The Cumberland Panthers U10 tyke team completed their bounce back season with a win in the National Capital Amateur Football Association A-Cup championship on Sunday, kicking off a day that saw three Panther teams win titles.

The Panthers were coming off a huge win over the Orléans Bengals last Sunday in a game which saw them avenge their semi-final loss in the 2024 playoffs.

Brimming with confidence from having beaten the number one seeded Bengals, the Panthers took to the field on Sunday against the Northe Goucester Giants, the only other team to beat them this season.

After falling behind 8-0 on the opening series of the game, the Panthers took little time in responding with a four play, 44 yard drive that ended with a nine yard touchdown run by Jason Kavanaugh. Kicker Lucas Fopa then added a two-point convert to tie the game at
8-8.

The Panthers defence then forced the Giants to turn the ball over on downs after just three plays on the next series to give give Cumberland a first down on North Gloucester's 24 yard line. After taking a short one yard loss on the first play from scrimmage, Panthers quarterback Noah Armstrong called his own number and scampered 25 yards for the team's second touchdown of the opening quarter.

This time it was the Giants team to answer back with a spectacular run by Olivier St-Sauveur (10) on third and 21 that covered 44 yards and ended with him entering the end zone. The big, bruising running back broke through at least four tacklers along the way. A missed two-point convert attempt left the score tied at 14-14.

After the Panthers failed to pick up a first down on the Giants 24-yard line on the following series, the Giants gave the ball to St-Sauveur on the first play from scrimmage and he rumbled 41 yards and another touchdown. After the two-point convert, the Giants led 22-14.

Things weren't looking too good for the Panthers midway through the second quarter, and the only way they would be able to keep the game competitive would be to match the Giants score for score. Cue Armstrong. Two series later, the Panthers quarterback would run the ball 35 yards for his second touchdown of the game and his team's third major to narrow the deficit to 22-20 with just 27 seconds left in the second quarter.

Then the unimaginable happened. Rather than take a knee and run out the clock to end the first half, the Giants decided to run the ball deep in their own end.

After North Gloucester picked up five yards on the first play, the Panthers forced them to cough the ball up on second down giving Cumberland's offence a chance to add to their lead. Kavanaugh's fumble recovery on the the Giants' 19 yard line would be the turning point in the game.

With just 12 seonds left, the Panthers used their timeouts to run two plays and get the ball down to the eight yard line. Then on the last play of the half, Armstrong ran the ball in to put his team up 26-22. Another two-point convert off the boot of Lucas Fopa would make the score 28-22 at the half.

After a scoreless third quarter, North Gloucester came within a hair of retaking the lead in the early stages of the fourth. The Giants had a fresh set of downs inside the 10, but the Panthers defence managed to keep them out of the end zone and forced them to turn the ball over on downs.

Starting on the Giants' nine yard line, Armstrong put his team on his back and carried the ball five straight times, picking up a pair of first downs along the way. On the sixth carry of the drive, he ran the ball 53 yards for his fourth major score of the game. Another Fopa convert would extend the Panthers lead to 36-22 with less than three minutes to go.

Any thoughts of a potential miracle comeback by the Giants were snuffed out by the Panthers Mario Dupuis who forced a turnover with a crushing hit on the Giants ball carrier and then recovered the fumble, allowing the Panthers to run out the clock and claim the A-Cup championships trophy.

Noah Armstrong ended the game with 205 yards rushing on 20 carries and four TDs, while Jason Kavanaugh ran the ball eight times for 35 yards and a touchdown.