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Ontario
Varsity Football
Panthers
get mauled by visiting Tabbies
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
It
was an all-out cat fight at Millenium Park on Saturday,
June 10 as the Hamilton Varsity Tiger Cats were in town
to play the Cumberland Panthers in OPFL Week 4 action.
The
day started with the Panther's bantam squad coming out
on the wrong end of a 25-18 final against their Steel
City counterparts.
Running
back Alex Vilain scored a pair of touchdowns in a losing
cause for the home side -- one through the air and one
on the ground -- while pivot Zacharie Clouthier scored
the team's third touchdown on a quarterback keeper.
Hamilton
improved their record to 3-1 with a convincing 53-20 victory
over Cumberland who fell to 1-3 after four weeks of play.
Things
didn't get much better for the Panthers junior varsity
team which put up a valiant effort in the first half,
only to get beat 29-17 when the dust settled in the fourth
quarter.
Quarterback
Ryan Lincardo had another strong game, completing 17 of
35 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, but the team's
defense struggled, allowing 385 yards through the air
and four touchdowns.
The
Panthers also found it tough going on the ground, gaining
just 39 yards in 12 attmepts.
The
Panthers' last hope for a win came down to the club's
varsity team, but they too proved to be no match for theTiger-Cats
as they were overwhelmed 53-20.
The
Hamilton team led 8-0 after the first quarter courtesy
of two field goals by Tiger-Cats placekicker Max Capriotti
and a safety given up by the Panthers' offence.
The
closest Cumberland came in this one was midway through
the second quarter when Panthers QB Alex Laurie and WR
Roberto Jimenez-Bojorquez hooked up for a well-executed
26 yard touchdown pass.
The
six points plus a successful conversion cut into Hamilton's
lead to 8 points 15-7 and gave the Panthers a glimmer
of hope.
"I
did what I could to get our team some momentum and get
back in the game," said Jimenez-Bojorquez. "I
had an idea I could beat their defender and I did. Our
coaches saw a flaw in the defence and we exploited it
with a touchdown pass."
The
Panthers momentum was short-lived as Hamilton capitalized
on some sloppy defence by Cumberland and scored the game's
next two majors to increase their lead to 29-7 before
both teams took a break at halftime.
The
second half saw the Tiger Cats pick up where they left
off with another score. A holding call nullified a touchdown
by Hamilton so they had to settle for a field goal to
go ahead 32-7.
"Hamilton
is a very good team, we had trouble playing at their level,"
admitted Panthers head coach, Aaron Geisler.
"We're
a fairly young team that has a tendency to make mistakes
at the wrong time. If we can learn to be better and play
with more consistency, we'll be okay."
The
Panthers pushed back when Lawrie completed his second
touchdown pass of the night when he connected with Zyon
Murray from the Hamilton 20 yard line.
But
once again, Cumberland struggled to defend in their zone
and the Tiger-Cats found the back of the end zone on the
last play of third quarter to take a commanding 39-14
lead.
The
final frame of play started with Cumberland putting together
a nice set of downs, including a spectacular catch by
Jimenez-Bojorquez to put the ball on Hamilton's 19 yard
line.
But
a cross zone pass was intercepted with the Hamilton player
running the length of the field for another Ti-Cats TD
to increase the visitors lead to an insurmountable 46-14
advantage.
Hamilton
kept coming and coming, hitting the century mark in scoring
late in the game but Cumberland's Enoc Enyeka closed out
the game with an electric 97 yard touchdown run to end
the game on a positive note for the Panthers.
All
three Cumberland teams will back in action at Millenium
Park this Monday, June 19when they take on the Mississauga
Warriors. Game times are 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents an all ages production of Treasure Island in the Richcraft Theatre at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Showtimes Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets $20 for adults. Students and youth 25 and under $10. To purchase visit 
TAPROOM 260 presents Michael Ben-Shalom live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
TAPROOM 260 presents The Underground live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
CLASSIC PIANO RECITAL – Orléans pianist Emily Hou will be performing works by Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Liszt at Kanata United Church as part os the Beaverbrook Community Concert Series. The recital will start promptly at 3 p.m. Kanata United Church is located at 33 Leacock Dr. in Kanata. For more information visit 
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. Trivia Night from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call (613) 834-9005 to reserve your spot. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near the Innes Road McDonalds.
