Makori’s injury looms over Crocus loss

The Plainsmen have bigger fish to fry than worrying about their loss against Kelvin High School.

After the Crocus Plainsmen (1-2) dropped their second straight contest, falling 11–6 to the Kelvin Clippers (1-2), the big red spotlight quickly shifted to starting quarterback Joe Makori, who exited the game with an undisclosed injury in the second half of Thursday’s Winnipeg High School Football League matchup at Crocus.

Makori was down on the field for at least 10 minutes after being sacked by two Kelvin defenders, appearing to suffer a lower-body injury. He had completed four passes for 62 yards prior to his injury and had briefly left the previous drive for two snaps after taking a late hit to the head that knocked his helmet off.

Backup QB and starting cornerback Riley Dutchak stepped in to lead Crocus’s offence after Makori was ruled out of the game and looked quite comfortable for only assuming the backup role earlier this week.

“I think I did pretty well after I got into the game coming from corner and usually being on the defensive side of the ball,” said Dutchak, who’s in Grade 11. “Obviously Joe going down really sucks, but injuries are going to happen in this sport, and we just had to shuffle some things around.”

Moving from defence to offence, especially mid-game, is far from an easy task, so Dutchak said he plans to be more prepared if Makori isn’t healthy to play next week.

“I definitely need to just get super detailed in practice and just practise like I play,” he said. “Knowing everyone’s assignment, the receivers’ routes, and just doing my job so I can help the team win and help the other guys on offence as well. I just gotta trust the O-line in front of me and that they’ll do their job, and I will be ready to do mine if needed.”

The game itself was a messy battle for both teams, marked by plenty of extracurriculars and shaky execution.

Kelvin threatened early, driving deep into Crocus territory before turning the ball over on downs at the five-yard line after an incomplete pass to the end zone. The Plainsmen couldn’t move up the field on their opening drive, though, choosing to concede a safety on third down rather than risk a punt from their end zone, which made it 2-0 Clippers.

The game’s only touchdown came on a 75-yard run by Paiyhin Swan-Nault to make it 9-0.

Crocus found life midway through the second quarter when Makori hit Maurice Chartrand on back-to-back first-down passes to get into scoring position, eventually setting up a 35-yard field goal by Kendrick Breemercsh to make it 9-3.

The Plainsmen tacked on a single point after a missed field goal sailed through the end zone on their next possession, cutting the deficit to 9-4 at the half, and despite multiple Kelvin fumbles and special teams miscues in the third quarter, Crocus couldn’t turn them into points.

In the fourth quarter, Crocus conceded a second safety, pushing Kelvin’s lead to 11-4, which was just enough to stay out of reach. The Plainsmen recovered a fumble at the Kelvin 30 and picked up a first down, but an unnecessary roughness penalty stalled the drive, and a deep throw by Riley Dutchak was intercepted in the end zone, sealing their fate.

“Penalties really cost us the game with those lost yards and stuff, but overall, we didn’t play to the best of our ability,” said Breemercsh, who was the lone scorer on his team. “We just have to play smarter and give it our all next game.”

The Plainsmen will be back in action next Friday when they meet the Oak Park Raiders in Winnipeg. Makori’s status for that game is currently unknown, while starting RB Muqtadir Apena, who was sidelined for Thursday’s game after getting his wisdom teeth removed, should be drawn back into the lineup for Crocus.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com