(Posted 7:30 a.m., May 30)
Invaders co-owner snags interception, sets up score in opening game
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

After months of preparation, the Ottawa Invaders finally took to the field for their first game in franchise history Saturday night and the result was a very impressive 27-0 win over the Oakville Longhorns.

A number of east end players had big games for the Invaders included the team's co-founder and vice-president Erik Faucon who snagged an interception at the beginning of the second half and ran it back 24 yards to set up a 32-yard touchdown toss from Vikta-Paulo Bainomugisha to Kyle Kavanaugh.

Bainomugisha had three touchdown tosses on the day including a 13-yard toss to a wide open Joe Alidu near the end of the first quarter for the team's first ever touchdown. He also threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jonan Pantzky late in the game.

Running back Brandon Weekes added a TD to close out the first half and the Longhorns conceded a fourth quarter safety to round out the scoring.

Even more impressive than the Invaders' offence was their defence which yielded just five first downs, two of which came late in the game.

Invaders head coach Ken Evraire was very happy with what he saw on the field, but he also felt there was room for improvement.

"I thought our quarterback showed some poise. He was making reads out there that he struggled with in practice. We're also not a very big team so we're going to have to finesse some teams along the way if we want to keep winning,: said Evraire.

The only real negative aspect of the Invaders effort on Saturday was their kicking game, especially on extra points where they were only 1-for-4. But the inability to kick extra points failed to dampen the victory in any way, especially for guys like Orléans native Qasim Khan who hadn't played a meaningful game of football in almost three years.

"Oh man, that was unbelievable. I had the time of my life out there," said Khan. "That's the way we wanted to start off. To finally strap the helmets on and trade paint, it felt great. And as a team, we did what we wanted to do "

For Erik Faucon, the only thing that would have made the win even sweeter would have been to return his third quarter inception all the way to the end zone.

"It would have been nice to take it back to the house, but I kind of lost the handle on it. We end up scoring right afterwards so that was great and as a defence we managed to put a goose egg on the board," said Faucon who first dreamed of putting a team together with his friend James McAllister during the winter.

"To be able to look down the sideline and see the smiles on the guys' faces was pretty special. That's what it's all about."

The Invaders play their first road game next Saturday in North Bay. They'll return to Keith Harris Stadium the following week to play the Toronto Maddogs. For more information or to see the complete schedule visit www.ottawainvaders.ca.

(Posted 7:30 p.m., May 20)

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