VIDEO: Fratmen suffer heartbreaking loss

The Windsor AKO Fratmen were defeated 20-17 by the London Beefeaters at Windsor Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 22.

The Fratmen led from their first offensive drive, which culminated in a touchdown grab by Shane Stadey, until the final minutes of the game. A pair of turnovers on Windsor’s two final possessions led to 10 Beefeater points and was the difference in the game.

AKO wide receiver Shayne Rice fumbled after receiving a short pass from quarterback Christian Hackney leading to the game-winning 47 yard field goal from London kicker Zack Medeiros. On the previous series for the AKO offence, fullback Brandon Baillargeon was stripped. After recovering the football, London drove down the field to score a touchdown that tied the game at 17.

“I bounced off a few tackles and I was just trying to push the pile and the ball just kind of slipped out,” Baillargeon said of his fatal fumble.

The Fratmen controlled the first half, shutting out the Beefeaters behind a strong ground game, timely completions and a superb defensive effort. In the second half, AKO relied more on their aerial assault and it backfired.

A win over the Beefeaters would have all but guaranteed a playoff berth and a winning margin of more than 27 points would have likely meant a home playoff date. AKO head coach Mike LaChance said the possibility of guaranteeing themselves a playoff game at Windsor Stadium may have led to the switch to a more pass-happy offence at the outset of the second half.

“At the start of the third quarter we might have went away from (running the football) a little bit,” LaChance said. “We got back to what we do after that. They were bringing a lot heat, they were only in four deep and they brought an extra guy up in the box to stop the run.”

AKO kicker Dan Colella, who was named the Week 2 Ontario Football Conference special teams player of the week, had a tough afternoon. He went 0-3 on field goal attempts, missing once left, once right and having another blocked. He also had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown, London’s first of the day.

“I know we had fumbles and all that but I would say put a big part of that loss on my shoulders going 0-3,” Colella said. “All we needed was three extra points…0-3, you can’t do that against a good team.”

For the Beefeaters, Medeiros hit the game-winning field goal with two seconds left to play. London head coach John Vouvalidis said he was confident in sending out his kicker to try the long field goal.

“We have the best kicker, I think, in the country,” Vouvalidis said. “The last thing I said to him before he went out is ‘can you make this (kick)?’ and he just looks at me and says ‘no problem.'”

LaChance agreed, calling Medeiros one of the best kickers in Canadian Junior Football League history.

Medeiros, 21, played two years for the University of Montreal before returning to his hometown of London to play for the Beefeaters. He said he will be attending the University of Western Ontario for history next year and he will play for the Mustangs. Medeiros said the kick to beat the Fratmen was one of the biggest of his career.

“The one I made earlier this season (a 30-yard kick to defeat Burlington) was pretty big too because time ran right out, but this was pretty big too because it was further back,” Medeiros said. “Definitely in the top three for sure.”

The Fratmen will travel to St. Leonard, Quebec for their final regular season game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 29.

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