Beefs reach final; Falcons make golf history; ‘Stangs playoff time

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Oct. 14-20) — for London’s teams and athletes.

With a lopsided 65-7 win over Quinte Saturday, the London Beefeaters earned a spot in the OFC final next weekend against the St. Clair Saints. (Photo: Joanna Kurowski).

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London Beefeaters

With a 65-7 trouncing of the Quinte Skyhawks in their OFC semi-final matchup Saturday at City Wide Sports Park, the London Beefeaters junior football team earned a trip to the championship final — where they’ll face the powerhouse St. Clair Saints next Saturday (7pm) in Windsor, looking for an upset win and a trip to the CJFL championship game, which will be hosted this year by the Ontario conference champion.

“I was very impressed by how our coaches prepared the players for the semi-final, and how dialed in our players were for the game,” said Beefeaters head coach Matt Snyder. “I think the results speak for themselves.”

As he has all year, running back LJ Dyer came up big for the Beefeaters. The veteran rushed for three touchdown, tallying 103 yards on 14 carries. London also got touchdowns on the ground from Jesse King, Elijah Prosper and Nick Fonti.

Quarterback Brady Miller accounted for two scores for the Beefeaters, who dominated play from start to finish against a Skyhawks team that finished third during the regular season. Nick Szigeti played a major role on special teams, amassing 181 yards on five punt returns — including one he took back all the way to the Quinte 1-yard line. Emmit Howard, meanwhile, returned an interception for a touchdown.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity to compete for a championship,” said Snyder. “We know what it will take to win, and now it’s on us to go out and do it.”

Western Mustangs

The Mustangs clinched second place in the conference with yet another lopsided win — this time a 46-5 decision against the Windsor Lancers. However, the win did come at a cost, as both tailback Ethan Dolby and top receiver Seth Robertson suffered injuries in the contest. Dolby is out for the season with a broken fibula, while Robertson suffered an ankle sprain which may cause him to miss time.

Western wasted no time getting on the board Saturday, scoring their first touchdown five minutes into the contest. The teams traded field goals, and then backup quarterback Jerome Rancourt extended the Mustangs’ lead to 17-3 with the first of his three rushing touchdowns on the day.

Western really ran away with it in the fourth quarter, putting up three scores in the frame. On the day, Rancourt ran for 53 yards on six carries, scoring those aforementioned three touchdowns. Running back Keanu Yazbeck rushed for 76 yards on seven carries, while backs Keon Edwards and Marcell Phillips both tallied touchdown runs.

Starting quarterback Evan Hillock completed 20 of 29 pass attempts for 287 yards. Brayden Misseri was the top receiver on the day, tallying 93 yards on seven catches. Kicker Brian Garrity was 3-for-4 on field goal attempts, finishing the regular season 18-for-23 (78%).

As the second-place team in the conference, the Mustangs will take on No. 7 McMaster in the first round of playoffs (OUA quarterfinals) this weekend at home.

Up next:

Sat. Oct. 26 (1:00pm vs. McMaster Marauders) (OUA quarter-final)

London Knights

The Knights split their two games last weekend, moving to 5-4 on the season. Looking to build on their three-game win streak, the Knights fell 5-1 to the Saginaw Spirit on Friday at home. Down 1-0 to start the second period, Sam Dickinson scored a powerplay goal at the 2:16 mark to tie things up. Easton Cowan and Oliver Bonk were credited with assists on what turned out to be London’s only goal of the night. The Spirit responded with four unanswered goals to earn the win.

Looking to bounce back on Saturday, the Knights beat the Erie Otters 3-1 with newly acquired goaltender Austin Elliott getting his first win. All four London goals came in the second period. Rene Van Bommel scored the icebreaker for London at the 9:39 mark. The Otters responded 24 seconds later, but Easton Cowan notched the game-winner on the powerplay and then Jesse Nurmi added an insurance marker. Elliott stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced in his Knights debut. 

Up next:

Fri. Oct. 25 (7:00pm vs. Brantford Bulldogs)
Fri. Oct. 26 (7:05pm @ Erie Otters)
Sun. Oct. 27 (2:05pm @ Sarnia Sting)

Fanshawe Falcons

The Falcons’ men’s golf team made history last weekend, claiming silver at the CCAA national championship, the best finish ever by the program. And Luke Evans was historic, as well, winning Fanshawe’s first individual gold at the event in Falcons history.

It was Evans and Ben Landers who led the squad, with the latter earning individual bronze. Evans put up rounds of 71, 76, 71 and 70 (+4 overall) en route to winning the individual CCAA gold medal. Landers was +12 over the four days. Also contributing to Fanshawe’s silver medal finish were John Van Bilsen (7th overall), Austin Kuiack and Griffin Rowe.