High School Sports blog

Silver Fox Invitational draw

I got the draw for the Silver Fox Invitational senior boys basketball tournament in Hamilton but the PC attachment isn't cooperating with my Mac.

And I don't have time to sort it all out as I'm trying to track down Brian Kilrea of the Ottawa 67's for another story I'm working on.

Here are the basics:

Bluevale Collegiate was the only team to accept the invitation to the 24-team event. I'm told SJAM also got invited but decided not to participate this year.

The Knights are in a division with Ancaster and Toronto's Martingrove, a pre-season top ten team in Hogtown.

Bluevale plays twice Friday, Jan. 9th. Against Ancaster at 10:30 a.m. and later versus Martingrove at 4 p.m. Both games go at Mohawk College.

Play downs and playoffs continue Saturday and Sunday with the main final at McMaster University set for Jan. 12th at McMaster University.

Other top teams participating: Father Henry Carr, D'Youville, Hamilton St. Mary's, Burlington Assumption and Hamilton St. Thomas More.

Best backs

Doing yesterday’s list got me thinking of the top senior running backs that I’ve seen in the past four years. Here are some of the memorable ones, in my opinion, in no particular order.

Scott Tinning, Preston -- The guy went through the playoffs on one knee and was still tough to take down.

Andrew Van Pelt, Bluevale -- He pretty much single handedly willed the Knights to the Western Bowl in the play down vs. Saugeen.

Beau Landry, Rez -- Best is yet to come from this talented back.

Eric Henderson, Jacob Hespeler -- Not the biggest guy, but tough as nails.

Graham Stevenson, Forest Heights -- Injuries limited his playing time this past season but he has serious talent.

Toppy Vongvilaysone, Cameron Heights -- Was lost in the shadow of Evan Martin but a key contributor to the Gaels run to the final.

Marc Fernades, KCI -- Another big, strong guy who helped KCI during its successful years.

Keaton Jones, SJAM -- He was a huge difference maker when on the field.

Court kings and queens

Waterloo Region has seen its fair share of talented high school hoopsters. 

Here’s the top ten court kings and queens that I’ve seen since arriving at The Record in 2004.

Girls:

1. May Kotsopoulous, WCI

2. Shelby Kurt, WCI

3. Kaila Montgomery, WCI

4. Rachel Urosevic, KCI

5. Kim Devison, St. David

6. Rebecca Moss, Bluevale

7. Rebecca Dietrich, WCI

8. Melissa Schumacher, St. Mary’s 

9. Nicole Roeder, WCI

10. Teddi Firmi, Grand River

Boys:

1. Cam McIntyre, KCI

2. Gavin Horne, WCI

3. Imad Qahwash, Grand River

4. Jaan Montgomery, WCI

5. Zach Nagtzaam, Southwood

6. Chyro Blackwood, Rez

7. Bryson Johnson, St. David

8. Dave Burnett, Rockway

9. Luke Kieswetter, KCI

10. Dan White, Bluevale

Sports specific

Some schools in Waterloo Region are factories for specific sports. Got me thinking, if you had to name one school and the sport they were known for, what would it be?

Basketball: WCI, KCI, St. David

Wrestling: Monsignor Doyle, St. Mary’s, Jacob Hespeler

Hockey: Grand River, Forest Heights, St. Benedict, Elmira

Football: Bluevale, Preston, Sir John A. Macdonald, Rez

Volleyball: Grand River, Forest Heights, Rockway, Woodland

Track and field: Rez, Bluevale

Field Hockey: Waterloo-Oxford, Forest Heights, Southwood

Rugby: Glenview Park, Sir John A. Macdonald, Elmira

Soccer: Eastwood, Rez, St. Mary’s, Forest Heights

Swimming: Bluevale, Rez

Cross-country: Rez, Cameron Heights, Galt

Badminton: Monsignor Doyle, Grand River, Preston

Huron Heights: Still too new but making good progress in football and soccer.

Vikes hit the desert

Alrighty, back in the saddle for a few days and then a few more days off for New Year's Eve/Day.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Some news in the old e-mail in-box. Waterloo Collegiate's senior boys basketball team is down in Tuscon, Arizona playing in the Northwest Desert Classic. Talk about a nice trip!

Anyway, it was a rough start for the Vikes, who arrived in town earlier this week two hours before their first game against host school Mountain View. Despite leading in the first half, the home side squeaked out a 43-37 victory. Jasper Wesson had 11 points and eight boards while Alex Copp chipped in with a dozen points.

Game two saw the Vikes lose, and lose big. The final was 70-36 to Valley Christian but Copp was out with an upset stomach. Wesson had the double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next was Phoenix Westwood and it was a tough one, especially with several Vikes battling some sort of a bug. Westwood won 53-28. A big game for Scott Coghlin, who poured in eight points and eight boards.

WCI plays Monday before catching a game at the University of Arizona.

That's it for now. Will check in tomorrow.

UPDATE: Vikes win last game 46-34 over Phoenix Mingus Union. WCI's bench is depleted with injuries, but the lads still pull it out. Jasper Wesson had 21 points and 14 rebounds. That puts the team in the consolation final.

UPDATE 2: Make it Tuscon's Rio Rico 56,WCI 34 in the consolation final. Another double-double for Wesson (10-10).

Familiar phrases

Everyone has something to say at a high school sporting event. Coaches, players and fans. The noise never stops. 

Direction comes from the bench, words of encouragement flow from the stands and players bring their own verbal panache to the pitch, floor and ice. 

As a sports reporter, I’ve heard it all. From clever comments to insightful instruction. And then there are the sayings that make you scratch your head. The ones that get repeated as nausea, some you wish would just go away.

With high school sports halted for the Christmas break, it’s time to have a bit of fun. So, with a wink and a nudge, I give you the top ten overused cliches, as heard around Waterloo Region by yours truly.

Check out the list here.

Gridiron glory

Here’s one of my favourite pictures from days gone by. I believe this was the semifinal victory that sent Preston to the final against Bluevale back in 2006. Preston went on to win the championship 37-19.

We're lucky to have some really talented photographers at The Record. This one was taken by Dave Bebee. 

Funny, Bebee and me met 10 years ago while interns at the Toronto Star. Now we're both in K-dub. Small world.

Best sports flicks

I don't know about you, but I'm turkey-ed out and ready to put my feet up and relax with a nice flick. 

In case you’re looking for some new viewing material, here are my some of my all-time sports favs.

Rudy - I always have to make sure someone is chopping an onion nearby so when I’m blubbering I can say “it’s the onions that are making me cry.”

Hoosiers - Jimmy Chitwood takes the final shot to win the big game. A classic. But, like most movies, many facts were distorted.

Cinderella Man - A great boxing movie starring Russell Crowe and Kitchener’s own Art Binkowski.

Hoop Dreams - A wicked documentary that follows two American high school basketball phenoms along the recruiting trail.

Field of Dreams - Not as good as the book, but solid nonetheless. You can’t go wrong with James Earl Jones.

Dogtown and Z-Boys - These skaters were pioneers of a sport and culture. Amazing footage.

Goal - Kinda cheesy but the story of a North American lad who defies the odds to make Newcastle’s soccer club reminds me a bit about Kitchener’s David Edgar. At least the key scenes were actually shot on location at St. James’ Park.

Slapshot - Hanson brothers rule.

Rounders - If you have a mild gambling problem like me, you’ll love this poker movie.

Friday Night Lights - High school football is just on another level down south. Great soundtrack too.

When We Were Kings - Amazing documentary that focuses on the famous Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali/George Foreman.

Enjoy. Now, where's my popcorn.

Gifts from Santa

Merry Christmas!

I hope the big guy was good to ya and that you have a wonderful day with family.

In the spirit of the holidays, I thought I’d list a few items old Santa might want to consider if he’s doling out gifts to local high schools.

KCI: How about a new gym? Yeah the Raiders ranch has some charm, but the dim lighting and cramped confines make it tough for anyone to play, even the hosts. And while you’re at it, see what you can do for Eastwood and Grand River.

SJAM: Speaking of facilities, Waterloo’s newest school doesn’t want anything fancy, but a useable football field would be nice. Playing every game on the road gets old fast.

Huron Heights: A senior team championship. The Huskies are still searching for a senior banner to hang in the gym in basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, field hockey, ice hockey, rugby and soccer.

Bluevale: An interpreter for coach Doros Theodosiou. With all five starters able to speak Serbian, he may need some help.

Galt: A third jersey. With a school name like the Ghosts, just think of the logo opportunities. Get a student to design ‘em. Could even turn it into a fundraiser. I know I’d buy one.

Monsignor Doyle: A girls wrestling coach. The school is the definition of success on the mat in guys grappling. No girls team though. If a female teacher took on the job, the ‘Stangs could conquer the province.

St. David: A big man. The senior boys basketball team is deep, talented and fast. Just missing a true big man.

Waterloo-Oxford: A duck. How cool would it be to have a live duck mascot show up to field hockey games, squawking away in support of the Duckies?

Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

I plan to blog once a day over the holidays even though high school sports are on hiatus.

Also, I wanted to say thanks for clicking on this space as much as you do.

I started this blog after returning from the Olympics because I kind of got the blog buzz while in Beijing. I didn’t know what to expect or if it would resonate but it has been a huge success.

We have about a dozen or so blogs at The Record and the high school blog — despite being out for just four months — is the most popular of them all. It has the most total visitors, daily average visitors and comments. And it’s growing daily.

A couple of interesting stats. The single busiest day — by far — was Dec. 3, the day of the Western Bowl. Live blogging from the game may have helped with the numbers there. The next busiest? Back in November on the day senior football semifinals were played.

Goes to show that football is one of the most followed sports around these parts, for now.