Victorious Grenadiers squeak into playoffs

The most exciting moment for the Limestone Grenadiers junior football team on Saturday did not occur during its actual game.

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Instead, the highlight — courtesy of the booming voice of assistant coach Jeremy Snider — came on the bus ride home from Oshawa following a 30-0 win over the hapless Hawkeyes.

Through the magic of texting, Snider found out that the Ottawa Myers Riders had beaten the Pickering Dolphins 13-7 — giving Limestone the combination it needed (a G-Men win and a Pickering loss) to secure a playoff spot for the second year in a row.

“They all gave a good cheer,” head coach Ron Dickey said of his players.

“This is the time of year where anything can happen. If you get to this stage, you have to take a few risks. You can’t be too conservative.”

The Grenadiers (5-3) will enter the Ontario Varsity Football League junior playoffs as the sixth and final seed in the Wettges Conference.

They will travel to Brampton to face the No. 3 Bulldogs in a first-round game next weekend (exact date still to be determined).

The final weekend of the regular season turned out to be a nailbiter. The top-seeded Riders played mostly backups in Pickering and didn’t seal the victory until scoring a touchdown in the final minute.

“I was going to throttle them,” laughed G-Men governor Peter Wilkie, who raced to Pickering to catch the end of that game after the Limestoners completed their victory.

With horrible weather (it poured during the second half ) making conditions difficult and his team missing starting quarterback Tyler Filson (shoulder), Dickey decided to showcase a power running game in Oshawa.

Backup quarterback Evan Morey-Lynch of Napanee attempted just three passes, completing two. Running backs Jean-Luc Richardson of Holy Cross (13 carries for 54 yards and two touchdowns) and Damon Brant of DesThe other first-round Wettges game next week sees the Etobicoke Eagles hosting the Toronto Thunder.

The top-seeded Riders and No. 2 Metro Toronto Wildcats get first-round byes. If Limestone can pull of an upset in Brampton, the Grenadiers will travel to Ottawa to face the Riders in a Wettges semifinal.

Meanwhile, the varsity Grenadiers did not play on the final weekend of the season.

Already eliminated from playoff contention, the Grenadiers recorded a forfeit win against Oshawa, which folded its varsity team earlier this season.

Limestone finished the season at 3-4-1.eronto (17 carries for 83 yards and one touchdown) handled the bulk of the workload.