Three generations from Amherstburg part of Ravens football

The Libro Centre was busy last Saturday withEssex Ravens football action. Submitted photo

Saturday was a long but rewarding day for Amherstburg’s Dale Scott.

A trainer with the Essex County Ravens, he was watching attentively on the sidelines for three football games at the Libro Centre.

“I’ve been involved with the Ravens since 1999. My son (Joshua) played and he’s now the defensive line coach for the Junior Varsity team and my grandson Keegan is on the bantam team,” said Scott at halftime of one of the games.

At age 65, he still is hopeful to see Keegan graduate up to the Varsity team and acknowledges the importance of commitment to getting involved.

“The most valuable thing a family can do is be out here. There is nothing more important than developing our youth.”

Essex County Ravens are members of the Ontario Summer Football League and all three teams, bantam (U14), junior varsity (U16) and varsity (U18) took on visiting Burlington Stampeders.

Greg Wood founded the Ravens program back nearly 30 years ago and they have won numerous championships. Glen Mills is the president and has returned, after a brief hiatus to coaching the varsity squad.

“We have a lot of talent and at other times we play like we are asleep. It’s a bit frustrating,” said Mills prior to his game against the Stampeders.

The Ravens have produced several pro players including LaSalle’s Luke Wilson who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, along with Andy Fantuz and Kyle Quinlan who went on to win the Hec Crighton award as the top collegiate player in Canada.

Mills admits there is a difference from a couple of decades ago to now in how the players approach the game but  acknowledged there is still a lot of interest in the game in the county. He said the bantam team had 80 tryout and cut the roster down to 67. On the junior varsity there are 63 and 60 on the varsity for those who are anticipating a jump to the university level.

“I don’t think kids are invested in it as much as they used to be. There is a lot of distractions. I don’t think as many kids watch football as compared to guys back in the day.”

The University of Windsor is the home turf for the Ravens but they came to Amherstburg due to a scheduling conflict.

“Overall, it’s not a bad place to play. I wish we had a few more stands so people didn’t have to sit in lawn chairs but it’s a good venue,” said Mills.

Three generations from Amherstburg part of Ravens football

By Fred Groves