Ontario Varsity Football
Semi-perfect day spoiled by last minute touchdown
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online

Rashari Somerville-Henry scored both touchdowns in the Cumberland Panthers 13-8 win over the Pickering Dolphins in Peewee Varsity action on Saturday. Fred Sherwin/Photo

The Cumberland Panthers came within an eyelash of having a perfect day on Sunday. If not for a touchdown in the final minute of the Junior Varsity game, the hometown Panthers could have gone a perfect 3-0 having gotten wins in the Peewee Varsity and Varsity games.

The Peewee Varsity team got things started on the right foot with an impressive 13-8 win over the Pickering Dolphins who were 3-1 heading into the contest.

Rashari Somerville-Henry supplied all of the offense for the home side with touchdown runs of 75 and 55 yards, while the defense played a nearly flawless game, holding the visitors to just one first down in the first half.

Somerville-Henry scored his first touchdown on the Panthers' very first play from scrimmage. After getting a tremendous block at the line, he broke into the secondary and out-ran the entire Dolphins defence as he scampered 75 yards for the major.

Taking the place of the injured Jaylen King as the Panthers' feature back, Somerville-Henry scored his second touchdown of the game on the opening play of the second quarter. King is out for the rest of the season after suffering a broken collar bone in the Panthers' win over the Brampton Bulldogs last weekend.

With three games left in the regular season schedule, the Peewee Panthers have assured themselves of a spot in the playoffs The only left to be determined is whether or not they'll play their first game on the road or at home.

Te senior Varisty team will be hosting their first playoff game after improving their record to 5-0 despite a less than stellar performance against the fledgling Cornwall Wildcats..

The Panthers did everything they could to throw the game away, and if not for a wild final 90 seconds in the first half, they would have been successful.

With less than two minutes to go before halftime, the Wildcats were up 21-7 having converted a pair of Panther turnovers into touchdowns. The Panthers then closed the gap to 10 points on a 27-yard field goal by Ryan Begin. When the Wildcats failed to get the ball beyond their own five yard line on the next series, they conceeded a safety rather than punting the ball out of their own end zone.

The move backfired when the Panthers returned the ensuing kick-off to the the Wildcats 50-yard line. Two plays later, Panther pivot Alex Skinner connected with Ashton Dickson for a 47-yard reception down to the three yard line. Dickson then ran the ball in from the one to make the score 21-19.

After the kick-off, the Wildcats inexplicably went to the air with less than a minute to go in the half. The result was a 35-yard interception return for the go-ahead touchdown by Justin Warden.

In less than two minutes, a 21-7 Wildcats' lead had into a 26-21 advantage for the Panthers.

The Panthers extended their lead to 29-21 on an eight yard field goal early in the third quarter. The big play of the drive was a 62-yard quick kick by Skinner on third-and-28 from the Panthers' own three yard line. The Wildcats mishandled the ball when they tried to retrieve it, leaving an opening for Warden who had raced down the field to scoop up the fumble.

Cumberland would score another major on a three-yeard plunge by Charly Marseille in the fourth quarter, but by then the outcome was already certain.

The Panthers now have two weeks off thanks to a forfeit and a bye before taking on the Newmarket Storm on July 17. A win over the Storm would set up a first place showdown against the defending champion Toronto Thunder on the final week of the regular season.

Sandwiched in between the two wins on Saturday, was the Junior Varsity team's heartbreaken loss to Pickering who managed to score the go ahead touchdown on a 25-yard pass down the middle of the field with the minute flag still in the air.

The loss drops the Junior Varsity team's record to 2-3 where they are at risk of missing the playoffs. They will be looking to turn things around in Oshawa next Saturday.

'(Posted 7:30 a.m., June 25)

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