Photo courtesy of William F. Smith

Hamilton Hurricanes @ St. Clair Saints – Saturday October 18, 7:30pm – Acumen Stadium | WATCH HERE

An old rivalry ignites again in 2025 when the St. Clair Saints host the Hamilton Hurricanes in the Ontario Conference Teddy Morris championship game on Saturday night with a berth in the CJFL National Semi-Final game on the line.

They last met in this game in 2018 when the Hurricanes scored a 28-23 victory over the then Windsor AKO Fratmen.  This is the first time they meet in the championship game since the Fratmen became the Saints.  Since 2011 they have met six times in this game, each franchise has won it three times.

During the regular season they met just once and the Saints pounded the visiting Hurricanes 68-7, scoring 25 first quarter points and increasing that to 46 by halftime.  Quarterback Matthew Guenette torched them, like he did most Conference teams, throwing for 316 yards and three touchdowns.

Special Teams played a major factor as well with three Saints’ punt returns going for touchdowns including a 94-yarder by Jayden Shallow.  In all, Specials Teams scored an impressive 32 of their 68 points.

The Saints come into this game with an impressive win streak, having won their last 20 games including playoffs and last year’s Canadian Bowl.  Their last setback was the 2023 CJFL National Semi-Final game in Saskatoon.  Last weekend they continued this streak with a 49-37 semifinal victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Cougars allowing them to advance to this week.  The Saints had a solid balanced offence with 551 total yards led by Guenette and his 315 passing yards and tallied three touchdowns.

Coming into this weekend the Hurricanes are a much different team than they were on September 6th when the visited St. Clair last.   They have won four straight and seven of their last eight games including an overtime thriller last weekend at London in the Conference semifinal game.  Their only loss over this stretch was against the Saints.   Their offence has been clicking as of late led by quarterback Kayrus Sam and his favourite target, All-Star Devin Quammie.  They will need to connect several times to have any shot of taking down the juggernaut Saints.  

The Hurricanes defence will also need to make stops.  No other team has really been able to slow down the Saints offence because of their balanced attack.  They gave up 495 total yards in their first meeting, mostly through the air so that ‘Canes secondary will need to be ready and execute.  If they do get stops, then their Special Teams can’t cough up what they did in their first game. 

This final will no doubt be physical, particularly early on as both teams try and flex their dominance.  The Saints don’t need to change their game plan much while the Hurricanes need to be disciplined and not allow drives to continue or be aided by a penalty.  

The winner will capture the Teddy Morris championship trophy as the best team in the Ontario Conference this year and pack their bags for British Columbia for the CJFL National Semi-Final game scheduled for Saturday October 25, 2025.

Head-to-Head against each other in 2025:

Records: Hurricanes 0-1 – Saints 1-0
Avg Points For: Hurricanes 7 – Saints 68
Avg Points Allowed: Hurricanes 68 – Saints 7

Passing Leaders:  Matt Murry – 5 of 19 for 120 yards and 1 touchdown (Hurricanes) – Matt Guenette – 19 of 25 for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns (Saints)

Rushing Leaders: Matt Murry – 2 carries for 17 yards (Hurricanes) – MJ Doyle-Marshall – 12 carries for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns (Saints)

Receiving Leaders: Zack Pereira – 2 receptions for 61 yards and 1 touchdown (Hurricanes) – Cameron St. Kitts-Park – 11 receptions for 149 yards and 1 touchdown (Saints)

Defensive Leaders: Justin Tiffany – 5 tackles, Josh St. Louis – 4 tackles, Hayden Burt – 4 tackles (Hurricanes) – Jaylin Burnett – 6 tackles and 1 sack, Chris Rivero – 5 tackles and 1 sack (Saints)

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Semi-Final Scores:

St. Clair Saints 49
Sault Ste. Marie Cougars 37

Hamilton Hurricanes 24 OT
London Beefeaters 23