BOWMANVILLE -- The Durham Knights Football Club prevailed in the first round of playoffs, beating the Hamilton Steelers, 27-6. The game played at Clarington Fields was an exciting victory for the Knights, who also beat the Steelers earlier in the season. The Knights started out with a 65-yard drive, led by quarterback Josh Lee-Jordan, behind his big and powerful offensive line. Luke Oakes finished the drive, scoring a touchdown with a run up the middle, giving the Knights an early seven-point lead. A short time later Connor Vale added to the score with a 25-yard field goal. Vale also hit a 35-yarder and was perfect on all three converts attempts, earning him game MVP honours. Running back Brian Marks again had a strong game with over 60 yards total, including a second quarter run of 18, giving the Knights a much needed first down. Marks also added to the score in the fourth quarter with a three-yard touchdown run. The Knights had to rely on their defence late in the half when they fumbled the ball deep in Hamilton territory. With the Steelers on the drive, cornerback Kevin Kinahan had a couple of knock downs, while nose tackle Justin Sutton had a fumble recovery, giving the ball back to the Knights and allowing them to carry a 13-6 lead into the half. That was the second fumble recovery for Sutton, while Mark Sauder and Skyler Fines also had fumble recoveries in the first half. The defence set the tone in the second half and the special teams came up big when Kinahan had a punt return for 35 yards and Brett McGarry had a blocked punt, again giving the ball back to the offence deep in the Steelers end. A couple of plays later on a third and eight, wide receiver Oseko Oreko pulled in a 15-yard pass setting up Marks' touchdown, making the lead 20-6. The defensive highlight came when offensive lineman, Dan Ciancone, filling in on the D-line, not only made the stop, but stripped the ball away from a Steelers player, and ran it back 30 yards to the Hamilton 15. Three plays later, quarterback Mike Nicolaou ran it up the middle for the final score. The Knights now travel to Ajax-Pickering, to play the semifinal game against the Dolphins.



