Despite being dubbed ‘a new era’ by those involved with the team, the first year Hamilton Hurricanes (formerly the Hamilton Wentworth Panthers) have just finished their inaugural season in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) with a undefeated record of 8-0. This past weekend the team finished the season with a relentless 57-8 victory over Twin City, at Ron Joyce Stadium. Twin City was also undefeated at the time.
Coach Rob Underhill stated before the season that he expected the team ‘to be pretty competitive,” but must be elated with how well his team has come together in such a short time.
Unfortunately Underhill was out of town for the teams dominant final game on the weekend, which only goes to show how effective and mature the entire Hurricane organization is.
“He is one of the best coaches I have ever played for,” said Hurricanes starting quarterback Kyle Vanwynsberghe following his team’s final regular season win.
Wide receiver Jordan Brucceleri also stated that the coaches have been a huge reason for their success this season.
“They are a great group of coaches, we have them to thank.”
The Hurricanes scored early and often in their 57-8 win over Twin City.
Another recurring theme that Hurricanes players said was a big part of their success is the fact that despite being branded as a new era team, they are actually quite familiar in playing with each other.
“They say the new era, new logos, new jerseys and all that, but a lot of us played with the OVFL Ironmen last season,” Vanwynsberghe explained. “So there were some things that transferred us over to the Hurricanes here and the fact that a lot of us can stay and play together for a longtime helps.”
“A lot of us played Ironmen together, played in school together,” Brucceleri added. “We have a nice chemistry there, a trust that we have with each other.”
That chemistry and trust the Hurricanes have developed has earned them a trip to the playoffs, scheduled to begin on Friday, July 26th. Receiver Nathan Brown was recently banged up, forcing him to rest for a week, but expects to be healthy and helping the team fight their way to a championship.
“It’s just a day to day thing so we are playing it safe; Ill be back, “he stated. “We are now one team, one unit and all brothers in this thing together. We have no doubt we are going to be champions of this league.”
Quarterback Vanwynsberghe was excellent with his arm and his feet against Twin City.
After recording an interception and a number of tackles in the Hurricanes recent win, linebacker Santino Gallo says the team had high expectations for itself this season and will be ready for the playoffs.
“It was definitely a goal from the beginning to get first place, get home field advantage throughout the playoffs,” he said. “Now we watch all three opponents we could possibly face, you never know what’s going to happen in the playoffs; film study is key for us and what we do every week.”
The Hurricanes now have some time off due to the Canada Cup, the reason for coach Rob Underhill’s absence over the weekend. They will retake to the gridiron on Friday evening, July 26th against a to-be-determined opponent.
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