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NCAFA
Football
Panther
teams sweep into A-Cup semi-finals
By Fred Sherwin
The Orleans Star
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 Cumberland Panthers quarterback Vincent Anderson fends off a couple of Nepean Eagle defenders during their first round playoff game on Saturday,
Oct. 20. The Panther tykes won the game 36-18.. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The
Cumberland Panthers Football Club is one step away from
accomplish-ing the rarest of feats in Ottawa minor football
� having a team in all four A-Cup finals in the same year.
Actually,
the rarest of feats is winning all four A-Cup finals which
has only been done once before by the Myers Riders in
2008.
But
before you can win all four A-Cup city championship titles,
you must first get to the finals. The Panthers have only
done it once before � in 2004. They very nearly repeated
the feat last year, before ending up with three teams
in the finals. Their odds of doing so this year are extremely
good.
Three
of the Panther teams still in the running � the mosquito,
peewee and bantam teams � are all undefeated and the tyke
blue team only has one loss.
The
peewee and the bantam teams both had a bye this week.
With
only seven teams in the bantam division, the Panthers
bantam team was given a bye into the A-Cup semi-finals
for having finished in first place.
The
peewee team was given a bye into the semi-finals when
their scheduled opponents in Saturday's first round match-up
weren`t able to field a full team.
The
tyke and mosquito teams both earned their way into the
semi-finals with impressive wins on Saturday.
The
tyke blue team got the better of a stubburn Nepean Eagles
team, winning 36-18, with Panthers quarterback Vincent
Anderson scoring all five of his team's touchdowns.
In
the mosquito semi-final between the Panthers and the Gatineau
Vikings, running back Shiloh Mukendy was able to get his
team on the board first, scoring a first quarter touchdown
that capped a long opening drive.
The
Vikings responded with a long drive of their own, before
petering out on the Panthers' 25-yard line.
The
Panthers' second touchdown was another Shiloh Mukendy
effort covering 45 yards down the far sideline.
The
Panthers' defence did an excellent job in keeping the
Vikings ofence out of the end zone and off the scoreboard.
The final blow was dealt by Panthers' quarterback Tristan
Sabimbona who scored on a five-yard run late in the fourth
quarter. A successful extra point play would make the
final score 18-0 n favour of the home team.
The
mosquito Panthers will host the Kanata Knights (8-1) in
the semi-finals this Saturday, while the Nepean Eagles
(8-0-1) will welcome the Orleans Bengals in the other
semi-final.
In
the tyke semi-finals, the Panthers blue team will get
a chance to avenge their only loss of the season when
they welcome the South Ottawa Mustangs (7-2) to Millennium
Park. The Mustangs won the previous meeting 72-70 thanks
to their ability to kick extra points.
In
the other two semi-finals to be played at Millennium Park,
the Panthers peewee team will take on the and the bantam
squad will play the Nepean Eagles (5-4).
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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CLASSIC PIANO RECITAL – Orléans pianist Emily Hou will be performing works by Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Liszt at Kanata United Church as part os the Beaverbrook Community Concert Series. The recital will start promptly at 3 p.m. Kanata United Church is located at 33 Leacock Dr. in Kanata. For more information visit 
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