OVFL PREVIEW: The Bucs are Back

Photo courtesy Jake Gordon

Last year start through three games:
Varsity: N/A
Junior Varsity: N/A

Last year finish:
Varsity: N/A
Junior Varsity: N/A

Players to watch:

DL Vaughn Keeble
LB Kenton Gamble
OL Devin Baker
QB John Baird

Varsity

Newmarket Bucs varsity head coach Mike Lepore is the man leading the team in their inaugural OVFL season, a team he says is stacked with local talent.

The Bucs, the end product of a merger between the OVFL’s Newmarket Storm and the Ontario Football Conference’s York Simcoe Bucs, will take the field in their new form May 28 against the Metro Toronto Wildcats and Lepore says he’s already gotten a first-hand look at what to expect.

“I had two of my coaches go down and take in (the Wildcat) game (Wednesday) against Marham,” he said. “Those are my first two games, my season opener against the Wildcats, my home opener against Markham.”

But it isn’t just preparation that may give the Bucs an edge against the Wildcats and other opponents. Lepore says off-season recruiting was incredibly beneficial and that they have talent from across the York region.

“A lot of the kids and even some of the coaches are calling this the York region all-start team with the amount of kids that we have,” he said.

Lepore adds that the combination of the Storm and old Bucs went very well thanks to the work of both teams’ executives.

“From the beginning I told (the executives) I didn’t want to be involved in the politics, just make it happen. (It was a) very smooth transition,” he said.

Players that opposing offenses will need to watch for include defensive end Vaughn Keeble of King City. The coach calls Keeble fast, sleek and says he has a good eye for following the flow of plays.

Also on defense is Kenton Gamble, a strong linebacker that Lepore says secures and shuts down plays well. Gamble led the JV Storm last season in tackles with 30 solo and 45 tackle assists.

Another former-Storm player making the move to the new-look Bucs is receiver Michael Cleghorn. Cleghorn played a limited role last season with the varsity team, pulling down only eight receptions with no touchdowns. However, Lepore says he anticipates Cleghorn will make some noise this year.

“(He has) great hands, great speed, and plays with a lot of intensity,” he said.

Sitting under centre for the Bucs will be Josh Baird, another King City product with a good eye for reading defenses and a strong arm. Baird is new to the OVFL, having not played with the Storm last season.

It will be an interesting year for the Bucs and Lepore says the emphasis all season will be on continued improvement.

“We’re going in with the mentality of: guys, let’s have a productive team. Let’s get better every down, let’s get better every quarter,” he said. “And when we walk out of this thing … when the dust clears, we hold our head high. The Bucs are back.”

Junior Varsity

Rain, injuries and unconventional practice locations could have KOed the JV Bucs to start this season but, according to the head coach, the team is full of troopers.

We have really bad field situations in York region… our kids have to get ready so we’re doing practices in the parking lot and on the roads,” said JV head coach Jim Mancuso. “But the team’s not complaining about it. They’re making a real effort to just roll with the punches.”

Mancuso, in his sixth season with the Bucs organization, says the team is talented but early injuries may force some of the younger players to step up.

Defensively, the coach sees a big season coming from lineman Nick LeBlond. On the other side of the ball, the coach anticipates right tackle Devin Baker, a 300-pounder with good movement, will battle hard in the trenches.

One position with less certainty for the Bucs is quarterback.

“We’re three deep at quarterback and there’s a good competition going on,” Mancuso said.

Mancuso hasn’t designated a starter yet because all three are playing too well.

“They’re all actually very good …they all keep on showing up and playing great. It’s causing us problems,” he says with a laugh.

The coach says this season will be a learning process for the kids, coaches and management alike but that he thinks his roster has an all-for-one, one-for-all mentality.

“It’s our first year. We’re just trying to figure out what’s it all about in the OVFL,” he said. “What we do have is a good team. These are good kids. There’s very much of a full team concept going on here.”