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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 1, 2008 - 45 Milton's generosity the latest twist in football soap opera ith no shortage of twists and compelling subplots, the Northern Football Conference has seemed more like a soap opera than a sports league at times this season. "As The NFC Turns," jokes Oakville Longhorns head coach Barry Emo. Perhaps the title for this weekend's episode could be Sleeping With The Enemy, seeing as how the Milton Marauders have suddenly extended the olive branch to the rival Longhorns. The Marauders were awarded home-field advantage for tomorrow's first-round playoff matchup with Oakville, but have offered to let the Longhorns host the contest instead. The teams will kick off at 7 p.m. at Bronte Athletic Field. Milton head coach Ken Lashley made the offer to Emo Wednesday morning after the NFC ruled that a scheduled game between Oakville and the Oshawa Hawkeyes, postponed because of poor field conditions, would be declared a 10-10 tie. The stalemate meant that the Longhorns finished behind Milton in the NFC standings; had Oakville been given a 28-0 forfeit victory (as the NFC constitution suggests should have happened, since the W Hawkeyes did not have a backup field available), the Longhorns would have finished ahead of the Marauders and hosted tomorrow's game. "They should have finished ahead of us. We don't have any problems with it. The league might not know what's fair, but we know it's fair," said Lashley. "We hope that if the roles were reversed, any team in the league would do the same for us." Sounds like the ultimate spirit of sportsmanship. But Emo, who coached several seasons in Milton and led the Marauders to a national championship in 2004, wasn't quite overcome with that warm and fuzzy feeling. "They're painting it as being generous and giving us the opportunity, based on the constitution, and maybe that's what they're doing," said the Oakville coach. "I have a feeling there's more at play here than what meets the eye." Emo suggested difficulties in booking the field (the Marauders play at Milton District High School, meaning they would have to book it through the Halton District School Board) likely played a factor in Milton's decision, as did the approximate $800 cost of the rental. "From their standpoint... it's a lot easier for Oakville to host it," Emo said. Home field doesn't promise to be much of an advantage tomorrow, either. Many of the players have played for both teams and are very familiar with both venues. And neither squad would have to make a long commute. "We don't mind beating them wherever they want to play," Lashley said. "We don't care." The Marauders did beat Oakville at Bronte earlier this season, pulling out a 24-23 victory in the opening week. Both coaches are expecting another competitive game tomorrow. "It will be a different game than the first time," Lashley said. "They have (former Hec Crighton awardwinning quarterback) Tommy Dennison playing for them now, and we have our full complement of players. Whoever wants it more come Saturday will walk away the winner." Emo, who said the Longhorns will key on neutralizing Marauders linebacker Craig Davoren, added, "This will be a typical Oakville/Milton game. It wouldn't matter if we played this in a parking lot, quite frankly. Whoever makes the least mistakes and plays with the most passion will come out ahead." OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO WE MEET AGAIN: The Milton Marauders and Oakville Longhorns, pictured during playoff action last season, will square off again tomorrow (Saturday) to open the Northern Football Conference postseason at Bronte Athletic Field. Late TD ends JV Invictas' season The Oakville junior varsity Invictas' season ended Saturday with a 14-10 loss to the Toronto Jr. Argos at Bronte Athletic Field. Adam Powell booted a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give Oakville a 10-8 lead, but Toronto rallied for a touchdown in the dying minutes to pull back in front. The Invictas drove into Jr. Argos territory in the final minute before time ran out. Ashton Rochester had a 70-yard touchdown run for the Invictas early in the second half to tie the game 7-7. Powell added the convert. Toronto's other points came on a first-quarter touchdown and a rouge. Ryan McInerney and Tim Doyley shared time at quarterback for the Invictas, with McInerney completing four of six passes and Doyley good on both his throws. Doyley also had a 60-yard punt return. Matt Laidlaw provided some tough running yards up the middle in a losing cause for Oakville. Connor Moen and Abi Ramazankhani recovered fumbles as part of a strong defensive effort by the Invictas. Oakville had defeated Toronto 21-9 the previous week to close out the regular season and earn home-field advantage in the first round. TOP GUNNERS: The Oakville Gunners under-16 boys' soccer team won the V-Elite Division at the recent USA Cup. U16 squad guns down V-Elite opponents The Oakville Gunners were the elite of the V-Elite at the recent Schawn USA CUP soccer tournament in Minnesota. Oakville won the title in the eightteam V-Elite Division (highest division) at the USA Cup, which featured nearly 1,000 squads from 28 states and 16 countries. The Gunners, an under-16 boys' team, shook off a loss and a tie in their first two games to win their last three contests and secure the championship. Oakville's Chris Telford scored the only goal of the final against the Bermuda Gobey Warriors, taking a pass from David Ferreira and beating the Bermuda keeper with five minutes remaining in extra time. The Gunners had advanced to the championship game with a 3-1 victory over the defending champion Arsenal Super Eagles, a team from Minnesota. Oakville keeper Jonty More stopped a penalty kick to key the victory. In round-robin play, the Gunners began with a 2-1 loss to the Texas Arlington Black Lightning, then rallied from a 3-1 halftime deficit to tie Bermuda 3-3. Oakville earned a playoff spot with a 32 victory over Albion SC (San Diego), with Aleksandar Radosevic netting the winner with a 25-yard strike in the game's final minute. The V-Elite Division featured four of PUMA's top premier American clubs against four top international and domestic teams selected by Schwan's USA Cup staff. Other members of the Gunners, coached by Phil Ionadi and Paul Marques, are Sebastian Novais, Michael Tait, Chris Karafilov, Brandon Gregory, Jeremy Gaylor, Marshall Slipp, Alex Biafore, Delfin Nogueira, Marco Natale, Brandon GaleaAndrews, Matthew Elliot, Khaled Safwat, Ricky Maimonis and John Nardozzi. Reduce Reuse Recycle