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HISTORY
The history of the Essex Ravens begins with
Greg Wood, Founder and President of the
organization. After playing professional football
in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders, Toronto
Argonauts and Ottawa Roughriders, Greg embarked on a
teaching career in Essex County, and was the Head Coach
of the Leamington Lions, and later, the Essex Red
Raiders.
In late 1996 Greg applied for a franchise in a league
which was operating around the Toronto area for about 4
years. He chose Glen Mills (then Defensive Co-ordinator
of the Essex Red Raiders) as Defensive Co-ordinator
and Dave Little, (former Head Coach of the Massey
Mustangs) as the Ravens Offensive Co-ordinator.
John Rudak, who was then Head Coach of the Riverside
Rebels became the Quarterbacks Coach.
FIRST
SEASON: SUMMER, 1997
With
a small roster of 32 players, the Ravens finished with a
2-6 debut season.
The
very first Ravens game was played June 21, 1997 vs the
Halton Invictas in 100 degree weather on astro-turf at
the University of Waterloo stadium. Paul Paterson
of Riverside is credited with the very first Ravens
touchdown from a second quarter pass by Brad Deklerk
(also of Riverside). The Ravens lost 24-13.
The
first Ravens win came on July 19 in the fifth game of
the season vs the Brantford Bisons with a 32-20 win.
The
first season ended without a win at home, despite
impressive home-town attendance. The benefits of
Ravens football on player skills, however, was quickly
realized in the fall, when the Riverside Rebels, most of
whom had experienced the extreme level of competition
with the Ravens that summer, won the Newman High School
Football Championship (The first ever in the school's
history).
SECOND
SEASON: SUMMER, 1998
1998
saw a bigger roster. After a slow start, the
season ended with a 4-4 record. The first home win
ever for the Ravens came on July 4, 1998 in the second
game of the season, and again, at Brantford's expense.
The Ravens edged the Bisons 30-27. More schools
were represented on the roster, and home town attendance
was still the best in the league.
This was the
first year the CAW Bowl was held for the CAW Local 444
membership, and the Ravens won it with a 42-29 win over
the Hamilton Tiger Cats. The Mississauga Warriors
won the league championship over the Halton Invictas.
THIRD
SEASON: FALL, 1998:
OUR FIRST PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
The
fall of 1998 was a first for Ontario high schools. A
teacher's work-to-rule conflict with the Provincial
Government suspended all extra-curricular activities
including sports. After finishing the summer
season, independent varsity clubs quickly "re-grouped"
into a fall league to fill the void.
This "fall version" of the summer league was called the SOFC (Southern Ontario
Football Conference). With 23 new players and a
roster of 45, the Ravens cruised to an undefeated season
and won the SOFC Championship by defeating Mississauga
31-12 at the University of York (Toronto) on November
29, 1998. John Rudak had taken over as Offensive
Co-ordinator for the fall, and his mix of Essex Ravens
and Riverside High School offenses (that worked so well
for the Rebels in their high school championship) had
now proven itself on a provincial scale.
FOURTH
SEASON: SUMMER, 1999
The
OVFL (Ontario Varsity Football League) was launched this
year. The
year started slow and steadily gained momentum toward
season's end with a 4-3-1 regular season record and a
trip to the Western Conference Final. Dave Little
was still Offensive Co-ordinator in the summer, and ran the offense for the first half of the
season. John Rudak, who had taken the Ravens to a Provincial
title in the fall SOFC, took over as Offensive Co-ordinator
for the remainder of the season.
Oshiomogho
Atogwe of Herman was absent for the first half of the
season while playing for Canada's National Basketball
Team, but was still able to set a league record for
interceptions in just 4 regular season games! He accepted a full-ride scholarship to Stanford. It
was the first year home games were televised by Cogeco
Cable.
The Ravens tied the second CAW Bowl with a hard fought
34-34 overtime tie vs the Brampton Bulldogs. The
league title went to the Mississauga Warriors (over the
Brantford Bisons)
In
late 1999, the OVFL linked with Football Quebec and
founded a team of Canadians in the World Junior football
championship, which is supported by the NFL and is an
official event of the Super Bowl festivities. Practices
and try-outs were held for all OVFL players in fall of
1999, and in January of 2000, two Ravens were on the way
to Atlanta - Bill Moysiuk and Chris Cowan. The Canadians
upset team U.S.A. in the first round and won the World
Championship 7-6 over Team Europe. Team Canada surprised
everybody and won it all in it's debut season.
FIFTH
SEASON: SUMMER, 2000
The
Varsity Ravens continued to cruise with John Rudak's
"RUDE" offense, finishing the regular season
with a powerful 7-1 record. After defeating London
33-22 in
the CAW Bowl, the Ravens came up flat in the
quarter-finals and were upset by the 6-2 Falcons (who
went on to win the OVFL Championship over the Toronto
Thunder). The league chose two Ravens as
best-in-league; Thomas Whitfield (top Special Teams) and
Bill Moysiuk, (top LB). Coach Mills was chosen as Coach
of the Year.
The
OVFL began a whole new League for 16 and under players
to complement their Varsity programs. The Jr.
Ravens took the field under Head Coach Mark Dupuis and
finished the season with a 5-3 record. The Jr.
Ravens also bowed out in the quarter-finals. Jon Shreve
was chosen as the top Jr. RB of the year by the league. The
Brantford Bisons won the first Junior Varsity
championship over the Wentworth Panthers.
Coach
Mills was selected as D-line coach for Team Canada, and
Bill Moysiuk made his second appearance on the team, but
team U.S.A. pulled off a squeaker in the World Final and
beat the Canadians 21-19 at the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay
in January, 2001.
SIXTH
SEASON: SUMMER, 2001
The
Varsity Ravens lost a couple of squeakers and were
eliminated in the quarter-finals by the Mississauga
Warriors after a frustrating 4-4 record. Thomas
Whitfield, who holds 14 OVFL records was picked up by
Syracuse University on a full-ride scholarship.
Jermaine Jones accepted a full-ride scholarship at
Mississippi Valley State and Andrew Brown, a full-ride
at Lafayette in Pennsylvania. The two league championship games were hosted by the
Ravens in Essex. The Varsity Toronto Thunder won the
championship over the Brantford Bisons.
The
Jr-Varsity Ravens were placed under Jon Binns as head
coach for this year, and finished with a 5-3 record again and bowed out in the
quarter-finals with a loss to the Steel City Ironmen.
Marco Morano was chosen as the top Offensive Lineman of
the year by the League and Coach Binns was Jr. Varsity Coach of the
Year. The JV Twin Cities Predators won the JV
championship over the Steel City Ironmen.
Ross
Spettigue was elected President and Team Governor of the
Ravens and Founder Greg Wood took the new position
of Past President.
Coach
Mills and Ravens President Ross Spettigue were invited
to help run the University of Indiana Hoosiers' High
School Football Camp in June.
The
OVFL's First Annual East-West All-Star game was held in
Waterloo. Sixteen Ravens made the JV and V Western
All-Star squads. Tom Biernacki was the JV game
M.V.P. and Andy Fantuz was the Varsity West Offensive
player of the game.
University
of Michigan Wolverines Defensive Co-ordinator, Jim
Hermann and Buffalo Bills/Alouettes pro player, Ed
Philion were guest speakers at the Annual Ravens Awards
Banquet.
In
January 2002, Team Canada was beaten for the second time
by the U.S.A.16-14 in the world final. The idea of a Canada Cup
Tournament was created to be first implemented
during the 2002 OVFL bye-week, where every province
would field an all-star team.
SEVENTH
SEASON: SUMMER, 2002 - OVFL CHAMPIONS!
The
Varsity Ravens won it all - the OVFL Championship - with
a 14-13 win over the Mississauga Warriors at Ivor Wynne
Stadium. In the last seconds of the game, Mississauga
botched a potential game-tying convert, giving the
Ravens their first OVFL title. Ravens' Jordan Blonde was
the MVP of the game with his two interceptions, one for
a TD. The Ravens lost only twice in the 6-2 regular
season, one of the losses, however, a 31-23
heart-breaker to Lambton in the CAW Bowl... the first
ever loss in the event.
The
Jr. Ravens finished their best season to date with Coach
Mlinaric at the helm as Head Coach, and bowed out in the
Western Championship. With 90% of the team new and only a
few returning from last season, Joe turned what would
seem like an uphill struggle into one of the biggest
surprises and success stories of the season. After
another 5-3 regular season record, they made a strong
playoff run to the Western Final. Daryl
Townsend set a new JV rushing record of 108 yards.
The
league named Andy Fantuz the 2002 Top Varsity Receiver,
Chad Santo the top varsity O-Lineman, Sam Madia the top
Kicker-Punter, and Daryl Townsend the top Junior-Varsity
Running back of the league.
The
Canada Cup made its debut during the OVFL bye week. The
Ravens placed 9 players on Team Ontario, which won the
Canada Cup 48-27 over the powerful Team
Manitoba. Ravens were instrumental to the success
of Team Ontario: Andy Fantuz was the MVP in the
semi-final over Nova Scotia, and Sam Madia was the MVP
in the final over Manitoba. Andy Fantuz was named the
MVP of the entire Canada Cup Tournament.
EIGHTH
SEASON: SUMMER, 2003
By
most teams' standards, two losses in the regular season
would be called a success, but the 6-2 regular season
record for the Varsity Ravens was disappointing after
last year's championship, and it ended in
the quarter-finals with a loss to the Halton Invictas.
The Toronto Thunder won the OVFL championship over the
Steel City Ironmen. No team has won back-to-back
championships to date, but the Toronto Thunder became
the first team to win a second OVFL title, the first one in
2001 vs the Brantford Bisons (played in Essex).
The 1st annual Cogeco Cup game between the two teams
within Cogeco Cable TV's viewing audience, Essex and
Lambton, was played in Sarnia. Essex won the cup 17-3.
The Jr. Ravens had another outstanding season with
another 5-3 record (the Jr. Ravens had finished 5-3
every season to date). The highlight of the season was a
second straight playoff run to the Western championship
as the dark-horse of the playoffs. In the quarterfinal,
they knocked off the Jr. Steel City Ironmen 37-8, (who
were the defending champions - undefeated in two years).
The season ended in London, however, as the Falcons won
the Western Conference championship and subsequently
lost to the Ottawa Meyers-Riders in the OJVFL
championship.
Team
Ontario won the Canada Cup again, 24-21 over Team
Alberta, with a contingent of 5 Ravens on board - Coach
Mills, O-Line coach, Coach Petrozzi, O-Line coach, Eric
Thomas, RB, Daryl Townsend, RB, Marco Morano, OL/DL.
Four Ravens were chosen as league all-stars: Marco
Morano, OL (Varsity), Dave Ford, DB (JV), Brian Bulcke,
DL (JV), and Coach Mlinaric was chosen as JV
Coach-of-the-Year.
NINTH
SEASON: SUMMER, 2004:
WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
The
rebuilding curve proved to be short and astonishing with
a strong 7-1 record and a trip to the OVFL championship
for the Varsity team. The Ravens met their old
post-season nemesis, the Mississauga Warriors, who edged
Essex 25-23 in the final.
11
OVFL records fell to the Ravens in 2004: Most
sacks in a game, most sacks in a season, total yards in
a game, total yards in a season, total rushing in a
game, total rushing in a season. Darryl Townsend
broke the rushing yards record for game and season, most
carries record for game and season, and most 1st downs
for game and season. Eric Willson broke the
longest run record in the Jr. Varsity league.
Both local Bowl games went to Essex again with a 29-6
win over Cambridge in the CAW Bowl and a 32-24 win over
Lambton in the Cogeco Cup.
The OVFL picked 4 Ravens as All-Stars - Darryl Townsend
(RB), Marco Morano (OL), Dave Iverson (DB), and Eric
Willson (Jr. Varsity Special Teams).
Team Canada lost to the U.S.A. 31-0, but Team Ontario
won the Canada Cup with a 21-18 "three-peat"
win over Alberta. Eight Ravens took the gold with
Team Ontario: Coach Mills (DL Coach), Coach
Petrozzi (OL Coach), John Curran (OL), Andrew Blencowe (OL),
Ricky Simons (QB), Brian Bulcke (DL), Neil Galbraith
(S), and Nick Skeates (LB).
The Jr. Varsity Ravens ended with a 4-4 record and lost
in the first round of playoffs to London.
TENTH
SEASON: SUMMER, 2005:
The
Varsity Ravens Finished with a 6-2 record after two
losses in the last minute of the games to Soo and
Mississauga. They bowed out in the quarterfinals
to the Niagara Spears, who went on to win the OVFL
Championship over Mississauga. The Jr. Ravens
bowed out in the Western Semi to London after a 5-3
season and a great playoff run.
Our Sponsorship Bowl Games went as follows: A 7-3
win over Lambton in the Cogeco Cup, a 32-7 victory over
London in the first annual Credit Union Classic, and our
second CAW Bowl loss - a 28-24 Mississauga come-back in
the last minutes of the game.
After a short Team U.S.A. dynasty in the Global Jr.
Championship, Team Canada defeated the U.S. 38-35 in
California to once again become the World Varsity
Champions.
Two Varsity Ravens were chosen as OVFL league All-Stars
- Brian Bulcke and Rondel Roberts.
ELEVENTH
SEASON: SUMMER, 2006:
THE CONTROVERSIAL "BIG SLEEP" SEASON
The
Varsity Ravens, possibly the first team in football
history anywhere, finished the regular season early and
waited four weeks before playing another opponent. The
luck of the draw went like this - Due to an irregular
number of teams, each team had a bye during their
regular season schedule - the Ravens had theirs on the
last game of the season. The week following this
was a league-wide bye for the Canada Cup, and finally, a
bye was awarded for finishing the Conference in first
place. From their last regular season game to the
first game of the playoffs (the Western Semi-Final), was
four weeks. After an intense 7-1 season, the
Ravens were stuck in a month long regimented practice
schedule and seemed to lose all the momentum they had
built up. In their Western Semi 37-24 loss to
Guelph, the Ravens found themselves down 14-0 in the
first two minutes. They regained the lead again,
but lost their focus in the last minutes. Were
they lulled by the "Big Sleep" or not?
We will never know. Etobicoke Eagles won the OVFL
Championship over the Niagara Spears.
The Jr. Ravens and the newly formed Pee Wee Ravens
(14-and-under) both finished the season at 5-3 and
didn't make the playoffs.
The Sponsorship Bowl Games went as follows: 38-0
over Lambton in the Cogeco Cup, 35-13 over London in the
CAW Bowl, and the only loss of the season, a 22-17 loss
to Niagara in the Credit Union Classic.
Ravens
Adam Conference All Stars were: Nate Fitzsimmons
(Varsity), Kostas Spyridis (Varsity), Shawn Spina
(Varsity), and Andrew Bakos (Jr. Varsity).
Nate Fitzsimmons became the third Raven to wear a World
Championship ring as he was a starter for Team Canada in
their second straight win, 10-0 over Team U.S.A. in
Detroit. This edition of Team Canada was flawless
- every win in the tournament was a shut-out, thanks to
Nate and company who held the "world"
scoreless in the event.
SUMMER,
2007: 10 YEARS OF RAVENS FOOTBALL!
BE THERE TO CELEBRATE OUR 10th ANNIVERSARY!
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