A 41-14 loss at the hands of the powerful Hamilton Varsity Tiger Cats in the OFC (Ontario Football Conference) championship affair took very little of the lustre off an otherwise outstanding playoff run for the Sudbury Gladiators.
The locals managed to keep it close for a while Saturday, trailing only 7-0 after the opening quarter, and down 15-0 in the dying minutes of the first half. A one yard TD run by Brandon Eddie with just five seconds to play before the break ultimately provided the necessary momentum for the Tiger Cats, who scored at least one touchdown in each and every quarter.
Wide receiver Justin DiPietro hauled in TD passes of 30 and eight yards from Jordan Rimac, with Eric Gaudet (19 yard interception return) and Damian Tesoro (3 yard run) also reaching the end zone.
The remaining Cats scoring came courtesy of Nolan Putt (42 yard FG), Connor Carusello (single on a punt) and a safety touch conceded by the Gladiators.
The locals hit the scoreboard midway through quarter three, as Bankamina N'Galamulume bulldozed in from the three, while veteran Brock Connor capped off his football career with a seven yard TD reception from Samson Recollet late in the fourth quarter.
Interestingly enough, the Gladiators matched up extremely well in the passing game against the Tiger Cats. It was on the ground that Hamilton really made headway, rushing for 219 yards to just 55 for the Sudbury crew.
The OFC champions received balanced contributions from Rimac (63 yds), Nicholas Petermann (56 yds - plus four converts) and Tesoro (54 yds), while N'Galamulume accounted for almost all of the Sudbury rushing yardage, logging 52 yards on 20 carries.
Taking over as starting QB only due to an injury to Chris Moutsatsos, Recollet produced a highly effective stat-line of 16/21 for 220 yards passing, just slightly more than the combined total of Carusello (151) and Rimac (58) for Hamilton.
A teammate of Recollet's with the Lasalle Lancers, Logan Baronette put that chemistry to good use, finishing with 121 yards on seven receptions, with Darcy Labelle (4-49) and Noah Skuce (2-29) also lending a helping hand.
Statistically speaking, Jeremy Welsh topped the Gladiators defense with 5.5 tackles, but it was safety Miller Donnelly that garnered Defensive Player of the Game honours for the northern squad.
Justin DiPietro and Mitchell Garland were recognized as Offensive Player of the Game and Special Teams Player of the Game, respectively, for Hamilton.
Both the Junior Varsity and Varsity Gladiators will officially conclude their 2016 season with the Year-End Banquet, slated for Tuesday evening (August 16th) at the Sudbury Curling Club.
