Photo courtesy of Sideline Pix

Former Westshore Rebels running back Jamel Lyles was named the championship tournament Most Valuable Player as he led the Team Canada Senior Men’s team to a gold medal on the world stage.

The Canadians recently beat Team Germany in the inaugural Gridiron Nations Championship in Wattenscheid Germany 25-10 behind a terrific ground attack from Lyles.  He rushed 12 times for 78 yards and had a pair of touchdowns including Canada’s first score in the championship game.  Down by a major early in the contest Lyles scored on an 11-yard run late in the second quarter to cut the Germans lead to one heading into halftime.

In the second half, the Canadians dominated with Lyles putting the exclamation point on the game with a 30-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter which iced the game.

When the Team Canada roster was named back in February it featured 11 former CJFL players and former CJFL coach Jesse Maddox at the helm.    Six of those 11 players ended up in the box score for the gold medal championship including Lyles who finished the contest with 124 yards from scrimmage on 16 touches and the two majors.  Receiver Hayden Amis, formally of the London Beefeaters also made a reception for 22 yards while the defensive side featured Kent Hicks (Rebels) and Hakeem Johnson (Beefeaters) each making a tackle, former Calgary Colt Jayden Lawson collected 2.5 tackles and Makana Henry, who played for the Burlington Braves had four others.

It was an impressive finish for Team Canada who outgained the Germans in yards; 346-102 on a chilly, wet night in Germany.

Canada earned their right into the championship game after a thrilling 20-17 semifinal victory over Italy a few days before.  Lyles again led the way with 105 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.

This was a history making tournament as the first global competition for tackle football since the 2015 IFAF World Championships…and the gold in 2025 belongs to the red and white!

When the roster was initially announced the following CJFL alumni were named:

• Jamel Lyles – Westshore Rebels
• Hayden Aims – London Beefeaters
• Shawn Charles - Ottawa Sooners and Langley Rams
• Makana Henry – Burlington Braves
• Kent Hicks – Westshore Rebels
• Hakeem Johnson – London Beefeaters
• Ben von Jagow – Ottawa Sooners and London Beefeaters
• Chris Larson – Westshore Rebels
• Jayden Lawson – Calgary Colts
• Jordan Sye – Langley Rams
• Daniel Woloshin – Regina Thunder

Photo courtesy of Sault Ste. Marie College

The Ontario Conference regular season came to an end this weekend and the playoff picture became clear.

Sault Ste. Marie Cougars 56
Quinte Skyhawks 14

With the win the Cougars capture their first playoff berth in their inaugural season and will be the fourth seed heading into this weekend’s semifinal in Windsor.

Saturday, the Cougars took control almost immediately.  After stopping the Skyhawks on the game’s opening drive, the special teams went to work.  Jaiden Trudeau returned the punt 77-yards for a touchdown to set the tone and the Cougars cruised to a lopsided win.

Offensively quarterback Gabe Barkley threw for 169 yards and a touchdown to Afonso Kiala.  Receiver Marcus Williams also threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Kiala on a trick play to keep the Skyhawks defence guessing.   The Cougars offence tallied three touchdowns on the ground as Ethan Carchidi scored a pair and Sam Mustaspha had the other.

Even the defence got in on the scoring when Daikaden Gauthier intercepted a pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown.   In all, the defence forced an eye-popping nine turnovers.

The Skyhawks struggled to move the ball on the offensive side. Their lone offensive touchdown came on a Jake Venditti 60-yard run in the fourth quarter with the game already out of reach.   Their defence scored their first touchdown in the second quarter on a Cameron Wright 29-yard pick six.

The Cougars (4-4) will head to St. Clair to meet the Saints (8-0) on Saturday afternoon for a semifinal.  With the loss the Skyhawks (3-5) season ends, and they begin the process to retool for next year.

London Beefeaters 52
Ottawa Sooners 7

The Beefeaters victory allows them to clinch the second seed in the Conference and a home playoff date, set for this coming weekend.

They blasted out of the gate scoring 23 points in the first quarter to set the tone, predominantly using the ground game. Zach Delwo was outstanding chewing up 145 yards on 19 carries. Once getting close to the endzone the Beefs saw touchdowns from Xavier Zatylny, Ethan Grant and Wes Schneider. Quarterback DJ Fonti only completed six passes but two of them were for touchdowns, finding Seth Raymer and Brandon Visouvath.

Defensively they held the Sooners to 29-net offensive yards and shut them out for three quarters. They forced four turnovers with Sam Fediya intercepting two passes, including a 40-yard pick-six.

The lone Sooners score was a 36-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Ayman Raheem in the fourth quarter.

This coming Saturday afternoon the Beefeaters (6-2) will host the Hamilton Hurricanes (6-2) in a semi-final with winner advancing to the Teddy Morris championship game.  The Sooners (1-7) will head back to the drawing board and look to improve heading in 2026.

Hamilton Hurricanes 46
GTA Grizzlies 6

The Hurricanes win their sixth game of the season and finish as the third seed in the Conference heading into the postseason this weekend.

They scored 21-first quarter points and had little trouble containing the Grizzlies the entire game.   Two quarterbacks combined for 302 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 completions as both Zach and Robbie Pereira each hauled in two touchdowns.

The defence not only held the Grizzlies in check all game, but defensive back Janal Williams also scored courtesy of a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown.

With the win, the Hurricanes (6-2) finish with an identical record to the London Beefeaters (6-2), but the Beefs hold the tiebreaker after winning their only meeting of the season.  Therefore, the Hurricanes will travel to London for Saturday’s playoff game.  The Grizzlies (0-8) season ends without a win.