CFCFPC Ottawa (RECAP): Ontario All-stars emerge victors in dogfight with Team BCHS (Gr 11)

In the inaugural Fox 40 Battle of the Best (Gr. 11), Team Ontario sent Team BC back to the Pacific Coast with a loss after taking the game 27-14 in a chilly Saturday night match-up at MNP Park.

Both teams came into the game hungry, but Team Ontario got the first bite off the opening kickoff. After kicking to Team BC, Ontario brought the pressure and forced a fumble in BC’s own red zone. Receiver Michael Lehmann recovered the ball, which would eventually set up quarterback CFC100 James Keenan, who would call his own number and run it in for a touchdown. With the point after blocked, it was 6-0 Ontario 1:40 minutes into the first.

Not to be outdone, with 4:58 left in the first, receiver Bradley Hladik reeled in an amazing pass to give BC their first major. The point after was successful, making it 7-6 Team BC.

Off a booming kick, Ontario’s linebacker, CFC100 Malik Yusuf, would return the ball to BC’s 52-yard line. Ontario soon attempted a 37-yard field goal, however they failed to sink it through the uprights. BC would advance the ball to their own 22-yard line in the final moments of the first quarter.

After regaining possession of the ball, a miscommunication would result in an Ontario fumble on their own 22-yard line. BC would not capitalize on the fumble recovery. Instead, Ontario would take the ball back deep in their end. Running back Kieron Yearwood pushed the ball out to Ontario’s 40-yard line on a 35-yard run. Quarterback CFC100 Connor Irwin-Lewis then threw a 30-yard pass to receiver Kevin Victome. Receiver CFC100 Hono Iloki soon found the end zone, but a penalty flag would negate the score. At the end of the first half, BC still led 7-6.

Kickoff fumble recovery ✅
Mid air snag for TD ✅
Blocked PAT attempt ✅
50+ yard kick off return ✅
12 minutes in. Don’t miss even more.

— Grant (@AsGrantAsItGets) May 6, 2017

“It was high, physical and we were in a dogfight. At half time, we told them, this is what we want. We want to be in a dogfight; we want to be in a football game,” Blaine Scatcherd, the head coach of Team Ontario, said.

In the second half, there was a major shift in momentum. Team BC’s head coach Ray Moon had this to say: “Well, the first half I felt we held our own. The second half, we let a lot of big plays go and that slowly started eating away at us.”

At 5:10 in the third quarter, Keenan called his number again, giving Ontario six more points. After a failed two-point convert attempt, Ontario led 12-7. On a late field goal attempt by Team BC, defensive back Dwayne Clark got a piece of the ball, swatting it safely aside to keep the score 12-7 Ontario with 2:08 left before the start of the fourth.

Five minutes into the fourth, Ontario’s Yearwood would add another touchdown and a successful two-point convert to make it 20-7. At 2:38 left in the game, Iloki added another touchdown for Ontario with a successful point after attempt.

Team BC did not go quietly into the night, however. In the dying seconds of the game, a fumble recovery on a high snap positioned them on Ontario’s 25-yard line. With 36 seconds left, receiver Julien Andrew Perri hauled in the ball in the end zone. Ontario held on to win 27-14.

“I thought that it was a good football game, two talented teams,” Scatcherd said. “Our guys just won. Our offensive line took control, our backs stuck it and our defense made some small adjustments that, in the end, led us to victory.”

He added that, “It was fun. I miss university football sometimes and these are the type of games that you want to get involved in, good football.”

Moon admitted that the outcome was somewhat disappointing, but he praised Team Ontario. “Ontario is a great team. They’ve got some great players. They had a really strong run game,” he said. “I felt we defended their pass game in general pretty good, but during the second half, they did get some long balls, which was blown coverage here and there. But, it happens.”

With both teams only having one practice to gel, Moon said he wished they had more of an opportunity to unify as a team.

“We had a great time coming out. The only thing we wish is that we could get together more than once…Ontario was the same way. It was kind of even in that end of things,” he said. “We enjoy coming out for these competitions and we like bringing our best foot forward. Next time, hopefully we will have a different conclusion let’s say.”