High School Sports blog

It doesn't make sense

Where's the concern about player safety now?

When word got out  in September that Waterloo County high school football teams wouldn't be competing for the Western Bowl, player safety was listed as the No. 1 reason.

Most of the 40 senior and junior teams would have to play three games during a nine-day period midway through the season in order to finish the season in time to send one team to compete for the Western Bowl. Coaches were concerned about the number of injuries that took place during this condensed schedule in the past.

So where is the concern now that teams competing for playoff championships will play -- you guessed it -- three games in nine days to win a title?

* * *

The teams competing next Saturday for the Waterloo County football title will have only two days to prepare for the big game.

Semifinals set  for  Tuesday -- Rez vs. Preston and Jacob Hespeler vs. Cameron -- were  pushed back to Wednesday because referees couldn't be arranged.

So the games will go Wednesday and the  victors will have Thursday and  Friday to prepare.

B Bowl combatants will also only have two days to prepare, with semis set for Tuesday and the finals slated for Friday.

* * *

If this teaching thing doesn't work out for James Hitchen, he might consider a career in motivational speaking.

The Knights junior football coach was on top of his game Thursday after his boys rallied for a last-minute 12-10 win over St. Benedict. His post-game words of wisdom were electric.

The play of the game was a 70-yard run by Mike Gardiner to set up Damon Fekete's second TD of the game. At the start of the third quarter, Gardiner was violently thrown into the scorer's table by a Saints defender, who received a 15-yard roughness  penalty on the play. Gardiner sat out the rest of the quarter and must of the fourth before asking his coach to let him back in.

* * *

The Waterloo County girls basketball semfinals are set for Saturday at Cameron Heights.

JUNIOR

Southwood vs. Jacob Hespeler, 3:30 p.m.

Bluevale vs. WCI, 5 p.m.

SENIOR

Bluevale vs. WCI, 6:30 p.m.

SJAM vs. KCI, 8 p.m.

Congrats to Panthers, St. Benedict golfer

Didn't see that coming.

With quarterback Josh Jamieson scoring a pair of touchdowns, the Preston Panthers pulled off what has to be considered a major upset on Wednesday by downing the  Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders 15-14 in the first round of the Waterloo County senior boys football league playoffs.

The Highlanders actually had a chance to win it an end but what would have been a game-winning field goal hit the uprights and came back out into the field of play. Tough break as a single point would have sent the game into overtime.

It was the first time ever for the Panthers to score a win over the Highlanders. The Panthers were clobbered 37-3 when the teams met in the opening game of the season.

There were signs pointing to this being a possibility as Preston came close to hanging a loss on the mighty Resurrection Phoenix late in the season and the Highlanders didn't look good in a win over the struggling  Forest Heights Trojans.

* * *

Speaking of the Phoenix, they looked anything but mighty in their 24-0 win over the  Galt Ghosts.

After jumping out to an early lead, they looked pretty ordinary the rest of the way and will have to play better if they're going to repeat as champions.

A performance  like that won't get it done if there's a rematch with Cameron Heights.

* * *

I'll be heading out to Bluevale this afternoon to see what should be a good game when the Jacob Hespeler Hawks -- the best team in B divison -- take on the Knights, third best in A.

* * *

Congratulations are in order for Brendan Leonard of St. Benedict, who has just signed a national letter of intent to attend classes and compete on the golf team at the University of Detroit Mercy in September.

Leonard finished 18th on the RCGA junior order of merit in 2009 after a season of solid results. He will become the first Titan ever to have won an American Junior Golf Association tournament, said  Detroit coach Mark Engel, having won the Flossmoor Junior  Open near Chicago in July.

Waterloo's Mark Sommerfeld, who attended Bluevale back in the day, enjoyed great success at Detroit during his four years there.

* * *

It will be the St. Mary's Eagles against the St. David Celtics on Friday in the District 8 senior girls basketball final.

The 8 p.m. final will be played at Resurrection.

The Eagles advanced on Wednesday with a 54-21 win over Rockway as Naomi Lance scored 11, Shelby Dixon had 10 and Amanda Proulx added eight.

Kaitlin Garbutt had 10 and Deanna MacNeil added nine as the Celtics defeated St. Benedict in the other semifinal.

The junior final, which goes at 6 p.m. at Rez, will feature Resurrection against St. Mary's.

Knights the pick in a close one

The Bluevale Knights are on a roll.

After starting the Waterloo County senior boys football league schedule with a pair of losses, the Knights have bounced back with four straight wins and are riding high going into Thursday’s first-round, A-division playoff game with the Jacob Hespeler Hawks.

The Knights won’t look past the Hawks, the top team from the B division, but quarterback Wes Palmer admits he would like another shot at the teams that handed his team those early setbacks.

“We’re going one game at a time and this week it’s Jacob Hespeler, but Rez and Cameron are in the back of the mind. We’d love to have another shot at those teams,” said Palmer.

“But we couldn’t any more excited than we are for this playoff game. We are  ready for this.”

The Knights finished third in the A division standings with a 4-2 record, while the Hawk topped B division with a 6-0 mark. Those numbers mean nothing now as both teams enter the playoffs with a clean slate. This intriguing matchup is set for 2 p.m. at Bluevale.

The Knights have been getting it done with a balanced attack and a stingy defence since those early losses to Cameron Heights and Resurrection.

Palmer has a number of offensive weapons at his disposal and he’s been using them all. Spiros Trasias and Jesse Collins are the top two options in a running-back-by-committee backfield and Karsten Beney leads a talented group of receivers.

As for the Hawks, they wrapped up the regular season with a 21-0 win over the Galt Ghosts last week and, by avoiding Rez and Cameron, got the matchup they wanted. The Hawks are big along the lines with 310-pound Erik Krebs playing both ways. QB Connor Paddock has been solid and running back Brandon Golding is elusive.

“I think Jacob Hespeler is a great team,” said Knights head coach Chris Wolf. “I don’t know if people give them enough credit because they are from the B-division but they are a strong, contending team.

“They are well coached (by Greg White and his staff), they have some good players at the skill positions and some big, physical kids on the line. It should be a good game.”

When the teams played last year, the Knights scored a one-point win after punting into the Hawks’ end zone for a late rouge. So this could be close.

Palmer can’t wait for Thursday to arrive.

 “We’ve improved so much since the start of the season. I actually think it was a great way to start the season with a couple of hard games to get us on the right track and now we’re back to playing Bluevale football,” he said.

This has the makings of a great game. The pick here is Bluevale, but it could go either way.

Here’s a look at the other first-round matchups:

A DIVISION

Galt (8) at Resurrection (1), Wednesday, 2 p.m.

Believe it or not, the Phoenix were actually sluggish during the regular season before receiving a wakeup call from Cameron Heights in the most exciting game played this fall, when the defending champions needed OT to edge the Gaels. Galt is coming off a loss to Jacob Hespeler in a B division fight for first and this is not the matchup that Ghosts head coach Brad Marsh was hoping for. The Phoenix should move on, perhaps with ease.

Preston (5) vs. SJAM (4), Wednesday, 6 p.m., St. David.

These two teams are tough to figure out. The Highlanders looked great in their season-opener – a 37-3 win over the Panthers – and have looked pretty ordinary since. The Panthers, meanwhile, have beaten the teams they’ve supposed to beat and lost games everyone figured they’d lose. They managed to turn a few heads in giving Rez a scare though. This one should be closer than the blowout at University Stadium, but the Highlanders will prevail.

Southwood (7) vs. Cameron Heights (2), Thursday, 5 p.m., St. David

Despite their loss to Rez, an argument can still be made for the Gaels as the team to beat in the playoffs. The team has no glaring weaknesses and running back Tyler Varga has been downright scary this season. The Sabres could be in for a long game on St. David’s fast plastic surface. The Gaels want another shot at Rez and will handle Southwood.

B DIVISION

St. David (5) at Huron Heights (4), Wednesday, 2 p.m.

This one should be close as the teams met on Oct. 30 and the Huskies scored a 28-25 victory. There’s no reason to suggest this game will be any different. The Huskies are the pick.

Grand River (6) vs. WCI (3), Thursday, 7 p.m., St. David

One of the interesting matchups as the best team in C division takes on a team with a so-so record in the B division. A hunch, and it’s just a hunch, says the Renegades will score the upset.

KCI (8) at Elmira (1), Thursday, 2 p.m.

The Raiders are the feel-good story of the year, rising from the dead and finishing third in the C division standings by pulling out a clutch win over Waterloo-Oxford in their final game. The Lancers struggled in their first year of A division ball but did show an ability to run the ball. The feel-good story ends here.

Glenview Park (7) at Forest Heights (2), Thursday, 2 p.m.

The Trojans have had an awful season to date, going 0-6 in A division. But consider this: Jacob Hespeler went 0-6 in the A division in 2008 and ended up winning the B division title. Anything is possible, but it’s not likely here. Look for the Panthers to pull of an ‘upset.’

Last week: 6-0. Overall: 47-13.

Success at the Royal Winter Fair

I've never mentioned equestrian riders before, but there's a first time for everything.

 

Four local girls competed at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto over the weekend with some solid results.

 

St. Agatha's Paige Grant (Resurrection) took first overall in the large pony division, a class of 18 riders. With her pony Westwin, she had first-, second- and third-place finishes to finish first overall.

 

Wellesley's Taylor Blackwell (Waterloo-Oxford), aboard No Worries, was fourth overall in the medium pony division, with ninth-, second- and fourth-place finishes. There were 18 riders in the division.

 

Grant and Blackwell qualified for the Grand Pony Classic and finished second and seventh respectively in a field of 12 riders.

 

Kitchener's Rachel Schnurr (St. David) rode Woodstock to Reserve Champion in the junior working hunter division, and Kitchener's Megan Bacso (KCI) rode Time Square was first of 18 riders in the children hunter division.

 

All four board at Windamere Stables in Baden.

 

Thanks  to Tara Schneider for pointing this out.
 

 

St. Mary's runners win medals

It was an amazing Saturday for a pair of runners from St. Mary's.

Jaimie Phelan won gold in the  midget girls event while midget-age runner Ben Flanagan took bronze in the junior boys competition at the Ontario cross-country championship held Saturday at the Boyd  Conservation Area in Vaughan.

I'll be talking with Jaimie later today.

* * *

An odd occurence took place during Phelan's midget girls race. Very odd.

A competitor was knocked over by a charging deer during the race and was taken to hospital with what is being reported on the internet as a broken collarbone.

* * *

Thanks to Kevin Green for pointing out that the St. Mary's Eagles are the Central Western Ontario  junior boys soccer champions.

Led by Bryce Alderson and Oneil Spencer, the Eagles had an undefeated season and captured the title on Friday in Fergus with a  4-2 win over St. James.

St. James advanced to the final with a 3-2 win over Cameron Heights in the semis.

That makes it six straight CWOSSA titles for the  Eagles. How impressive is that?

* * *

A pat on the back for Joyce Stuart of Forest Heights who did a great job as convenor at this past  weekend's Ontario  field hockey championship at Budd Park.

Despite awful weather on Friday -- rain, hail  and snow -- the tournament was a smashing success.

* * *

The full schedule of this week's playoff games  have been posted on the WCSSAA website.

* * *

Nicola Schaan has lost her appeal to play sports at KCI. Here's the story.

Playoff dates, matchups are set

The  KCI Raiders appear to be the only team with any hope of beating the WCI VIkings in the Waterloo  County senior girls basketball league playoffs.

That became clear on Thursday as the Vikings improved to 12-0 on the season with a 75-40 win over  Sir John A. Macdonald in a showdown of undefeated teams. The Raiders are also 12-0 but have yet to face the mighty Vikings. Expect that to happen in the championship game.

* * *

The qualifying round matchups have been set for the Waterloo County basketball playoffs. Keep in mind that WCI, KCI, SJAM and Eastwood receive first-round byes.

SENIOR GIRLS

Tuesday, Nov. 10

Southwood at Bluevale, 3:30 p.m.

Forest Heights at Galt, 3:30 p.m.

Elmira at Cameron Heights, 3:30 p.m.

Waterloo-Oxford at Grand River, 3:30 p.m.

JUNIOR GIRLS

Huron Heights at Forest Heights, 3:30 p.m.

Cameron Heights at KCI, 3:30 p.m.

SJAM at Preston, 3:30 p.m.

Grand River at Elmira, 3:30 p.m.

* * *

With their 21-0 win over the Galt Ghosts on Thursday night, the Jacob Hespeler Hawks  clinched first place in the B division of  Waterloo County senior boys football league and managed to avoid an opening round A-division playoff  game against Cameron Heights or  Resurrection.

The first-round playoff matchup, with seeds, will look like this:

A DIVISION

Wednesday, Nov. 11

Galt (8) at Rez (1), 2 p.m.

Preston (5) vs. SJAM (4), at St. David, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 12

Jacob Hespeler (6) at Bluevale (3), 2 p.m.

Southwood (7) vs. Cameron Heights (2), at St. David, 5 p.m.

B DIVISION

Wednesday, Nov. 11

St. David (5) at Huron Heights (4), 2 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 12

Grand River (6) vs. WCI (3), at St. David, 7 p.m.

KCI (8) at Elmira (1), 2 p.m.

Glenview Park (7) at Forest Heights (2), 2 p.m.

* * *

The first-round, junior boys matchups are:

A DIVISION

Wednesday, Nov. 11

WCI (7) vs SJAM (2), at St. David, 4 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 12

St. Benedict (8) at Bluevale (1), noon

Jacob Hespeler (6) at Elmira (3), 2 p.m.

Cameron Heights (5) at  Forest Heights (4), noon

B DIVISION

Wednesday, Nov. 11

Grand River (8) at Rez (1), noon

St. David (6) at Huron Heights (3), noon

Galt (7) vs. Preston (2), at Bill Struck, 5 p.m.

St. Mary's (5) vs. Southwood (4), at Bill Struck, 7 p.m.

* * *

It was an emotional defeat for the Resurrection Phoenix at the Ontario field hockey championship. With star midfielder Natalie Buttinger forced into a role as spectator because of a knee injury, the CWOSSA champion Phoenix fell 2-1 to the Forest Heights Trojans in a quarter-final game at OFSAA.

It was difficult to watch as the tears flowed from Buttinger and her teammates after the disappointing loss. The fifth-year player and team leader's high school career ended during a morning round-robin game when she went down awkwardly in the dying minutes.

D8 playoff primer

Playoff matchups are all but set in District 8 volleyball and basketball.

In the senior girls basketball circuit, semfinal games are set for Wednesday with fourth-place St. Benedict visiting first-place  St. David and third-place Rockway visiting St. Mary's.

On the junior side, it will either be Pere Rene or  Monsignor Doyle visiting St. Mary's and St. Benedict making the trip to Resurrection. Pere Rene can earn the playoff spot with a win at Rockway today.

The championship games are set for next Friday night at Rez.

In senior boys volleyball, Rez or St.  David will have the unenviable task of opening on the road against mighty Woodland Christian, while St. Mary's visits Rockway. St. David can force a tiebreaker game on Monday against Rez with a win against Doyle today. St. David could have clinched that spot on Wednesday, but fell 3-2 to Rez.

On the junior side, Rez visits Woodland Christian and St. David goes to St. Mary's.

The finals go Monday, Nov. 16 at St. Mary's.

Gaels and Eagles move on

Congratulations to the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels for winning the Waterloo County junior boys soccer championship on Tuesday.

The Gaels, led by coaches George Iorolescu and Fraser Haig, defeated the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders
5-2 for their eighth WCSSAA title since 1986 and first since 1997. Isaac Moratay led the way with three goals, while Dan Bigu and Marko Djukic added singles.

Jacob Ewert and Jordan DaCosta replied for the Crusaders.

This was Cameron's first undefeated season (10-0) since 1992, when the Gaels won the first ever Central Western Ontario championship.

This year's CWOSSA tournament is scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Fergus.

The Gaels will be joined at the tournament by the  St. Mary's Eagles, who scored a 6-4 win over the Resurrection Phoenix in the District 8 final on Monday.

Bryce Alderson led the way with three goals led the way with two goals, while singles went to Oneil Spencer, Daniel Glibota and Omran Sanaie.

Christian Mroczkowski had two goals for the Phoenix, while Patrick Zrebiec added one. Details of the fourth goal weren't available.

* * *

Thanks to Brian Henry for pointing out a good news story from the junior girls basketball ranks.

The Jacob Hespeler Hawks have made a remarkable turnaround this season and currently sit in first place with a 10-1 record with one game to play. The team only had one or two wins last year -- he can't remember for sure -- so have obviously turned it around. One of the wins is a first-ever victory over WCI.

Brianne  Pedersen and Matt McIntyre are coaching the squad and both have strong resumes. Pedersen was a three-time WCSSAA all-star in senior girls basketball and McIntyre was a Mike Moser recipient.

Brooklynn Wright had 21 points and Taylor Dennis added 13 for the  Hawks in their latest victory, a 51-38 win over Grand River.

* * *

There's a big game on the Waterloo County senior girls basketball schedule on Thursday as SJAM visits WCI  for a 3:30 p.m. contest. Both teams are tied with 11-0 records heading in to the final game of the regular season. KCI, also 11-0, is at Preston.

The qualifying round of the playoffs is Tuesday and the quarter-finals  go next Thursday.

* * *

SJAM and WCI will also meet in an important Waterloo County senior boys volleyball contest on Thursday, with the 7-1 Vikings visiting the 8-0 Highlanders.

* * *

  

The Jacob Hespeler Hawks and Galt Ghosts are both in control of their own playoff destinies.

Simply win Thursday night’s (7 p.m.) monster game against the visiting Ghosts and the Hawks (5-0) will clinch top spot in the Waterloo County senior boys football league’s B division standings. The Ghosts
(4-1), meanwhile, need to win and then come out on top in a three-way tiebreaker with Galt and the Southwood Sabres (5-1), who are on a bye week.

Southwood already owns a 6-2 win over Galt and the tiebreaker would come down to points against in head-to-head meetings between the three. The Hawks beat the Sabres 27-9 on Oct. 15 and have been inactive since then.

The difference between finishing first, second and third is huge. Finish third and the reward is an A-division quarter-final playoff game with the defending champion and undefeated Resurrection Phoenix (6-0). Finish second and it’s a clash with the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels (4-1).  Finish first and it’s a more preferable meeting with A division’s third seed, likely the Bluevale Knights (3-2).

At this stage, it appears as though the fourth A-division quarter-final will feature the Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders (2-3) and Preston Panthers (2-3), although that could still change with the Knights facing the Panthers on Thursday.

“I just know that first place in B gets a week away from Rez and Cameron, but at the same time, I know that Bluevale, SJAM and Preston are quality teams,” said Hawks head coach Greg White.

“We just want to go into the playoffs with momentum. We don’t want to go in limping, we want to go in with a win.”

A lack of activity could be troubling for the Hawks, who will have gone 21 days without a game. They were off on a bye week and then had their game with St. Mary’s cancelled when the Eagles folded.

Quarterback/safety Connor Paddock has been solid for the Hawks this season. In fact, since taking over at QB at the start of the 2008 playoffs, he hasn’t lost a game, going 8-0 during that span.

Grade 11 running back Brandon Golding has come up big for the Hawks as well. The durable but undersized player – “he’s 130 to 140 pounds with an anvil in his pocket,” said White – has been getting the lion’s share of the carries.

On the line, it’s hard to miss Erik Krebs, a towering six-foot-six, 310-pounder who plays both ways for the Hawks. Slotback/defensive back Tyler Rivett is another key player.

For the Ghosts, look for speedy running back Scott Campbell to see a lot of carries. When he’s not handing off to Campbell, a track star at Galt, expect Grade 11 QB Ron Breutigam to look for wide receiver Brandon Moss, who also sees time at linebacker.

“We’re hoping for good weather so we can throw the ball and we’d obviously like to get on them early. And no turnovers, whatsoever,” said Ghosts coach Brad Marsh, who expects the long layoff will hurt the Hawks.

“You lose your conditioning, no matter what you do in practice,” said Marsh, who admits he’d like to avoid Rez and Cameron in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hawks may very well come in rusty, but they’ll certainly be prepared. Or at least they better be with this amount of time to get ready. So look for the home squad to start slowly but then rebound in time for a close win.

* * *

Still with Rez and Cameron, it was the only game I failed to get right last week. Rez needed a last-gasp rally and then won it in overtime in a Thursday night thriller.

Still, 8-1 isn’t so bad.

And here’s a quick look at the final games of the regular season.

* * *

WEDNESDAY

St. David (1-4) at WCI (2-3), 2 p.m.

Pride is the only thing at stake in this game, which the Vikings should take to end the season at .500.

(***UPDATE***

WCI won this game 30-0.)

Huron Heights (1-4) at St. Mary’s (folded), 2 p.m.

I’ll take a win here, thank you very much.

THURSDAY

Forest Heights (0-5) vs. Cameron Heights (4-1), 7 p.m., Centennial.

The Gaels will be in a foul mood after letting one slip away against Resurrection last week. They’ll win big here.

Preston (2-3) at Bluevale (3-2), 2 p.m.

The Knights have been perfect since opening the season with losses to Rez and Cameron, while the Panthers showed they can go toe-to-toe with the best in a recent loss to the Phoenix. Look for the Knights to make it four in a row.

SJAM (2-3) at Elmira (1-4), 2 p.m.

The Highlanders haven’t been overly impressive since winning their season-opener against Preston. Even a 20-0 win over Forest Heights doesn’t seem all that impressive. Still, they should have enough to handle the Lancers here.

Last week: 8-1.  Overall: 42-12.

 

Eagles get top billing

To know one's surprise, three-time defending champion St. John's Kilmarnock has been given the top seed for this week's Ontario field hockey championship at Budd Park in Kitchener.

All three local entries in the 16-team tournament were seeded on Monday, with District 8 and CWOSSA champion Resurrection getting the No. 3 seed and Waterloo County champion Forest Heights, the host team, getting the No. 8 seed.

The event opens Thursday morning and wraps up on Saturday at 12:30 with the gold medal game.

Download OFSAA field hockey at a glance

 

* * *

The Waterloo County senior football league's game of the week is  Thursday night's contest between the Jacob  Hespeler Hawks and Galt  Ghosts.

The Hawks (5-0) control their own fate heading in and can claim top spot in the B division with a victory. But if they lose big, they could slip as far down as third. The Southwood Sabres (5-1) have already wrapped up their schedule while the Ghosts (4-1) could create a three-way tie with a win. A tiebreaker in such a scenario would be points against in head-to-head games.

The difference between first, second and third is huge, with the top team avoiding A division giants Resurrection and Cameron Heights in the opening round of the playoffs. Second place gets Cameron and third place gets Rez.

The first-place B division squad would likely face  Bluevale, while the fourth A-division quarter will likely feature  SJAM and Preston.

I've  been trying to track down Galt head coach Brad Marsh and Hespeler head coach Greg  White with little success today.

On Wednesday, St. David visits WCI at 2 p.m. Look for the Vikings to prevail.

The rest of the final week picks will be posted on Wednesday. I was a tidy 5-1 heading into Tuesday's C division games, with my prediction of a Cameron win over  Rez as the only blemish.

* * *

We haven't forgotten about  Nicola Schaan.

The Saskatchewan transfer student who has been prevented from playing sports at KCI will  have  her appeal heard by OFSAA on  Friday. She has been turned down by WCSSAA and CWOSSA.

 

A final preview?

The Waterloo County senior boys football league really needed this.

Thursday night's thriller lived up to the hype and then some as the  Cameron Heights Golden Gaels and Resurrection Phoenix put on a great show for a large crowd at Centennial Stadium. In a season of A division blowouts, it was great to see two quality teams slugging it out.

Here are a few thoughts on Resurrection's 31-24 win.

Beau Landry vs. Tyler  Varga: I can't remember either of these two ever leaving the field. Landry was huge for the Phoenix, running balls, catching balls and even making passes. Varga did the same for the Gaels. Huge games by two wildly skilled players.

The final drive: Cameron seemed to have this game in the bag when the Phoenix made it look easy on their way to a game-tying TD. Rez began the drive at their own 26-yard line and with the exception of one penalty, made every play count. Perhaps, just perhaps, the Cameron defence got a case of the jitters down the stretch. The Gaels had been outstanding prior to that.

Play selection: Rez stuck to its grind-it-out style  throughout the game and got the job done. Cameron, meanwhile, came out early trying big play after big play. They didn't really get rolling until they started going with short passes and handing the ball to Varga.

Overtime: Let's face it, Rez was fortunate to score on its first possession of the 35-yard shootout. With a 3rd and  20 from 45 yards out, QB Jason Chris threw one up for grabs and Jonathon Cordeiro somehow caught the ball in triple coverage. Landry scored the game-winning TD on the next play. Cameron, meanwhile, had a 2nd and 1 from the 26-yard line and elected to go for it all on the next play. Andrew Usztics was picked off by Jake Marken to end the game. If they had  to do it all over again, you have  to wonder whether the Gaels would have simply handed the ball to Varga on the 2nd down play. He had just run for nine on first down and Rez had not been able to stop him all night long.

Rematch?: This could very well be a preview of the  A division championship. With playoffs around the corner, no A division team has shown itself to be capable of rising to the challenge. The wild cards just might Jacob Hespeler or Southwood, two B division teams that will meet next week to decide first place in that circuit. The Hawks are undefeated heading into next Thursday's Cambridge clash.

Rematch, Part Deux: What a great final this would be. While Rez established itself as the favourite with this win, the Gaels are more than capable of knocking off  the champs.

 * * *

SJAM quarterback James Fracas will be in the lineup with a heavy heart this afternoon when the Highlanders face the Forest Heights Trojans.

Fracas' grandfather, Gino Fracas, a well-known player and coach in Canada, passed away suddenly on Thursday. James will play today's game in honour of his grandfather, who he spent countless hours talking football with.

* * *

Two local teams have already booked their tickets to next week's Ontario field hockey championships in Kitchener.

The host Forest Heights Trojans get a free pass into the event and St. John's Kilmarnock is in as one of the two respresentatives from the Conference of Independent Schools Athletic  Association. Ridley College of  St. Catharines also advance from this week's CISAA tournament.

SJK, the defending OFSAA champion, defeated Lakefield College 3-0, while Ridley College defeated Appleby College of Oakville 1-0.

The  CISAA was awarded two entries this year because of a lack of representatives from other associations. CISAA teams have won the event for three straight years.  

* * *

Waterloo County teams were a perfect 4-0 in opening round games at the  CWOSSA field hockey championships at Budd Park. Forest Heights, Bluevale, WCI and Waterloo-Oxford were all winners, with WCI beating District 8 champion Rez 2-1 and Bluevale beating D8 runnerup St. Mary's 3-0.