Kevin Nagel, Burlington Post Sports Editor, Sep 02, 2009 

It’s not how the defending Ontario Football Conference champions wanted to open the home schedule. Matt Scott of the Burlington Braves leaps for a pass but Ottawa’s Ben O’Connor proves to be enough of a distraction to prevent the completion. Ottawa won Saturday’s game 31-9 handing Burlington its second loss of the season.

By losing 31-9 to the Ottawa Sooners in front of a sparse crowd Saturday night at Nelson Stadium, the Braves fell to 0-2 in league play. Add last year’s national final loss to Vancouver Island and an exhibition loss to London Beefeaters prior to this season, and the Braves are in an 0-4 slump. A season-opening defeat in Windsor against the AKO Fratmen Aug. 23 accounted for the other loss. 

Saturday, things started to go wrong before the first snap of the game. The Braves’ top linebacker James Lowes wasn’t in the starting lineup after suffering a cut when he decided to exchange a head butt with a teammate as he prepared for the start of the game. The problem was, he wasn’t wearing a helmet. “I love him to death but it was a bonehead move,” said head coach Craig Davoren. “There’s a bunch of plays I’d like to have back, too.” 

The Sooners, back in the league after a 14-year absence, looked formidable from the start but it was a 16-minute span — the last minute of the first quarter and all of the next — where they put the game away. After the Braves gave up a two-point safety to gain better field position midway through the first quarter, the Sooners scored three straight touchdowns and added a single on a missed field goal to take a 23-1 lead. 

Braves quarterback Zach Stacey, with a sore shoulder all week, couldn’t get on track in the first half, managing a measly 31 yards on 14 attempts, including an interception that led to one of the Sooners’ TDs. “I thought he looked a bit overwhelmed so we tried out Mike (Chase) in the second half,” said Davoren. “Zach wasn’t able to take many snaps this week.” Chase started fast but the Sooners eventually figured him out, too, leading to the insertion of Chris Pearye late in the game. Stacey wasn’t the only quarterback who wasn’t 100 per cent. Ottawa’s Zack White couldn’t play because of strep throat, so running back Danny Mullins was given the QB duties and was more than adequate. He threw two touchdown passes and gained 250 yards through the air on the day, a performance that earned him OFC player-of-the-week honours. 

“It’s the old deal that when somebody else gets that chance to step up, the team has to rally around him,” said Sooners’ coach Andy McAvoy. “Our guys stepped up and made plays.” That included running back Sean Murphy with two touchdown runs and wide receiver Markus Lovell, with a pair of TD receptions. Curtis Cates, another offensive hero, gained 75 yards on five carries and added 51 more yards on two receptions.