Perhaps the craziest, but also the coolest, visual statistic within the Week 4 OFC Game of the Week “Tale of the Tape” between the 3-0 Hamilton Hurricanes (Visitor) and the 3-0 Windsor AKO Fratmen (Home) is that all eight teams from the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) are listed as having played one team or the other at some point within the first three weeks of the season.
What this means is that neither of the only two remaining undefeated teams have in fact played any common opponent, making certain comparisons between the two, completely subjective. I do suppose it could be argued, that given the fact that both teams have each played three games in an eight team conference, it makes perfectly good mathematical sense that both teams would remain unbeaten.
The freaky part however, is that by sheer coincidence, these two juggernauts (respectfully ranked #2 and #3 in the Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) Top 10 Power Ranking list) are both scheduled to face each other in Week 4 mid-season action, which quite frankly, is both weird and awesome all at the same time.
This weekend’s Game of the Week match-up is a lot like the perfect storm, as circumstances come together to create what will no doubt be the best match-up so far this season. It could also have a massive influence on how the second half of the season, or even the playoffs, play out for either one of these two teams moving forward.
Back in August, I had the privilege of speaking with OFC President Darren Cocchetto, and he stated quite eloquently that he would love nothing more than to bring a CJFL National Championship back to Ontario for the first time in over 15 years.
There’s a lot more riding on this game than just simple bragging rights or home field advantage come playoff time. Both of these teams would undeniably love to gain an early psychological advantage over any team that is arguably their greatest threat to being able to represent Ontario in the Canadian Bowl this upcoming November.
To me, this game already feels like a playoff game, but that’s precisely why both teams need to be reminded not to let the outcome of this early season match-up affect how they play and evolve as a team for the remainder of the season.
The risk to the loser? Damaged confidence.
The risk to the winner? Over confidence.
In the end, one can be just as dangerous as the other. Whoever walks away from this contest as the winner should be extremely proud of their victory, but they should also be reminded that the season is still very long indeed. Anything can happen in football.
Even a National Championship in Ontario.
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