Niagara hasn’t been the easiest place to win as of late. The Hamilton Ironmen stepped onto Kiwanis Field Saturday night to play a Spears team that was previously undefeated at home. Emphasis on the “was”, as Hamilton pulled out a 21-17 nail biter in Niagara.
First year running back Tafari Delisser starred for the Ironmen as he hauled in a passing touchdown and rushed for another. Quarterback Liam Putt had another strong game, also connecting with wide receiver Marc Fournier (who is quickly becoming a favourite target) for another major.
Hamilton wide reciever Marc Fournier stiff arms a Niagara defender as he crosses the goal line
Head coach Ken McGuire was happy with the win, crediting his running backs for stepping up and kick-starting Hamilton’s rushing attack.
“Tafari had a fumble really earlier in the game. He tried to cutback twice and you just can’t do that,” chuckled McGuire, “he made a mistake, but he shook it off. Tafari’s a first year back so he’ll learn and he’s going to be real good.”
Give him some room! Running back Tafari Delisser finds some open space.
Delisser played a strong game, but had some excellent support in the backfield in the form of fellow tailback Brandan Gamble.
“Brandan Gamble was fantastic for us as well,” McGuire added, “I think he had our first 100 yard [rushing] game of the season. I was happy to see that we got our running game going.”
The offense also had some excellent support of their own in the game, thanks to another stellar performance from the Ironmen’s ball hawking defensive unit. Angelo Delsordo had an interception, while defensive lineman Charlie Taggart came up with a big fumble recovery for the Ironmen.
The win has Hamilton sitting at a respectable 3-1, but Coach McGuire isn’t about to let the team get too confident.
“We won, but there are definitely some things that we still need to work on,” admitted McGuire, “we need to be tackling better on defense and we need to execute better on offense. We could easily be 1-3 right now.”
McGuire has marked the next two outings on the calendar as games that will be crucial in determining his team’s playoff hopes.
“The next two games are must win games for us. The whole plan right now is to make the playoffs,” he revealed, “I’m assuming that both Mississauga and Kingston will be undefeated when we play them, so we need wins to make the playoffs.”
McGuire had nothing but kind words about both the Mississauga Warriors and the Kingston Grenadiers, praising both football clubs for their competitive teams year in and year out. However, while McGuire respects the competition, you’d be foolish to think that he was afraid of them.
“We’ve got a good team atmosphere,” he said, “ and if you’ve got that, you can beat anybody.”
Next on the docket for the Ironmen is the Markham Raiders, who are going to be paying a visit to Ron Joyce Stadium this Sunday afternoon. Game time is scheduled for 4:00pm.
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