OFC Preview: Stakes high as Hurricanes, Cougars battle

With only two weeks of regular season action remaining in the 2013 season, the playoff picture has continued to grow increasingly complicated over the past few weeks, as two teams in particular are now looking to separate themselves from the rest of the pack and secure what they hope will be home field advantage throughout the entire playoffs – the Hamilton Hurricanes and the St. Leonard Cougars.

Both teams, along with the Windsor AKO Fratmen, have a winning record of 5-1 in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC), and are currently ranked in the top five of the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) Power Ranking List.

All season long, the Hurricanes have maintained the top ranked position in the entire Conference for both the offense and defense. The Cougars, on the other hand, are right behind the Hurricanes with the second fewest points allowed on defense, and the number three highest offense, which is only slightly above the Windsor AKO Fratmen, and right behind the surging Ottawa Sooners, who despite starting the season with three consecutive losses, somehow managed to defeat the powerful Hurricanes in Week 5 action by a score of 31-28. It should also be noted that the Cougars defeated the Sooners in Week 1 action by a score of 18-10.

And to complicate things even further, the AKO Fratmen beat the Cougars in Week 3 by a score of 30-20, and the Hurricanes beat the AKO Fratmen in Week 4 by a dominant score of 36-3.

So basically, with only two weeks remaining – it’s anyone’s game.

Leading the offense for the Hurricanes is the number one ranked offensive scorer in the entire OFC, wide receiver Matt Coates, who leads the conference with nine touchdowns and 54 points. Matt also has 503 yards on the season (ranked third in the conference) as a result of 26 receptions.

Other notable Hurricane players include; kicker/punter Bobby Frame who has 39 points and a whopping 24 conversion points, wide receiver Andrin Masotti who has six touchdowns (second most in the conference) by way of 36 receptions (most in the conference) for a total of 543 yards and 36 offensive points, running back Ryan Kotar who has 31 carries for 248 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Kyle Sewell who has successfully completed 60 passes on 105 attempts for 984 yards, 10 touchdowns, and an efficiency rating of 104.6 (the highest in the conference).

Leading the Hurricanes defense is linebacker Farouk Musa who has 17 tackles, five assists, two quarterback sacks, two fumble recoveries, two touchdowns, and an impressive defensive total of 65 points.

On the Cougars side of the ball, running back Duqueslin Pierre-Louis is leading the league with 523 yards off of 87 carries resulting in two touchdowns, and quarterback Nicolas Lepine has over 197 rushing yards off of 29 carries resulting in three touchdowns, plus he’s successfully completed 63 passes on 116 attempts for 997 yards and six touchdowns. Unfortunately, Nicolas also leads the conference with 10 interceptions, resulting in a lower efficiency rating of 64.48, which is the second lowest in the conference.

Other notable Cougar players include; kicker Anthony-James Gomes who has 33 offensive points, punt returner Jean-Fritz Charles who ran for 16 carries and 281 yards, and Jean-Jacques Janvier Jr. who had 21 carries on punt return for 251 yards and seven carries on kick-off return for 256 yards.

Leading the Cougars defense is defensive lineman Cedrick Legros who has 23 tackles, six assists, two quarterback sacks, one fumble recovery, and a total of 68 points.

So there you go, football fans…

In a nutshell, these two teams are very evenly matched in many aspects. Both have a lot to lose, and even more to gain.

So who do you think is going to win?

Find out this Saturday night as the Cougars visit the Hurricanes at the Mohawk Sports Complex in Hamilton. Game starts at 7:30 p.m. sharp.

You won’t want to miss it.