By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
The Houlton Junior Knights were defeated on Saturday by the visiting Caribou Huskies, 71-41, at the new Maliseet Sports Complex.
“We ran out of gas in a shootout with the Huskies,” said coach Bill Alderson.
The Knights fell behind early but recovered to take the lead behind the running of Dan McNally, Cody Condon and Nate Mooers. The Huskies tied the game, but according to Alderson, “they ran around our ends with impunity,” he said. “We could move the ball, but we began to make mistakes that killed three drives and brought back two touchdowns.”
Knight quarterback Dalton Wilde, according to his coach, did “everything he could to keep the team in it, but had to have a break.” Mooers stepped in as quarterback and went to the air with deep passes for a quick touchdown. The comeback was a bit too late.
“Our defense could not stop Caribou’s potent offense,” said Alderson.
Morgan Philips, Dillon Carmichael and Lucas Winslow each stepped forward with great catches and effort, said Alderson.
“We played a very good Caribou team that is well coached by John Frederick and Nate Defelice sparked by their awesome quarterback, who could run and pass as good as it gets,” Alderson added. “Our undefeated record is now history. We will recover. We are still blessed with a great bunch of boys and good coaches behind me. I must and do accept responsibility [for the loss], it was not my best coaching job by far.”
The Junior Knights will play Millinocket on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Maliseet Sports Complex.
