The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Orry J Sands Pros are looking to continue their control of the Commonwealth American Football League when they go after their second consecutive Boil Fish championship title on Saturday.

However, the Pros will have their hands full when they take on arch-rivals V8 Fusion Stingrays in the grand finale at the DW Davis playing field, starting at 1:30pm.

The Stingrays snapped the Pros’ seven straight championship feat in 2012 and the two have battled it out for prominence during the regular season, having finished on top of the standings with an identical 5-1 win-loss record.

Both teams defeated each other with the Stingrays drawing first blood in their first match-up, winning 20-6. However, the Pros are taking the bragging rights into the big dance, having returned the favour in their second match-up, 14-6.

When it was all settled, it was the Stingrays who were awarded the pennant. But as they would remind you, the Pros are still the champions until they are dethroned.

If their regular season was any indication, coaches Sherwin Johnson (Pros) and Lawrence (Stingrays) are looking forward to what is anticipated as another epic showdown.

“Both teams know each other very well. We kind of know what to expect from them and they know what to expect from us,” Johnson said. “I’m sure both teams will have one or two wrinkles thrown in to try and catch somebody by surprise on Saturday.

“But it’s basically going to be a hard-fought game on Saturday. It’s going to be a typical Pros and Stingrays game. Both teams are ready to go. We split in the regular season and they were both defensive games. Our games didn’t get decided until the fourth quarter, so look for the team that make the least mistakes to win.”

Hepburn said if his Stingrays are not ready now, they will never be.

“Our guys are enthusiastic about the game and they are very much looking forward to it,” he said. “I guess it’s redemption. It’s an opportunity to redeem ourselves. I know they are going to leave it all on the line.

“Should we lose, I can guarantee you one thing, it wouldn’t be because they didn’t try. I know they are quite ready and excited about this game. All of the regular season games they played, they are really enthused about this opportunity to play against the Pros. I don’t think they would want to play another team other than the Pros.”

Looking at his team, Johnson said his Pros are a pretty balanced squad, led by quarterback Renaldo Dorsett, who is at the helm of their offence for the second consecutive year with Charlie Edwards as his bread and butter at running back. Linebackers Anton Coakley and Guerrolice Collie are the head of the class on the defensive end.

“Our team speed is our advantage on offence. We have a lot of speed on offence, which we hope to capitalise on Saturday,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of secrets out there. We have a usual cast of characters who we will depend on to pull us through.”

In their counter-attack, the Stingrays intend to rely heavily on their running game.

“We’ve been able to mix it up and do some things offensively and our defence is going to be just as stellar with veteran Matellus Chipman, Adorn Barr, our linesmen Fred (Rahming) and Julian (Saunders) holding their own against the run,” Hepburn said.

“They are our veteran linesmen and we have a good corp of players, including our special layer Rocket (Ishmael Sutherland) is ready. Rocket, in just about every game, has ran back a knockdown. So we look forward to the game.”

Johnson said the Pros have been fine-tuning everything and they will be ready to go on Saturday. “We kind of expected to be here, so we’re not surprised,” he said. “We just have to win one more game.”

Hepburn said the Pros are a “veteran savvy” team that makes “quick adjustments on the fly. They come ready to play every game, so you can’t intimidate them. They have a huge line and a tremendous running game.

“On the other hand, our team will be ready for whatever they throw at us. We are really looking forward to this matchup. I don’t think it will be any run away for any of the teams.

It should come down to a defensive battle,” Hepburn said.