Beefeaters making history in national final

The London Beefeaters followed up a strong OFC regular season with a stunning come-from-behind win in the Ontario final. Can they cap it off with a national title – on home turf?

The London Beefeaters celebrate their provincial title in November following a wild OFC final against the No. 1-ranked St. Clair Fratmen. (Photo courtesy London Beefeaters).

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What do they have in store for an encore? 

Coming off a stunning comeback win two weeks ago in the Ontario championship final, the London Beefeaters will play in the Canadian Bowl for the first time in franchise history Saturday – and they’ll host the affair, at Western Alumni Stadium.

It’s the Langley Rams they’ll be facing, and after watching tape of the conference finals, the Rams will be sure to play a full 60 minutes. The St. Clair Fratmen learned the hard way that this Beefeaters team simply doesn’t quit.

Case in point: Ahead 14-0 late in the fourth quarter in the provincial final (we’re talking, less than three minutes remaining), the Fratmen watched their lead disappear. After going 58 minutes without scoring, London put up a pair of touchdowns, then forced a fumble on a kickoff, and then ended the game in the most Canadian of ways, with a rouge out of the Fratmen endzone for a 15-14 win.

Yes, it’s been quite a return to the gridiron for the Beefeaters in 2021. Armed with a new coach and a mix of veterans and young talent, London’s junior football squad learned on the fly this year (with a pandemic-induced late start), got better every week, and came away with their third Ontario Football Conference (OFC) title in 46 years.

Now, they’re headed to their first Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) final ever.

“We’ve got a pretty balanced team. The idea is you work with your strengths. We have a quality bunch of athletes in the backfield that we feel confident giving the ball to in any given scenario, and our O-Line has been productive,” said Gavin Lake, the team’s head coach. “And then complement that with a veteran quarterback with veteran receivers, and we’ve been able to have a real successful year to date.”

That year included a 6-2 record in the regular season – following a late training camp which, due to COVID restrictions, prevented the team from working out in a gym or on the field until July. They kicked off their season August 28.

Playing in a five-team OFC conference this season, the Beefeaters dominated their non-St. Clair Fratmen opponents, outscoring them 271-36 on the way to winning all six of those contests. Their lone two losses, 29-22 on the road Sept. 11 and 51-28 at home Oct. 2, both came at the hands of the undefeated Fratmen (8-0 in regular season).

Offensively, the Beefeaters were led by quarterback Clarke McCallum, a talented receiving corps, and a trio of running backs, including Geoffrey Clubine, Taz Bell and LJ Dyer, who rushed for 461, 421 and 313 yards, respectively, during the regular season. Clubine’s 8.9 yards per carry was tops on the squad.

For his efforts, he was named the OFC’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

“We’ve had some young guys, first-year players, who’ve had standout years,” said Lake. “Of course, Geoffrey was outstanding … Sam Ackom, our left tackle, he’s been a pleasant surprise, a borderline all-star in his first year … A young Drew Lawrence, who came back from playing baseball in the States, he’s an outstanding corner.”

McCallum finished second in the OFC in touchdown passes (15) and yards (1,380) during the regular season, while Clubine and Bell’s rushing totals were good for second and third overall in the league (Clubine’s four touchdowns were tied for second best). And receiver Mitchel Spence finished second in touchdown catches (8) and third in yards (430).

In mid-November, the team beat the Hamilton Hurricanes, 24-0, on a cold, windy and rainy night at CityWide Sports Park in London to earn a trip to the league final – against the vaunted Fratmen, who decimated opponents throughout the regular season.

“The reality is St. Clair is No. 1 for a reason,” Lake said heading into that game. “We have to do our homework. We look at it four seconds at a time. It doesn’t matter who’s on the field, we’re going to compete to our maximum with those four seconds, and we’re going to focus on process goals and not outcome goals. You’ve got to play mistake-free football (against St. Clair), or minimize your mistakes.”

There were plenty of key four-second moments against the Fratmen in the final in Windsor, and the Beefeaters won them when they counted most – in the final moments of the game. London didn’t play mistake-free football, but they certainly capitalized on St. Clair’s mistakes, and the result was a stunning last-minute come-from-behind win against the top-ranked team in the province.

You really had to see it to believe it.

Down 12-0 with three minutes remaining, the Beefeaters took a safety to play the field position game. On a third down with 1:59 on the clock, a bad snap went over the head of St. Clair’s kicker and rolled all the way to endzone, where Nick Samis jumped on it for a touchdown – the first points for London in the game.

The Beefeaters held the Fratmen to a two and out on the next possession, getting the ball back with 1:06 remaining. McCallum led a drive that ultimately went 53 yards and ended with the veteran quarterback finding Spencer Foster for a catch and run touchdown that tied the game (following the extra point).

“We knew if we could keep it close, we’d have a shot,” said Lake. “The coaching staff kept their heads. We calmly talked with the players … ‘Okay, we’re still in this, anything can happen. Clarke was very perceptive on that pass finding Spencer Foster. Then we’re fired up, we got an exciting bench.”

But the wild play wasn’t over. On the ensuing kickoff, the Fratmen fumbled the football, and the Beefeaters recovered on the 18-yard line with 45 seconds on the clock.

“Jacob Mandel, in an absolute boon play for us, goes in and punches the ball out, and we recover,” said Lake. “There were some mistakes that they made, and we capitalized on them. We kept our composure and we got it done.”

They officially got it done when kicker Leo Centeno punted the ball through the uprights and out the back of the endzone – as time expired – for the single point to give London the 15-14 and a trip to the national final. It was the first time all season that St. Clair had trailed in a game, and the game was over.

Pandemonium ensued on the field, as the Beefeaters, perhaps as stunned as their opponents, celebrated the win.

“You saw the eruption of emotion, and rightfully so,” said Lake. “Our kids stayed in it, and they earned it.”

Now, they’ll face the tough task of beating the Langley Rams in the national final – on campus at Western University. Out on the west coast, Langley earned their trip to the championship contest with a 17-14 win over the perennial powerhouse Saskatoon Hilltops.

It’ll be the first meeting between the two teams. It’s certainly hard to scout a team you’ve never faced before, and who plays on the other side of the country, so while Lake says some scouting reports have factored into preparation, he stresses that the primary focus has been on sharpening the skills that got the Beefeaters to the final in the first place.

“You can’t deviate from what got you here,” he said. “You’re going to make adjustments to the opponent, sure, but your strengths are your strengths, your leaders are your leaders. You have to stay in character, and you have to understand what got you here.”

That includes a slew of talented players. Besides Spence and Bell, Devon Smith (FS), Tyler Thompson (WLB), David Legg (C) and Brayden Bell (RG) were all named conference all-stars this year, along with Jordan Fletcher (D Lineman) and Codey McRoberts (Linebacker), who were also named Defensive All-Canadians and major award winners.

“I’m just so excited for our fans, for the parents of the players, the Board, everybody who puts the work in …” said Lake. “And the City of London and Western University have to be credited with opening up (Western Alumni Field), for a one-time event, in the COVID pandemic. This was a huge joint effort, from Western’s President’s office, the Western Athletic Director, the Mayor’s office … I’d be remiss if I did not mention the heroic work they did to get us into Western for this showcase.”

Kickoff is 12:00pm on Saturday at Western Alumni Field.