High School Sports blog

WCSSAA rugby and soccer quarter-finals are set

The quarter-finals are set for the WCSSAA boys rugby quarter-finals after Tuesday's round of qualifying games.

In senior play, it's Forest Heights at WCI, Cameron Heights at Bluevale, Waterloo-Oxford at Huron Heights and Sir John A. Macdonald at Preston. All games are 3:30 p.m. starts

In junior play, it's Cameron  Heights at SJAM (2 p.m.), St. Mary's at WCI (4:30 p.m.),  Preston at Forest Heights (3:30 p.m.) and KCI at Waterloo-Oxford (4:30 p.m.).

Quarter-final games will also be played in the WCSSAA girls soccer league, with Preston at WCI (RIM, 3 p.m.), Bluevale at Grand River, Cameron Heights at SJAM, and Huron Heights at KCI. The latter three games are 3:30 p.m. starts.

In senior boys play, it's Preston at Eastwood, Jacob Hespeler at Cameron Heights (Woodside), Southwood at WCI (RIM) and Forest Heights at Grand River. Three games start at 3:30 p.m., with Southwood and  WCI to start 30 minutes earlier.

 

Rugby death review will focus on head injuries

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is to conduct a review into the death of Rowan Stringer, 17, who died over the weekend after suffering a traumatic brain injury during a high school rugby game last Wednesday.

The review, according to a story in the Ottawa Citizen, will no doubt focus on head injuries and what coaches and players can do to recognize them. Director of education Jennifer Adams wouldn’t say if the review would also look at whether rugby would continue to be offered as a sport for students.

My knowledge of rugby is minimal but I've been to enough games over the past four years to see quite a few students injured playing the bruising sport. In the past week alone, I've seen two players leave with head injuries . . . at a boys game between Bluevale and Preston, as well as a girls game between Galt and Forest Heights.

I've also seen plenty of crutches, slings and casts along the sidelines during my time as a high school sports reporter.

The walking wounded I saw during the first week of this year's District 8 and WCSSAA rugby seasons prompted me to contact both organizations -- as well as OFSAA -- to find out whether injury statistics were tracked on a sport-by-sport basis.

They are not, so I really have no idea whether rugby is more dangerous than hockey or football, two other contact sports that immediately come to mind.

All I can say for sure is that students who play rugby seem to love it, and the teachers who coach it are passionate about it.

You just have to wonder whether the reward is worth the risk.

As always, reader comments are both welcome and appreciated.

 

Grand River players top weekly list

It was another week of strong performances by local athletes. Here are eight that caught my eye:

Jamie Noonan and Quinn Cameron, Grand River: Both girls scored four goals as the Renegades closed out their WCSSAA girls soccer season with 4-0 wins over Sir John A. MacDonald and Forest Heights. Noonan, a Grade 11 student that also plays basketball and volleyball, had three against Forest Heights. Cameron, a Grade 12 student, had three against SJAM and is back with the soccer squad after taking a year off.

Braedon Feehan, Huron Heights: The Grade 12 striker had back-to-back two-goal games as the Huskies closed out their WCSSAA senior boys soccer schedule with a 5-2 win over KCI and a 3-1 win over Galt. The wins allowed Huron Heights to claim the final spot in Tuesday’s playoff qualifying round against Forest Heights.

Aly Jacobs, Huron Heights: The Grade 11 striker scored four goals in a 5-3 win over Elmira as the Huskies claimed the final spot in Tuesday’s WCSSAA girls soccer league playoff qualifying round. She also scored once in a 2-1 win over Glenview in last week’s must-win games. Huron Heights, which would have been eliminated with anything less than two wins last week, will face Southwood in a playoff qualifying match on Tuesday.

Lukas Seibert, Bluevale: The Grade 12 flyhalf had an outstanding performance for the Knights in a 26-5 win over the Preston Panthers in WCSSAA senior boys rugby play. He scored a lengthy second-half try and made the most of his strong foot on several occasions to stall Preston advances. He is also a football and basketball player at Bluevale.

Sarah Reed, KCI: The Grade 12 centre had two solid games as the Raiders scored a pair of wins in WCSSAA girls rugby play. The first-year player, who has also participated in cross-country, volleyball and cross-country, had 12 points in a 17-10 win over WCI and nine points in a 14-5 win over Huron Heights. The gifted athlete also runs half-marathons in her spare time.

Victoria Borys, Resurrection: The Grade 12 midfielder scored two goals in two games last week as the Phoenix clinched first spot in the District 8 girls soccer league. Rez defeated St. Benedict 5-0 but it was a 4-1 win over St. Mary’s that clinched the regular-season title.

Emma Jada, St. Mary’s: The Grade 12 player turned in a strong performance as the Eagles edged Resurrection 15-10 in District 8 girls rugby league play. A D8 basketball all-star, she also had a try one week earlier in St. Mary’s 20-0 win over Rez, which is aiming for its 10^th straight D8 title.

 

Incident leads to early end of WCSSAA soccer game

Details are sketchy but it appears Forest Heights forfeited Thursday's WCSSAA senior boys soccer game against Cameron Heights after an incident with the referee.

Trojans coach Mike Wilson declined to comment, saying in an email It was "an unfortunate situation that I just want to put in the past and move on."

Scoring details of the game have yet to be recorded on the WCSSAA website and both teams are still listed as having played six games.

A parent at the game informed me the game was abandoned in the second half.

* * *

There was nothing but  positive energy in the air at Thursday's WCSSAA girls soccer game between Forest Heights and Grand River.

The Trojans trailed after just two minutes of the 4-0 loss but they never stopped trying and there was steady encouragement and laughter coming from the bench.

* * *

Matchups have been set for Tuesday's WCSSAA girls soccer league  playoff round. All games are 3:30 p.m. starts.

Huron Heights at Southwood
Cameron Heights at Forest Heights
Waterloo-Oxford at Bluevale
Preston at Jacob Hespeler

St. Mary's to host girls rugby tournament

St. Mary's High School is hosting its inaugural "Spring Blast" girls rugby tournament on Friday, an event that will attract seven teams from WCSSAA and District 8 as well as Barrie's Joan of Arc.

St. Mary's and  St. David are the D8 entries, while WCI, Bluevale, Cameron Heights, Jacob  Hespeler and Grand River are the WCSSAA teams.

It is hoped the event will grown in subsequent editions and increase the profile of this rapidly growing women's sport. It's also an opportunity for schools to play outside their leagues.

Here's the draw, with games starting at 9 a.m.

* * *

Resurrection turned the tables on St. Mary's in D8 girls soccer play  Wednesday with a 4-1 win over the previously undefeated Eagles. Paula Rau scored twice, while Victoria Borys and Niki Paiva added singles as the Phoenix bounced back from the 3-2 loss they suffered to their Kitchener rival on April 24.

Both teams finished with 5-1 records but Rez gets first because it outscored St. Mary's 6-4 in head-to-head competition.

Playoffs start next week.

* * *

First place in the D8  boys league will be on the line for St. Mary's on Friday when the Eagles visit Rockway on Friday afternoon.

A win and the Eagles will overtake St. David.

A loss and they could actually fall to third if Rockway is able to defeat Rez in Friday's only other game. The Flames are currently fourth but could move into a tie with St. Mary's with a win and.hold the tiebreaker

Here are the various scenarios, as per D8's Mike Grobe:

 
Games Remaining
- May 10 – PRDG @ RCSS (3:30pm)
- May 10 – SMHS @ RMC (4:00pm)
Scenario Facts
- SBCSS, PRDG have both been eliminated from playoffs based on points
- WCHS has clinched 6th place based on points
- RCSS has clinched 5th place based on points (cannot improve standing regardless of Friday’s outcome)
- Playoff positioning for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th – will be determined with result of SMHS vs. RMC game on Friday
Playoff Scenarios
SCENARIO 1 - If RMC wins and SMHS loses on Friday then:
- SDCSS will be 1st place with 17pts
- RMC will finish 2nd place with 15pts (hold head-to-head tiebreak over SMHS)
- SMHS will finish 3rd with 15pts (lose head-to-head tiebreak over RMC)
- MDCSS will finish 4th with14pts
Quarterfinal - Monday May 13
- Woodland CHS @ St. Mary’s HS – 3:30 pm
- Resurrection CSS @ Monsignor Doyle CSS – 3:30pm
- SDCSS and RMC receive quarterfinal bye

SCENARIO 2 - If SMHS wins and RMC loses on Friday then:
- SMHS will be 1st place with 18pts
- SDCSS will be 2nd place with 17pts
- MDCSS will be 3rd place with 15pts
- Rockway will be 4th place with12pts
Quarterfinal - Monday May 13
- Woodland CHS @ Monsignor Doyle CSS -3:30 pm
- Resurrection CSS @ Rockway MC – 3:30 pm
- SMHS and SDCSS receive quarterfinal bye

SCENARIO 3 - If SMHS and RMC tie on Friday then:
- SDCSS will be 1st place with 17pts
- SMHS will finish 2rd with 16pts
- MDCSS will finish 3th with 14pts
- RMC will finish with 13pts
Quarterfinal - Monday May 13
- Woodland CHS @ Monsignor Doyle CSS – 3:30 pm
- Resurrection CSS @ Rockway MC – 3:30 pm
- SDCSS and SMHS receive quarterfinal bye

 

Three-way tie for first a possibility in WCSSAA girls rugby league

It's crowded at the top of the WCSSAA girls rugby league standings.

Galt and Waterloo-Oxford are both at 5-0 won-lost with one game remaining in the regular-season schedule, while Forest Heights and Bluevale are both 4-0 with two games to play. Because of the unbalanced schedule in the 15-team league, there is a real possibility that three of these teams could finish the season with 6-0 records.

Waterloo-Oxford looks to be a lock to stay perfect as its sole remaining game is against winless Elmira (0-4) on Monday, while Bluevale also looks good with remaining games against Grand River (2-2) and Preston (2-2).

Forest Heights finishes with Eastwood (0-4) before closing out with Galt on Monday. The loser of that game will likely drop to fourth in the standings, while top spot will be decided by a tiebreaker.

* * *

Over in the District 8 girls rugby league,  St. Mary's  remained perfect with a 15-10 win over Resurrection on Monday.

St. Mary's is attempting to end Resurrection's nine-year run as D8 champion.

On a more disappointing note, St. Benedict pulled the plug on its girls rugby team on Monday because of insufficient numbers.

* * *

That'll teach me . . . just when I started pumping the tires of the Monsignor Doyle Mustangs in D8 senior boys soccer, the Cambridge boys get it handed to them in a 4-1 loss to St. Mary's on Monday.

* * *

I'll be taking in the Bluevale-Preston boys rugby game later today in Cambridge, which means I won't be able to check out the Grand River-Eastwood game in senior boys soccer.

That one should be a beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southwood student pulls of promposal to make list

Here’s another quick look back at some of last week’s top performers. I’ll keep adding when requested information becomes available.

Kayla Ferko, Preston: The Grade 12 striker continued her storybook return with a two-goal outing for the Panthers in a 3-1 win over Galt in WCSSAA girls soccer play. Ferko suffered a serious knee injury during her Grade 9 season and has rebounded to score six goals in five games.

Courtney Harley, Southwood: The Grade 12 track and field competitor gets the nod for her finish-line ‘promposal’ to her boyfriend, Joel Webster at Friday’s Track Wars meet. The plan went off without a hitch and Webster, of course, said yes. Harley also found time to compete in three events, finishing fourth in the triple jump, sixth in the long jump and 16^th in the 100-metre dash.

Courtney Wright, Jacob Hespeler: The Grade 10 student made the most of her height to score a pair of wins at Track Wars. Wright, who stands six-foot tall, won the junior girls triple jump and long jump events, and finished eighth in the 100-metre dash. Her twin sister, Candace, who stands six-foot-two, also competed at Track Wars. Her best finish was 11^th in the shot put. Courtney and Candace both played senior basketball for the Hawks in the fall with older sister Brooklynn.

Janek Rempel Bergen, Rockway: He scored twice as the Flames scored a 3-2 win over the Resurrection Phoenix in District 8 boys soccer. It was a milestone victory for Rockway, the first time the tiny single-A school has defeated Resurrection in D8 senior soccer. Rempel Bergen also scored in a 2-1 win over Pere Rene as Rockway sits at 3-1 in the standings, good for a third-place tie with St. Mary’s.

Ellen Meyer, St. Mary’s: The Grade 12 striker had a five-goal performance to lead the Eagles to a 6-1 win over St. David in District 8 girls soccer play. Meyer is also a striker with Kitchener’s U17 squad.

Tyler Gibner, Preston: The Grade 11 student piled up the points last week as the Panthers scored back-to-back wins in WCSSAA senior boys rugby play. He had 10 in a 24-15 win over SJAM and another 10 in an 82-0 spanking of St. David. A multi-sport athlete, Gibner is also a standout football player for the Panthers and Cambridge Lions, as well as a member of the Panthers basketball team.

Antoine Phillip, Preston: The Grade 12 player also makes the Panthers tick, according to head coach John Skovsgaard, and is tied with Gibner for tries scored this season. He racked up 10 points against SJAM and had15 against St. David. Phillip is also a football and basketball player at Preston.

Demi Cottrell, Galt: She had a big week as the Ghosts scored consecutive wins in WCSSAA girls rugby play. First up, she had 15 points in a 22-7 win over Glenview Park and then picked up 22 in a 27-0 win over Eastwood.

A spring of struggles for St. Benedict teams

It's been a tough spring season for St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.

The quad-A school is at the back of the pack in three District 8 leagues and struggling mightily in all of them.

The senior boys soccer team is 0-3-1 won-lost-tied in the standings and has yet to score a goal while giving up 22. Their lone point came on Wednesday in a 0-0 tie with Pere Rene, a single-A school.

The girls soccer team is also 0-3-1 with its lone point coming in a 1-1 tie with St. David, which is also at 0-3-1. The Saints have scored just one goal and given up 22.

The girls rugby team is also searching for its first win, having lost its first three games by a combined score of 154-5.

The lone bright spot took place on Wednesday when the girls slo-pitch team hammered Southwood 20-4 in a WCSSAA game.

It's a start.

Track Wars a major event at Jacob Hespeler

Track Wars is a very big deal.

Friday's track and field meet at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School will attract 1,255 athletes from 29 schools and the entries are still coming in. Check out www.galasso.ca for additional information.

The deadline for entries is 6 p.m. on Wednesday so there will likely be more athletes and schools competing at the new facility that will host WCSSAA, CWOSSA and  OFSAA West this spring.

* * *
From the crazy score department, how about this one: Preston 82, St. David 0.

It's true -- the Panthers received offensive contributions from Antoine Phillip, Nathan Walsh, Tyler Gibner, Kevin Hempel, Ryan Nagl, Mason Sinnicks, Omar Abdul-Rehim, Zach Dunseith, Nathaniel Gonzalez and Ryan Maksymyk in Tuesday afternoon's pounding in senior boys rugby.

* * *

There were also a couple of results in the WCSSAA senior boys soccer league that are worth noting -- Cameron Heights and Eastwood playing to a 2-2 tie and Forest Heights knocking off Grand River by a 3-2 margin.

The results cloud the Premier Division  standings as Eastwood now leads the way with 10 points,  Forest Heights is next at 9, Cameron Heights, Southwood and WCI are on 7, and Grand River is at 6.

It should be a thrilling ride down the stretch but Eastwood appears to be the team to beat, based largely on their dominating 5-1 win over Forest Heights to start the season.

WCI will take on Grand River in Thursday's most intriguing matchup.

* * *

The big story in District 8 boys soccer play to date has been the St. David  Celtics, who downed the mighty St. Mary's  Eagles 2-1 on Monday.

The Celtics will travel to Cambridge on Wednesday to take on Monsignor Doyle for triple-AAA bragging rights.

St. David tops the standings with a 3-0-1 record while Doyle is at 3-0. Still, the Mustangs will likely be the underdogs in this one as their wins have come across D8's weaker squads.

* * *

In WCSSAA girls soccer league action, WCI  and Grand River played to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday and now share top spot with 3-0-1 standings.

 

 

Impressive result for Celtics in District 8 soccer

It was an impressive outing for the St. David Celtics in District 8 senior boys soccer league action on Monday night.

Francis Samson and Oleh Sydorczak did the damage on offence as the  Celtics scored a 2-1 win over the previously undefeated St. Mary's Eagles.

The  Celtics are now at the top of the standings with a 3-0-1 record, tied with the  Monsignor  Doyle Mustangs, who are 3-0. The Eagles and Rockway Flames are next at 2-1, followed by Resurrection at 1-1-1.

The St. Benedict Saints are struggling at the bottom of the standings with an 0-3 record. Even worse, the Saints have yet to score a goal while giving up 22, including 10 against Rez on Monday.