Hamilton Hurricanes dampen the Braves’ home opener

Nelson Stadium was packed with fans of all ages. Excitement was in the air for the opening kick-off of the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) junior season opener. It was a sign of things to come when the Braves went three and out on the team’s first possession against local rival, the Hamilton Hurricanes. The final score was 27-7.

The first half was closely matched with the Hurricanes’ Matt Coates scoring nine minutes into the game. Cory Raposo had a major ten minutes into the second quarter. The Braves fought back with a Brody Essery touchdown and a Ryan Lambert convert with 18 seconds left on the clock before the break which had 14-7 Hurricanes.

After the half the Braves came out strong but weren’t able to take advantage of Luke Pearsall’s interception. The Hurricanes quarterback Matt Frances had an excellent passing game. The Braves defence held tough and the Hamilton squad had to settle for one field goal in the third and another in the early part of the fourth as a result of a Steve Connery sack in addition to eight tackles for the game.

For their part, the Hurricanes defence was able to break up Lucas Spagnuolo’s passes making it tough for the Braves to open up scoring opportunities from the backfield. Spagnuolo held tough and scrambled when he spotted an opening. The most notable was 48-yard dash which put the Braves in the red zone in the last minute of play. Fumbles, interceptions and penalty trouble made it tough for the Braves to score during the game, and this was true of the last scoring opportunity.

The Hurricanes scored their last touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 50-yard run by Ryan Kotar. The ‘Canes defence was led by Matt Brady with a sack, a fumble recovery, an interception, Eric Cornell had four tackles and an interception, Spencer Skidmore added a fumble recovery and four tackles. Kicker Chris Bartolomeo was spot on for the night, perfect for three converts and two field goals. His average kick-off was 50 yards, which pinned the Braves in the backfield.

For the Braves, Luke Pearsall contributed a pick and seven tackles, Bryan Cook had another six and Dragan Kunac five tackles.

“We have a young team and I knew this would be a great learning experience against a highly skilled and veteran team.” said head coach Neil Lumsden. “Now we have to take another step forward in our development this Friday.”

The well-attended game was cause for much celebration despite the loss. Former Braves player Lee Knight had his jersey retired in a moving ceremony at half-time. Former Braves head coach, Bernie Custis, the first visible minority professional quarterback, was on hand to do the coin toss for the adoring crowd.

The second part of the home and home series takes place Friday September 2 at Ivor Wynn Stadium with a 7:30pm kick-off.