NCAFA (Ottawa Minor): Week 1 report

Football is back in the Nation’s Capital!

No, we’re not talking about the CFL, although we are thrilled about pro football’s imminent return, and salute OSEG for their hard work! The proposed redevelopment of Lansdowne Park is great for football, great for sports, and great for the city.

We’re talking about football at its grass roots level… Football played in your local park every weekend! We’re talking NCAFA football!

The National Capital Football Association kicked off its 55[SUP]th[/SUP] year of operation last weekend. Over 65 teams take to the field, at 5 levels over 12 weeks. There are over 2,000 participants, and over 300 games played from Cornwall to Brockville, as well as in Gatineau and Ottawa. NCAFA is one of the largest leagues in Canada!

Before the season officially kicked off, two of NCAFA’s mainstays took place. Earlier this month, “Friday Night Tykes”, providing 14 teams of players under 10 years of age with orientation, was hosted by the Kanata Knights at the Kanata Recreation Complex. The 420 participants had a great time! Meanwhile, 12 teams of players aged 11-12 (450 players in total) attended “Mosquito Madness!” Hosted by the Cumberland Panthers, the event put the focus on fun, as well as skills development.

Some changes of note for the 2010 season. Gatineau moves to the east creating a better balance at a number of the league’s levels. Also, the Canterbury Midget team (formerly the Mustangs) adopted a new name, The South Ottawa Stampeders.

Every Friday here in the Ottawa Sun, thanks to the invaluable sponsors you see on this page, we’ll be putting the spotlight on these talented young people and keeping you up to date on their action on the gridiron!

So let’s get you caught up on some of the action from this past week! Thanks to all the team representatives who submitted their game recaps.

TYKE (U11)

Nepean Redskins 30 – Brockville Buccaneers0
This was the first game ever played on the very nice new artificial turn in Beckwith Township! Terell Brown got to know it very well scoring four touchdowns in his Redskins debut!

Gloucester South Raiders 14 vs. Gatineau Vikings 0
The Raiders’ defense was outstanding in their first game of the season. Noah Gauthier scored the team’s first major of the year with a 35 yard punt return. Each player on the offensive line is in his first season, and helped Gloucester establish a solid running game! OT Giovianni Joseph dominated with 5 “pancake” blocks, while OT Draven Macdiarmid was the force behind the Raiders success on Power Leads taking on Gatineau’s biggest player.

Orleans Bengals 38 – South Ottawa Mustangs 26
From all accounts, this was a great game to watch with each team trading points through the first three quarters. However, an injury for the Mustangs in the fourth proved to be a costly and their opponents scored twice more. The Mustangs rallied towards the end but were unable to score.

Myers Riders 18 – West Carleton Wolverines 12
The Wolverines capitalized on a slow start by the Riders scoring a long touchdown on their first play from scrimmage. Myers defense, lead by solid team play and great individual efforts by Eddie Olmstead and Connor Ogden, stepped it up after that though, not allowing another point all day.

After a flat tire delayed his getting to the game, Jean “The Dancing Machine” Muratt came up anything but flat, scoring a kick return and an overtime run in a “come from behind” victory for his inexperienced team.

Other scores:
Warriors 52 – Knights 51
Panthers 25 – Giants 13
Wildcats 15 – Generals 0

MOSQUITO (U13)

South Ottawa Mustangs 68 – Orleans Bengals 0
Guess who the two time defending champions are! Mustangs is correct. The team has 12 new players this year who seem to have gelled well with the veterans. Well executed blocking and the excellent gang tackling make up this game’s highlight reel for South Ottawa. The Mustangs Head Coach reports that this year’s team is fun to work with as they can play any type of game; from hard nosed to high flying.

East Ottawa Generals 36 – Cornwall Wildcats 14
What a fantastic NCAFA debut for Nel Leonard Clerg! He scoredtwo touchdowns in his first ever game! Jamall Mavinga recovered a fumble and returned it 65 yards for the major! Kicker Samson Dube had 3 converts (each worth 2 points at this level of play.)

Nepean Redskins 8 – Brockville Buccaneers 6
This one was a battle of the “D” for three quarters as both team remained scoreless. Andrew Beatty (#34) kept things at zero with a 34 yard punt return out of the end zone.

Down by 6, QB Jacob Spinella took Nepean down the field and scored a major off a 30 yard run! Kicker Stefano Federico added the extra points.

With 1:20 remaining in the game, Tyler Matys (#44) intercepted a Brockville pass which put the Redskins on Brockville’s 35 yard line. But the drama wasn’t done; the lights on the field went out causing a 20 minute delay. Once power was restored, Nepean took 3 knees, and it was officially “lights out” for Brockville.

Gatineau Vikings 6 – Gloucester South Raiders0
This proved to be a tough defensive battle for both teams, neither of whom gave up many yards. The Raiders biggest offensive play came on a 25 yard over-the-shoulder pass reception by TE Joe Beauchamp.

For the Coming Week the Raiders say they are going to refocus on their offensive execution, and are counting on their defense to continue their dominance.

OTHER SCORES
Myers Riders 42 – Wolverines 6
Warriors 20 – Knights 0
Giants 30 – Panthers 14

PEE WEE (U15)

South Ottawa Mustangs 24 – Orleans Bengals 19
The first half of this close game was dominated by the Bengals defense. But the Mustang’s D had some time in the limelight as well when linebacker Nuhu Yakubu (#34) returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown! Perhaps that was the spark the team needed, as the Mustang’s defense forced a number of turnovers in the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP]. It was all offence in the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] quarter as the O-line’s Julien Moore (#33) rushed for 3 TD’s and racked up over 200 yards. The final touchdown came with 16 seconds left on the clock.

Nepean Redskins 48 – Bel Air Lions 0
Redskins clubs were 5 for 5 in the win column this week. In this victory, Matt Melendez scored 4 TD’s, thanks in part to some key blocks courtesy of Eddie Cenatues. Meanwhile Harrison Tallyhoe went 4 for 5 and 100+ yards passing including one for a touchdown.

Gloucester South Raiders 42 – Gatineau Vikings 6
Gloucester’s young offense dominated up front, allowing the running backs to have an exceptional game. Dimitri Vaillancourt lead the way with 4 touchdowns and over 300 yards rushing. Rookie kicker, Cesare Patricelli, converted all 6 majors. It was a solid defensive effort for the Raiders as well, as they allowed only one touchdown. Will Karam, Mostafa Kari, Quinlan Walker, and Antony Tamer each had big plays on the D.

OTHER SCORES
Riders 1 – Wolverines 0
Warriors 34 – Knights 0
Panthers 41 – Giants 6
Wildcats 36 – Generals 0

BANTAM (U17)

Cornwall Wildcats 20 – East Ottawa Generals 15 – OT
While East Ottawa defeated Cornwall at Mosquito level, it was a different story in Bantam.

Jeremy Rioux blocked a Cornwall punt and recovered it in the end zone to open the scoring. Dylan Bell connected on a 7 yard TD pass to Jamahl Charles to put East Ottawa up 13-0 at the half.

The second half saw Cornwall come alive with two touchdowns and solid play on both sides of the ball, as well as two opportunities to win the game in the final 3 minutes.

Unfortunately two missed field goals were each returned, including an 80 yard run by Chad Ouellette who had a chance to win the game before an amazing shoestring tackle by Cornwall sent the game to OT.

On their 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] possession, Bell completed a 20 yard passing play to Chad Ouellete, but East Ottawa couldn’t take advantage and missed the field goal. Cornwall responded with a 35 yard TD run to end the game.

Nepean Redskins 8 – Gloucester South Raiders 0
Even before they played their first game, The Redskins lost two starting quarterbacks. Jordan Finn stepped up and engineered a 70 yard opening drive, capped off by a 7 yard TD run by Graham Smyth. It was a defensive battle for the remaining three quarters, but a fourth quarter drive resulted in a single point off a third down punt from Sebastian Silva.

Solid defensive performances for both teams on this night, with the Redskins being lead by Jordan Doucette, Ethan Goulet and Francis Campeau.

A frustrating first game loss for the Raiders who are looking forward to their next game against Orleans where the offence, led by Seb Poitras and Hayden Walker, look to put some serious points on the board.

OTHER SCORES
Riders 47 – Wolvereens 0
Bengals 45 – Mustangs 6
Panthers 19 – Giants 13

MIDGET (U20)

Nepean Redskins 27 – BelAir Norsemen 20 – OT
The Norsemen had the lead in this one, but the Redskins battled back in the final quarter to force overtime.

Redskins QB Connor Edwards was injured in the third, and SB Kyle McLean took over earning “star of the game” status, which he shares with “Ironmen” Sonjay Bromfield (CB) who had an interception, and FB Ryan Weeks who had 2 touchdowns including the game winner.

OTHER SCORES
Colts 21 – Stampeders 9

CALLING ALL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

NCAFA t eams are still looking to fill roster spots. Please contact your local club if you are interested in playing. www.NCAFA.ca. NOTE: At Midget players aged 17 – 19 are elgible to participate. There are no restrictions on Midget 17 year olds wanting to play Junior when they turn 18, so come on out and hone your skills. Midget teams are looking for you.

FINAL NOTES

A reminder to our players, coaches, and parents that Monday September 6[SUP]th[/SUP] is NCAFA DAY at the University Of Ottawa Gee Gee’s home opener vs. Western at Lansdowne Park. Game time is 1pm. Tickets are $5 person (4 packs are $20 each and are good for any GeeGee’s home game) see www.geegees.ca for more.

This weekend features over 30 fantastic NCAFA games throughout the region, with play scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This weekend also sees the debut of a beautiful scoreboard at Bob Stephen Football Field in Barrhaven, home of the Redskins.

We invite you to come out and cheer us on! More info about NCAFA, including schedule and field locations is available on our website. www.NCAFA.ca