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O-ville knocks out Niagara with a 28-22 victory

August 5, 2015   ·   0 Comments

The Orangeville Outlaws Junior Varsity team are the 2015 Ontario Minor Football League champions after winning the final game over the Niagara Spears on Saturday, August 1, at Esther Shiner Stadium in Toronto.

The Outlaws were considered the underdogs going into the championship game as the Niagara team ended the regular season in first place and was undefeated going into the final game.

That didn’t deter the Outlaws who also pulled off an upset victory over the second place TNT Express in the semi-final game.

The Outlaws turned out a stellar performance from the get-go and held tough through the entire four quarters.

It wasn’t an easy win and the final minute provided the most excitement when Niagara advanced on a couple of short passes and landed on the one-yard line on a second down.

All they needed to do was advance the ball a single yard to tie the game, but the Outlaws defence hit back hard and drove the Spears back to the eight yard line.

When the ball was snapped on the next play, the snap went high and dribbled over the quarterback’s fingertips and an Outlaws player pounced on it to give Orangeville possession with 20 seconds left on the clock to end the game 28-22 and secure the championship for the team in Orange.

“We felt like we couldn’t be stopped after those first two touchdowns,” Said Outlaws running back Jeriah Calladares. “They started coming back on us (in the second half) but we were down but I know we can get back up if our whole team works together.”

Calladares said the team had a slow start to the season but picked up momentum as they went through the schedule.

“We didn’t start (the season) off too good in the beginning. After our first game we adjusted and started improving as a team and started working hard and we started winning more games.”

Calladares has been an outstanding player on the squad this season, known for his speed and scoring ability when the team needs a touchdown.

Saturday’s championship got off to a good start when Mason Corrie made a dash to the right and down the sideline and managed to keep in bounds by inches to light up the scoreboard for the Outlaws.

Niagara relied heavily on their throwing game in the first half – a skill they are noted for – but in Saturday’s game they just couldn’t connect with most passes in the half missing the mark.

Calladares got his first of three TDs in  the afternoon game midway in the quartarter when he ran a 100 yard dash – literally – starting from the ten yard line in the Orangeville end and ran the entire field to score.

The Orangeville team relied on a lot of heavy blocking and charging through the middle in the first half giving the ball to Harold Van der Veen who used his power to crash through the middle time after time gaining some first downs on the way.

The Outlaws were up 22-0 late in the half when Calladares caught a pass and scored with two seconds left on the clock.

Niagara scored early in the second half then kicked the convert for the extra point.

O-ville had big gains in third quarter on runs by Spencer Payne and Chris Marsh.

The game was halted temporarily when a sudden storm blew in with heavy wind, rain, and hail that covered the field and the officials decided the conditions just weren’t playable. Within ten minutes the storm passed over and the sun came back out.

The Spears closed the gap on a long pass in the third quarter to challenge the lead.

Calladares got his third TD of the game on a huge run late in the third quarter.

The Outlaws defence held tough in the fourth quarter but a series of successful passes brought the Niagara team down field for the final one minute showdown in the Orangeville end.

The bad snap ended Niagara’s chances of getting back in the game and the Outlaws earned the right to hoist the cup.

The Outlaws played an outstanding game over all.

Luke Russel made a spectacular hit dropping Niagara for yards in the second quarter. The O-ville defensive line of Josh Fetterly, Peter Shuman, Spencer Payne, Sebastian Iozzo, John Sinanios, and Tyrell Asante, excelled at slamming the opposition. Dorian Best made a nice block on a pass deep in the Orangeville end in the fourth quarter followed by another spectacular diving block by Spencer Payne.

The win capped off a season that saw the Outlaws lose their first game against the Etobicoke Eagles before winning four straight, and ending the regular season with a third place finish and a 5-3 record.

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