In dominating fashion, The St. Clair Saints Football team has now won back-to-back-to-back OFC Championships, after a 75-39 high-scoring affair against the London Beefeaters on Saturday night at Acumen Stadium.
Members of the Saints Men's Football team hoist the OFC Championship tophy after defeating the London Beefeaters 75-39 on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2024. (Matthew Sykes/St. Clair College)
A Saints team which has been riddled with injuries for the last few weeks needed a few unsung heroes to step up and they got exactly that, and much more with quarterback Matt Guenette (Windsor, ON) and running back Jesse Burella (Sault Ste. Marie, ON).
The offense did not miss a beat with multiple All-Stars out for the game, totalling 542 yards of offence and scoring multiple touchdowns in every quarter.
Guenette had a massive game in the air, completing 23 of 29 passes for 377 yards and six passing touchdowns, while also adding 42 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.
Burella totaled 112 yards and found the endzone four times, twice rushing and tossing for two touchdowns. One of the touchdowns was the longest play of the day where he took a screen pass from Guenette for a 75-yard touchdown reception.
Wide Receiver Cameron St. Kitts-Park (Oshawa, ON) had his usual touchdown reception along with nine receptions and 104 yards receiving.
Receivers Darius France (Windsor, ON), Tai Colquhoun (Windsor, ON) and Riley Sagriff (Kingston, ON) all added receiving touchdowns for the Saints, while first-year running back Peyton Harris (Lasalle, ON) also added a rushing touchdown.
A Saints defence that has been dominant all year showed a few cracks in the armour but got the timely stops when needed.
Carl Fabre (Windsor, ON) had a big game with eight total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Defensive back Nick Baeini (Leamington, ON) had 11 total tackles to lead all players in the game. Linebacker Mo Ibraheem (Etobicoke, ON) registered a sack while Nick Carter (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) and Ryan Najim (Leamington, ON) recovered both fumbles by the Beefeaters.
The Saints will now host the long awaited CJFL Canadian Bowl on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Acumen Stadium against the Okanagan Sun.
