On the painted concrete that passes for Astroturf at Toronto’s Lamport Stadium, the Varsity Blues football team took on the Thiel College Tomcats, of Greenville Pennsylvania, in a cross-border contest between teams with equally historic football traditions. The Thiel Tomcats kick off their 100th NCAA division III season this fall, while the Blues continue to lean on the tradition of Varsity football as they further rebuild for the coming OUA season.
The contest was officially billed as a scrimmage, for the sake of NCAA rules governing spring practices for football teams; however, it was apparent from the onset that both teams took this contest very seriously.
The Blues had trouble moving the ball against a small-but-athletic Thiel defense, playing without offensive standout Templar Iga and numerous others who had exam-related commitments. On defense, the Blues had difficulty contending with the small, but very well coached Tomcats offense.
Scores were not kept, but U of T found the endzone significantly less often than the Tomcats throughout the course of the scrimmage. The Blues, while winning some of the individual battles, on each drive succumbed to the Tomcats mix of big plays and well-coached execution.
Some newer Blues faces, getting their first real game action, stood out in the contest. Quarterback Adam Kuprevicius threw for a few long passes, flashing the ability to go deep that had placed him high up in the recruiting rankings last fall. Mark Goncalves, filling in at both Defensive End and Tailback for the undermanned Blues showed that he has returned to the form that made him a top recruit out of high school.
Overall, the sheer lack of numbers on the Blues sidelines was a bit worrisome. However, U of T was in the midst of the usually stressful exam period, and a number of key players were writing exams during the scrimmage.
Thiel and the Blues shared dinner afterwards, and the experience was generally viewed as a positive one for a Blues team that has had little to hang its hat upon in recent seasons.
The opportunity to test their strength against a ‘foreign’ team was thoroughly enjoyed by Blues players and coaches alike, and the Thiel staff echoed the sentiment.
“Coach (Steve) Howlett and his entire team are just very hospitable and generous people. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome during our time in Toronto and I think the players as well as the coaches had some great experiences,” said Tomcats head coach Jack Leipheimer.
All in all, there was a little touch of the magic of Fall on the windy Monday afternoon in the Big Smoke, and That’s more than any football fan in this city could have asked for, as they wait for Summer’s end.