Football Canada Cup Preview: Team Ontario West anticipates and prepares for tough competition in quest for gold medal

Underhill knows the competition will be tough in London, Ontario because as it gives an opportunity for provinces to showcase their top players in a national tournament.  A challenge is the short amount of time each team has to gel as a team while learning the team’s game strategy plans.  However, the Team Ontario West head coach is keeping his eye on one team in particular.

“It’s some of the best players in the country and I believe all teams will be able to feature some of the best talent football has to offer,” comments Underhill of the tournament.  “The challenge for most teams is trying to insert schemes, systems and philosophies and be able to execute in such a short period of time.”

“Like always, I suspect Quebec will be the team to beat as they are consistently strong year in and year out.”

As for the Team Ontario West, the squad looks to be equally competitive by tapping into their key strengths in the hopes of successful game execution during the tournament.

“I think Ontario West is very athletic especially in the skilled positions, which will allow us to take advantage of possible opponent mismatches and give us the chance to make big plays on one side of the ball and create some opportunities on the defensive side of the ball,” assesses Underhill of the team.

Team Ontario West’s offensive unit will be led by the quarterback tandem of James Roberts and Kyle VanWynesberghe as well as its strong yet quick core of receivers.

“James Roberts, and Kyle VanWynesberghe are both equal and offer no drop off in terms of skill and performance,” explains Underhill.  “The receiving core is fast with the likes of Daniel Petermann and Malik Richards to name a few, but anyone from the unit may rise to the challenge and put up substantial yards.”

On defense, the team will rely on the experience of linebacker Drew Walden, and a trio of defensive backs in Nick Perrisotto, Jadon Johnson, and A.J. Thompson to lead the unit and make key plays at critical moments in games.

“Offensively, we hope to run a balance style of attack while defensively we want to be able to move guys around and keep teams guessing,” adds the Team Ontario West head coach of the style of football that the squad will bring onto the field during the tournament.

All the players on the squad are committed in achieving their goal and are grateful to have the opportunity to play on a national stage.

“We have a great group of young men who are making sacrifices and putting personal issues on hold so that they can help Ontario West win a gold medal,” comments Underhill.  “We appreciate all the supporters, volunteers and staff that make this tournament possible, and would like to thank them for their numerous efforts and contributions.”

Team Ontario West Staff:

Head Coach:  Rob Underhill
Assistant Coaches:  BIll Brown, Donovan Carter, Nick Henderson, Illyas Zylstra, Chris Bertoia, Scott Evans

Team Ontario West Roster:
Number, Last Name, First Name, Position:

30 Bennett, Javhari RB
83 Bertian, Tudor REC
90 Bowen, Tevan DL
19 Burdett, Ian DB
84 Carrier, Charles REC
20 Chaka, Malcolm LB
59 Denis, Eric OL
60 Doucette, Christopher OL
50 Drouillard, Derek DL
51 Duplin, Ray LB
31 Elad, Stanislaus RB
14 Ferraro, Gabriel K/P
21 Francois, Justin DB
31 Howard, Jonathon RB
61 Howlett, Ben OL
27 Johnson, Jaden RB
22 Jones-Peter, Jamaal DB
33 Knapp, Thomas RB
54 Kutlesa, Brendan DL
23 Love, Dayvon DB
80 Marcus, Zach REC
81 Mboko, Esaie REC
62 Methner, Myles OL
64 O’Henly, Tyler OL
64 Olah, Addison LB
24 Parisotto, Nick DB
85 Petermann, Daniel REC
86 Richards, Malik REC
9 Roberts, James QB
82 Smith, Carlton REC
99 Smith, Kyle DL
65 Sprukulis, Dan OL
25 Thompson, A.J. DB
66 Thun, Nicholas OL
12 VanWynsberghe, Kyle QB
57 Wainkem, Hanson LB
52 Walden, Drew LB
29 White, Robbie DB
55 Wilken, Adam LB
78 Ziebart, Andrew DL

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