The late-season return of perennial defensive all-star Josh Brown has boosted the Saint John Wanderers’ chances of repeating as Maritime Football League champions.  Photo: Courtesy of Josh Wells

SAINT JOHN • Of the 911 points scored in the Maritime Football League this season, there’s a single point that matters most and it belongs to the Saint John Wanderers.

Here’s why: Saint John and the Moncton Mustangs finished the MFL’s regular season with 5-1 records. The arch-rivals held serve at home in their head-to-head series – 15-8 in Saint John for the Wanderers and 27-21 in Moncton for the Mustangs. The first tiebreaker is points for-and-against and the math favoured Saint John, 36-35.

Translated, the Wanderers became regular-season pennant winners and most importantly, secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. If the Mustangs have designs on avenging their 42-23 loss to the Wanderers in 2018 Maritime Bowl XVII, they will have to do so in Saint John.

All because of that one very important point.

“Yep, the value of one point - the whole dynamic of these playoffs is centred around that one point,” said Wanderers’ president and hall of famer Scott McNamee. “There’s nothing like home-field advantage, and I do mean nothing. We get great crowd support and we’re tough to beat when we play at home.”

When the semifinals open Saturday, the Wanderers will look to reach their eighth consecutive championship game when they host the Island Mariners (3-3) in a 2 p.m. kickoff at the Canada Games Stadium. The Mustangs will try to punch their ticket to a fourth straight final when the Halifax Harbour Hawks (4-2) make a house call to Moncton’s Rocky Stone Field in a 5:30 p.m. date. The winners will meet in the trenches for Maritime Bowl XVIII on Saturday, June 22.

McNamee isn’t trying to downplay the Mariners’ ability to give Saint John a run for its money, but acknowledges that first place affords the Wanderers an easier path to the final. The numbers agree: Saint John beat the PEI gridders 35-9 in Charlottetown in their only meeting this season. If the Wanderers hadn’t won the pennant tiebreaker, they would be facing the Harbour Hawks, who tested their mettle in a 27-25 victory in Saint John last month.

“Things worked out in our favour, but don’t think we will look past the Mariners,” said McNamee. “They were throwing the ball on us in our first game against them, so we’ll want to make sure we cover all the bases in the buildup to the playoffs. We will take a business-like approach into this game – the guys will be focused.”

Wanderers’ head coach J.J. Joudry and assistants Mike McGarvey and Chris Gallant have a bunch of veterans to lead this playoff run, including the late-season return of defensive gem Josh Brown – he’s a 13-time all-star who has earned five most outstanding defensive player awards, four selections as top linebacker and a spot on the MFL’s All-Decade team.

“Josh has been a monster for us, just a monster,” said McNamee. “Having Browner back… he’s been playing d-line, he’s been playing linebacker, he’s done some stuff on offence. Most of all, he brings the Josh Brown demeanour – he rallies our team like nobody else in the history of the Wanderers. He leads by example and it’s great to see.”

Toss in MFL defensive all-stars such as lineman Rob Fox, linebacker Danny Oliver and halfbacks Chris Freake and Alex McGarvey and it’s easy to see what unit will lead Saint John.

“Rob Fox is having a great season – he’s creating all kinds of havoc with his strip-tackling and sacks,” said McNamee. “The defence will lead our charge. Of that, I have no doubt.”