A newfound energy is apparent amongst the players and staff of the London Junior Mustangs Varsity team. The program has seen a recent change in ownership, from Falcons to Mustangs, and with that comes all of the available facilities that the university has to offer. Practicing at Westerns facility, and using the video breakdowns, has given the team a real “University feel” to the program. This has increased the amount of optimism in Head Coach Chris Bertoia, which has coupled with the fact that he has been able to assemble a great coaching staff.
One of the most notable additions to the coaching staff is Jason Congdon as the defense of coordinator. He’s the head coach at Arthur Voaden High School; he played his University ball at Western, and had a four-year career in the CFL as a long snapper. Jason will be a wealth of knowledge, and experience, for the players to draw from. Another notable addition is offensive coordinator Jordan Haylor, the head coach coordinator at Stratford Collegiate; he’s been around a lot of football and is also very knowledgeable.
Players to keep your eye on during the matchups in the coming summer are: Colin Drennan quarterback. He led A.B. Lucas Secondary School to a provincial championship in the western bowl. Another player, Tommy Marshall, is playing fullback and a new addition to the team. Nate Behar who is said to be the most athletic, and best player is the guy to watch on offense.
When Asked how Coach Bertoia plans on running his team with almost all new coaches, new ownership and new players offered the following comment: “Offensively and defensively it won’t be much differently than what I do in the fall with the Western Mustangs. We have four or five really quality running backs, with a great quarterback, and we will go very deep with our receivers. I think we will be a very balanced attack.”
There’s a natural rivalry between London and Windsor, and the coaches down at Essex run an outstanding program with the Ravens. This has been proven year in and year out as they’ve won the OVFL championship two years in a row. London and Windsor generally always come head to head in week three, and this natural rivalry is going to exist this year as well, which gives the fans something explosive to look forward to. “The team that we absolutely respect and are excited to get our teeth into is this Saturday with Sault Ste. Marie [Sabercats],” Said Coach Bertoia, “I know their highly touted and they run some elaborate schemes on offense, with lots of motion, and four by one no huddle. So we’ve been preparing for it.”
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