It was a spectacular opening with a fly pass and honouring of the Canadian Armed Forces at opening of the game.The Braves dominated the first half and defensively did yeomanβs service to keep the score close at Sunday nightβs game at Nelson Stadium. The Windsor AKO Fratmen remains undefeated and tied for first with the 28-14 win over the Braves.
The Braves were first on the board in the match with a Ryan Lambert field goal on the teamβs first possession. The Fratmen, went three and out on their first two possessions. The Braves were controlling the game with most time of possession. But the amount of time with the ball doesnβt matter when you can strike quickly. With just under two minutes left to the first quarter the Fratmen scored a 59-yard touchdown with a long Christian Hackney pass.
The Braves fought back to have good field position set up by a 25 yard return by Evan Petrie. Spagnuolo fired a 70-yard pass to Jason Diston and the Braves were in scoring position, only to have it called back. They settled for a single point with a missed field goal. The Braves maintained control of the ball with Kareem Blake fighting his way across the goal line to move ahead 13-7 with just over a minute to go to the break.
Just 20 seconds later, Hackney had another long pass, 85 yards, to Joel Archer who ran it in for a major. It was a sign of the fortunes for the Fratmen, when the Braves blocked the convert and it bounced off the uprights and through them for the point. The game was tied at half time.
After half-time, the Fratmen took control of the game, signalling their intentions with a field goal on their first possession. The Braves defence, with a stellar effort from Richard Beckstead with seven tackles, held Windsor close, but when the Fratmen were able to find a hole, they took full advantage, scoring quickly. In the fourth quarter, penalties took away scoring chances for the Braves.
Spagnuolo passed for 316 yards, with Brody Essery good for seven catches for 114 yards, Jake Pearsall pulled in three for 98 and Diston had two catches for 92 yards. Mayvon Wassel scrambled for 29 yards on 16 carries.
On defence, Beckstead had help from Brendan Cronin had five tackles, Steve Falconi, Luke Pearsall, and Dragan Kunac each added four.
β There were a lot of good things that came from Sundayβs game and as always the effort from the players was outstanding.β said head coach Neil Lumsden. βWe need to eliminate the selfish penalties because they have a very negative effect on the teams ability to successful. Weβll have a good week of practice and be ready for Brampton.β
The 1-3 Braves host the 0-4 Brampton Bears next Sunday, September 25 at Nelson Stadium. Kick-off is at 5:00pm.
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