LaChance: Fratmen not playing at championship level

by Rob Benneian

Fratmen move to 3-0

It’s beginning to sound like a broken record.

They came. They saw. They conquered. Their coach isn’t pleased.

After a 25-11 victory over the winless Ottawa Sooners on Sunday, the look on AKO head coach Mike LaChance’s face said everything.

“I’m not happy at all,” LaChance said. “Not even one bit. It is what it is, it’s a win and we gotta keep working on it.”

A sluggish start for the offense is at the root of LaChance’s frustration. The fact his team is undefeated and tied for first place is little consolation.

“I think it was marginally better (Sunday) than against Brampton (last week),” LaChance said. “We played a better opponent today, they had a faster defense. Our defense played well today, we didn’t give up anything really of substantial yardage. Defensively we’re pretty content…it’s just offensively we’re not hitting on all cylinders. It’s not good enough, it’s not a championship-level offense.”

“If we want to be a championship team, we have to play like a championship team. Right now we talk like one, but we’re not executing.”

LaChance issues challenge to struggling quarterback

A string of early incomplete passes led to LaChance pulling starting quarterback Christian Hackney. Hackney was All-Conference last season, but hasn’t found his groove yet this year. Despite three fairly lopsided wins to start the season, LaChance knows his quarterback is better than what he’s shown.

“(Hackney) overthrew some balls and underthrew some balls today, the ball looked like it was all over the place,” LaChance said. “Not real consistent by Christian today. We pulled him out for a while to think about things and hopefully he’s better for it.”

“Not an injury, it was a discipline issue.”

Hackney returned after missing just a couple of series offensively, but he has not yet won over his coach.

“Very,” LaChance said when asked how concerned he is about Hackney’s level of play. “Very, because he’s a championship quarterback who’s not playing at a championship level. He has to decide what kind of quarterback he wants to be.”

Demarte, Beekhuis, Schippel shine for AKO D

Leading the way defensively for the team was player of the game Tyler Demarte. A second year player out of Harrow High School, Demarte has been a pain in opposing quarterback’s sides all season long. He registered another sack Sunday to run his season total to six in three games. Demarte had just three tackles all of last year.

“It feels pretty good,” Demarte said. “Week by week I keep busting my butt and stepping up to the plate and everything seems to be developing and working my way.”

LaChance said playing across from fellow defensive end and prized recruit Derek Hurlock has helped Demarte’s production.

“He’s finding out that life is easy around Hurlock,” LaChance said. “Hurlock gets a lot of attention, and Demarte’s the benefactor. There’s nothing wrong with that, he’s doing his part and he’s playing well.”

“It’s hard because there’s so much competition out here, but the slim opportunity I get I have to keep making people proud,” Demarte said. “We have a really talented defensive line, I give credit to these guys and all the coaches, we put in hard hours, it seems to be paying off.”

Hurlock left the game in the second half due to “extreme cramping” but is not expected to miss any time. Starting linebacker Miles Metchie suffered a knee injury on the first play from scrimmage that “looks like it might be long-term”, but will require further evaluation.

Cornerback Nick Schippel picked off two Sooners passes after registering his first career CJFL interception last week against Brampton. He said the pressure caused by the team’s strong defensive line and linebackers makes for easy pickings in the secondary.

“Our defense gets the pressure up front and us (defensive backs) come up and make the plays,” Schippel said. “They’re just chucking those balls up because there’s nothing else they can do. It all comes down to our (defensive) line and linebackers getting in there. There were quite a few ducks up there.”

Schippel joined the Fratmen this season, after completing a high school career at in Jacksonville, Ill. LaChance said the American defensive back has adjusted well to the different style of play.

“He sure played good today, he really did,” LaChance said. “He played really well, it’s good to see he has really taken to the Canadian game and it couldn’t have come at a better time with the injuries we have on defense.”

Linebacker Mason Beekhuis chased Ottawa Sooners’s quarterbacks Ronnie Wray and Dexter Brown all over the field. He could have had a half dozen sacks, but he only managed to take the quarterback down once. Still, he said he felt good about his game and he liked the way the coaching staff was utilizing him.

“It helped a lot that the defense was sending me on blitzes almost every single play to get heat on the quarterback,” Beekhuis said.

LaChance had high praise for his starting outside linebacker.

“He’s a fast, physical, plays-on-the-edge linebacker and he’s everything we want in a football player at AKO,” LaChance said. “That’s the kind of guy you’re looking for, and he’s really developed his game here. He’s a dandy for sure.”

The Windsor AKO Fratmen will take their show on the road to face the only other undefeated team in the OFC, the London Beefeaters. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 pm at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, Ont.