With one minute left in the Ontario Football Conference Championship, the Ottawa Sooners were ahead by three points looking to run out the clock. On third down the Sooners put their punt team on the field looking to kill time, and gain favourable field position, with a safety.
The play started an unusual finish to a game where the Hurricanes were trailing throughout. Ottawa’s Adam Konkle took the snap and started toward his end zone. With several Hurricanes in pursuit, Konkle collided with the referee allowing Hamilton’s special teams to make the tackle just shy of the goal line. Hamilton then took over on downs inside the Sooners’ one-yard line looking to take the lead for the first time in the game.
Normally a defensive specialist, linebacker Aram Eisho took the hand-off from quarterback Matt Francis to score Hamilton’s biggest touchdown of the season. Francis took over for Mike Chase in the second half after the starter’s elbow swelled up from an earlier sack.
“I just went to my coach and told him give me the ball, we’re gonna do it,” said Eisho. “The (offensive) line opened a huge hole for me and we just punched it in.
“We wanted it bad and we went out and we got it.”
The score gave the team a 21-17 lead after conversion, and will send the OFC Champs to Nanaimo, B. C. to play a semi-final game against the Vancouver Island Raiders on Oct. 30.
Eisho has been named the OFC’s Outstanding Defensive Player for the third year in a row. In a game where the offence struggled to move the chains early, the Hurricanes had to rely heavily on their defence. With the clock not in their favour, Hamilton needed possessions and that’s what the defence gave them.
An interception by Jordan Snyder in the middle of the fourth quarter gave Hamilton a chance, but ended up being forced to punt. After a missed field goal by Ottawa, Hamilton had good field position and was again forced to punt. Getting more desperate by the minute, an attempted snap for a Sooner punt landed into the hands of Justin Boudreau.
“It was a blitz call, coach said go get it,” said Boudreau whose takeaway with 2:04 on the clock gave his team a realistic chance to take the lead.
On their next possession, Hamilton leaned on their rushing leader for the game, Ryan Rowe. On a third down play, Francis pitched the ball to Rowe who faked a reverse and gained 22 yards for a first down, putting his team deep in Sooner’s territory with about a minute and a half left in the game. Looking like Hamilton had a great chance to tie or take the lead, Francis threw an interception in the end zone putting the pressure back on the defence.
“It was nail biter that came down to the very end,” said Rowe. “I’m just glad we got the (win).”
Rowe, who caught a touchdown pass late in the third quarter, gave credit to the offensive line for having a strong push at the line of scrimmage. The running back was given the ball five times leading to his touchdown on Hamilton’s best possession of the game.
Jamal George intercepted two passes in the game, the first of which led to a Mike Chase touchdown pass to Josh Pratt.
After the game, Hamilton’s head coach, Jason Hayes, said both teams played well enough to win and that he was proud of his guys.
Hayes added that starting quarterback Mike Chase is fine and could have returned if it had not been for the success Francis had.
Dave Watson
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