Beefeaters back, eyeing OFC title run — and a national final

The London Beefeaters junior football squad is hoping to turn last fall’s heartbreak into a special season in 2024. They’re looking to take down St. Clair — and host a CJFL final in front of the home fans come November.

(Photo: Owen Price Photography).

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Time heals all wounds.

In fact, it can make one more motivated – hungrier to right the wrongs of the past. That’s surely what many of the London Beefeaters football players are feeling heading into the 2024 season.

In a heartbreaker of a loss last October, the Beefeaters fell 32-31 to the St. Clair Saints in the provincial championship after a drama-filled final few minutes in Windsor that saw a failed two-point conversion, a successful onside kick, and a game-ending fumble inside the 5-yard line.

Now, they get their chance at redemption.

There are other strong teams in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC), to be sure, but the Beefeaters and Saints are expected to be the cream of the crop once again this season. They’ve battled in the final each of the last four years, and London knows it will need to get past St. Clair to win a provincial title – and earn a trip to a national championship game.

And they won’t have to wait to see their archrivals. The two powerhouses will do battle in Week 1 Saturday (Aug. 17) in London. No need to waste time.

“I like it, because it gives us the chance right away to find out where we’re at,” said Matt Snyder, the Beefeaters’ head coach. “We usually play them midyear, so getting them right off the bat is a good test. I’ve told out guys, at seven o’clock on Saturday we’re going to know exactly where we’re at in the conference.”

It will certainly be a good gauge – for both teams – as they embark on their respective eight-game regular seasons before, potentially, meeting again in the finals in the fall. But you’ve got to get there first, and plenty of Ontario teams have ‘beefed’ up their own rosters to try and win an OFC championship.

For London, as usual, it starts with the running game. They broke rushing records last year with Geoff Clubine and LJ Dyer, the latter named Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. Dyer is back, which is huge for a Beefeaters squad looking to continue doing damage on the ground. He ran for a league-best 1,158 yards last season.

Dyer will be the lead back, with a new addition serving in the No. 2 role. That’s Jesse King, a transfer player who previously started for the Hamilton Hurricanes.

“He’s going to get a good amount of carries as well,” said Snyder. “It’s the same system. Our entire Offensive Line is back [including Kevin Ricard, an OFC All-Star and Second-Team All-Canadian last year], and we have half our starting receivers back.”

(Photo: Owen Price Photography).

Where they’ll look different is at quarterback, where London features three new faces. The starter Week 1 will be Brody Fairbairn, another transfer. He was a starter for the Quinte Skyhawks two seasons ago, where he had back-to-back games throwing for 284 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Fairbairn is a student at Western University. The No. 2 quarterback heading into the year is an American import from Arkansas, Brady Miller, who played Division III football south of the border.

“They’re in a pretty good competition, and we expect they’ll continue to battle it out throughout the season,” said Snyder. “We also have some stuff in (our playbook) where Brady is going to get some playing time right away because he’s had such a great camp.”

London’s third QB is Ethan Balthazaar, a graduate of St. Thomas More high school in Hamilton, a powerhouse of a football school. He’s also a Western student.

“He’s really athletic. He’s a younger guy, but we’re super impressed with him and what he brings,” Snyder said. “And he’s another guy we think has a really bright future for us. So, we’re pretty excited about our quarterbacks.

“In camp, it’s been just getting them up to speed on what we do and also trying to figure out what their strengths are and then kind of tweaking what we do to make sure we’re putting them in good positions to be successful. That’s been our focus on offense this year so far.”

Returning at wide receiver is Jagger Horst, an OFC All-Star in 2023, who will likely be the main target of London quarterbacks. Another transfer player (from Quinte), who is expected to make an impact right away, is Nick Szigeti, a dynamic athlete who was named the OFC’s Outstanding Return Specialist last year.

“He’s a huge addition that we think will be a key pickup for us this year,” said Snyder.

Josh Dahlberg is another returnee to the wide receiver corps, while another addition is American receiver Karson Douglas (also from Arkansas).

“When you bring in an American in our league, you’re usually bringing the guy in to be an impact player,” said Snyder, “so we expect him to be an impact player for us.”

The third American the Beefeaters have signed is John Henry Rouse, a Defensive Lineman from West Virginia.

“He’s a hired gun, so to speak,” said Snyder. “We’ve had some pretty good success the last few years bringing in American defensive linemen, and we brought him in because he’s a high-impact player.”

The Beefeaters do battle against the St. Clair Saints in last year’s OFC Final. (Photo: Owen Price Photography).

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Heading into the season, it’s the defensive line that stands out to London’s coaching staff as the biggest strength of their team. Besides Rouse, the team signed Carter Frayne, a defensive end who graduated from Parkside in St. Thomas and played U Sports with Waterloo, as well as Alex Ilic, a defensive end who played last season at Laurier University. Noah Williams, the high school lineman of the year in London two years ago, is back with the Beefs, while additional signees include Logan Hunt, a defensive tackle, and Wes McFarland, a Woodstock native.

“The big difference is our depth on the defensive line,” said Snyder. “We’ve been able to go out and bring in some pretty significant upgrades.”

Four of five starters are back in the secondary, including All-Star Drew Lawrence. Where there has been turnover is at the linebacker position, where two of three starters are being replaced this year. One of the new starters is Liam Peplinski, a veteran who is getting an opportunity to step into a larger role.

“He really worked hard this winter. He saw that the opportunity was there for him, and he just grabbed it,” said Snyder. “He’s a good player. He’s kind of the model of what our team’s about. We bring guys in, develop them for a couple years, and then they move into a starting role. I think he’s going to have a great season for us.”

How will the team stack up against St. Clair – and the other Ontario teams? The Beefeaters will find out soon, and they’re hungry for a provincial championship – especially since the winner this year gets an automatic spot in the national CJFL final (it rotates every three years, and it’s the OFC’s turn in 2024).

“It’s a big year for Ontario, and I think that’s why you’re seeing so many teams really loading up to get their shot because they know if they win the conference, they're going to get a bye into the national championship,” said Snyder. “It should be a very competitive year.”

Besides the powerhouse St. Clair Saints, the defending champs, as well as the Hamilton Hurricanes and Quinte Skyhawks, the six-team OFC also includes the GTA Grizzlies and Ottawa Sooners. The Beefeaters aren’t taking anyone for granted, but it’s the Saints who London will likely have to conquer to win a title.

“They’re very strong. They’ve been around a long time, and they have a good program,” Snyder said. “They’re well-coached and they have some pretty significant resources to bring in some really good players. We gotta beat them to win.”

They’ll get the chance right off the bat on Saturday (Aug. 17) in their season and home opener at City Wide Sports Park. The two teams will meet up again on Sept. 21 in Windsor, and then they won’t see each other again until playoffs. The team is looking forward to a Saints matchup right away.

“Either way, we’ll know where we stand. It’ll be, ‘Hey, we’re the best team in the conference right now,’ or, ‘Hey, here’s what we have to do to be the best team,” said Snyder.

“We’re a competitive team. If we do the right things the right way, we’re going to be solid at all spots. It should be a good year. I’m excited to play, and I know our guys are ready to go.”