Another big day of Waterloo County senior boys football league playoff action with the Resurrection Phoenix hosting the Preston Panthers and Cameron Heights Golden Gaels taking on the Jacob Hespeler Hawks at St. David.
The winners of today's "A" division semifinals will meet on Saturday afternoon.
Preston at Resurrection, 2:30 p.m.
With kickoff about an hour away, I see no reason not to pick the defending champion Phoenix.
Well, that's not exactly true.
The Panthers are the last team to beat the Phoenix, but that was way back in Week 1 of the 2008 season. The Panthers were also in command of their regular-season meeting this year before the Phoenix came to life and recorded a 22-17 win in Week 5.
The Panthers do a lot of things well. Quarterback Josh Jamieson is a smart and mobile player, running back Chris Ackie is one of the league's best, and when it comes to catching the ball, there are few that do it better than tight end Jeff Robinson.
Even so, QB Jason Chris is no slouch and Beau Landry is still Beau Landry, a monster running back who can catch balls and an even better linebacker.
I expect to see another close one but think the champs will prevail.
Jacob Hespeler vs. Cameron Heights, 7 p.m., St. David
The Hawks are a good team, a very good team. The best team in "B" Division laid a whooping on Bluevale last week and showed they belong.
Connor Paddock is solid at QB, undersized running back Brandon Golding and bruising fullback Nate Dawes can pick up big yards, while slotback Tyler Rivett is a deep threat.
On the lines, no one is bigger or casts a more imposing shadow than NG/LT Erik Krebs. And the guy can play.
Head coach Greg White has eight players who line up on both sides of the ball who he thinks are as good as anyone. He might be right.
The Gaels, however, have the one-two punch of running back Tyler Varga and receiver Andrew Thibaudeau, the most dangerous combination in the league. And don't kid yourself, the Gaels are absolutely desperate to get another shot at Rez.
And I think they will do just that, setting up the final that I'm sure a lot of people want to see.
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The WCSSAA "B" Division finals are set for Friday at St. David with Southwood and Preston meeting at 4 p.m. for the junior title and Huron Heights and WCI facing off at 6 p.m. in the senior final.
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While getting spanked 35-6 against WCI last night, it was nice to finally see Glenview Park quarterback Cory Prince in action. This guy has a fantastic arm and looked very good despite the lopsided score. Diminutuve wide receiver Darren Sidey also stood out for the Panthers. The smallest player on the field by a wide margin, not once did he shy away from the action.
WCI quarterback Luke Rose also looked very solid in leading the Vikings to victory.
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Earlier in the day, in Huron Heights' win over Elmira, I was impressed with the entire Huskies roster, but especially wide receiver Dhane Smith, who is also a huge threat out of the backfield.