By Matt Conrad, Sports Columnist
Did you know that the Maritimes has its very own football league? The MFL (Maritime Football League) has been around since 2001. Halifax won the Championship in its inaugural year. Halifax actually has two Teams! As of 2022 the league has seven teams. Those teams are based in Halifax (two Team’s), Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton, Quispamsis, and Charlottetown. This year will be the first year that the league makes the change to 12-man Canadian football but with a twist of four downs as opposed to three, a significant improvement, if you ask this football player/fan.
The Halifax Harbour Hawks, a team established in 2018, were founded by Kelly and Micah Brown. Kelly is the general manager and deputy League commissioner, while Micah is the head coach.
Micah comes with a lengthy football background. His accolades include being an eight time champion, spread across different leagues, a world champion with US national team and a spot in the European Hall of fame.
The league itself has a large mix of young talent and senior players who have built a name for themselves in the football community. The league has players who have gone to CFL combines, tryouts and have played in the CFL and Europe. Mixed with young guys looking to make a name for themselves when they try out for university football. As well as old guys like me who just cannot seem to let go of a sport they love.
The team was building huge momentum when COVID hit and cancelled the season in 2020.
The pandemic continued its disruption of the league in 2021 as well with only the New Brunswick teams playing each other. Now, 2 years later, The Hawks look to build on that momentum. With sixty players on the roster, all looking to bring a championship back to Nova Scotia, looking to dethrone the repeat champions Moncton Mustangs.
Although pre-season workouts have been happening for months, the league’s season opener starts Saturday April 30th. The regular season will run 7 weeks, followed by the playoffs. The Championship game is scheduled for June 25th. The league kicks off with the local rivalry. The Nova Scotia Buccaneers will host the Halifax Harbour Hawks. Kickoff is at 7:30pm at the Cole Harbour Turf field.
For the remaining Halifax Harbour Hawks home games, please follow them on Facebook. See you there!
