The announcement and proceedings of the brand new OSFL this summer has awakened an old beast in the nation's capital. Two of the most prolific and storied franchises in Canadian amateur Football are going toe to toe in a recruiting battle for the best up and coming football players in theCity of Ottawa. Being the only two teams from Ottawa in the brand new league and recruiting restrictions not being applied like they are in other leagues like NCAFA, both franchises will be pitching the best talent in the nation's capital to come play for them this upcoming season. So the million dollar question for the talent in the Ottawa area is, do you want to be a Panther or a Rider?
Both teams have had undeniable success in every league they’ve played in, and have been, for the most part, bitter rivals in every single one of those leagues. Both clubs are coming off of strong NCAFA campaigns, with all teams at each level having a winning record except one division for both sides. Both Cumberland & Myers have had success in recent variations of summer varsity leagues in the past, with both teams regularly dominating the east division of the OVFL at both the junior varsity and varsity levels. Both teams will have to rely on their recruiting pitches to get the best talent in the Ottawa area. Head coaches for Myers, Christian Nalli for varsity, Ralph Siciliano for junior varsity, and Tony Canonico for bantam are tasked with going head to head in a recruiting battle against head coaches Julien Dasilva (varsity), Mike Schmidt (junior varsity), and Nate Dunlop (bantam) of the Cumberland Panthers. Coach Nalli from Myers says
Referring to the intense rivalry between the two teams. Both clubs have a solid foundation of home grown talent from their NCAFA teams, given both bantam squads records this past NCAFA season. But with only the Panthers fielding a midget team in NCAFA this past year, the recruiting battle is off and running for Ottawa's best talent. Coach Schmidt of the Panthers says
Both teams have already begun announcing their agreements with some of the best talent from other NCAFA organizations like the Nepean Broncos/Eagles, the Bel-Air Norsemen/Lions, the North Gloucester Giants, and the West Ottawa Knights to name a few. Many of the elite players from these organizations will be wearing the black white and red or the blue and white for the first time in the upcoming OSFL season. Many of these players will be going toe to toe with some of their former teammates from their NCAFA upbringings. The rivalry is alive and well in Ottawa once again between Myers & Cumberland, and both coach Schmidt & coach Nalli have high expectations for the upcoming season. Coach Nalli goes on to explain
“We as a team are looking forward to the high level of competition. I’m sure a lot of the other teams will agree also just to get back to what we know as normal, getting back on the field and playing football in front of family, friends and fans. Enjoying life again as we did before the pandemic. Looking forward to OSFL 2022!”
Who will come out on top as Ottawa's best? We’ll have to wait and see. For now, check out some of the best plays in the rivalries history via HESN and stay tuned for some more great content from the upcomingOSFL season.
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