#CFCOPC16 (Minor – West vs Central): Martin, Lofthouse and Shoniker named MVPs

HAMILTON – Sunday was for the little tykes and Team West faced off against Team Central in the Ontario Prospect Challenge minor game, which saw Omari Martin of Team Central, Eric Lofthouse of Team Central and JD Shoniker of Team West named as the game’s MVPs.

Omari Martin (#3) with Jeff Ferrell (left) and Barry Trench (right).

Omari Martin (#3) with Jeff Ferrell (left) and Barry Trench (right).

The overall MVP award was given to Martin, who sported #3 blue. The young running back was glad that his effort paid off. “It’s good. I just do hard work and practice, so I got offensive MVP so I’m good,” he said. “[The highlight of the game was] my 60 yard touchdown.”

Eric Lofthouse (#19) with Jeff Ferrell (left) and Barry Trench (right).

Eric Lofthouse (#19) with Jeff Ferrell (left) and Barry Trench (right).

Martin’s fellow running back, Lofthouse (#19), was named as the offensive player of the game. “I think it’s a great opportunity to be out on this field and to be playing here,” Lofthouse said.

Barry Trench, the head coach of Team Central, said that choosing Lofthouse as the MVP, “was just hitting the nail on the head. No if, ands or buts.”

When asked about the highlight of the game, he didn’t pick one of his own plays. “I think when Omari Martin (#3, RB) made the 60 yard touchdown,” he said.

Jeff Ferrell, the head coach of Team West, was proud of both Martin and Lofthouse. “I thought both their players deserved it [the MVP awards]. They were really good athletes and performed really well.”

JD Shoniker (#99) with Jeff Ferrell (left) and Barry Trench (right).

JD Shoniker (#99) with Jeff Ferrell (left) and Barry Trench (right).

While the game didn’t go the way Team West wanted, Shoniker (#99) was still excited to be named defensive MVP. The young defensive lineman said, “It’s pretty cool think to have. It was a tough game, we didn’t win, but we tried to play as a team. It didn’t work out for us, but it feels really good to win this award.”

For Shoniker, the highlight of the game was “probably the tackle I got in the backfield around the second quarter.”

Ferrell felt that picking Shoniker was a good choice. “I thought the kid deserved it. He was right down in the grunt of the work. He was a solid player, stayed out there,” he said. “He didn’t get beat up too much, so he did everything we asked and he didn’t complain. It was a good choice.”

He added that, “Everything was good. Weather and size were the only things that we didn’t have in our favour.”

Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.

Leave a Reply