Finch or McPhee? Saturday’s OUA final to settle debate

With less than 48 hours to go, Saturday’s OUA final will truly determine which Burlington, Ontario quarterback is the biggest dog in the yard.

Westerns Will Finch and Queens Billy McPhee, both highly recruited and highly respected, will resume the latest chapter in a football rivalry that dates all the way back to junior high school.

Larry Jusdanis, their former mentor and trainer, says both players have the ability to make this a duel for the ages.

“Billy is an athlete!” (He’s) strong, fast and has a huge arm — probably the strongest in the CIS.  He is also very confident, which is a good trait to have.”

And Finch?

“He has great mechanics and accuracy. He makes plays and has this certain calmness about him — rare traits that are very important,” said Jusdanis.

“Will also has an uncanny ability to avoid the big hit and is a very good athlete — better than people think.”

A former quarterback himself and star with the Acadia Axemen, Jusdanis broke numerous CIS records and received a full scholarship to the University of Central Florida. He was later drafted by the BC Lions, played eight games for the Hamilton Tiger Cats and had minor stints with the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes.

More importantly, Jusdanis was the last Canadian quarterback to start a CFL game and believes both Finch and McPhee are capable of being the next.

“In any athlete, the ‘IT’ factor is what you are looking for,” said Jusdanis. “Can they lead other men? Are they willing to put in the extra time? Are they willing to be coached?”

“When they walk in the room, are they the big dawg?”

“These two have IT.”

Jusdanis first started working with Finch and McPhee when they were in eighth and ninth grade respectively. He helped hone their skills at his Sport Specific Training centre, focusing on quarterback drills and speed development.

Finch, who in 2013, set CIS records with a 67.9 completion percentage and 3047 passing yards, says training early with Jusdanis helped him diagnose defensive schemes that were far beyond his experience level.

“Most players don’t learn about cut, hold to man, or zone to cover three until their senior year of high school,” he said. “Larry engrains that into your head at a very young age and it makes it easy from then on.”

Finch especially credits Jusdanis and his Appleby training sessions for helping turn his weakness into strengths.

“We would get so much work done in just an hour,” said Finch. “You figure out your worst attribute and you build on it; by the end, your worst attribute is just as good as everything else.”

While receiving plenty of notoriety themselves, Finch and McPhee are also putting the city of Burlington on the map. With a population of only 175,779 tallied in 2011, Jusdanis says, with the help of their success, the city is growing into a “hot bed” for football in Canada.

“I know there are many other cities like Ottawa that produce great players — but for a small market — Burlington has been outstanding,” said Jusdanis. “The main reason — coaching from the likes of Tony Mandalfino, Danny Brannagan, Mike Finch, Neil Lumsden, Chris Gioskis, and many more.

“These kids are exposed to some great coaching every day.”

Looking ahead to the final, the game may come down to which team wins the turnover battle, or which quarterback has the ball last. And after defeating Queens 50-31 earlier this season, Western is sure to be confident.

Nevertheless, in a battle of two “big dawg” quarterbacks — at 1 p.m. on Saturday — it will be interesting to see which one has the biggest bite.