The Huronia Stallions varsity football team defeated the Metro Toronto Wildcats 38-27 recently in the wildcard round of the playoffs.  

The Stallions opened up with a 17-0 lead thanks to a punishing ground game and near flawless defensive play. With less than two minutes left in the first half, however, the Metro offence began to click and Toronto scored a late touchdown to close the gap to 17-7.

Toronto abandoned the run and used the passing game to score on four straight possessions to take a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter. The Stallions’ defense then seized the momentum, when defensive back Kyle Plummer came up with a huge quarterback sack that thwarted a key fourth-quarter drive.

The Stallions returned to the ground game, as the offensive line and fullback Brett Haenni pressured the Metro defense, scoring two, fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure the victory.  

The offensive line of Tyler Honeywood, Derek Oliver, Craig Blenkhorn, Allan Baxter and Jeff Ward contributed to 419 yards rushing.

Haenni led the way with 19 carries for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Tailback Matt Cross had 16 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Kyle Graves threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Colin Carswell and kicked a field goal to round out the scoring.

Cornerback Ed Shrubsole was the top defensive player in the game. In the first half, Shrubsole delivered the fiercest hit of the game when he punished all-star receiver Justene Edwards, who had just caught a pass on a deep route near the goal line.

The hit knocked the ball into the air and halfback Jordan Binns secured the interception. Shrubsole also had an interception of his own and five total tackles. Jordan Binns had six tackles and Thomas Van Dewark had a key quarterback sack. The Stallions advance to the Ontario Varsity Football League quarterfinals, to be held Aug. 1 in Pickering.

In other action, the Huronia Stallions Junior Varsity team ended their regular season with a 47-6 victory over the Hamilton Steelers. The Stallions were led on offence by the fine play of quarterback Jamie Cook.

Cook threw three touchdown passes. One touchdown pass was to wide receiver Ryan Ferguson and the other two touchdown passes were to emerging threat Spencer McWinnie. Running backs Trey Alexander, Justin Gleben and Max Koujhmjan all rushed for touchdowns.

Shelby Minns rounded out the scoring with a 40-yard field goal. Defensive end Jake Weber had an outstanding game with two quarterback sacks and a safety.

Linebacker Nikola Alves also recorded two quarterback sacks and made several fine tackles. Safety Jordan Bodnaruk had a key interception. The Stallions next game is the SCOFL semi-finals Aug. 1 at 12 p.m. at the Barrie Community Sports Complex, against the York-Simcoe Bucs.