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(Posted
6:30 p.m., Oct. 30)
Peewee Bengals advance to NCAFA A-Cup final
By Mike Beasley
Orléans Online
The
Orleans Bengals peewee team is on a mission this season
and nothing has got in their way so far, including Mother
Nature and the Bell Warriors.
The
Bengals peewee team disposed of the Warriors 14-9, in
their A-Cup semi-final game at Millennium Park on Oct.
28 to qualify for next weekend's final against their arch
nemesis, the Myers Riders.
"Our
team goals at the beginning of the season were to win
the East Division, make the semis and win that, now we're
going to the finals," said a jubilant Bengals head coach,
Damien Laverty, after Saturday's big win.
It
took the Bengals a while to get going, but when they did
it was their ground game that made the difference.
The
Bengals first had to overcome a determined Warriors defence
that continually thwarted the vaunted Orleans offensive
attack.
A
steady downpour throughout the contest made handling the
ball a serious challenge for both sides. Proof of that
was the numerous times Bell was able to intercept the
ball in the second quarter but failed to capitalize on.
The
Warriors appeared to open the scoring midway through the
second stanza after one of their players returned a punt
35 yards into the Bengals' end zone. A costly illegal
block negated the scoring play. However, they were still
left in an excellent scoring position on the Bengals 25-yard
line.
After
running on first down, Bell tried to pass the ball on
second down only to have it picked off by a Bengals defender
and returned to the Warriors' 45 yard line.
Try
as they may to move the ball downfield, the Bengals slipped
and slid their way to no yards on two attempts. Coach
Laverty decided to go for it on third down and the gamble
paid off in the form of a first down to keep the drive
alive. Two plays later, Bengals running back Jeremy Enyeka
put his team up 6-0 with an electric run that covered
more than 40 yards.
The
end zone has been a familiar destination this season for
Enyaka who has 20 TDs in eight games.
As
the rain continued to pour down both teams tried to put
points on the board but came up empty. The Warriors finally
got on the board courtesy of a two-point safety conceded
by the Bengals in the third quarter.
After
the Warriors failed to move the ball on the ensuing series,
the Bengals mounted another offensive drive which resulted
in a 20-yard scoring scamper by Khalid Campbell and a
two-point conversion to put Orleans up 14-2.
"Our
offensive line did a great job of opening up a hole that
I ran through, I wasn't going to miss that opportunity,"
said Campbell, who attends Terry Fox Elementary School.
Refusing
to give up without a fight, the Warriors made a tremendous
late game push resulting in a touchdown in the final minute,
but it was too little, too late to prevent the Bengals
from moving on to the A Cup Final.
Next
week's championship game will feature the two top ranked
teams in the peewee division. The Myers Riders finished
the season undefeated (8-0) while Bengals completed the
regular campaign with a 7-1 record. The Riders defeated
Orleans 41-38 in their only meeting this year.
"I
expect that the final will be an exciting game, Myers
is well coached, they feature a lot of good athletes,"
Laverty admitted. "We know them and they know us, the
rosters of both teams played in last year's Mosquito championship.
I believe the outcome will come down to which team makes
the most stops."
The
A Cup final will played on Wednesday, Jan. 23 . Kick-off at
Millennium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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