OFC: Braves keep playoff hopes alive

Braves win against Predators keep the playoff hopes alive

The Braves scored all the points until near the end of the third quarter, including a safety for the Twin Cities Predators resulting from a bad snap on a punt. In the defensive match up, the half time score was 13-2. In the fourth quarter, the Braves were plagued by penalties which gave the Predators several scoring chances. With strong defence in the final seconds of the game, the Braves came out on top 23-17.

Quarterback Lucas Spagnuolo had a strong game with the most rushing yards of any player in the game with 79 yards in nine carries. He passed for 149 yards, 96 to Jason Diston who pulled in the long bombs three times, another 20-yards was on a touchdown pass to Matt Scott at 11:51 in the second quarter.

After the major, the defensive pressure held the Predators to three and out, with a 46-yard completion setting up the first of three Ryan Lambert field goals. He had eleven points with the two converts added in. On the next Predator possession Dragan Kunac intercepted a first-down pass which set up the second field goal.

After the break, both teams had a tough defence. Another completion to Diston set up a one-yard scramble for Kareem Blake to put the score to 20-2. The Kitchener-Waterloo squad responded with their own points, a field goal before the close of the third. Burlington opened the fourth the longest Lambert field goal of the game, 37 yards. The fourth period was wild with penalties that put the Predators in the end zone with just under seven minutes to the game. A field goal with just over two minutes gave the KW team hope.

The score inspired the Predators and the penalties kept coming on the Braves. Predator quarterback Corey Prince was lighting up his receivers and Keaton Jones had a 36-yard, side-line catch that kept the Predators drive going. A safety with thirty seconds left, made it a one-score game. The game hung in the balance on the Predators’ final passing play with four seconds left on the clock.

The kickers had a workout in the game, Burlington’s Kevin Kitamura had 11 punts for 485 yards, Charles Smith of the Predators had 12 punts for 574. There were seven fumbles total, and remarkably, the ball never changed possession as a result.

Mayvon Wassel carried the ball 17 times for 55 yards and Steve Connery led the defence with five tackles, Beckstead had four, Kunac added two to his interception. Daniel Kearns had two tackles and another two on special teams.

“Any win on the road is a good win and I thought the players showed real character battling both the Preds and the penalties,” said head coach Neil Lumsden, “ Again the defense was tremendous and performed very well especially in the fourth quarter when the Preds were threatening.”

The win sets up a showdown with the Ottawa Sooners this Sunday at 5pm. The winner will have a play-off birth. The team is looking for the community to be the 13th player by filling the stands and making noise. In addition, the game is going to be a celebration of the BMFA, with a pink game to show support for breast cancer awareness.

photo credit Tracy Morency