London loss a reality check

by Rob Benneian

Marquee game doesn’t meet hype

It was billed as a heavy-weight battle between two rivals that would be a slugfest to the bitter end.

One play from scrimmage was all it took to erase such a storyline.

Windsor AKO Fratmen defensive back Charles Johnson slipped and fell leaving a London Beefeaters wide receiver free to trot 85 yards into the end zone. The Beefeaters cruised to an easy 37-11 victory.

The early 7-0 deficit marked the first time this season the previously undefeated Fratmen had trailed in a game. It provided their first real opportunity to respond to adversity.

Opportunity, missed.

“We got punched in the mouth, we got beat up in the alley,” said AKO head coach Mike LaChance. “We thought we were the toughest kid on the street and somebody just beat us up and took our lunch money. Now we gotta get it back.”

LaChance was not impressed with the way his team responded to the pounding inflicted on them by London. He said the coming week of practice to prepare for a road game against the defending league champion Hamilton Hurricanes would be telling.

“(London) physically beat us at our game,” LaChance said. “They took it to us. We had three or four guys come off the field bleeding saying they got punched in the mouth. Well you know what? Be more physical. If your opponent hits you, you gotta be more physical and step up. You can’t just complain about it. Our guys today decided to complain about it and it wasn’t a good reaction. We’ll see what kind of team we have on Monday.”

Officiating ‘horrible’

There was a recurring theme in Sunday’s battle at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London.

The ball was snapped.

The play unfolded.

The whistle went.

Flags flew.

If someone had been keen on tracking the penalty flags issued, they would have run out of fingers and toes quickly.

“We had a lot of penalties,” LaChance said. “The referees were absolutely horrible, but that didn’t lose us the game. But they were horrible. They had a lot of bad calls, some possession calls, there was a 10-point swing, they took a touchdown off the board. They blew the ball dead when we had possession of it and (London) ended up kicking a field goal. It’s one of those things where the ball didn’t go our way. The officiating didn’t cost us the game, I don’t want anybody to get that wrong, but it was horrible nonetheless.”

Windsor wide receiver Derrick Hurst was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty. An official explained to him that he “hit the player too hard”. Colour coach LaChance confused.

“That’s not a penalty that exists,” LaChance said. “Maybe his explanation could have been better. Maybe he could have said it was far away from the play and unnecessary, but he didn’t say that. He said ‘I woulda let him hit him, but he hit him too hard’. That doesn’t exist in football.”

Hurst’s penalty wasn’t the only explanation from the men in stripes that had the AKO bench boss scratching his head.

“The explanations were ridiculous,” LaChance said. “There was a blatant hold on our defensive end, and the explanation was it didn’t have any relevance on the play. I’ve never seen a defensive end get held on a passing play where it wasn’t relevant, so I think that’s horse (expletive). It wasn’t a good call and it was an even worse explanation. I would have rather had the ref lie to me and said he didn’t see it like he usually said to me today.”

Fratmen look ahead

The Beefeaters will make the trek down the 401 to Windsor Stadium for a September 22 clash with the Fratmen. Though they must play two games in the interim, it’s a date AKO is eagerly anticipating.

“Absolutely, it’s already circled,” LaChance said.

“It’ll be a different game,” center Kieran Winter added.

The Fratmen will next face the Hamilton Hurricanes at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday, September 8. Kick-off is scheduled for 4 pm.