High School Sports blog

Should be a good one

The St. Mary's Eagles looked very strong during Wednesday's District  8 boys soccer game against the Doyle Mustangs.

One area where they could use some improvement is learning to keep their emotions in check. There was a lot of chirping going on during the first half, probably because things weren't going their way. Still, a less tolerant referee might have been quicker to crack down. As it was, St. Mary's  took four yellow cards to Doyle's one.

Doyle's  Brody VanGestile was  a rock  for his team on defence.

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Looking ahead to Monday's  clash between Rez and  Mary's,  the  Phoenix  should have  no shortage  of incentive on their side.

Talented Eagles striker Anthony Matarazza all but guaranteed a victory and Doyle's VanGestile said Doyle was a better team than Rez. 

Just in case the Phoenix need any more motivation....

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Haven't been out  to see a WCSSAA boys game yet, but it's only been three-and-a-half days on the job. Forest Heights  and Eastwood are leading  the way, with both teams off  to 3-0 starts. They are scheduled to meet Tuesday

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Off to Rez today to check out a track meet.

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Thanks for the feedback and keep it coming.

A physical game

It's hard not to feel for tough-luck rugby player Nameer Fleifel.

The Grade 11 student at SJAM certainly doesn't lack in talent, but broken legs in consecutive games has him saying he doesn't want to risk any additional damage and likely won't play again. He finds out Friday if he needs surgery, and if he doesn't, he said he feels as though he's getting off easy and won't push his luck.

In his case, it's probably a wise idea.  

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Speaking of rugby, as I talked with Nameer, WCI and SJAM were slugging it out on a muddy pitch. The Highlanders emerged with a 10-3 win, but both teams were looking forward to a possible rematch down the road.

"It was a real good game," said Kyle Kraemer of the Highlanders, whose team improved to 3-0. "They're a physical team. . . .  That was a lot of fun."

WCI (2-1) just wants another shot at their rivals.

"Certainly . . . certainly," said WCI's Jamie Rooney. "Anybody can win on any day.  If we go out hard enough, we can certainly take them."

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Heading out to  Monsignor Doyle  in a couple of minutes to watch the D8 boys soccer game against St. Mary's.

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Tomorrow, we'll see what's going on at a track and field meet at Rez.

Communication breakdown

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. I learned that the hard way yesterday as I sat in the parking lot at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, waiting for the Flames to host the St. David Celtics in girls soccer play.

Small problem. Someone forgot to update the D8 website and note the game had been moved to University Stadium as part of an afternoon tripleheader.

A big thank you to the Rockway secretary who sent me in the right direction.

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It was nice to see St. David coach Chris Woodcroft rotate his players freely during the game. Even though his team fell behind early, his top players saw their share of bench duty.

"It's high school soccer," he said after the game. "Everyone plays."

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Notice a trend in these Waterloo County girls rugby scores from Monday?

Glenview Park 24, Eastwood 0

Bluevale 34, Huron Heights 0

Forest Heights 48,  Grand River 0

Waterloo-Oxford 49, Elmira 0

Waterloo 39, SJAM 0

KCI 34, Cameron Heights 0

Jacob Hespeler 48, Galt 5

Seven games and seven blowouts. Certainly not something you like to see.

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Heading out shortly to talk with SJAM rugby player Nameer Fleifel, who has suffered through back-to-back seasons of disappointment.

Day 1 jitters

Weird. I've been in the newspaper business for more than half my life and I'm a little nervous as I head out to cover my first event today. I'm going to do a piece on District 8 girls  soccer.

Tomorrow it's rugby and talking to a SJAM player who knows a thing or two  about  bad  breaks.

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Jacob Winkler of WCI has scored four goals in two games as the high-scoring Vikings are off to a 2-0 start in WCSSAA senior boys play. The Vikings have scored 15 goals in two games to share the First Division lead with Elmira.

Eastwood and Forest Heights sit atop the Premier League standings with 2-0 marks.

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Thanks for the feedback and please keep it coming. 

Mark Bryson, signing on

This is not going to be easy.

My friend Josh Brown has left some Shaq-sized shoes to fill and I’m not even going to try. He did it extremely well his way and eventually I’ll try to do the same in my own fashion.

I’m no stranger to Waterloo Region’s high school sports scene. I spent eight years on the The Record’s sports desk and worked with Josh and his predecessor Skip Johns during that time. I also spent five years as sports editor at the Waterloo Chronicle all those years ago, focusing on Bluevale, WCI and St. David.

In total, I’ve spent close to 25 years in the newspaper industry, a large number of them in sports.

I’m also a local boy, having played high school soccer at both St. Jerome’s and Forest Heights before moving on to Conestoga College. Soccer remains my passion, although I’m also an avid golfer and very bad hockey player.

Fast forward to today and I’m very excited about the challenge ahead. Please send me story suggestions and feedback. Fire off an email to mbryson@therecord.com or call me at 519-895-5658 and I will respond.

 

Signing off

Well, my time on the high school sports beat has come to an end.

Layoffs at The Record, due to a struggling economy and challenges in the newspaper industry, mean I’m being bumped out of my job. I will however be staying on at the paper as a copy editor on a trial basis.

Friday is my last day in sports. And this is my final post.

It has been an incredible five years full of wonderful memories. Interviewing hundreds of kids playing for the sheer love of sport was always refreshing and I’m going to miss it. 

High school sports coverage has always been important to The Record and it will continue. Mark Bryson is taking over. 

I’d like to thank all the teachers, coaches, parents and athletes for keeping me in the loop over the years. 

And a special shout out to Jeff Hicks and Christine Rivet, two wonderful reporters who have helped me and been by my side in sports since I arrived.

Farewell,

Josh

BCI's Lewis leads scoring race

What a great picture in today's Record from yesterday's soccer game. That's Southwood's Laure Neu in red and Grand River's Steffi Sepric in blue. 

The game finished in a 1-1 draw.

Gotta love soccer players. I think, no, I know, I'd be too much of a wimp to attempt a header on the pitch.

Some interesting results yesterday.

WO pounds Galt 91-0 in girls rugby. Forest Heights won 64-0 over Huron Heights.

I guess there is no worries out at SJAM in boys rugby. The seniors won 67-0 over Cameron.

Eastwood handled the Double G in senior boys soccer 3-1 while Forest Heights edged Bluevale 3-2 in two tough matches.

How about Forest Heights defeating Cameron Heights 1-0 in girls soccer? A bit a surprise there. 

Here's the leaderboard after a couple of days of action. Goal scoring for boys and points for rugby.

Girls soccer:

3 - Melissa Lewis, BCI

2 - Karuna Sharma, SJAM

2 - Brittany Clifford, ECI

1 - several tied

Boys soccer:

2 - Ahmed El Katib, WCI

2 - Yohan Valencia, BCI

1 - several tied

Girls rugby:

29 - Kori Martin, WO

27 - Katie Baer, WO

19 - Ally Galloway, FHCI

16 - Rachel Brown, GPSS

15 - Shantel Bryan, FHCI

15 - Danica Spencer, WO

Boys rugby:

20 - Mac Forristal, SJAM

16 - Zach Bogdon, Preston

15 - Evan Hofflinger, SJAM

13 - Justin Milne, WCI

12 - Brian Reiter, SJAM

Hail, hail, soccer is here

Oh boy. I'm back from Southwood and what a day for soccer.

The timing was killer. I show up and it's dark skies but no rain. The whistle sounds and it starts pouring. And I mean cats and dogs. The sideways rain too. You know, the kind on an angle that seems impossible to block?

I mean, it's coming down so hard, it's tough to see. Then it turns into marble sized hail. I look over at Grand River coach Brian Millar and we both kind of have this expression on our faces that says "is this for real?"

It's so bad, that the ref calls a timeout and everyone piles into the Sabres' gym to wait it out. About 15 minutes later we're back out there and the game goes on. Still raining, but the hail has stopped. Funny enough, by game's end, the sun is shining and it's warming up.

Oh, make it 1-1 between Southwood and Grand River in girls soccer action.

WCSSAA scoreboard

Back into the spring of things

I'm just about to head out for my first soccer game of the spring season. Here's hoping the rain holds off.

I fully expect to post the day's scores, like I did with fall and winter sports, assuming they are sent out by the fine folks at WCSSAA and D8. 

Be sure and check back tonight for all the results of opening day.

My plan is to keep track of soccer goal scorers, like I did with hockey. Rugby leaders will also make the cut. I'll do my best to keep the leader boards up-to-date.

It's a quick season, but action packed.

Soccer standouts duke it out

I mentioned Kevin de Serpa - an ex-Rez soccer player - the other day. He spent a decade playing pro ball all over the world and is back in the area.

I've since found this video of him squaring off against another talented soccer player on the Red Bull Street Style Canadian tour.

Some crazy dribbling skills here. Worth checking out for sure. You'll have to watch to find out who wins.