2023 CFC Prospect Game on TSN (RECAP/MVP)

Team Sanchez RB Ethan Dahl

We couldn’t have asked for a better day to host the third annual CFC Prospect Game on TSN at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, ON with Team Davis Sanchez looking to defend his throne against Team Milt Stegall.

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Each prospect arrived on Tuesday night at the Ottawa Gee-Gees facilities to begin preparations for gameday, including a rigorous schedule featuring four practices, team meetings, plus recruiting and media sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.

With little time to get acclimated to their new coaches, teammates and playbooks, it’s no surprise the defence held the upper hand in the first quarter. Team Sanchez looked like they were going to march the entire field on their opening drive led by QB Will Russell, but a pair of huge plays in the red zone by DB Anthony Backer and DB Karifa Magath Camara set the tone for a low scoring first half.

The first points of the game came on a safety by Team Stegall, who decided to concede the two points to try and flip the field. The plan initially looked like a wise one with Team Stegall eventually getting the ball into field goal range midway through the second quarter, but an unfortunate attempt by K Olly Sankar ended up in the hands of Team Sanchez DB Logan Swann, who took a one-way ticket to the end zone for the first touchdown of the day to put his squad ahead 8-0.

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It wasn’t until the dying moments of the first half that Team Stegall sprung to life after a timely interception by DB Sadraque Zinga. Replacement QB Ben Casselman made the most of the turnover leading his troops down to the goal line with just 14 second left on the clock. He decided to make the easy decision to lob up a jump ball to 6’7″ WR Antoine Goupil, who made a spectacular catch over the defender to cut Team Sanchez’s lead to 8-6 heading into the break.

After earning two more points on a safety to begin the second half, it was time for the RB Ethan Dahl show in Ottawa. Russell made a pinpoint pass with pressure in his face to Dahl in the flats, and then the big man out of Argyle Secondary took care of the rest rumbling 52 yards to the end zone to increase their lead to 16-6 early in the third quarter. It didn’t take long for Russell to march Team Sanchez back down the field, and once again it was Dahl waiting to capitalize on the opportunity with a two yard plunge across the goal line to extend the gap to 22-6 with 5:07 remaining in the third frame.

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The score would stay that way with each team trading possessions until Team Stegall DE Jayden Arenas-Michel looked to spark a comeback with an incredible interception in the backfield to set up his team in scoring range with 6:52 left in the game. Unfortunately, the pendulum would swing back in favour of Team Sanchez on the ensuring possession with DB Michael Roman snagging an interception in the end zone on third down to keep Team Stegall off the board.

Team Stegall would make one last push with Casselman showing off his legs on a 17 yard race to the pylon, but they couldn’t capitalize on the two-point conversation leaving them on the outside looking in down 22-12 with just 1:43 remaining. DB Njita Sinkala tried his best to manifest a miracle with an interception on the goal line with 29 seconds left, but Team Sanchez DT Carson Hartmann and LB Joel Nyandoro had a different set of plans converging on Casselman in the backfield for the safety to bring an end to a gritty 24-12 victory for Team Sanchez.

TEAM SANCHEZ MVPs

Team MVP – RB Ethan Dahl
Offensive MVP – QB Will Russell
Defensive MVP – DE Kayden Roop

TEAM STEGALL MVPs

Team MVP – DB Sadraque Zinga
Offensive MVP – WR Antoine Goupil
Defensive MVP – DE Jayden Arenas-Michel

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