OVFL GAME PREVIEW: JV Warriors preparing for aggressive Lions

After losing a tightly contested game on the road to the Essex Ravens, the Junior Varsity Mississauga Warriors will aim for their first win of the season against another struggling football team in the visiting Cambridge Lions.

Suffering a tough loss to the Brampton Bulldogs in Week 4, the Warriors coaching staff was looking for more accountability from their players moving forward. In last week’s game against Essex, the Warriors played much better and had their opportunities to win but ultimately fell short in their road loss.

“I think we missed a golden opportunity to put the game away,” says Head Coach Mike Parsons. “We had some backups playing due to injury and Essex found those backups, with two spectacular catches made against us. Still, we shouldn’t have let them have the opportunity to get back in the game.”

For Parsons and the Warriors, their game against Essex will serve as a valuable lesson as the team must now learn how to play in close games.

“The next step for the players is that when they are winning or in a game, they need to learn how to end it. Everyone wants to improve, but we need to finish strong for their confidence moving forward and for next year.”

Despite the loss, Parsons’ was really encouraged by the effort and how seriously the players took the loss the Warriors had in the last game.

“The kids that were playing seem to really care, they wanted to be there, and they fought for every inch. They did so in the last game, so that is what I was pleased with.”

With the opportunity to earn their first win of the season slip through the Warriors’ hands, the players were disappointed with the result but were also determined to get it right. Parsons is hoping that renewed fire within the team can produce better results for the remainder of the season.

The Junior Varsity Lions also enter Week 6 looking to gain some momentum. So far in 2016, the 1-4 Lions have also struggled to consistently play effectively and will look to end a two-game losing streak when they visit Mississauga.

Despite Cambridge’s recent struggles, Parsons believes the traditionally aggressive Lions will come to play.

“They always have lots of size and are usually good on the lines. The team is usually aggressive on the front seven, so we’ll have to fight through that.”