Hamilton leading West as double-header weekend arrives

Philly v Toronto East showdown highlights regular season finale

Can upstarts Woodbridge hand Mt. Olive a fourth straight loss?

They don't particularly like each other and on Sunday morning one team will send the other packing -- to the Redemption Bowl -- while the winner lives on to play spoiler.

It's Philadelphia Rolling Thunder (4-3) versus Toronto East Titans (3-4) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference of the OYM Football League. Win and you challenge your divisional powerhouses for a spot in the championship. Lose and you drop down with the also-rans looking to salvage your pride.

Meanwhile, in the West, Mt. Olive is looking to regain their mojo after three straight losses, Woodbridge is knocking at the door, and Meadowvale is primed to throw a monkey wrench into the playoff seedings in the East when they tackle the Apple Creek Spartans.

Philly versus East is the feature matchup in what is Double-header Weekend (Olive, Spartans and Meadowvale play double-headers). Philly has had some tough losses this year. They had Agape down 7-0 before collapsing. They had Toronto West on the ropes, up 14-0 before losing 15-14. And they lost by a point to the Spartans.

Toronto East Titans, meanwhile, has been a confounding lot all year. But wins over Kanisa and Mississauga and Ghana has given them hope of a dream ending and a berth in the championship round of the playoffs.

Can QB Carmel Baugh steady the skittish bunch long enough to pull off one major win?. Will Philly finally withstand the pressure in a big game and move on in confidence?

The other three spots in the East are secure. The world-beaters from Agape will finish first, and likely unbeaten. They have scored an astounding 191 points and given up only 35 points in seven games -- both league best. T-West is 7-1 and on a bye week, nursing a single loss to the Agape all-stars. The surprising Spartans (4-2) are not only in the playoffs but will stay in third place, if they can beat Meadowvale Saturday night, not to mention the insurmountable task of beating Agape on Sunday. Lose both games of their double-header this weekend and they'll finish fourth, if Philly beats East. A East win over Philly would leave all three teams at 4 and 4,  but Spartans have the tie breaker over both teams and would stay in third, with East finishing fourth.

A Philly victory, coupled with a double-header loss by Spartans, will vault Philly into third where they would avoid Agape and play T-West in the conference semis. 

With Joel Knight at quarterback, Spartans have beaten Kanisa, Philadelphia, East and Malton. That gives them the tie-breaker in the east should they lose both weekend games and end up tied with Toronto East or Philadelphia.

Kanisa, depleted in 2017 with the defection of Nathaniel Fray Smith and Errol Evans, and others, are missing firepower and will have to battle in the Redemption Bowl.

In the West, Hamilton can finish no worse than second and will take top spot if Woodbridge loses to Mt. Olive. However, if Woodbridge beats Mt. Olive, handing the defending champs a fourth consecutive loss, then Woodbridge finishes first in the West and Hamilton drops to second, with Olive and Sauga doing the two-step dance for third and fourth.

 Mount Olive (3-3) suddenly looks vulnerable -- thanks to three consecutive losses to Toronto West, Hamilton and Agape. Woodbridge, which seemed poised to make a run for the top spot in the west, fell back last Sunday with a 30-5 drubbing at the hands of rival Toronto West. And Hamilton now seem poised to snag the top spot, pending the outcome of weekend games.

The only thing settled in the West is that Meadowvale (1-5) and Malton (0-7) won't be in the championship round. Neither will Ghana. They will join Kanisa and the loser of Philadelphia vs Toronto East in the playoffs for teams seeking redemption and respectability for 2018.

Weekend games out west feature Meadowvale versus Spartans at Valleys on Saturday night. A Meadowvale win would counter arguments that the West is the weaker of the two conferences. Sunday's western contests at Applewood have Mt. Olive playing a double header against Woodbridge at 10 a..m. and Meadowvale at 1 p.m.. In between, Malton plays Sauga and tries to avoid a winless season.

In the East, the warm-up game is Spartans against Agape, looking to finish an unbeaten regular season for the second time. This is followed by the marquee matchup that pits Philly against the Titans at 11.30 at Pickering high.

Playoffs begin the following week at the same locations.

Then there is a break for the August Holiday, followed by another bye for the annual Youth Summit and the East-West All-Star Classic, this year at Esther Shiner Stadium on Aug. 12.

Semi-finals go August 20 and the championship August 27 -- both at Northview.