'Probably the most emotional day of my life': Holland Hurricanes' football player forces five turnovers after attending funeral

After attending his grandfather's funeral, John MacGillvray plays starring role in semifinal win over UNB

From saying goodbye to a loved one to playing the game of his career, John MacGillvray will always remember Oct. 24, 2026.

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“It was probably the most emotional day of my life,” said MacGillvray.

MacGillvray attended the funeral of his grandfather, Cyril MacKenzie, in Little Pond, P.E.I., at 11 a.m. MacGillvray then headed to Charlottetown, where the Holland Hurricanes were hosting the UNB Reds in an early-afternoon Atlantic Football League semifinal game at MacAdam Field on the UPEI campus.

MacGillvray arrived and was on the Hurricanes sideline to begin playing the second quarter, playing a big role in the team’s 39-10 victory.

“Leaving the funeral, I was obviously distraught,” MacGillvray told The Guardian in a phone interview on Oct. 26. “I love my grandfather so much and it’s hard to say goodbye to him.”

MacGillvray said strong support from his entire family played a big factor in his decision to play.

“They were with me every step of the way,” said MacGillvray. “They helped me realize that I should be playing for him (MacKenzie) and that’s where he would have been on Saturday if he was still with us.

“I had a lot of support behind me and, hopefully, I did the right thing and made him proud.”

MacGillvray, who plays defensive back and handles the place-kicking duties for the Hurricanes, certainly did his part. MacGillvray proceeded to have a career game – three interceptions and two fumble recoveries – on defence while kicking a 37-yard field goal and successfully converting four of five points after touchdowns.

“He had five turnovers, himself, after playing three quarters of the game, coming from a very hard day,” said Hurricanes head coach Jeremy Pike. “He got our game ball for player of the game at the end of the day, and I just thought that was an awesome performance in the middle of a difficult week for him and his family.”

To put MacGillvray’s performance in perspective, Pike explained for a defensive back to get three interceptions over the course of a season is considered a good season, let alone in three quarters.

“It was crazy,” added Pike.

MacGillvray confirmed the three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries, were career highs for one game. MacGillvray added he had three interceptions in total last season.

And each time MacGillvray created a turnover, he immediately thought of his grandfather.

“I just thought everything was happening because of him,” said MacGillvray. “It was God’s will for it to happen for me.”

That close family support MacGillvray referred to continued at the game. MacGillvray’s grandparents, Jackie and Oswald MacGillvray, were in the stands for the UNB game.

“They were so proud of me after the game,” said MacGillvray. “They were telling me my grandfather was looking down on me and he was proud.”

MacGillvray has a strong connection to P.E.I., which played a big role in his decision to attend Holland College. MacGillvray’s parents, Don and Lorraine MacGillvray, are both from Souris. His mother, as well as his aunt Jacinta Stewart, both attended Holland College.

MacGillvray is also originally from Souris, but his family moved to Hamilton, Ont., when he was young.

The 19-year-old MacGillvray is a second-year student in the sport and recreation management program and would like to pursue a career in football.

But there’s still another chapter left to be written in the 2026 season for MacGillvray and the Hurricanes. The AFL championship game between the Hurricanes and the undefeated Dalhousie Tigers will be played in Halifax on Oct. 31 at 4 p.m.

“I see us matching up pretty fair with them,” said MacGillvray. “I feel like we can step with them in every way and have a chance to pull this off.”

Pike said the Tigers are a good team Holland College respects, but the Hurricanes will be prepared for the opportunity.

“We know the mistakes that have cost us against them in the past, and we’re working on correcting those things this week,” said Pike. “It’s not like it’s too daunting of a task or a team we can’t think we can handle. The guys are up for it and they’re excited about it.”

The Hurricanes will look to carry the momentum of strong play in all facets of the game into the conference final.

“Offence, defence and special teams all played really well (against UNB), which was great,” said Pike, who was especially pleased with how the Hurricanes handled some pressure early in the second half.

The Hurricanes led 16-3 at halftime, and UNB scored a touchdown at the start of the third quarter to cut the lead to 16-10. The Reds got the ball back and were driving for a potential go-ahead score when defensive back Gabe Duffney turned in a game-changing interception around the Holland College 10-yard line.

“I was really glad that the guys didn’t panic; didn’t get worried; just kept doing our thing, and then we pulled away a little bit in the fourth,” said Pike. “It was nice that we had a little adversity and handled it well and then closed out strong.”

Offensively, Pike was pleased with how the Hurricanes combined the passing and running games effectively.

“It was awesome because we scored five total touchdowns, and they were scored by five different players,” said Pike. “That’s really great whenever you can spread the ball around like that.”

Quarterback Grayson Fox threw touchdown passes to Mike Henneberry, Makhi Magloir and Noah Amos. Fox and Pierce Saunders scored touchdowns running the ball.

“Our team played excellent, overall,” said MacGillvray. “Our offence was executing; our defence was executing; our special teams were executing. We played disciplined football, and we just took it to them. We beat them hardcore.”

From the source Jason Simmonds is a sports reporter at The Guardian in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @JpsportsJason.

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