Grens offence back on track

A young man who helped propel the Holy Cross Crusaders to their first Kingston area senior high school football crown last year pulled another trick out of his pocket on Saturday.

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Torrin Clinkinboomer, normally a running back and receiving threat for the Limestone Grenadiers varsity team, filled in at quarterback for last-minute scratch Derek Wendel and delivered a much-needed clutch performance.

With Wendel unable to attend following the death of his grandfather, Clinkinboomer threw for two touchdowns and 196 yards as the G-Men snapped an ugly two-game losing streak with a 29-23 victory over the host Cornwall Wildcats.

Clinkinboomer didn’t get the word he was starting until he boarded the bus on Saturday. He serves as the backup to Wendel and normally runs plays out of the wildcat offence, but he used a normal package in Cornwall and put the team back on track following two shutout defeats.

“(Clinkinboomer) didn’t use the wildcat, he was under centre, and he just played spectacularly,” said G-Men coach Ken Dearborn, whose club is 2-2-1 and in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Clinkinboomer completed 6-of-8 passes, including 75-and 62-yard touchdown strikes to La Salle graduate Aaron Dowd.

With an inexperienced quarterback at the helm, the Limestoners looked to running back Josh Thompson to carry the load and he did just that. The Sydenham student had 24 carries for 114 yards, churning out yardage with hard, tough running.

“He just did amazing,” Dearborn said. “That was one of his best games.”

Co-team captain Simon Ryder-Burbidge, a Frontenac grad now at Wilfrid Laurier University, turned the game around early in the second half by calling for a fake punt. He took the direct snap and ran it in 31 yards for a major.

On the next play, Ryder-Burbidge recovered an onside kick. They were two momentum-changers for a Limestone team that trailed 10-7 at the half.

“I’m very proud of the kids,” Dearborn said. “They overcame some problems and some adversity.”

Andrew Ling of Belleville sealed the win with an interception near midfield in the dying seconds.

The G-Men face a huge game next Saturday when they travel to Huronia to face the Stallions (2-3) in a re-scheduled contest. Earlier this season, the game was postponed because of horrible field conditions.

Unfortunately for the G-Men, they’ll be missing four key starters who are with the Ontario East under-18 team that will be playing at the Canada Cup in Wolfville, N.S. One of them is Wendel, so Clinkinboomer will get the call at QB again.

“We are understaffed and undermanned, but we have avoided disaster,” Dearborn said. “The kids are really giving a good account of themselves. I’m extremely proud of their effort and enthusiasm.”

The Grenadiers’ home finale is July 17 at Loyalist against the Metro Toronto Wildcats. Their last game of the season already has gone into the books as a win because the Oshawa Hawkeyes — their scheduled opponent — have folded.

Meanwhile, the G-Men junior team gave the organization its first perfect weekend of the season with a 38-13 road win over the Pickering Dolphins.

Jean-Luc Richardson of Holy Cross caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Tyler Filson of Frontenac and also ran one in for a third major.

Filson threw for 285 yards and also hit Vadim Ignatov of Regiopolis-Notre Dame for a TD strike.

The junior G-Men, after an 0-2 start, are 3-2 and also in a playoff race.

All of this makes team governor Peter Wilkie pretty happy. The junior team, also in Huronia next Saturday, made the playoffs last year after going 0-8 in 2008. The senior team is back in the Ontario Varsity Football League this year for the first time since 2006.

“We’re still a very young program,” Wilkie said. “We’ve gone through all the downside. Three or four years from now, I expect to be strong with both teams, but the success we’re having now is just a great bonus.”

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Posted By MIKE KOREEN, THE WHIG-STANDARD