penalties. The Mustangs’ lone touchdown for example – a two-yard quarterback sneak by Vancouver Island Raiders and Grant Park alum Peter LeClair with five mins left in the first half – came after multiple unnecessary roughness penalties by the hosts.
The Mustangs led 14-4 at the break, and let their defence – which head coach Derek Mills acknowledged will be a major strength this year – do the rest. Linebacker Zach Carpenter recorded two sacks while fellow veteran Mackenzie Dueck led the team in tackles and had numerous bone-jarring hits in the backfield.
“We’re hyper-athletic. We have a lot of guys who are flying around and they just want to make plays,” said Lussier.
“They want to go out there and they want to hit. We also have a bunch of guys who are really smart and understand their assignments and gap control. It’s really great to be able to work with guys who know what they’re doing.”
Offensively, the Mustangs struggled with drops, but got a solid showing from Richard Wyss, who led the team in receiving yards. The Rods’ best player on either side of the ball was arguably running back Teddy Mekonnen, who refused to go down on first contact. He trained with Big Air Academy prior to the season and showed out well. Defensively for the Rods, Matteo Urciuoli, whose brother Adamo is starting for the Valley Huskers in the BCFC, had an interception.
Week two primer
Next up for the Mustangs is a tilt under the lights with the East Side Eagles, who are looking for a four-peat (factoring in two titles at Transcona). They opened the season 1-0 as well after a 32-0 win on the road against Westman and will play host to their consistent rivals at 8 pm on Friday.
It’ll be the ultimate battle of offence versus defence when the teams square off, as East Side – led by 16-year coaching veteran Stefan Hirsch – deploys a quick-strike attack led by versatile quarterback Carter Kutzan, who had three touchdowns in the opener. Do-it-all running back Danny Harris, the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year, led the team in scoring last week with a touchdown, four converts, a single and a field goal. Westman will play host to St. James in other week two action, the first of a back-to-back in the four week regular season schedule.