JUNIOR VARSITY (UNDER 17) PREDICTIONS WEEK 7:
#3 MYERS RIDERS (5-0) @ CUMBERLAND PANTHERS (5-1) Sat. July 4th 14H30 Millenium Field
THE MATCHUP: Back on June 6th, the favoured Cumberland Panthers went down to Toronto and were unceremoniously shutout 21-0. The game however was closer than the score may indicate as the Panthers had their chances in the redzone and when you couple missed opportunities with SIX turnovers, victories usually aren’t the result. Outside of that blemish though, the Panthers have destroyed the opposition outscoring teams 288-25 in five games.
Myers comes in unbeaten and very strong on both sides of the ball. Defensively they are solid everywhere with standouts on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary. Myers has athletes that can fly from sideline to sideline and can hit….hard. Offensively it’s been a bit of a one-man show, with that man being JP Cimankinda. Cimankinda leads the OVFL with 1405 yards rushing, you ask how dominant has he been?? The most telltale stat has to be that the league’s second leading rusher, London’s Chase Brown is 667Ā yards behindĀ Cimankinda. But make no mistake about it, the Riders have been one dimensional by design, not out of necessity. They have athletes and can spread the ball around and if you think shutting down Cimankinda means an automatic win, you’re sadly mistaken.
MYERS PLAYERS TO WATCH: RB JP Cimankinda, DB Liam Paquette, RB Hayden Tripp, LB AJ Oickle, LB Alejandro Politis, REC Owen Clement
CUMBERLAND PLAYERS TO WATCH:Ā RB Kian Williams, DL Samuel Obiang, QB Alex Lawrie, REC Willy Dimbongi, LB Charlean Alain
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: This one should be a classic, both teams come in pretty evenly matched and clearly amongst the OVFL’s elite. Expect a high-scoring affair, yet when it comes down to the wire the Myers D will shine when needed and come up with one last big play in a game that should feature many on both sides of the ball.
FINAL SCORE: MYERS 36 CUMBERLAND 33
#1 BURLINGTON STAMPEDERS (5-0) @ #7 HAMILTON HURRICANES (4-1)Ā – Fri. July 3rd 19h00 Ron Joyce Stadium
THE MATCHUP: Burlington will be looking to extract a measure of revenge under Friday night lights in this battle of OFC heavyweights. After beating Hamilton 28-14 in the regular season last season, the Stamps fell in the conference final ending their three year winning streak. The Stampeders have looked like a team on a mission in 2015 looking to reestablish their position as the OFC’s (and maybe the province’s) best team. Off to a 5-0 start Burlington has outscored opponents 118-13 in the process. That works out to opponents averaging 2.6 points per game!
The Hurricanes have had a week off to prep for this one after suffering their first loss of 2015, a 31-24 defeat at the hands of the 5th ranked Guelph Jr. Gryphons. The Canes come into this one a slight underdog, but unlike last year most see them as Burlington’s peer.
BURLINGTON PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Kurtis Rourke, RB Nathan Langley, REC Noah Griffith
HAMILTON PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Zack Beno, REC Savaughn Magnaye Jones, RB Olivier Muembi,
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: The Hurricanes are will come out swinging and Burlington should be able to stand toe-to-toe and trade blows. Over time Burlington has a little more depth across the board and pull away in the fourth
FINAL SCORE: BURLINGTON 35 HAMILTON 23
DURHAM WEST DOLPHINS (3-2) @ #10 TORONTO THUNDER (5-1)Ā – Sat. July 4th 18h00 Pine Ridge HS
THE MATCHUP: The Toronto Thunder have been flying under the radar in their return to prominence in the OVFL. An OT loss is all that separates Toronto from an unbeaten season and they clearly have the inside track at a first round bye. For the Dolphins this isn’t a must win but with Myers and Oshawa remaining on the schedule, wins will be hard to come by and every game will be crucial as they attempt to get their own invite for the playoffs.
TORONTO PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Elijah Blake, LB Marckus Jean-Loescher, DL Chris Sabat, LB Delonte Knight, REC Shedler Fervious
DURHAM WEST PLAYERS TO WATCH: DL Jaiden Cruz, QB William Rock, RB Rasheed Tucker, LB Christian Claros-Ayala, RB/REC Bailey Grimes
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Toronto is for real and this should be on display as they will beat a good Durham squad, pulling away early in the second half in a game that although not a blowout, will never really be in doubt.
FINAL SCORE: TORONTO 29 DURHAM WEST 11
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