CFCFPC Ottawa (RECAP): Team Central minors finally bests ‘powerhouse’ Team East minors

The sun graced the game with its presence for only a brief moment, but the dark smattering of clouds didn’t dampen the team spirits as Team Central pulled away from Team East in a 25-6 win in the minor match at Millennium Park.

The game kicked off with a bang when defensive back Anthony Dillon ran 60-yards to put Central up 6-0 early on. The game remained close up until the middle of the second quarter. Defensive back Randy Noel had an interception at 8:18 in the second. It would set up a 40-yard touchdown run by Adrian Ashik Mohammed to extend the lead to 12-0. With 1:53 left before halftime, running back Ashton Watson covered 65-yards for the touchdown, giving Central an 18-point lead. The team failed to score on all three point after attempts.

Team East would have to wait until the end of the third quarter before putting points on the board. The six points came courtesy of receiver Cordel Epale, who covered 80-yards to reach the end zone to make it 18-6. With 8:01 left in the game, Central put the game out of reach with a 55-yard touchdown run by Watson on his second score of the game.

For Eric Parent, the head coach of Team Central, it was a bit satisfying coming into Ottawa and beating a team comprised of Ottawa-area players. “I thought it went well. I mean, any time you play a team that has been a predominate powerhouse like the East, it is nice to come away with a win. The boys played hard. It went how we wanted it to go,” he said.

“I’m just proud of the boys. They played really well,” he added. “This is my fifth year here coaching and we’ve never beaten Ottawa, so it is nice to come in here (and win). They are a great club and they played well as well.”

Frank Farinaccio, the head coach of Team East, admitted he was a bit disappointed in some of his team’s executions. “It took us a little while. You can tell; I don’t know if it was nerves or what it was, but we were really rusty in the first half. But, we seemed to get it figured out a little in the second half and we moved the ball a lot better,” he said.

He added that he was very impressed with his team. Although the weather was a little much at times, he was glad that he participated. “I always find this whole prospect thing, we did it last year for the first time, and it is so well-run,” Farinaccio said. “Canadafootballchat does a great job running it. The whole day is, it’s a really good event. It is something that I am really glad to be apart of.”