P.E.I.'s Pierce Saunders brings versatility to football Hurricanes

Pierce Saunders understands the magnitude of the moment.

The Prince Edward Islander is in his third season with the Holland Hurricanes, who will host an Atlantic Football League playoff game for the first time since 2017. The Hurricanes and UNB will meet in a semifinal game on MacAdam Field at UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place in Charlottetown on Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.

“It means a lot because when we do have a home game, we always have a lot of fans there,” said the 20-year-old Saunders, who’s from Hunter River. “It’s huge support and just having the crowd behind us means a lot.”

The opportunity to play in a playoff game is also not lost on Saunders, who missed the first three games of the regular season with an injury suffered playing rugby in late July.

“It’s very, very different because this time of year it feels like playoffs and it feels like the season’s just about over and you (only) got a few weeks left because you’ve been through the whole three-month process,” said Saunders, a product of the Cornwall minor football program.

“For me, I’m just getting into it, so I’m just really excited to play.”

Saunders’s primary position is running back, but he also plays full back and tight end depending on injuries and offensive formations.

“Pierce is an awesome kid,” said Hurricanes head coach Jeremy Pike. “It’s his third year on the team, so he’s a veteran; a hard worker; has a great attitude; will do anything for the team.

“Pierce gives us a lot of flexibility because he’s a great running back, but he’s also a great receiver. He’s also a great blocker. We can use him in some different situations, whether it’s a pass game or a run game.”

Saunders has previous experience playing tight end.

“Just not as much as I’m playing now, but it’s nothing I can’t do,” said Saunders. “It’s just looking at it from a different lens.”

Regardless of the position, Saunders’s goal is to contribute any way he can towards team success.

“It’s just bringing my best all the time and just making sure I do my job; hit my blocks and just doing as much as I can because I know all these guys have been through a long season and they’ve been pretty banged up,” said Saunders. “Now I’m fresh and it’s my time to bring what I can.”

The running game could be a big factor this time of the year, noted Pike.

“That’s been something that we really focused on this year on both sides of the ball – on offence being able to run it and then on defence being able to stop the run,” said Pike. “Those two things have been a bit of an Achilles heel in the past for us in the playoffs, so we’ve put a ton of focus on that throughout the regular season.

“I think we’ve improved on both sides of the ball there.”

The Hurricanes take a 4-2 (won-lost) record into the semifinal game against UNB (2-4). Pike described the Hurricanes’ regular season as solid.

“I think it’s the first time in a long time that we’ve gone 2-O against UNB,” said Pike. “Typically, in my time here we’ve ended up against them in the semis, but it’s been at UNB, so nice to obviously be able to host a playoff game for the first time in a long time and get Islanders and local football fans out to a game that’s not just a regular-season game. We’re excited about that.”

The winner will face first-place Dalhousie (6-0) in the conference championship game.

“It’s about ramping things up a little bit in the playoffs; making sure we’re smart and we execute, and we take care of our job; not worry too much about the opponent, just do what we got to do,” said Pike. “If we do that, we should be fine, but not anything we can take for granted. We know it’ll be a tough game and, we have to bring it.”

Jason Simmonds is the sports editor at The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at jsimmonds@postmedia.com and followed on X @JpsportsJason.