Toronto Perth has been solid all year, but now comes the tough part of their schedule with matches against Apple Creek, Downsview and Mt. Olive.

Toronto East Titans have matched Perth step for step and close out the season with games against Kanisa, Philly and Apple Creek.

Creek, meanwhile, has travelled under the radar so far but will be tested with games against Perth, Kanisa and East.

And the Downsview Dawgs are living up to the pre-season hype, winning four straight games after losing the first two.

With an unbalanced schedule and key matchups still to come, the 2019 season is wide open, with as many as 7 teams having legitimate reasons to think they can win the whole thing August 24/25.

Here is the OYMFL mid-season power rankings:

1. Perth (4-1) Their only loss was to Toronto West when Perth played without starting QB Leon Perry. After 5 games they have scored the most points (136) and given up a paltry 70 for a plus-66 points differential. Games remaining: Creek, Downsview, Olive.
2. Toronto East (4-1) Big wins over T-West and Downsview are tempered by a huge loss to Perth.  Games remaining: Kanisa, Philly, Creek. 
3. Apple Creek (3-1) Victories against Downsview and Mount Olive is offset by a loss against the improving Philadelphia squad. Games remaining: Perth, Meadowvale, Kanisa, East.
4. Downsview (4-2) First-year team with many recruits and a tough schedule have righted the ship with 4 straight wins. Could move up the chart. Remaining games: Toronto West and Kanisa.
5. Toronto West (3-2) Still to beat a top contender, team’s fortunes will become clear after double-header weekend, starting with game against Downsview Saturday night. Still to play Woodbridge and Kanisa.
6. Philadelphia (3-2). Surprising team of the season, with wins over Kanisa and Apple Creek. Winning season within grasp, with Remaining games versus Malton, East and Woodbridge
7. Kanisa (2-2) – Underachievers so far, team must right the ship on weekend against Toronto East, minus their starting QB. Must-win on Sunday or the pre-season favourite could, gulp, miss the playoffs. Still to play: East, West, Creek and Meadowvale.
8. Mt. Olive (2-3) Defending champions in deep post-championship slumber. Still to play Meadowvale, Woodbridge and Perth and need to win all three to guarantee a playoff spot.
9.  Woodbridge (2-3). With games remaining against West, Olive and Philly, Woodbridge has little room for error. Beating Philly is no longer guaranteed, and even that win alone that won’t be enough.
10. Meadowale (0-4). Struggles continue for this team, but team spirit remains high.
11. Malton (0-6) All eyes will be focused on the Sunday July 14 matchup of Meadowvale and Malton, 2.30 p.m. at Northview.  

A weekend of huge matchups that will have a bearing on playoff seedings and help separate pretenders from contenders begin Saturday night at Mississauga Valleys. It’s Downsview vs Toronto West. Downsview are winners of four straight. Toronto West is still looking for a quality win.

Downsview has served notice that it intends to grab the league title in its inaugural season, rattling off four straight victories after losing the first two. Toronto West has fielded an unstable lineup so observers don’t now what to expect from them.

This matchup will reveal a lot – under the lights at the grass field of Mississauga.

The big-time matchups continue on Sunday (July 7).

At Gordon Graydon in Mississauga, Perth battles Apple Creek in a titanic struggle against two of the three top ranked teams. Is Apple Creek as good as the early results indicate. Or, is Perth the class of the league and will they continue to roll over opponents.

That 10 am game is followed by Meadowvale vs Mt. Olive at 11.30.

In the East, at Woburn Collegiate in Scarborough on Sunday, note the time change.

9 a.m. – It’s Kanisa vs East, a perennial rivalry game that Kanisa badly needs to start feeling good about themselves. East, meanwile, has only stumbled once this season, against Perth.

10.20 — Toronto West plays Woodbridge and a loss would signal doom for the Saints and hope for Woodbridge.

11.40 — Philly vs Malton – a contest that might surprise, if Philly rides in over-confident.

Toronto East QB Carnel Baugh is the 2018 most outstanding male player and Petagaye McIntosh of Mount Olive completed her comeback year by winning the most outstanding female player award.

Baugh beat out Perth QB Leon Perry for the award and McIntosh edged out Amanda Davidson from Toronto East.

Here are the winners (bold type) and finalists for the other 2018 league awards. One player from the East and one from the West were the finalists. 

MOST OUTSTANDING FEMALE DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Kadejah Hughes, Creek beat out Tiffany Hall, Sauga

MOST OUTSTANDING MALE DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Gabriel Temple, Perth beat out Jason Knight, Creek

MOST OUTSTANDING FEMALE OFFENSIVE PLAYER

Amanda Davidson, Toronto East, beat out Petagaye McIntosh, Olive

MOST OUTSTANDING MALE OFFENSIVE PLAYER

Cleon Holmes, Olive beat out Andrew Bringpong, T-West

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

Peter Leslie of Hamilton

 

The name on the jersey spells SWEET BOY; the number’s always the perfect 7.

And there’s no more decorated player in the OYM Football League than one Karl Brown, captain and quarterback for perennial champions Mount Olive Triumph.

They say he can’t throw, that he is a running back masquerading as a QB. He ignores the noise and just nickel and dime teams to death.

They say that at 40 he is not as fast as he once was. Then he goes out and destroys rushers, runs at will, and leaves the defence in tatters.

They say his team’s offence is Mickey Mouse. “Just keep the game simple,” his pastor whispered in his ear all 2018 season. “Find what they give you and take it.”

It’s not like Karl Brown needed any reminder. That’s what he does and it has led to a string of successes for the Mount Olive Triumph.

Since OYM Football took over the church league in 2015, Brown has led the Triumph to the championship game every year – winning the title three times (beating Agape, Apple Creek and Toronto West) and losing once to Toronto West. Each victory earned him the MVP trophy.

In the old DFL, Brown led Olive to one title and joined Toronto West in two title games, winning one and losing the other. In all, Brown has been to the finals seven times, including six straight years. He’s won five of the seven, including three of the last four.

Formula for success?

Preparation, he says. And you need the right personnel.

“The main thing is having everyone on the same page. Understand their role and don’t go outside the role. There’s always someone who knows better, but when you are a winning organization you do what you do and ignore the noise.”

Finally.

“Got to have talent, put in the schematics, the right type of people to push you and help.”And you’ll make a champion.

Whoever said, “Nobody’s perfect,” hasn’t met the Mount Olive Triumph flag football team.

The Triumph completed a perfect 2018 season last Sunday by soundly defeating the Toronto West Saints, 25-17, in the finals of the OYM Flag Football League at Mary Ward high school in Scarborough.

It’s the second time in three years that Mount Olive crafted an undefeated season to win the trophy contested by 13 SDA churches in the GTA.

To be perfect once is amazing. To do it twice in three years is incomprehensible.

Mount Olive has now won the title in three of the last four years. The only blemish was a loss to Toronto West last season. In the last seven years, both teams have three titles each, with Apple Creek taking the other in 2014.

Captain and QB Karl Brown was named game MVP as he gashed the T-West defence for huge runs and timely strikes to an assortment of receivers. Most impressively, Brown tossed two TDs to Petagaye McIntosh and Tenesha Hardie. Girl TDs count for 7 points while Boys score count for 5. That alone sealed the contest.

In the consolation final, the newest team in the league, Apple Creek Royals, won the Redemption Bowl, beating Meadowvale.

A day after the victory, Brown was already setting new mountains to climb: repeat as winners next year AND go for three straight in 2020.

“We’ve done the back-to-back thing. The big one is the three-peat (3 championships in successive years). So the plan is to double up and win next year and then go for the three-peat. That’s never been done.”

And who is going to tell Brown and his squad that they can’t do something. Consider this:

Brown played two seasons with Toronto West when his church did not field a team. The team went to the championship both years, winning in 2013 and losing a perfect season of the final play of the title game in 2014.

Brown returned to Mt. Olive in 2015 and took the tile. In 2016 his team had the first perfect season, winning the trophy again. When they made the pitch for the third straight title last year – and lost to T-West, Brown said it sent him into a tailspin.

“There is no bigger motivator than losing the last game of the season,” Brown said of last year’s loss. “It forces you to go back and re-live everything. The hardest thing is to go back and see the miscues and missed opportunities. It took me months. I couldn’t look at it for awhile.”

But when you face your failures, you can use it as an advantage and it makes you a better person, he said.

Scoring for the Saints were Sheldon James, Darnell James and Dan George. Germaine Clark scored the other Olive touchdown.

Saints were without their starting quarterback Jay Steinberg, forcing George to fill in. The team also sputtered all year without their three perennial elite female players. It showed in the championship game.

Olive took the opening kickoff and marched in to score when Clark beat Sheldon James on an out and ambled into the endzone. Olive promptly stopped T-West on their first drive and then Brown ran one in for a 11-0 lead.

The game’s turning point came on T-West’s second drive when Olive picked off a pass intended for Tyffany Ambrose. To add insult to injury, Olive converted it into a “girl score” as Petagaye McIntosh took it in for seven points and a mountainous 18-0 lead.

Darnell James scored and Andrew Bringpong caught a convert to leave the score 18-7, to provide some hope. Then, taking the second half kickoff, Saints marched down and Sheldon James scored to pull the defending champs within six points.

Undaunted, Olive responded with a girl score from Tenesha Hardie to go up 25-12 and drive a nail in T-West’s coffin. The 13-point deficit was too much to surmount, despite a late TD from George, and the Saints lost their title to the perfect Triumph.

Congrats to Jared Baker, Karl Brown, Germaine Clarke Nick Deslandes, Tenesha Hardie, Cleon Holmes, Junior Jones, Frankie Lazarus, Lamar Lazarus, Petagaye McIntosh, Lindsey Mitchell, Jamel Wilson and Shaa Wilson.

Pastor Frankie Lazarus was transferred to Mount Olive at the start of 2018 and immediately noticed the strength of the team being built.

“We’re putting together a championship team,“ he boasted in February. What did he see all the way back then?

For one, the team was hungry. They had lost to Toronto West in 2017, missing out on their third straight title, and they wanted to return to the mountaintop. Then, the recruits turned out to be just what the team needed. Cleon Holmes defected from Toronto West in search of a larger role. Olive had the space to accommodate him.

“There was a nice spirit to the team. Good attitude,” Lazarus said. “They wanted to beat Toronto West and they did it. They’ve got heart.”

“We have few players and most of us play both ways so Cleon had many opportunities to shine,” Brown said. In fact, Homes scored an astonishing 17 times during the season. Yet, even there, the scores did not come as a result of force-feeding the new recruit. It’s just that Homes took many short passes and turned them into dynamic scores – just the type of devastating impact the conservative, risk-free Mount Olive offence needed.

In the first game of the season, a re-match with Toronto West, Holmes declared his arrival with a spectacular performance. First, he took a dump pass and dipsy-doodled 50 yards for one score. Then, covering a kickoff, he got his hand on a pitch attempt by Toronto West and took it for a second score. And, the coup de gras was an endzone interception that he took 120 yards for a touchdown.

Olive had lost Craig Farrier through a defection, but had gained a replacement defector in Holmes. It’s a swap they would make again, no doubt. Besdies, Petagaye returned from maternity leave and two veterans (Lamar Lazarus and Jared Baker) joined the team.

Brown would only say, “We had no issues on the team this year.“

“The re-emergence of Petagaye was a huge comeback for us. It felt like a free agent acquisition. It brought back that lock down girl we needed. Then with Lamar and Jared we had two character guys. We didn’t have one issue at all compared to last year when it was dealing with a situation all the time.”

Brown said the secret to his team’s success is “having everyone on the same page. Understand their role and don’t go outside the role.”

After a three week break for CYSA Track and the holidays, OYMFL football is back with the top 8 teams battling to stay alive and compete for the championships on August 26.

All four games — two at Pickering High and two at Gordon Graydon — will be feature furious competition but the Eastern games are especially tantalizing. Toronto East and Apple Creek are a sure-fire bet to go down to the wire in the last 5 plays. Meanwhile, the top seed and defending champions Toronto West face the talented and dangerous Kanisa Conquerors in the second game of the double-header at Pickering High. Any of those four teams will be a worthy representative of the East come Super Sunday. But first they have to beat up on each other.

Please note start time in the west is 9.30 a.m.

WESTERN SEMI-FINALS.

Perth (5-3) vs Hamilton (4-4)

They’ll start early — at 9.30 a.m., and maybe they’ll score often as the prolific Perth offence take on the boys and girls from Steeltown. Perth’s number one target, Nat Fray, should be fully recovered from early season injuries and that might just tip the scales of the squad who has returned to OYM Football with a successful 5 and 3 season.

Hamilton avoided a date with the powerhouse squad from Mt. Olive by grabbing two free points when Mississauga forfeited their final game. But Perth will be a formidable opponent.

Key factor may be the number of girls missing from Perth’s squad because they play in the elite league and this is a tournament weekend in Unionville.

Mt.Olive (8-0) vs Woodbridge (4-4)

Woodbridge fancies themselves as the Cardiac Kids who will stage a monumental upset victory. But there is little to substantiate that wish. Olive is back with a re-tooled squad that may be better than their undefeated team that finished with a perfect season in 2016. Here they are again, undefeated in the regular season, and three games away from doing the impossible — again.

Instead of Karl Brown and Prime Time, they have Karl Brown and Cleon Holmes, with his 16 touchdowns. And the defence is now bolstered by LaMar Lazarus and Jared Baker.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS

East (5-3) vs Apple Creek Golden Apples (5-3)

Their regular season game was a barn-burner and noone expects anything different this time — except that East will be missing its elite girls, playing in the Unionville tournament.

T-West (7-1)  vs Kanisa (4-4)

It’s now or never for the elite squad from Kanisa. Both sides will be missing their elite imports because they are playing in the Unionville tournament, so it is the home-grown squad that will decide this one.

This is Kanisa’s chance. But you know the saying: “Never underestimate the heart of a champion.”

This will be an enthralling contest to end Playoff Sunday.

Please note there are no Redemption Bowl games this week. Redemption Bowl semis will go August 19, along with the Championship round divisional finals at Northview. Games go at 10 am, 11.30 am, 1 pm and 2.30 pm. Schedule to be released next week.

Please note the new start time of 9.30 am in the West. Eastern games are at 10 and 11.30 am.

In the West, Perth is responsible to get the equipment to the game. Olive will take home the equipment. In the East, Creek will take the equipment to the game and Kanisa will return the equipment after the second game.

OFFICIAL 2018 OYMFL Football Calendar

 

February 17 midnight — Deadline to pay $100 deposit to join the league for 2018

February 18, 2018 — 2018 AGM at CAA

March 1, 2018 — Deadline to register for Indoor Tournament. Adventistontario.org

March 10 — 9 pm to 3 am — March Midnight Madness Indoor Tournament

March 18 — Deadline to join 2018 season & Pay 50% of the league fees

Saturday March 31, MIDNIGHT — Deadline for schedule requests

Thursday, April 26 @ midnight — Deadline for final league fee payment.

Saturday Night May 26 — Season opener

Sunday May 27 – Season Launch @ Northview & Fields

Saturday, June 2 — Saturday Night Game of the Week

Sunday June 3 – Week 2 in Pickering and Mississauga

Saturday June 9 — Saturday Night Game of the Week

Sunday June 10 – Week 3 — in Pickering and Mississauga

Saturday June 16 — Saturday Night Game of the Week

Sunday June 17 – Week 4 — in Pickering and Mississauga

Saturday June 23 — Saturday Night Game of the Week

Sunday June 24 – Week 5 — Cross-conference games at Northview

Saturday/Sun July 1/2 — Holiday Weekend. No Games

Saturday July 7 — Saturday Night Game of the Week

Sunday July 8 – Week 6 — in Pickering and Mississauga

Saturday July 14 — Saturday night Game of the Week

Sunday, July 15 — Week 7 — Cross-Conference games at Northview

Saturday July 21 – Saturday night Game of the Week

Sunday July 22 — Week 8 — In Pickering and Mississauga

Saturday July 28/ 29 —  Rainout Option and All-Star Game

August 4/6 – Off Holiday weekend – Optional rainout date

August 11/12   Playoff Quarterfinals in Pickering and Mississauga

August 18/19  — Championship & Redemption Bowl Semi-finals at Northview

Saturday/Sunday August 25/26 – Championships and Redemption Bowl

Redemption Bowl: East 23, Kanisa 22

Conquerors close but miss out again; vow to continue the chase in 2018

East QB tells T-West: “Meet you in the finals next season”

The great thing about second chances is everybody deserves one. And the Toronto East Titans made good use of theirs last Sunday with a thrilling 23-22 victory over Kanisa Conquerors.

Even as Toronto West celebrated their OYMFL championship win, Toronto East set about salvaging a season that did not go according to plans.

A perennial contender, East has landed on hard times and missed the championship rung of the playoffs. But instead of pouting, the team rallied to finish strong and made it to the ultimate second chance game — the Redemption Bowl.

Like the regular season of 2017, East trailed the entire game before rallying to snatch victory from defeat.

“Just  like the Titans we are, we kept it together,” said quarterback Carnel Baugh. “We fought, we dug deep, we stuck  to the game plan. We were in a hole to start the game but we did not quit.”

Baugh considered the game a personal test as well as a growing up moment for his team. Having missed three games because of an illness, Baugh feels the team might have won at least one of those games and made it into the championship rung of the playoffs. They did not and Baugh is not making excuses.

In fact, he says he’s just thankful to God for helping him get well and for the privilege of playing.

“I knew we had to win this game, because there was so much at stake, for me personally. I wanted this game more than anything else. I  wanted to prove that we belong here, and that we can run with the big boys. To show our fans that the Titans are for real,  that we do have a team that will compete to the last minute.”

That they did. Baugh scored one and passed forTDs to Shushana Harris and Ruth Reynolds and Jeremy Anderson. The girls TD, worth seven points compared to boys score for five points, proved to be the difference.

Backed by a monster game and three TDs from Cecil Lewis,  Kanisa went out in front and seemed positioned to win their first title, be that OYMFL championship or consolation Redemption Bowl.

Team manager Andy Marshall explains Kanisa’s thinking and approach.

“The Redemption Bowl is a good idea.  Everyone has something to play for, even if the regular season doesn’t go too well.  Our team looked forward to playing playoff football.

 “We had a lot of things go right in the game.  Our deception play worked like a charm in the first half, leading to our first touchdown.  We moved the ball well.  Cecil Lewis had his best game of the season, with three TDs.  Our offence scored four TDs in the game. Usually when that happens it’s a W for us.”

Not this time, and it was a bitter pill for a Kanisa team that lost the Redemption Bowl in 2016 to first-year team Woodbridge. But Marshall says his team is not devastated, just determined to improve.

“We didn’t hang our head.  We gave it a very good effort, leading for most of the game.  We recognize we have to do something different next year to not be in this position again, and some serious thought will be put towards what is the best way forward, what needs to change and what needs to be kept.

“Congrats to East.  They fought back all game, the only time they took the lead was on their last TD when they went up 6 points.  They fought back all year, after a terrible start to the season.  We always have a good time playing them, the games are always close, and this year they got the better of us,” Marshall said.

Between last year and this year, both teams have played each other three times, with East holding the edge with two wins. The total point differential after three games is 3 points.

In Sunday’s game, Cecil Lewis scored late — a rumbling stumbling TD after he coralled a long pass from QB John Cavallari, fell to the ground and got up in time to elude the clutching, flailing hands of multiple East defenders. Trailing by one, with the chance to tie the game with a 5-yard convert, Kanisa went for the two-point convert and the win. Cavallari’s pass fell just beyond the diving Lewis in the end zone and East ran out the clock for the victory.

Following the game a jubilant East squad verbalized their goals for next season with the refrain,  “We’re coming for you T-West.” — the 2017 league champion.

Baugh added: “This was our first time in the Redemption Bowl. I plan to make it our last! It’s fun, but not for me! So this was why we had to make it so memorable. LOL. Keep in mind that the Titans will be making a strong run for the trophy next season.

“This was another great year for football.  We have nowhere to go but up from here.  Special shout to my teammates, the refs, and big congrats to T-West. See you in the finals next season.”

The rest of the league of 12 teams, maybe 14, are saying,  “What about us?”