In the past there has been no love loss between the Mississauga Warriors and Essex Ravens, and that was no different this past Saturday with the undefeated Ravens meeting the undefeated Warriors. This time, it was the Ravens who prevailed with a 35-21 victory.
In previous weeks teams have had an extremely tough time slowing down the Ravens vaunted rushing attack, and it was no different against Mississauga. The Essex runningbacks combine for 338 yards on 46 carries for an average of 7.3 yards per carry. Leading the way was Cody McCann with 17 carries for 149 yards, Eli Fera chipped in with 11 carries for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Mikey Fillipic rushed the ball 8 times for 41 yards and a touchdown.
The Ravens came out ready to score offensively and proved so by scoring on their first offensive play. The Ravens would quickly score again to increase the lead to 14-0, before the Warriors were able to bounce back with a touchdown of their own.
Late in the first half defensive back Tarik Bonas recovered a fumble in the end zone for an Essex touchdown giving them a 21-7 half time lead and sucking the energy out of the Warriors.
The Ravens came out ready to play once again in the second half and increased their lead to 28-7 before the Warriors were able to cut the lead back down to 28-14. Essex would put the game away late in the fourth as they increased their lead to 35-14. The Warriors would score in the dying minutes but 35-21 was as close as they would get.
Defensively the Ravens completely stymied the Warriors rushing game giving up a combine 92 yards on 26 carries for a 3.5 yards per carry average. The Warriors had some success through the air as quarterback Nate Hobbs completed 14 of 28 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown.
Next up for the Ravens will be the Cambridge Lions on Saturday June 22, kickoff is at 7pm.
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
