Bears come up short

The Guelph Bears faced the Twin Cities Predators in Week 5 

A tight game until the last minutes, the Bears fought hard but came up short in the last 2 minutes as the Predators went ahead on a quarterback keeper. The Twin Cities team won 27-20 and kept their perfect record intact.

The Bears went into this game 3-1, dominating their competition in the last three appearances. The Bears knew that if they stood tall against the two time defending champions, they might stand a chance in winning. The undefeated Predators came to Guelph on Friday night which promised to be one of their most difficult games of the season.

The Bears once again suffered from some unnecessary penalties that helped Twin Cities walk away with a win. Defensive Coordinator Josh Prior says if they want to win next week, they need to “continue to get better, fix the mistakes and get ready for the Niagara Storm.”

This week the Bears were stellar on Special Teams. Each week they have had a versatile offense with plenty of yards in both the air and on the ground. The defense is always reliable and each player plays an intricate part in the team’s success. This week, Special Teams stood up and helped the Bears put points on the board however.

Defensive back Nick Parisotto returned a missed field goal 106 yards for a touchdown this week. This sparked the team and allowed the Bears to keep the game close throughout. They continually took advantage of every opportunity they had to score points. Michael Webber took a kick off return back for six points this week as well. More than half of the Bears points came from their Special Teams on Friday night.

The Bears offense had some troubles this week as they faced an extremely well coached defense from the Predators team. Once again the Bears had a handful of ball carriers ensuring fresh legs were on the field at all times. All four backs this week had a combined 151 yards with the leading rusher being Michael Webber.

Head Coach Jeremy MacLeod talks highly of the player’s performance this week. “The entire team played extremely well this week. I am very proud of my boys this weekend. It was a tough loss.”

Once again, the Bears defense was exciting to watch. Coach Jeremy tells CFC, “It’s hard to pick out key players on defense when they all played extremely well.”

The highlight players this week helped keep the Predators from running away with a big victory. Stewart VanderMade made his presence very well-known once again this weekend. He continually stood up the Preds running game and made some crucial stops all night long. Parisotto was credited with 13 solo tackles in Friday’s game leading the team with tackles. Avery Reyner had a timely fumble recovery for the Bears and helped out with a few tackles of his own.

Going into the game, the Bears knew they had to play almost perfectly if they wanted to beat the undefeated competition. Coach MacLeod says, “We were able to keep the score within one, which means that come playoffs, it could be anyone’s game.” The Bears hope that their inaugural season in the OFC is successful and they hope to win more games as the season progresses. The Bears are now looking ahead to a spot in the playoffs.

Looking ahead to next week, the Bears will be focusing on fundamentals and cutting out the penalties. Coach Prior says the team is looking ahead to their game with the Niagara Storm and ends by saying, ““Sticking to our game plan has been the key to our success all year. We need to continue to do so and play a full 60 minutes if we want to beat the elite teams in this league.”

 

@JakeBellamyPR