Outlaws out for some revenge
CAMBRIDGE — The Tri-City Outlaws have a score to settle.
And the Northern Football Conference squad will get their chance when they take on the Sarnia Imperials Saturday night at Riverside Park at 7 p.m.
“There is no love lost between the two of us,” said Outlaws coach Gary Hudson.
“It’s definitely going to be a great game.”
Tri-City took a royal beating from the Imperials last year by losing both regular season contests and an 18-14 heartbreaker in the playoff semifinals.
That mid-August seasonender still stings.
“They beat us three times last year,” said Hudson. “I don’t think they are going to change anything. But they’re going to be surprised at what we have this season.”
The Outlaws are off to a perfect 3-0 start.
Only the defending champion GTA All-Stars — at 4-0 — are ahead of them in the nine-team league.
“It’s one of those things where we’ve built on what we had last year,” said Hudson. “We have a lot of talented rookies that have been able to step in and help us where we were lacking.”
It’s a balanced attack for the posse.
Quarterback Dan Daigle owns an awesome air arsenal and has a stacked receiving corps of Ryan Watt-Dennis, Anthony Powless and Shawn Ashe at his disposal.
A young but effective offensive line is also giving the former Wilfrid Laurier University pivot plenty of time to deal from the pocket.
But it’s not just end zone dances for the Outlaws.
The club has allowed the second fewest points so far this season with linebackers Tai Pham and Jesse Collins leading the charge. Rookie Thomas Corniel, a former Bluevale Collegiate Institute standout, is also making his mark.
“He totally looks like a body builder and I was worried about all that muscle mass and how he’d do,” admitted Hudson. “But wow, he is an animal on the field.”
They’ll need their deadly defence against the Imperials, who are off to a 2-1 start. Running back Josh Wright is a particular concern.
“He is a special teams demon,” said Hudson. “He returned two kickoffs and a punt for a touchdown (last season). We’re definitely not kicking to him this year.”
Tri-City completes the homeand-home series with the Imperials when they head to Sarnia on Canada Day for a 7 p.m. kickoff.