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.