Heartbreak Final for Beefs; Mustangs clinch first; Knights drop pair

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Oct. 16-22) — for London’s teams and athletes.

The London Beefeaters lost a heartbreaker to St. Clair in the OFC Final in Windsor Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (Photo: Owen Price Photography).

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London Knights

It was a tough week for the Knights, who lost two of three games — including both weekend contests against American opponents.

The week started well, as London grabbed a 5-1 road win over the Brantford Bulldogs Wednesday. Easton Cowan led the way offensively with two goals and four points overall, while Kasper Halttunen had a pair of goals of his own. London got things going early, as Jackson Edward scored the ice breaker at the 5:05 mark of the first period (assists to Jacob Julien and Denver Barkey). London’s second goal came courtesy Cowan, who scored after being released from the penalty box. And the Knights continued from there, scoring three times in total in the second period. Knights goalie Michael Simpson stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced in the win.

Back home Friday, London lost 5-3 to the Erie Otters. Sam O’Reilly opened the scoring at the 14:30 mark in the first. Isaiah George extended the lead late in the second period, but Erie then responded with two goals in less than 30 seconds to tie the game. London took the lead back just before the five-minute mark thanks to Jacob Julien (assists to O’Reilly and Oliver Bonk). But the lead was short-lived, and Erie went on to score three unanswered goals to earn the win.

On the road Saturday, the Knights lost 6-4 to the Saginaw Spirit. After a scoreless first period, the Knights opened the scoring — for their third game in a row — thanks to Kasper Halttunen’s 8th goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Saginaw’s Nic Sima scored his first of three goals to tie the game. Halttunen’s second goal of the game restored London’s lead, but Sima scored his second of the game to tie it up. The third period was where the Spirit offense took off, as they outscored London 4-2 in the frame to claim the victory.

Up next:

The Knights have just one game on the slate this week — a home contest Friday against Ottawa.

Fri. Oct. 27 (7:00pm vs. Ottawa 67’s)

London Beefeaters

The Beefeaters’ season came to an end Saturday night. Facing the St. Clair Saints in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) Final for the fourth season in a row, London lost a heartbreaker on the road, 32-31, at Acumen Stadium in Windsor.

The game was closely contested in the first half — and largely a defensive affair — with both teams scoring 8 points prior to the break. With London leading 18-15 to start the fourth, St. Clair took their first lead with a touchdown on the opening play of the quarter to go ahead 22-18. They added a field goal to make it 25-18 with 5:20 left. But the Beefeaters brought things even. With 1:46 left in the game, London tied it once again. Then, the rollercoaster began.

The Saints responded with a score 20 seconds later to make it 32-25. London’s LJ Dyer returned the kickoff to midfield to set up good field position for a potential game-tying Beefeaters drive. And that’s what happened — almost. Geoff Clubine found the endzone to bring London within one. Instead of attempting the PAT, London opted to go for a two-point conversion — for the win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful, with an attempted pass falling incomplete. But …

The Beefeaters tried — and successfully — an onside kick and regained possession immediately. With another chance at victory, London moved down the field and into field goal range. But after another big gain by Clubine, he was stripped of the ball for a fumble at the 4-yard line. The Saints jumped on it and won the wild game.

Despite the unfortunate last play, Clubine finished with a great stat line of 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries — while also recording a 13-yard touchdown reception. Dyer, London’s lead back, rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Quarterback George Dennis completed nine of his 14 pass attempts in the game, tossing one touchdown. Jayden Shallow was the team’s leading receiver on the day, hauling in four passes for 67 yards.

On defense, Ben Regier led the squad with eight total tackles on the night. He also had 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Marcello Dasilva had six total tackles. Dylan Roberts and Drew Lawrence both recorded interceptions.

Western Mustangs Football

The Mustangs clinched first place in the OUA standings last weekend with a win Saturday in a battle of two undefeated teams. Laurier came in 7-0, but it was the Mustangs that narrowly took the contest to finish with their second straight 8-0 season.

The 33-30 win over the Golden Hawks did come with a cost, though. Early in the game, reigning OUA MVP running back Keon Edwards suffered what’s expected to be a season-ending ankle injury. In addition, star quarterback Evan Hillock left the game in the fourth quarter after taking a hard hit which resulted in him entering concussion protocol.

Edwards’ injury occurred in the first quarter, with the Mustangs near the end zone. Shortly afterward, Western scored their first touchdown of the game on a short yardage touchdown run by backup QB Jerome Rancourt. Then, Western blew it open in the second quarter, scoring 20 points to take a 27-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. The scoring came courtesy a 21-yard TD pass from Hillock to Brayden Misseri, a 68-yard punt return touchdown by Daniel Kubongo, and a pair of field goals.

But Laurier came out firing in the second half. As much as the Mustangs dominated the first two quarters, the Golden Hawks dominated the third, scoring four unanswered touchdowns in the quarter to take a 28-27 lead.

After a defensive fourth, Rancourt, in the game for the injured Hillock, found Savaughn Magnaye-Jones for a touchdown pass-and-catch late in the quarter that led to a Western win — and first place in the standings. 

Up next:

Western now has a bye week during the first round of the OUA playoffs. They’ll return to action — at home — for a Yates Cup semi-final game Saturday, Nov. 4.

Sat. Nov. 4 (1:00pm vs. TBD) (OUA semi-final)