OFC Game of the Week (2): POW showdown

The highly anticipated Game of the Week in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) will be played between the 1-0 St. Leonard Cougars (Home) and the 0-1 London Beefeaters (Visitor). This game will also showcase two of the three winners of “Players of the Week” from Week 1 – DB #11 Jess Tonn of the Beefeaters (Defensive POW), and DB #22 Kodee McDonald of the Cougars (Special Teams POW).

Coming off an 18-10 victory over the very tough Ottawa Sooners, the Cougars managed to move themselves up three spots on the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) Power Ranking List, from the #9 position last week, to the #6 position this week.

Although the Sooners were actually leading the Cougars by a score of 10-4 into the 4th quarter, the Cougars were able to roar back and add two additional touchdowns late in the game to take the lead and eventually secure the victory. Cougars RB #27 Duqueslin Pierre-Louis led the way for the Offense with 18 carries for 76 yards and a long of 20.

QB/RB #6 Nicolas Lepine had six carries for a total of 62 yards, with a long of 47 and a touchdown, and at Quarterback, Lepine went 11 for 20 and 124 yards, with one interception and one touchdown to WR #85 Yadel Meshesha who had three catches on the day for a total of 52 yards and a long of 21.

Where the Cougars really shined however was on Special Teams, as DB #22 Kodee McDonald had a stellar all-around day, finishing the second highest total yards on punt return behind teammate Jean-Jacques Janvier Jr., and on kick-off return, McDonald pulled off the longest run of the day throughout the entire Conference with a 48 yard return, earning him the honours of Week 1 OFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Despite being last year’s OFC Champions, the Beefeaters are already feeling the growing pains this year, as they have a much younger roster with the average age of the team being around 19-years old. With only four starters returning this season – one on Offense and three on Defense, the Beefeaters lost their first game of the season against the Windsor AKO Fratmen by a score of 24-7. It would seem that inexperience was a definite factor, as the Beefeaters finished the game with 115 penalty yards against.

In terms of rushing, the Beefeaters really struggled in the backfield, with the leading rusher RB #32 Joel Clubine only gaining a total of 15 yards on five carries throughout the entire day.

The receiving core showed a lot of promise as WR #81 Aaron Stora-Nelson led all Beefeaters’ receivers with 106 yards off of seven catches, with a long of 50, and one touchdown as a result.

The Quarterback responsibilities were split fairly evenly as #10 Josh Beach went 8 for 17 and 65 yards, and #18 Colin Drennan went 6 for 16 and 99 yards, along with a touchdown to #81 Aaron Stora-Nelson.

Although the Beefeaters are a young and relatively inexperienced team, they certainly have the skill and talent to be able to improve quickly as the season progresses. Collectively, the Defense had a total of three Quarterback sacks, demonstrating a good ability to put pressure on the opposing team’s Offense.

Beefeaters DB #11 Jess Tonn had an exceptional performance as he led the entire league with 20 defensive points, earning him the honours of Week 1 OFC Defensive Player of the Week. With six tackles, one special teams tackle, and three batted down balls, Tonn played extremely strong against the run, and just as strong against the pass.

So the question is; can the surging St. Leonard Cougars defeat the much younger, albeit talented London Beefeaters?

We’ll soon find out.

Catch all of the action live on August 24 @ 7 p.m. at Stade Stadium for what will be the only match-up for these two teams in the regular season.