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NCAFA
Football
Panther
tykes successfully defend
A-Cup championship
By Fred Sherwin
The Orleans Star
The
Cumberland Panthers proved why they are the most dominant
football club in the National Capital Region on Sunday,
winning three of the four city titles up for grabs at
the National Capital Amateur Football Association A-Cup
finals.
The
tyke team kicked things off with a 30-22 win over the
Cornwall Wildcats. The peewee team then downed the Bell
Wolverines 28-7 and the bantam squad topped things off
with a 35-0 win over the Warriors bantam team.
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A
jubilant Cumberland Panthers tyke team celebrates
after winning the NCAFA A-Cup championship
at Minto Field on Sunday. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The
Panther tykes were led to victory by their quarterback
Vincent Anderson, who scored three of his team's four
touchdowns and added three converts,
The
Panthers (10-1) got off to a strong start against the
previously unbeaten Wildcats. They moved the ball 49 yards
in eight plays on their opening drive, which included
a 17-yard touchdown run by Jordan Gallagher.
Bouyed
by their success on offence, the Panther players, many
of whom play both sides of the ball in the 7-on-7 format
adopted at the tyke level this season, completely shutdown
the Wildcats on defence, forcing them to punt the ball
on their first two possessions.
After
giving up the opening touchdown, the Wildcats were able
to tighten things up on defence and the two teams traded
possessions until late in the first quarter when the Wildcats
exploded for a 38-yard touchdown run to tie the score
at 6-6 after missing their convert attempt.
The
Panthers answered right back by manufacturing an 11 play,
58 yard drive culminating in a three-yard touchdown run
by Anderson who added two points on the convert to give
Cumberland a 14-6 lead. They would go up 22-6 on a one-yard
touchdown run by Anderson on their next series which was
set up by a Sam Baptist fumble recovery on the Wildcats'
19-yard line.
The
Wildcats responded with their second touchdown of the
game late in the second quarter to narrow the half-time
deficit to 22-14.
The
Panthers took control of the game after the break by first
forcing the Wildcats to punt the ball just two plays into
their opening drive and then putting together another
long scoring drive for their fourth touchdown of the game
scored by Anderson.
Down
16 points, the Wildcats refused to give up and were eventually
rewarded for their tenacity with a touchdown pass early
in the fourth quarter that covered 47 yards.
The
rest of the game was a real nail-biter with the Wildcats
needing a converted touchdown to tie the game and force
overtime. After failing to pick up a first down on their
next two possessions, the Wildcats hopes came down to
their final drive of the game which ended prematurely
when an errant snap from centre was pounced on by Baptiste
for his second fumble recovery of the game.
After
the turnover the Panthers simply ran out the clock for
a 30-22 win and their second NCAFA championship in as
many years under the guidance of head coach Eric Anderson.
"These
kids have a lot of heart. They were oversized for the
most part. They just did whatever it took to grind it
out,� Anderson said after the game. "It's just amazing
how they've all progressed during the season. You have
17 kids, nine of whom have never played football before,
and some second year kids who stepped into new positions.
They just worked really, really hard. They deserve this,
they really do.�
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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MATT LULOFF W/ EDISON RUPERT performing at the Stray Dog Brewing Company, 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park. To register your team visit 
OTTAWA CARLETON MALE CHOIR in concert at the Navan-Vars United Church 1129 Smith Rd. in Navan at 2:30 p.m. Tickets $20 at the door.
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. presents Oyster Wednesdays every Wednesday. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near McDonalds.
BLACKBURN HAMLET COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The entire community is invited…rain or shine! Please keep visiting blackburn.ca for more up-to-date information as it becomes available.
