Cornwall makes a statement to start its Ontario Summer Football League season with a big win on its home field.<\/p>\n
Author of the article:<\/p>\n
Todd Hambleton<\/a> \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Special to the Standard-Freeholder<\/p>\n Published May 18, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n After months of tryouts and practices and envisioning possible scenarios on how the season would begin, the Cornwall Wildcats finally got to play a game late on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The U18 squad wasted no time making memories.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Running back Hunter Holmes took the handoff, cut to the left and dashed 83 yards down the east sideline for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, and Cornwall went on to post a 34-14 Ontario Summer Football League (OSFL) win over the visiting Brampton Bulldogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I wasn\u2019t expecting that,\u201d Holmes said afterwards, surely capturing the sentiments at the time for most of those watching at Joe St. Denis Field. \u201cMy muscles weren\u2019t ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Holmes, a second-year Wildcats player from Russell, had some impressive runs late last season, but the Wildcats struggled at home toward the end of the campaign, finished with a 4-3 mark, and didn\u2019t qualify for the playoffs<\/a> \u2014 a Cornwall rarity.<\/p>\n With an opportunity to make an early statement in 2026, Holmes was glad to get the ball on the first play and have an impactful two-touchdown afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cI love hyping the team up, and setting the tone, and we just have to keep pushing (as the season moves along),\u201d Holmes said. \u201cWe have a lot of guys back (from 2025), and we\u2019re looking to bounce back.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Just after Holmes scored and kicker Abbas Gedeon booted the extra point, one of the Brampton coaches uttered from the sideline what could end up being a strong contender for the understatement of the year, when he told the visiting squad 44 seconds into the game and season that there\u2019s a lot of football left to play.<\/p>\n There definitely was plenty of time remaining, and Brampton did shake off the bus legs and make a game of it, getting a touchdown before the end of the quarter to narrow the deficit to 7-6.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Cornwall Wildcats lose final regular-season game 7-3 to Myers Riders<\/p>\n <\/a> Cornwall Wildcats get much-needed 16-9 win over Oshawa Hawkeyes<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Cornwall would be the team making most of the big plays \u2014 including a 90-yard toss and run from quarterback Peter Constantinidis to receiver Kohlman McIntyre that made it 15-6 midway in the second quarter.<\/p>\n It was the Wildcats playing extremely well defensively, too.<\/p>\n \u201cOur defence kept us in the game, especially in the first half,\u201d said Holmes, a speedy and agile runner who early in the fourth quarter had a much shorter (25-yard) touchdown run but also highlight reel scamper to put the game out of reach, pushing Cornwall\u2019s lead to 31-6.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Back when it was still a tight contest midway in the third quarter, and Brampton was down 17-6 but moving the ball well, that stout Cornwall defence forced a punt, and Caleb Cardinal returned it 80 yards for a major, putting the home side up 24-6.<\/p>\n Cornwall kicker Gedeon had a big day, with four extra points and a 30-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter that closed out the Wildcats\u2019 scoring.<\/p>\n Cornwall also got a single on a punt into the end zone, and the defence forced a two-point safety.<\/p>\n Brampton\u2019s best player, quarterback Tevonte Bramwell, was a dual threat, tossing a first-quarter 13-yard touchdown pass to Joshua George, and he scored on a 23-yard run in the game\u2019s very late stages.<\/p>\n Bramwell is a smooth runner who frequently scrambled out of jams for positive yardage, and he threw some impressive deep balls too. But, the Cornwall secondary had a great performance, blanketing the Bulldogs and often having two and even three defenders covering receivers being targeted by Bramwell.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Fourth-year head coach Alex Labonte and his Wildcats hit the road for their next few games, landing in Kingston to face the Grenadiers on May 23<\/a>, then to Nepean to face the Myers Riders on May 30<\/a>. The Wildcats are set to host the Cumberland Panthers at home on June 6<\/a>, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n The Cornwall Wildcats are fielding an Ontario Women\u2019s Football League team for a second year \u2014 its season starts on the road on May 29 against the Kemptville Jaguars<\/a>, with a home opener scheduled for a 12 p.m. kickoff on June 6 against the Cumberland Panthers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballLocal Sports Cornwall makes a statement to start its Ontario Summer Football League season with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194339],"tags":[51759,49,48],"class_list":["post-677977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brampton","tag-brampton","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Cornwall](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0519-co-wildcats02.co_.jpg\")
Cornwall Wildcats OSFL head coach Alex Labonte, middle, and starting quarterback Peter Constantinidis (No. 10, right) watch the plays against the Brampton Bulldogs at Joe St. Denis Field on Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Cornwall, Ont. The Wildcats won 34-14. Photo by Todd Hambleton \/Special to the Cornwall Standard-FreeholderArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Cornwall](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0519-co-wildcats03.co_.jpg\")
Cornwall Wildcats OSFL players, including linebacker Marc Labossiere, corral a Brampton Bulldogs player during play at Joe St. Denis Field on Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Cornwall, Ont. The Wildcats won 34-14. Photo by Todd Hambleton \/Special to the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder<\/p>\n![\"Myers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0624-co-wildcats03.co_.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Cornwall](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0617-co-wildcats01.co_.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Cornwall](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0519-co-wildcats01.co_.jpg\")
Cornwall Wildcats OSFL players huddle at Joe St. Denis Field after defeating the Brampton Bulldogs 34-14 on Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Cornwall, Ont. Photo by Todd Hambleton \/Special to the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder<\/p>\n