The London Beefeaters are a dangerous crew right now.

“We’re getting healthier by the day,” head coach Scott Wilkinson said. “We’re going to have a good game in Hamilton (this weekend). Then, we’ll get another shot at St. Clair. We’re playing to get another bite at (Sault Ste. Marie) in the final.”

London (3-4) sits third in the Ontario Football Conference behind the Sault College Cougars (7-0) and St. Clair Saints (6-1). Every defeat has come against those heavyweights, though the Beefeaters managed to put a scare into both teams.

The Beefeaters lost by a single touchdown Sept. 12 at St. Clair and dropped a closer-than-it-looked 35-21 decision in the Soo this past weekend. The Cougars had clobbered everybody this season, including a 52-10 win over a banged-up London squad, until the Beefs pushed back.

“The biggest difference was we went into the first game against them with three injured quarterbacks,” Wilkinson said. “This time, we got (QB2) Xavier Zatylny back and executed our regular offence. We had a pretty solid game plan and gave them a good battle.

“It was very encouraging we were able to put up as much of a fight as we did.”

London thought a couple of decisive calls went the wrong way. The Cougars scored a late touchdown the Beefeaters thought had been clearly out of bounds at the 45-yard line, and receiver Brandon Visouvath caught a ball in the end zone, but the ruling was that he didn’t get a foot inbounds.

“We don’t score on that drive,” Wilkinson said. “If we do, take away their touchdown and make the first field goal we missed, we win that game by three points. We showed up and battled back after a big defeat and the guys did a nice job.”

 

Nationally No. 2-ranked Sault and No. 4 St. Clair are affiliated with colleges. The Beefeaters don’t have that luxury but are continuing to build a connection with the Western Mustangs.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time speaking to Coach (Michael) Faulds,” Wilkinson said. “He’s had us out for practices and invited us into their meeting rooms. We’re very proud of what (Beefs grad and Mustangs running back) Geoffrey Clubine has done. When we can point to a player that gets reps with us and, the next year, they’re on the dress roster there and getting playing time, that’s a win for both sides.

“That’s what we want to build. We want to see these players develop, have a legacy with the Beefs and play in U Sports, CFL and abroad.”

London flipped nearly its entire coaching staff ahead of this season and the players have adjusted well. The Beefs used a mental health program that instructs players on how to handle adversity and stay calm in difficult situations.

“If you look at our penalty record, we were way up there early,” Wilkinson said. “We had some real issues. We were 150 (yards) in one of the first games. It was completely lopsided in the Sault. We got under their skin and they hadn’t seen a team that battled as hard as we did. They had lots of OCs (objectionable conduct) and URs (unnecessary roughness) and we had very few.

“We’re playing tough between the whistles.”

London is in win-now mode. It needs to beat Hamilton (2-5) to cement third place and set up a semifinal tilt, likely at St. Clair.

If the Beefeaters beat the Saints, it will mean another trip to the Sault.

“We’ll be happy to make that trip in three weeks,” Wilkinson said. “With the talent we have and the coaching staff, I think we’re in good position to make some noise in the playoffs.”