The Kingston Grenadiers squads of the Ontario Varsity Football League (OVFL) will be on the road to Ottawa to take on the Myers Riders in Week 6 action.
This time, it will be a bigger challenge.
On the varsity side, the Myers Riders are tops in the league with a 4-0 record. The Grenadiers are just behind them with a 4-1 record, but this is a game Head Coach Mark Magee thinks will truly test the team.
“They’re a really good team, they’re playing at a high level right now,” said Magee. “They’re throwing the ball extremely well and they’ve always got a running back or two there that can make plays.”
“It’s one of those things where we have to be ready to play good defence, but we have to also go out there and score points.”
Additonally, the Grenadiers are going to have to face a strong defence.
“They are technically sound, position sound, scheme sound and they don’t make many mistakes,” said Magee of the defence.
The Myers Riders have the league’s strongest passing game. Ontario Prospect Challenge (OPC) quarterback Jacob Spinella, who leads with 1,348 yards and 22 passing touchdowns.
Despite the Myers Riders’ strengths, Magee is optimistic that the Grenadiers can compete.
“You know what,” explained the Grenadiers Head Coach. “They’re on the schedule and we have to play them so we don’t really have a choice.”
“We have to be ready to play and we’ll do the best we can.”
As for the junior varsity Grenadiers, they too face another uphill battle after coming back from their bye week and reflecting on their close 12-8 home loss to the York Simcoe Bucs.
Their opponents this week are the Myers Riders, who are 4-0 this season. The Grenadiers come into this game with a .500 record (2-2).
The Grenadiers defence will have their hands full with offensive standout Jean-Paul Cimankinda who has 1,082 yards and 15 touchdowns so far.
Both varsity and junior varsity games are Saturday. The junior varsity game starts at 2:45 p.m while the varsity game begins at 6:00 p.m.
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