Essex claims bantam title
Bush scores pair of touchdowns to lead Ravens to 28-14 win over Cumberland
Three touchdowns in the second half carried the Essex Ravens to the Ontario Provincial Football League bantam AAA title on Saturday at Alumni Field at University of Windsor Stadium.
Essex, which was the top-seeded team out of the West Division, took the title with a 28-14 win over the Cumberland Panthers. Running back Jaydon Bush scored a pair of touchdowns for the Ravens and Dylan Simpson also had a touchdown run. Quarterback Rhys Staley threw a 45yard touchdown pass to Brodie Kowtiuk, who also pulled in a twopoint convert. Simpson also kicked three converts for the Ravens, who were tied 7-7 at the half before taking control of the game.
Balkwill takes gold: South Woodslee’s Kelsey Balkwill set a new personal-best mark in winning the women’s 400-metre hurdles on Saturday at the 28th Memorial Rasschaert track and field meet in Ninove, Belgium, on Saturday. Balkwill, who attends the University of Windsor and competes for the Border City Athletics Club, won the race in 56.34 seconds. Belle River’s Noelle Montcalm, who is a four-time Canadian champion in the specialty and competes for the University of Windsor Athletic Club, was second in 56.60.
Windsor TFC tops: Windsor TFC’s U18 academy boys team captured the Ontario Youth Soccer League West Division regular-season title on Saturday with a 4-3 win over Hamilton Sparta FC at Academie Ste. Cecile.
Down 3-1 with 20 minutes left in the game, TFC rallied for the win. Nikola Bauer had the early goal for Windsor and Paul DiMeo pulled the club to within a goal with a shot off the post and in from 30 yards out. Luka Tojcic tied it at 3-3 off a wild scramble off a free kick. With just a few minutes left in the game, Max Cooney was pulled down in the box and DiMeo buried the penalty to put TFC (13-1-2) up for good against Hamilton (4-0-11). Windsor now heads to the OYSL final four, which will take place Aug. 4 and 5 in Markham.
Ellsworth in charge: Leamington native Cam Ellsworth has been named the 11th head coach of the Norwich University men’s hockey program, which has been in operation for over 100 years. Norwich, which is located in Northfield, Vt., is a military college that competes at the NCAA Division III level.
The 38-year-old Ellsworth replaces Mike McShane, who retired in June after 23 seasons and four national titles. Ellsworth, who played goal collegiately at Michigan Tech University, has spent the past seven seasons as an assistant coach at UMass-Lowell and was the associate head coach the past two seasons.
Akins takes title: Windsor’s Audrey Akins took the First Flight title recently at the Michigan Women’s Golf Association State Championship, which was held at Timber Ridge Golf Club in East Lansing. Akins posted rounds of 83 and 72 for a winning total of 155 and a one-shot victory over seven-time champion Joan Garety.
Tesolin a star: LaSalle’s Cole Tesolin has been named an Elite Clubs National (Soccer) League Midwest Conference all-star in the under-15 division. Tesolin, who plays midfield, competes for the Michigan Wolves soccer program.