A real eye-opener

It was a rough, eye-opening way to start league play . . . but things improved quickly.

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The Cornwall Wildcats fell behind the visiting York-Simcoe Storm Raiders 28-0 in the first half on Saturday afternoon, but the local squad was competive the rest of the way in a 31-6 Ontario Varsity Football League opening-game setback at the Bob Turner Memorial Centre.

“The defence really tightened up in the second half,” said assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Kirby Camplin. “We made some adjustments at halftime, we changed our pass coverage and it made a big difference.”

The Storm Raiders scored in the first quarter when quarterback Evan Kosmidis tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Matt Coates.

The Wildcats had some big plays early on, too — but nothing came of it. On the ensuing kickoff, Jesse McPhail had a 65-yard return, but Cornwall quarterback Aaron Millward was picked off in the endzone on the very next play.

The Kosmidis/Coates connection was just warming up. Early in the second quarter Coates made a brilliant grab over the middle and scored another major on a 40-yard play.

Ashton Galloway’s three-yard plunge made it 21-0, and Michael Voorberg picked off Millward and ran one in from 45 yards to put the Wildcats in a huge hole.

The Kosmidis/Coates chemistry was dynamic — and instant.

Kosmidis, a university student at Bishop’s in Lennoxville, and Coates, a high school player in Toronto, were lining up together for the first time for a new team (the amalgamation of former OVFL clubs from Newmarket and Markham).

“It was a good combination, we were connecting,” Kosmidis said. “(Coates) was running good routes, and he has great hands.

“I thought we had a strong first half, but we slowed down a bit in the second half, we got off our game.”

The Wildcats did have something to do with that, and they were feeling a bit better at game’s end than they were at halftime.

Camplin noted that among Cornwall’s in-game adjustments were to roll the pass coverage over to Coates’ side of the field — and it neutralized the sure-handed receiver.

Defensive line players Tyler Dore, Jordan Drennan, Greg Melios and Kevin Aleinik had a strong second half, as did linebackers Nick Lapierre and Brandon Picken, who had an interception in the game.

On offence, Cornwall did show signs of life late in the first half, getting some good runs from Jordan Wurah and McPhail, and with Owen O’Reilly in at quarterback, Bruno Cambolo made a standout 30-yard reception to get Cornwall to the 10-yard line, but time would run out before the Wildcats could punch it in.

The Wildcats got their firstever score from 6’1′, 210-lb. speedy safety J-P Begin on a 40-yard interception return.

Cornwall plays its first-ever OVFL road game next Saturday afternoon at Etobicoke Centennial Stadium against the Eagles, and the Wildcats are in Oshawa on June 12.

The next home game at the BTMC is June 19, against the defending-champion Toronto Thunder.

By: TODD HAMBLETON