OVFL: JV Myers Riders defeat Panthers in battle of Ottawa "Myers was flat out more physical than us"

The Junior Varsity Myers Riders defeated the Cumberland Panthers 29-6 Saturday afternoon at a wet and rainy Millennium Park.

The beginning of the game was characterized by defensive strength, with both teams failing to move the ball deep into enemy territory. As the opening frame reached it waning moments Riders QB Dimitri Morand hooked up with Eddy Cenatus in the corner of the endzone to break the 0-0 deadlock.

The Panthers failed to answer on their next drive, giving up a safety on a broken play. With the ball back in their hands, the Riders leaned on running back Julien Moore, who scored a touchdown after collecting every yard of the team’s push.

Panthers quarterback Thompson Richards marched his team down the field before the sounding of the second horn, but the Riders D held strong in their own end and prevented Cumberland from getting on the board.

The halftime score read 16-0 Myers.

Cumberland’s poor first half marked the team’s second slow start in two weeks.

“We are young and learning on the fly,” explains Panthers head coach Ntare Bainomugisha. “When playing the elite teams in our league you have to eliminate mental mistakes, especially at the beginning of games. We’ll have to continue to emphasize the mental aspect of the game with our kids.”

It also didn’t help that the Riders defensive front was in the zone, pressuring Richards and stopping the run with authority. Alain Cimankinda and Kyrique Fletcher were dominant.

Cimankinda racked up 2 ½ first half sacks, jarring the ball loose on one, while Fletcher completed one of his teammate’s sacks and was fantastic in foiling Cumberland’s running game.

“Our defensive line as a whole is a strong point of our defense,” mentions Riders head coach Matt Kassner. “We have a lot of depth at defensive line so we can keep our players fresh, which allows them to go full out on every play.”

The Panthers turned the ball over to begin the second half, but were let off the hook when Myers batched the snap on a field goal attempt.

It appeared as though momentum was shifting when Dmitiri Vaillancourt began to take over the game, scoring on a lengthy touchdown after moving the ball downfield via receptions and reverses.

“Dimitri is a special player who has a bright future in this game,” explains Bainomugisha. “He was double covered for most of the game, but still managed to make plays when called upon.”

Vaillancourt’s performance is especially impressive when considering that the Myers defensive gameplan was centered around stopping him specifically.

“Our defense focused on stopping [Vaillancourt], as he was the focal point of the Cumberland offense,” recalls coach Kassner. “We were able to limit him to a certain degree, but he still had a great game.”

But despite a strong second half from the Panthers standout, the Riders remained in control of the game, forcing turnovers and using Julien Moore to control the game clock and increase its lead.

Patrick O’Neil’s fourth quarter punt block put an exclamation mark on the game for Myers.

The game was called with 2:00 remaining because of an injury to Myers player Gates Harding, who remained on the field until medical evacuation could be arranged. Fortunately, coach Kassner has since confirmed that Harding is recovering with a deep tissue bruise and will be fine.

“I was really proud of the way our team played today,” notes Kassner. “Everyone did their job and we executed our game plan quite well. Our offense was able to sustain long drives and finish the majority of the drives off with points. Our defense played great as they only allowed 6 points on a great run by Cumberland’s best player, [Vaillancourt].”

For his part, Panthers coach Ntare Bainomugisha agrees. “Give credit where credit is due. Myers came out with a good gameplan and on a rainy day, took care of the ball better than we did.”

He also believes the physicality of the Myers team dictated the pace of the game.

“Myers was flat out more physical than us. At the end of the day this is a physical game, and the team who establishes more of a physical presence usually wins. A Great lesson for our young team, and something that we are going to have to work on establishing moving forward.”

But despite the loss, Bainomugisha remains pleased with the effort put forth by his team.

“One thing I’m happy about is that the final results of the game was not a result of a lack of effort. We competed from start to finish.”

Both the Riders and Panthers moved to 1-1 on the season.