Can Beefeaters pull off back-to-back upsets, defend OFC title?

The London Beefeaters are 7-2. Their only losses? Versus the St. Clair Saints, who they’ll face Saturday in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) championship game. A tall order, but one they’ve accomplished before …

(Photo: Joanna Kurowski).

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A 38-14 win over the Ottawa Sooners last weekend has the London Beefeaters in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) Finals for the second year in a row, and they’ll face a familiar championship opponent Saturday night: The St. Clair Saints.

It’s a rematch of last year’s dramatic final, during which the Beefeaters pulled off an improbable last-minute comeback. Down 14-0 with three minutes left to play, London somehow found a way to flip the game on its head, beating the Saints by a single point – through the endzone as time expired.

Up to this point, this year’s circumstances are nearly identical to the situation the Beefeaters faced in 2021, with the Saints having handed them their only two losses of the season and the Beefeaters entering the OFC final as the underdog. This year, St. Clair beat London in back-to-back games in early September.

“The first game we played them was a very close competitive game. The second game got away from us a little bit,” said Matt Snyder, the team’s head coach. “I think we understand that we can compete with them. At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to the players on the field.”

The Beefeaters lost the first matchup, 26-18, at home, with the second matchup being a 53-20 road loss. But London proved last year that regular season results can mean very little in the playoffs. Regular season experience, however, means a lot.  

“The biggest thing we can take away is we have to prepare well. Going into the first game, we had a great week of practice. The second week we weren’t as sharp as I felt we could have been,” said Snyder, noting that if the Beefeaters are to take down the Saints Saturday, it’ll take not just hard work from the players up and down the roster, but also the willingness to do the little things.

“(Last year’s game) shows us that no matter what the situation in the game is, there’s always a chance,” said Snyder. “Our goal is to keep it as close as we can until the second half and try to win a close game. That’s been our style of football all year.”

That style certainly worked last weekend when the Beefeaters ousted the Sooners in their semi-final matchup. London fell behind 7-0 early, scored twice in the second quarter, and maintained a touchdown lead heading into the fourth. That’s when they pulled away, scoring 17 points in the final quarter to earn a trip to this weekend’s final.

(Photo: Joanna Kurowski)

The Beefeaters had several outstanding performances in that game. Two such performances came from running back LJ Dyer, who logged 175 yards and an impressive three touchdowns, and linebacker Conner Crozier, the league’s Defensive Player of the Week, who led the team with nine tackles and also contributed to a sack.

The win set them up for what’s sure to be their toughest test yet: A championship game against the Saints, who are coming off their own semi-final win, a 44-0 drubbing of the Hamilton Hurricanes.

Saturday’s game is set for 7:00pm at Acumen Stadium at St. Clair College in Windsor. The winner will advance to play in a CJFL semi-final game against the champion from the British Columbia Football Conference.

Given all the recent history between the two teams, it’s safe to say there’s a rivalry here. About half of London’s coaching staff and players were part of last year’s dramatic victory. And that’s a win, Snyder says, that the team can feed off. He also believes the Beefeaters are ready heading into this year’s final.

“What I felt at our last practice was that our team was focused and prepared,” the coach said. “We’re not going to let this become an emotional game. We’re just going to go out there and execute to the best of our abilities.”

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London Beefeater Award Winners:

OFC All-Stars (regular season)
Running Back: Taz Bell
Running Back: LJ Dyer
Offensive Line: David Legg
Kicker and Punter: AJ Williamson
Defensive Line: Dylan Clarke
Defensive Back: Jordan Wright
Defensive Back: Willy Mboko 

Outstanding Offensive Player of the Year
Taz Bell (tie with St. Clair WR Jared Hayes)
ATT: 86
YDS: 554
AVG: 6.4 YDS
LONG: 99
TD: 3

Outstanding Defensive Lineman
Dylan Clarke
TKS: 23
AST TKS: 9
QB SACK: 6.5
TD: 1 

Outstanding Special Teams Player
AJ Williamson
FG TRIED: 25
MADE: 19
FG %: 76
LONG: 49
PTS: 90
CONV: 21/22

Bill Prest Community Service Award
Kevin Ricard