Beefeaters win big; Mustangs take opener; Majors on verge of semi

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Aug. 21-26) — for London’s teams and athletes.

(Photo: Barry Field Photography).

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London Beefeaters

In a big bounce-back effort from their Week 1 loss, the London Beefeaters junior football squad trounced the Hamilton Hurricanes, 50-11, on the road Saturday at Tim Hortons Field to even their record at 1-1 in the early part of the 2024 OFC season.

Leading 22-8 after two quarters, the Beefs had a huge second half, outscoring their opponents 28-3 the rest of the way. They managed touchdowns in each quarter, producing 406 net total yards on offense. London quarterback Brody Fairbairn completed 10 of his 16 pass attempts for 159 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Both of Fairbairn’s touchdown passes went to Jagger Horst, including a 17-yard connection in the first quarter and a 31-yard pass-and-catch in the second quarter. Nick Szigetti led London’s receiving corps in yards with 64 on five catches. Karson Douglas also hauled in two catches for 31 yards.

On the ground, lead back LJ Dyer ran for 130 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Jesse King tallied 58 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, while Fairbairn himself also ran in a couple of scores. On defense, the Beefeaters produced three interceptions (Drew Lawrence, Semi Taiwo and TJ Murray). John Henry Rouse had a sack for London, who will face Hamilton in a rematch — this time at home — this weekend at City Wide Sports Park.

Up next:

Sat. Aug. 31 (3:00pm vs. Hamilton Hurricanes)

Western Mustangs

The Mustangs got their season off to a strong start on Sunday by beating the Ottawa Gee Gees, 38-11, in the nation’s capital, to begin a season in which they’re eyeing defending a Yates Cup championship once again as Ontario champs.

After a Brian Garrity field goal, Ben Cottrell came up big with a fumble recovery on a blocked punt and ran it 31 yards for the first touchdown of the game, giving Western a 10-0 lead at the time. Leading 19-10 at the half, thanks to three Garrity field goals, the Mustangs managed two more touchdowns, another field goal and a safety in the second half to run away with the win.

A lot of offensive damage came on the ground, as both Keon Edwards (104 on 14 carries) and Keanu Yazbeck (103 on 15 carries) eclipsed 100 yards rushing. Yazbeck had the lone touchdown on the ground. In the air, wide receiver Seth Robertson led the way with five catches for 102 yards and a touchdown in the contest. Daniel Kubongo also hauled in three passes. Western quarterback Evan Hillock finished the day just 10-of-23 for 123 yards. Backup Jerome Rancourt was responsible for Robertson’s touchdown catch.

Up next:

Sun. Sept. 1 (7:00pm vs. Waterloo Warriors)

FC London

Men

With a strong finish to the 2024 season, the FC London men beat Pickering FC, 3-0, on Friday night to give them a 13-3-2 record in their 18 matches this season. London had already earned automatic promotion to League1 Ontario’s Premier Division for next season thanks to their second place finish in the Championship Division.

On Friday, Ryan Baker scored in the 68th minute after a scoreless first half to put London on the board. Ibrahem Saadi extended the lead in the 77th minute, and Cameron Smyth scored a third marker 13 minutes later.

London placed second in the Championship Division, behind only TFC Academy, but earned automatic promotion because TFC Academy won’t be returning to the league next season (otherwise they’d have played a promotion-relegation game to earn entry).

London Majors

After finishing the regular season strong and clinching third place, the Majors opened their IBL playoffs on Friday with the first of a best-of-five series against the Hamilton Cardinals at Labatt Park. And it went well, as they took the opener of the series, 3-2, in a close affair.

Victor Payano got the start for London, and he dazzled over eight innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. Tyler Gillies earned the save with a clean ninth inning. Victor Plaz got London on the board first with a solo homer in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Byron Reichstein extended the lead with an RBI single, and later in the game he scored on a Plaz double. Hamilton responded with a pair of runs in the 5th inning but London held them scoreless for the remainder of the game.

The Cardinals bounced back — in a big way — on Saturday with a 16-2 trouncing of the Majors in Hamilton, knotting the series at one game apiece. London used five pitchers in the game, and starter Travis Keys was charged with the loss (six runs on eight hits over five innings). Hamilton's offense was relentless all game, as they scored two runs or more in five separate innings.

Back in London Sunday, things were close again. In a back-and-forth affair, London came out on top 10-9 to take a 2-1 series lead. The Majors scored three times in the first inning, thanks in part to RBI doubles from Kaiden Cardoso and Byron Reichstein. Hamilton went ahead 9-8 in the sixth inning, but the Majors scored a pair in the seventh to take back the lead — this time for good. Cardoso and Reichstein finished with three hits apiece.

Up next:

The Majors take a 2-1 series lead into Tuesday’s Game 4 in Hamilton looking to secure the series. If a Game 5 is necessary, it’ll be back in London Wednesday night.

Game 4: Tues. Aug. 27 (7:35pm @ Hamilton Cardinals)
Game 5: Wed. Aug. 28 (7:35pm vs. Hamilton Cardinals)