Bears fall in opener


The Brampton Bears weren’t able to get a win in their first game in the Canadian Junior Football League but they came tantalizingly close.

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A pass from quarterback Brad Elliot to Yunell Clayton with less than 10 seconds left on a third down play, went off the receiver’s finger tips inside the Burlington Braves five-yard line as the Braves hung on to a 18-12 victory on Saturday night at St. Marcellinus Secondary School.

Brampton coach Mark Houlder said he was pleased that the team had a chance to win its first ever game in the final seconds.

“I’m happy. I’m not down on my guys,” said Houlder.

“We had some dropped passes but that was nerves. As nervous as I was the players were even more nervous.”

The Bears started indoor workouts back in February and Houlder said they had not even had an exhibition game so he considered this an exhibition game and a chance for the players to shake off some rust.

The Braves never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 12-0 lead in the second quarter. But Brampton got back into the game with a couple of big plays from Elliot to Ryan Hector. The Brampton receiver hauled in a pass for Brampton’s initial first down of the game in the second quarter. Two plays later he caught an Elliot pass for the Bears first touchdown, on a 28-yard play, which made the score 12-6 at the half.

Burlington led 18-6 in the fourth quarter but on a third and two Elliot completed a two-yard pass to Justin Bain to bring the margin to 18-12 with 6:13 remaining.

Brampton was also threatening with less than two minutes left. After picking up a first down Clayton made a couple of moves to try to get more yardage. However the ball was punched loose and Burlington recovered at its own 31 with 1:39 remaining. The Bears defense held and the Brampton offense got the ball back with 1:06 left.

The Brampton defense came up with turnovers with both safety Kurt Thompson and cornerback Leon Budhram getting interceptions.

The Braves scored first when Bears punter Teddy Peters conceded a safety in the end zone in the first quarter. Burlington led 3-0 after the first quarter with Jake Pearsall adding a single.

Burlington got a touchdown in the second quarter as Matt Scott caught a 12-yard Jason Bertrand pass. Jay Diston booted a 32-yard field goal to give the visitors a 12-0 lead.
Bertrand ran in from three yards for the other Burlington touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“Burlington was the better team tonight. They had fewer penalties,” said Houlder.

The Bears next two games are on the road. Next Saturday they are at the Ottawa Sooners with a contest against the Hamilton Hurricanes on Aug. 28. They are not home again until they face the London Beefeaters at St. Marcellinus on Saturday Sept. 4.

Houlder said the trip to the nation’s capital will be another tough test for his team.

“They are the defending champions. They will have film on us. We just have to control the ball,” he said.

By FRANK JUZENAS – Brampton Guardian

Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.

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