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The first action for the London Beefeaters was a controlled scrimmage against the Etobicoke-Lakeshore Bears. The final score was 24-6 for the Bears. The team then lost their first ever game, an exhibition game, 31-0 to the same Etobicoke-Lakeshore Bears on July 13th, 1975.

The Beefeaters first ever win was an exhibition win over the Peterborough Panthers, 41-13, on July 20, 1975. The game was played at Wolseley Barracks in London. The first ever touchdown by a Beefeater was scored by receiver Claire Vardon on a 62 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Tew. Dave Benner kicked the first convert for the Beefs (he added 4 others plus 2 field goals). Other scorers in this first victory were Vardon with an 87 yard touchdown pass from Tew, Phil Clinton with a 45 yard run, Paul Walls with a 41 yard pass reception from Tew and Neil Baxter with a 60 yard pass from quarterback Greg Somerville.

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The Beefeaters secured a play-off spot in their first season following a 27-9 victory over the Windsor AKO Fratmen at J.W. Little Stadium at U.W.O. on September 28, 1975. Steve Dilbert led the Beefs with 172 yards rushing in the game, in large part to the blocking of Owen Gidley who replaced starting fullback Daryl Stephenson who was injured early in the game. There was a half-time presentation by the Midlanders Marching Band at this game. The admission price was $2.50.

September 4^th, 1982.  That was the day Beefeater quarterback Tim Boyd established an O.F.C. record that would stand unmatched for 13 years.  Tim attempted 54 passes in a game against the Windsor AKO Fratmen and only one other has done the same since, Matt Finley of the Burlington Braves in August of 1995.  In spite of Tim’s efforts, however, the Frat edged the Beefs in an exciting offensive game before an estimated 1000 fans at Beck Field (for younger alumni that’s the London Ed. Centre on Dundas St.)  Tim ended the day 23/54 for 387 yards and 2 touchdowns with the only black mark being 5 interceptions.

The Beefs led the game 10-3 at half time thanks to a Ron Almeida touchdown, an Almeida convert and field goal. 

The third quarter was all Windsor as they built a 23-10 lead on 2 touchdowns by Ron Lyons, 2 converts and a field goal.

In the fourth quarter the Beefs mounted a comeback that would see them take the lead but then relinquish it as time ran out.  Early in the fourth the Beefs worked the ball down to the Windsor 10 yard line.  On the next play Boyd hit Brian Krohn with a 7 yard pass and from the 3, Matt McConnell bulled in for the touchdown which was converted by Almeida.  On the next Windsor series following the touchdown, Beefs linebacker Scott Montgomery intercepted a Pat Muldoon (Windsor QB) pass on the Frat 20 yard line.  The Beefs got the ball to the 8 but a penalty set them back to the 18.  Undaunted, Boyd hit Troy Jarvis for a touchdown and with Almeida’s convert, the Beefs were ahead 24-23.  On the ensuing kick off, which came from the Windsor 50 due to a roughing the kicker penalty on the convert, the Beefs scored a single and went ahead 25-23.  Windsor would not give up, however, and with the ball on their own 37, facing 2nd and 10, Muldoon hit Ron Lyons for a 73 yard touchdown, his third of the day.  The two-point conversion attempt was good and Windsor went up 31-25 and that was the way it ended.

The game was not only a battle between quarterbacks Tim Boyd and Pat Muldoon but also between two all-star receivers, Ron Almeida and Ron Lyons.  Almeida finished with 8 catches for 114 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 field goal and 2 converts while Lyons had 6 catches for 147 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Also of note in the scoring for the Frat was kicker Jerry Kauric who booted 3 field goals, one of 51 yards, and 2 converts.  Many of you may remember Jerry went on to have a fine career in the NFL and the CFL.

The Beefeaters returned to OFC action, after a two-year hiatus, with a convincing 31-7 victory over the Burlington Braves at Nelson Stadium in Burlington. On the second offensive play of the game, tailback Jason Allison scampered 70 yards on a pitch for the opening touchdown. Quarterback Rob Umbelina converted, as he did on all subsequent TD’s. The Beefeaters next point came on an Umbelina punt that went for a single. Umbelina then completed a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Mark Gregoire to put the Beefs up 15-0.

On a kick-off following a Beefeater safety, Dani Maola ran 72 yards for another Beefeater major to up the score to 24-0.

Later in the 3^rd quarter linebacker Paul Testa intercepted a Braves’ pass and returned it 108 yards making the score 31-0.

In the 4^th quarter Burlington intercepted a pass and returned it 85 yards for their only score of the game.

The initial Dave Harding Cup was held in August 2009 and the London Beefeaters defeated the defending OFC champion Burlington Braves, 12-6 at JP II in London.

The game was a tribute to a long-time trainer for both the Braves and the Beefeaters following Dave’s untimely passing. The game was the idea of Braves’ President Larry Irish and Beefeater President George Thomson.

On a hot, steamy afternoon the two teams tangled in an exhibition game with all proceeds going to the Sunshine Foundation.  The Foundation and the Beefeaters were grateful to the Burlington Braves Alumni Association who donated $300 to the Sunshine Foundation for its’ work with children’s wishes.

The game itself saw the defenses dominate which is not unusual for a pre-season game.  London scored three field goals by Zack Medieros.  In addition, Zack boomed a kick-off 84 yards for a single and the Braves conceded a safety.  The Burlington score came on the last play of the first half.  That was yet another example of the success of the prevent defense.

For the Beefs on offense, Aaron Geisler led the team in rushing.  James Morrissey and Blake Lamond shared the quarterbacking duties for the game.  On defense Zack Dean was a force as he had 6 tackles, 4 assists, 2 quarterback sacks and 2 knockdowns.

In the regular season, the Beefs went 4 and 4 and finished 4^th. The Beefs lost the OFC Semi-Final 24-10 to the eventual OFC Champion Ottawa Sooners in Ottawa.

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Oct 28, 2019  

This was not the ending the Windsor AKO Fratmen had envisioned and it’s one that won’t easily be forgotten.

Miscues and squandered chances dashed the top-seeded Fratmen’s hopes for an Ontario Football Conference title as the London Beefeater handed Windsor its first home loss of the season with a 28-20 win in Sunday’s final at Alumni Field.

“Frustration levels are high right now, but you just have to use it as motivation for next year,” Fratmen receiver Cody Holmes said. “It fuels me. I’m watching these guys celebrate on my field and I’m not taking it too well, but, next year, they’ve got to see me.”

The third-seeded Beefeaters upset Hamilton in the semis to advance to the final and came ready to play on Sunday after splitting two regular-season games with AKO.

“We worked really hard for this and prepared a lot,” said Beefeaters running back Danny Byrne, who is a L’Essor high school grad now at school in London. “It feels good to have it all pay off.”

AKO’s talent flashed on occasion in the game, but the Fratmen simply weren’t consistent enough in all three phases against the Beefeaters.

“In order to win against a good football team like the Fratmen, you have to play good in all three phases,” said Byrne who is an Essex Ravens product. “It’s really a team game and you have to play good in all three phases. We were just trying to be physical. We were trying to win the line of scrimmage. Win the point of attack.

“It’s the third time we’ve played them, we’ve gathered our information on them. We knew we had to be physical. They’re a physical football team and we had to be physical on offence and we executed well and it turned out well for us.”

In the end, it’s that battle to for physical supremacy that AKO head coach Mike LaChance said cost his team.

“They were more physical than we were and we talked about that all week being the more physical team,” LaChance said. “(In the final), we weren’t. They outphysicaled us at the point of attack, both offensively and defensively, and, quite frankly, on special teams, too. Generally speaking, in championship games, that’s who’s going to win is the team that’s more physical and they did a better job of it.”

But LaChance, who is in his 16^th season with the club, wasn’t about to pin the loss on his players.

“We’ve lost a few championship games, but I’ve never lost one where I thought we had the better team and I think we had the better team today, which means it’s on me,” LaChance said. “We got outcoached.

“You can’t look at an 18-year-old and say he made a mistake or a young quarterback’s throw was a mistake. At this level, it comes down to coaching and I didn’t have our team prepared. It’s not just on the kids. We have a 50-man roster and a 12-man coaching staff and it’s on everyone.”

After Holmes opened the scoring, the Beefeaters responded with three-straight touchdowns. A Michael Ryan touchdown had the Fratmen to within 21-13 at the half.

Jared Hayes-Williams’ touchdown catch got the Fratmen to within eight points midway through the final quarter, but miscues proved costly down the stretch.

“We had over 400 yards offence,” LaChance said. “I think we moved the ball pretty cleanly. We still had chances to win the game in the end. We had four possessions in the last five minutes of the game and we just made silly mistakes.”

So, all the Fratmen could do was watch the Beefeaters savour the victory while looking at an off-season that Holmes hopes provides motivation.

“Tough man, it sucks,” Holmes said. “Tough L (loss), but it is what it is and lock and load and get ready for next year.

“Watch them celebrate. That’s all I can say. They’re celebrating on our field. (For me), second place is a fail. We didn’t win, that’s it. So, that’s motivation for us.”

London Free Press Article - November 22, 2021

Right now, London is the football capital of Canada.

The Western Mustangs shut out Queen’s for their 33rd Yates Cup title Saturday and are one of four university teams left in the hunt for the Vanier Cup.

On the same night, the London Beefeaters made history by qualifying for the franchise’s first Canadian Bowl in stunning the St. Clair Fratmen for a second straight Ontario Football Conference crown. The Beefs were trailing the unbeaten favourites 14-0 on the road with two minutes left and rallied for an improbable one-point victory.

Nick Samis recovered a bad snap on a Fratmen punt attempt in the end zone for a touchdown, then the London defence held for a quick two-and-out. The Beefeaters took possession with 66 seconds left at the St. Clair 53-yard line and quarterback Clarke McCallum found Spencer Foster for the game-tying score.

Incredibly, the Fratmen fumbled the kickoff return and the Beefs took possession on the 18-yard line with 45 seconds left. London kicker Leo Centeno punted through the back of the end zone as time expired for a single point and a once-in-a-lifetime comeback win.

It was the Beefs’ first win in three tries against St. Clair this season.

“It’s amazing,” Beefeaters treasurer and registrar Jennifer Annen said. “I’m so incredibly proud of our team. It seems like every week there was something but they stuck with it and believed in it and said let’s do this. Everyone was so thankful to be on the field again but it wasn’t without its challenges.”

There are still a few things to tackle before the Langley Rams visit London for the national championship Saturday, Dec. 4. The most prominent is location.

The Beefeaters have City Wide Sports Park booked and it’s been a great facility that has met the team’s needs for the regular season and playoff semifinal. But it doesn’t have proper change rooms for two football teams, no press box and limited bleacher capacity.

Throughout the schedule, London offered the larger change room to the visiting team and had the bulk of its roster dress in donated tents at a time when the weather was nicer.

The only suitable space in the city for a national title game, of course, is Western Alumni Stadium. That’s where the Beefs played the Saskatoon Hilltops in the Canadian Junior Football League semi-final two years ago.

Since the Vanier Cup is on the same day at Laval, the Mustangs won’t need their facility at that point, anyway. Western’s final home game will be in the Mitchell Bowl Saturday against unbeaten Atlantic champ St. Francis Xavier.

The university has, from early in the pandemic, operated with strict COVID protocols on campus and limited the use of its sports venues to community partners. That’s the roadblock every organization that normally plays or trains at the school has faced – the most obvious example being Olympic decathlon champ Damian Warner, who spent last winter preparing for Tokyo at the ancient Farquharson Arena in Old South .

The Canadian Bowl is a scaled-down version this year. There isn’t a banquet of champions and the CJFL annual general meeting isn’t being held here in-person. All the players and coaches on the two teams have to be double vaccinated and the mandate for spectators would be the same. The protocols won’t be any different than Western’s football game days.

The stadium was originally built with the idea that London’s showcase outdoor events, especially for football, would be played there.

That should hold true for the Beefeaters and the city’s first shot at a Canadian Bowl.

There is only a few days left to get this right. A city with enough success to call itself football’s “national capital” would find a way to make it happen.