Saints Advance to OFC Championship in Rout over Hamilton

Windsor, ON – The St. Clair Saints have advanced to the OFC Championship game for the second straight year after defeating the Hamilton Hurricanes by a score of 44-0 in the OFC Semi-Final at Acumen Stadium.

A cold, windy night at Acumen Stadium saw the Saints defence put on another dominant performance. The Saints posted their third shutout of the season and only allowed 197 yards of offence to the Hurricanes. A Jonathan Cartier (Chatham, ON) 10-yard touchdown run, and a safety saw the Saints up 9-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was much of the same for the Saints. With multiple defensive stops and turnovers, this put the Saints into excellent field position where Kicker Connor Rafferty (Kingston, ON) drilled two field goals to extend the lead to 15-0. Moments later, an interception by OFC All-Star Nick Brajkovic (Windsor, ON) gave the Saints the ball in Hamilton territory, leading to an Andrew Brush (Kitchener, ON) rushing touchdown.

The Saints offence exploded in the last minute of the second quarter until the end of the third quarter thanks to Quarterback Andrew Brush and Wide Receiver Dante Lewis (Windsor, ON) who caught two touchdown passes from Brush, and giving the Saints a 36-0 lead. Lewis finished the game with 5 catches for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns. While Brush finished the game completing 14 of 20 passes for 325 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, he also added 6 rushes for 34 yards and a touchdown. To end the third quarter Brush hit another Wide Receiver for a touchdown, this time Enzey Youyoute (Mississauga, ON) caught a 10-yard pass giving the Saints a 43-0 lead heading into the 4^th quarter. A single by Rafferty was added late in the fourth seeing the Saints take a 44-0 victory.

An all-around game from the defence makes it hard to pinpoint the x-factors. Here are a few notables on the defensive side of the ball; Defensive Back Billy Patterson (Windsor, ON) had 2 tackles, a sack, and an interception. Defensive Back Shaye Wynter (Brampton, ON) and Linebacker Josh Allen (Windsor, ON) led the team in tackles with 4 each. Defensive Tackle Lorenzo Blake (Columbus, Ohio, US) recorded a tackle and a sack.

The Saints look forward to hosting the OFC Championship rematch at Acumen Stadium this Saturday, October 22^nd against rival London Beefeaters. Kick-off is set for 7:00pm, winner will host the CJFL National Semi-Final against the British Columbia Football Conference Champion.

EVENT:         St. Clair Saints vs Hamilton Hurricanes

DATE/TIME:  Sat, Oct. 15^th (7:00pm)

LOCATION:   Acumen Stadium (St. Clair College)

RESULT:       St. Clair (9-0) defeated Hamilton (3-6) by a score of 44-0.  

Go to www.saintsathletics.ca for up-t­­o-date information and results