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?”