New-look Hurricanes rolling

Turnover, shmurnover.

Despite losing all but four of their starters at the end of last season, the Hamilton Hurricanes are a perfect 2-0 going into their matchup with the GTA Grizzlies at Tim Hortons Field Monday.

The 12 p.m. game kicks off Football Day in Hamilton, which concludes, as always, with the Labour Day Classic.

“We’re a brand new team, but we signed a bunch of talented kids and in the first two weeks we’ve beaten two top teams in the league pretty handily,” said head coach Jason Hayes. “So, lots of work to do, but I think we’re going to be a pretty tough team to beat.”

It’s the home opener for the Hurricanes, who drubbed Windsor 51-12 to start the season and then doubled up on London 28-14. And the scoreboard isn’t the only place they’re dominating.

Going into Week 3, they also lead nearly every statistical category in the CJFL’s Ontario Conference at the team and player level.

Third-year quarterback Jake Marquette is one of the reasons why. The 22-year-old has passed for 475 yards and seven touchdowns in Hamilton’s first two outings combined — on both counts, that’s the most in the loop by a longshot.

“We believe that he’s the premier player in the conference and he’s working hard and playing well,” Hayes said. “Hamilton is still a hotbed in Ontario for finding players, so we’ve been fortunate in our recruiting and so far it’s panned out.”

As for the Grizzlies, the Hurricanes expect to face an up-andcoming and dynamic team that, at 0-2, is still hungry for its first win. Hayes said his side’s success hinges on an attacking defence, which has already racked up 18 sacks, and a balanced offence, which boasts the two leading receivers and two leading rushers in the conference.

“We’ll see on Monday if we can keep what we’re doing and get to 3-0,” he added.