Mayfield Mavericks defend OFSAA gold medal in wild ending 

By Robert Belardi 

There was only five minutes left on the clock, and the Mayfield Mavericks blanketed any doubts in their minds. 

With possession of the ball, the girls left it all out on the line. Down 11-6 against a very strong Uxbridge team, a try would tie it all up. 

“We kept grinding away and we kept getting closer to the goal line and closer to the goal line,” head coach of the Mavericks, John Tutty, described. 

“I guess with about 30 seconds to go, a girl named Lily VandenHoek, who happens to be in Grade Nine, scores a try and ties it up.” 

After a try, when attempting a conversion, the ball must be placed at the spot where the try was scored. This kick was lined up just fifteen yards out from the sideline, making it between a 35-40-yard kick. 

Orly Ferris stepped up to take the kick and nailed it right in between the posts. 

Up by two, the referee told the girls' last play. The Mavericks got possession of the ball and ran out of bounds, forcing the referee to blow the final whistle. 

It was all over and the Mavericks, successfully defended the OFSAA medal the girls won in 2019.

“The Mayfield Mavericks would show tremendous determination, focus, and composure to win their games – none of them easy and all with myriad challenges. They persevered through the heat, through the demand on their bodies, the stress and fatigue, to do what they had set out to do remarkably only a few months prior, to win OFSAA,” Tutty said. 

It was a tough and grueling tournament. The Mavericks opened OFSAA with a 12-5 win over KCI. In their next game, the girls smashed Parkside 43-0. 

Skipping over to the semi-finals, the girls shut-out Glebe 12-0, setting up a very tough final against Uxbridge.

According to Tutty, Uxbridge outsized his team; however, the athleticism from his group, proved to be the difference. 

“Coaches (Dave) Wiwchar, (Pamela) Ireland, (Arta) Theo, (John) Tutty and (Rhys) Manning are so proud of what all the girls, regardless of their role on the team, accomplished this year in spite of everything stacked against them. They are looking forward to working with all those girls coming back next year and would like to send our best wishes to those graduating players,” Tutty said. 

A big congratulations goes out to the coaches and to all of the Mayfield Mavericks team, including: Jiya Badhan, Selah Bagoczky, Tess Baird, Clare Bamford, Maeve Barnard, Hannah Bell, Harman Bhatha, Bella Bistriteanu, Josie Bonsu, Eknoor Boparai, Adelle Byrski, Brooklynn Corbett, Chloe Creighton, Kylie Czar, Olivia Dibua, Olivia Duke, Brittany Ennema, Orly Ferris, Jada Fowler, Jade Franklin, Samantha Gordon, Victoria Guile, Harleen Hunjan, Aya Husaini, Ginger and Rosalea Meek, Makayla Murray, Sarina Nasello, Ally Noonan, Maira Opel, Evelyn Pacheco, Jane Paterson, Charlotte Rees, Kealey Sarjeant, Jade Scott, Gurnoor Sekhon, Natasha Stephens, Kennedi Stevenson, Sofie Turner, Lily and Mia VandenHoek, Jessica Vella and Linniah Williams on their gold medal triumph!