Ironmen offensive tackle Matt Giammichelle expects a big battle in the trenches against Cambridge tonight (July 25).

How far the Hamilton Ironmen junior football squad goes in the playoffs will largely depend on the feet of running back Ryan Sylvestri.

"I'm pumped for the playoffs and I'm pretty sure everybody else is too," said the 16-year-old Cardinal Newman student as the Ironmen head into Ontario Varsity Football League Adam Conference quarter-final playoff action against the Cambridge Lions in Cambridge tonight (July 25). The two teams, who did not face each other during the regular season, finished with 6-2 records.

Sylvestri, who ran for 1,789 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 9.1 yards per carry, during the regular season, is hoping to run up some more big yardage tonight.

"If I work hard enough and get at it, I think I'll be able to do it," said Sylvestri, who also handles the team's kicking duties.

Ironmen head coach Ken McGuire is confident Sylvestri will be a major offensive contributor as he has been all season.

"I think we're looking for him to hopefully rush for 200 yards," McGuire said. "He's the hub of our offence."

McGuire said Ironmen fans can also expect to see some play-action passing from from quarterback Ryan Brady against the Lions.

Of course the key for any running back to be successful is to have a strong offensive line open holes for him and 16-year old left tackle Matt Giammichelle is one of the Ironmen O-linemen who has been doing that all season.

The 16-year-old St. Thomas More student expects a tough battle with Cambridge.

"Definitely it's going to be a battle in the trenches," Giammichelle said. "They're going to come hard and they're going to come strong, we've just got to be ready."

Another key to victory will be for the Ironmen defence to get into the face of Cambridge quarterback Cory Prince who was good on 107 of 199 attempts through the air this season for an impressive 1,789 yards and 20 touchdowns.

"We've got to put pressure on their quarterback," said McGuire, who sees the tonight's game as a classic match up between the Ironmen running attack and the Lions' aerial show.

The Ironmen outscored their opponents 98-7 in their final two games of the regular season and McGuire believes his troops are peaking at the right time.

"Our defence is much better and our offence is getting our passing game down," McGuire said.

About an hour before their 7 p.m. practice on Tuesday, McGuire noted most of his players were already on the field at the HAAA grounds working out, an indication he feels, that they have become a committed and cohesive unit.

Tomorrow (July 26) the Ironmen pee wee squad takes on the Brantford Bisons in OVFL Adam Conference quarter-final action at Sackville Park with the kick-off slated for 7 p.m.

In their first season in the league the pee wee Ironmen finished with a 6-2 record the same as Brantford, but Hamilton gets the home playoff game thanks to their 14-12 win over the Bisons in the first game of the season.

Dave Balcomb, offensive co-ordinator and assistant head coach of the pee wee squad, feels Brantford will come out passing.

"That's what they did the last time," said Balcomb, who noted the Ironmen defence has gotten a lot better since the last time they faced the Bisons.

While the Ironmen are roughly a 60-40 run-pass club, Balcomb said the offence will adjust to what ever way the Brantford defence lines up.

One potential problem the Ironmen will have to guard against, particularly if Saturday night turns out to be hot and humid, is player fatigue.

With a roster that has declined to 31 names in recent weeks. Balcomb said several players are going to have to work both sides of the football tomorrow night.

"We already know we're going to have to play guys two-ways," Balcomb said. "We're going to make sure they're conditioned...get a lot of water."

One of those two-way players is likely to be 14-year-old Bishop Tonnos student Domenic Bellardini, who plays middle linebacker, full-back and kicker.

"I'm thinking it's going to be another close game," Bellardini said. "We want to give them a lot of pressure, not give them any time to throw the ball. We want to keep them to as little yards as possible through the air."

Ironmen running back Cameron Court, is confident the Ironmen will win.

"We should beat them by a lot more this time," said the 13-year-old Winona Public School grad, who will be attending Orchard Park Secondary School in September. "I think we're going to make it all the way."

Thanks to their 7-1 regular season record, the senior Ironmen team has a bye to the Adam Conference semi-finals next week.

If any of the Ironmen squads make it to their league finals they can expect a large cheering section in the stands. The OVFL pee wee, junior and senior championships will be played at Ivor Wynne Stadium Aug. 16.

At Sackville Hill Park July 19, Ryan Sylvestri ran for 176 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the junior Ironmen to a 53-0 romp over the Guelph Bears in the final game of the regular season.

Quarterback Ryan Brady (Cathedral) was good on seven of 13 passes for 138 yards and a TD and QB Nick Ruhloff came in to complete three passes for 42 yards and a major. Khalil Soule scored a touchdown on a 60-yard run, Mike Hayes (Westmount) caught two passes for 27 yards and a TD and Jordon Rebelo caught a two-yard TD pass. On defence, Justin McCarthy grabbed a Guelph fumble and ran it back 40 yards for a touchdown.

Also at Sackville Hill Park, the pee wee Ironmen edged Guelph 13-12 last Saturday to finish the regular season. Nigel Applewhaite and Dannieul Macaro scored TDs for Hamilton.

The senior game between the Ironmen and Guelph was postponed due to rain and wet field conditions. Guelph has since forfeited the game which will go into the books as a 22-0 Hamilton win and wrap up the senior team's regular season record at seven wins and one overtime loss.