When the season first started no one would have expected the Grenadiers to be where they are now. At the beginning of the season the junior Grenadiers consisted of mostly rookies and although they all had a background in football, the majority of them had not played on a team together until this season. Being the underdogs in the league, head coach Mark Magee has shown that he can coach any team to a victory. No matter their experience.
On Saturday, June 23, 2012 the Limestone District Grenadiers hosted the Cumberland Panthers for the fifth instalment of Ontario Varsity Football League action in the junior division. The Grenadiers won their fifth straight game of the season after defeating the Panthers 47-44 in overtime and are still undefeated. The Grenadiers are tied for first place with the Pickering Dolphins and Mississauga Warriors.
The Grenadiers had a tremendous offensive game. Right out of the gate quarterback Chase Peck throws a 42-yard pass to Jeremy Pendergast for a touchdown.
The Panthers defense was determined to shut down the Grenadiers running game. On the ground Peck handed off the ball to Hayden Deacon 13 times for a 38-yard gain. By committing more defenders to the box it gave the Grenadiers offense the opportunity to pass the ball around more.
“You [would always] like to control what is happening in the game,” said head coach Mark Magee. “But sometimes you take what the defense will give you.”
Peck threw 16-of-49 for 328-yards. Four of the passes were just shy of 200-yards with the longest being a 65-yard pass to slotback Stu Mulholland for a touchdown.
At half time the Grenadiers were in the lead by a score of 29-17.
With just over two minutes remaining in the game the Panthers took the lead when Daniel Obiang ran in for a touchdown from the Grenadiers 9-yard line. Less than a minute later Peck threw a 46-yard pass to Brett Byron for a touchdown tying the game at 44 points each. For the last minute of the game both teams played their hearts out to squeeze out that extra point but were unsuccessful and went in to overtime.
The Panthers offense made a few plays but was forced to a field goal attempt that was unsuccessful and brought out of the end zone by Farhan Imtiaz.
The Grenadiers were not able to make much happen either during their possession of the ball during overtime. The Panthers offense held the Grenadiers out of the end zone and forced a fourth down. With one last chance to push forward Coach Magee opted to send out the special teams for a field goal attempt.
Connor O’Neil set up a picture perfect 37-yard field goal. Michael Bashall sent the ball sailing through the uprights, posting 3-points to the scoreboard for the victory.
“I was pretty nervous for that one,” said Bashall. “I just kicked it and hoped it went in.”
Frank Gesztesi who is a scout for McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario also attended the game. Afterwards he spoke with quarterback Chase Peck; wide receiver Raheem Silcott; defensive lineman Tony Van Hooser and running back Brett Byron in hopes of recruiting them when their time comes for university.
The Limestone District Grenadiers will enjoy a two-week break and return on Saturday, July 7, 2012. All three divisions will be playing their last home game of the regular season at Loyalist Collegiate & Vocational Institute. The bantam Grenadiers will be hosting the Cumberland Panthers at 11:00am while the junior and senior games against the Oshawa Hawkeyes are at 1:30pm and 4:00pm respectively.
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