The Conestoga Condors handed the Mohawk Mountaineers their second loss to start the season, 34-21 at a sweltering Mohawk Sports Park Saturday (Sept.23).
Conestoga got off to a fast start, leading 10-0 in the first 11 minutes on unconverted tries by Devon Dupuis and Aaron Melnyk.
A few minutes later the Mountaineers scored their first try of the 2017 season when Jacob Metcalf intercepted a Condors' pass well inside his own 22 and scampered down the sidelines to paydirt. Cole Mabee had the conversion to make the score 10-7.
However, in the 31st minute, Cameron Warner crashed into the end zone. Nick Teri converted.
Then on the last play before the halftime whistle Teri himself had a long run for a try, which he also converted and it was 24-7 Conestoga after 40 minutes.
Six minutes into the second half, Robert Anderson of Mohawk had a long run himself for a try, converted by Mabee, and the Mountaineers closed the deficit to 10 points.
But 10 minutes later, Connor Do evaded a couple of tackles to score. The convert was missed, but the Condors stretched their lead to 29-14.
Then Cameron Schoeneweiss tacked on five more points, scoring the Condors' final try of the game. The convert attempt was short but Conestoga had a comfortable 34-14 lead after 72 minutes.
Mohawk got a very late consolation try tom Ben Logtenburg, converted by Mabee, which made the final score 34-21.
Mohawk fell to 0-2, while Conestoga improved to 1-2.
Mohawk head coach Bill Stuart agreed it was nice to finally get some tries, but they were individual, not team scoring. "We took advantage of the other team's mistakes." Stuart agreed play was sloppy at times. "It was a hot day. We're not used to playing in this kind of heat, and the boys found it hard to stay hydrated."
Next Saturday at 1 p.m., Mohawk plays host to Georgian. The Grizzlies, from Barrie, beat the Mountaineers badly in week one, but Stuart has a bit more depth to call on. "It's a different team. I've now got guys who have played a bit more and hopefully we'll do better," said the coach.