Week 2 – Old Rivals Meet Again – Wildcats vs. Riders
In my opinion, the month of May has the best weather — perfect conditions for a football game. Saturday was that such day when Cornwall Wildcats met their long-time rival, Myers Riders.
In the past, the Wildcats would struggle to defeat the Riders, finding themselves on the wrong side of the score sheet. As May 27th was pencilled in as the Wildcats’ home opener, the hometown team wanted to give their crowd something to cheer about.
The Wildcats certainly didn’t disappoint and shut out the Riders 17-0.
The first half of the game was tight. Both teams tried scoring as both defences continued to block to prevent each other from getting an early lead. It was only at the very end of the first half, the Wildcats were able to break open the scoring with a touchdown and a late field goal to put the Wildcats up 10-0.
The third quarter was a repeat of the first half which both teams continued to dial in their defences no room given for any quarterback to make a play. Once again, the Wildcats struck at a very late time in the when they made a push for the end zone, managing to score a touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
This play put Cornwall up 17-0. Head Coach Labonte went to his defence and shut the door to preserve the win.
Wildcats played an excellent defensive game where the Riders’ quarterback could not create any offence whatsoever. Cornwall’s offence capitalized on Myers’ key turnovers to score timely points. Xavier Uhr, Wildcats’ quarterback, saw the field well and made key plays to win the game.
It felt like an opportunistic win as it was mostly a grind throughout the game. Sometimes you need those kinds of wins to gain your confidence and build up the team after coming off a disappointing week one losing 25 to 20 in a very close game.
With the win in the books, Wildcats go 1-1 on the season and will meet the Toronto Jr. Argos on June 3rd at 4:00 PM at Joe St. Denis field.
Go Wildcats!
Ryan