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34 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 18, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Longhorns' NFC playoff run ended by Marauders Milton dominates showdown of regional rivals By Murray Townsend SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER MILTON -- The Oakville Longhorns were dominated by the Milton Marauders in Saturday's Northern Football Conference semifinal game, but they were hardly hanging their heads after the 33-2 loss. "I'm proud of all our guys," said 47-year-old veteran quarterback Mark Demerling, "because nobody gave us a chance in hell of doing anything." That included even making the playoffs, which they managed to do on the last game of the season, and defeating last season's champion Tri City Outlaws, which they did in their first playoff game. Very little went right for Oakville against the Marauders. Milton scored on four of its first five possessions in the first half before taking a knee to run out the clock with a 23-0 lead. Oakville had three first downs in the opening half, compared to 15 for Milton, and 63 yards in offense compared to 197 for the Marauders. On the game, Milton had 296 yards of net offense, including 246 yards on the ground. The Longhorns had 116 yards of offense, but just seven on the ground. Milton had 22 total first downs, compared to five for Oakville. GRAHAM PAINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER In contrast to the teams' previous meetings, this game was extremely tame and extremely clean. There was no audible trash talking, no sideline confrontaUNDER PRESSURE: Oakville Longhorns defensive lineman Nick Tipuric (left) hauls down Milton quartions, no ejections, no bounty talk -- not even an unsportsmanlike conduct terback Josh Spanik during last weekend's Northern Football Conference playoff match in Milton. The penalty. Marauders defeated Oakville 33-2. The Longhorns coughed up five interceptions, four by Demerling, who pinned much of the blame on himself, while giving Milton its due. "They had an exceedingly strong defense and I was unable to throw the proper passes," he said. "I was pushing too much. I was very, very happy with our defense, but we gave them poor field position all day." Oakville did come out strong early in the second half and showed some life with a no-huddle offense. Demerling connected with Mike Dingsdale for a 35-yard strike and then hit Eric Egresits for another first down, but a sack ended that Complete Custom Cleaning Service for your House, Condo, Apartment or Office. threat. All cleaning equipment and supplies provided Weekly - Biweekly - Occasional The Longhorns picked up their only points after Stafford Wilson sacked the Bonded and Insured Milton quarterback deep in Milton territory on third down, leading the Marauders to concede a safety for the two points on fourth down. "Football always brings you back to earth," said Demerling. "After games like our last three you start thinking you're good, but today we got our butt kicked which tells you there's more work to be done." Serving Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga Demerling has no immediate plans to stop playing, but teammate Will Thompson is hanging his cleats up after a long tenure in the NFC. The 42-yearCall today for a Free Estimate old, who was among the league's leading receivers this season, was feeling the emotion and had a difficult time walking off the field for the final time. www.universalhousekeeping.com His personal NFC highlight was winning the national championship in 2000 with the Longhorns, a year to the day after teammate Mike * Jackson had lost his life. D O N O T P AY F O R 3 Y E A R S ! "We won it for ourselves and for our buddy, Mike," he said. Thompson thought about what kept him playing beyond the normal expiry date, and summed it up with a philosophy he shares with Demerling: NAF "The game of football doesn't need us, we need it," he said. 15.3mm Laminates Linnea Click Hard Maple Ash 3¼ x ¾ 4 Sided Bevel Engineered Hardwood Milton will host the Oshawa Hawkeyes tomorrow in the 3¼ x ¾ Golden Amber & Truffle Select Grade 4 Colours to Choose From Made in Sweden Lifetime Structural Structural 25 Year Warranty All First Quality First Quality ONLY NFC final. Warranty Housekeeping Services Inc. Universal 10% OFF Until September 10/06 Phone: 905·648·3081 Fax: 905·648·2096 END OF SUMMER CLEARANCE! ONLY $ 99 SQ. FT. 3 ONLY $ 99 SQ. FT. 3 ONLY $ 49 SQ. FT. 2 ONLY $ 99 SQ. FT. 2 Compare $ 4 99 SQ. FT. Compare $ 6 99 SQ. FT. Compare $ 4 Compare SQ. FT. $ 499 SQ. FT. 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