High School Sports blog

SJAM snapshots

Here are some more pictures snapped by freelance photographer Geoff Robins on Saturday night in London as the Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders squared off against the Birchmount Park Panthers for gold at the Ontario quad-A volleyball championships.  How about those Birchmount uniforms?

Jake Robinet tries to tip the ball past the block of Kyle Fick (centre) and Garrett May in the first picture. In back-to-back pictures of Connor Cressman, he takes a break during a timeout and smashes  a ball past the block of Kyle Fick. In the fourth photo, Fiodar Kazhamiaka keeps his eye on the ball while blocking next to teammate Dan Choi.

Highlanders strike silver

The Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders fell short in their bid for  gold at the Ontario quad-A volleyball championship in London.

The No. 6 Highlanders fell to No. 1 Birchmount Park of Scarborough by scores of 25-23, 25-15, 25-18 at Saunders High School. SJAM advanced to the title game with a 26-24, 25-15 win over No. 4 Ursuline College of Chatham.

SJAM's only previous loss of the tournament was to Birchmount Park, a 25-19, 25-20 setback in the round-robin portion.

It was a gutsy performance by SJAM coach Bryan Stover's team, which simply ran into the best team in Ontario.

* * *

The KCI Raiders won the 'antique bronze' medal at the Ontario girls triple-A basketball championship in London.

The No. 9 Raiders fell to No. 5 Regina Mundi in the bronze medal game. Kate MacTavish led the Raiders with 15 points, while Claire Lockhart added 10.

The No. 9 Raiders were bounced to the bronze medal game by the No. 2 Louis-Riel Rebelles of Gloucester, dropping a 67-44 decision in a semifinal clash on Saturday morning.

The  Rebelles downed No. 1 General Amherst of Amherstburg 51-49 in the championship game.

* * *

The No. 3 WCI Vikings won the consolation final at the quad-A basketball championship in Hamilton, scoring a 41-30 win over No. 11 Toronto Northern.

Alyssa Shortt had 15 points and Megan Fowler added 11.

After dropping two consecutive games, the girls got their first victory on Saturday morning as Fowler had 14 points and Shortt chipped in with nine in a 62-39 over Cardinal Leger.

* * *

The Woodland Christian Cavaliers claimed the bronze medal at the single-A boys volleyball championship in Durham.

The Cavaliers defeated Durham Christian 25-9, 25-17 to win bronze.

No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas of Kenora won the title, edging the Cavaliers 25-23, 25-18 in a semifinal match.

Amazing Raiders push on

IHere's an update from around the province

 

The KCI Raiders are one win away from a spot in the gold-medal game at the Ontario senior girls basketball championship in London.

The No. 9 Raiders scored a pair of wins on Friday to set up a clash with the No. 2 Louis-Riel Rebelles of Gloucester at the triple-A tournament. If they can win the semfinal game on Saturday morning, the Raiders will face either No. 1 General Amherst of Amherstburg or No. 5 Regina Mundi of London in the gold medal game at 5 p.m. at Regina Mundi.

The Raiders downed No. 14 Father Leo J. Austin of Whitby 49-24 in an early game and then downed No. 6 Bishop Ryan of Hamilton 49-42 in quarter-final play.

Scoring details were not available.

A loss against the Rebelles and the Raiders will play for bronze at 3 p.m. at Regina Mundi.

Meanwhile in Hamilton, the WCI Vikings are out of the hunt for Ontario gold.

Competing at the quad-A girls championship in Hamilton, the No. 3 Vikings fell 41-38 in overtime to No. 8 St. Marguerite D'Youville. Alyssaa Short had 16 points and Megan Fowler added 10 for the Vikings, who also lost their opening game on Thursday at the 16-team event.

At the quad-A boys volleyball championship in London, the Sir John A. Macdonald Highlanders opened with two wins and one loss yesterday and will meet London’s Clarke Road in a quarter-final game on Saturday morning.

At the triple-A boys volleyball championship in Stratford, the Waterloo-Oxford  Crusaders won one and lost two games in round-robin play and will play another round-robin game on Saturday morning.

At the single-A boys volleyball championship in Durham, the Woodland Christian Cavaliers won four matches without dropping a game. They will play a quarter-final game on Saturday afternoon.

Vikings bounced

The WCI Vikings are out of the hunt for Ontario gold.

Competing at the Ontario senior girls basketball championship in Hamilton, the No. 3 Vikings fell 41-38 in overtime to No. 8 St. Marguerite D'Youville. Alyssaa Short had 16 points and Megan Fowler added 10 for the Vikings, who also lost their opening game on Thursday at the 16-team event.

They will continue play this evening in the consolation round.

* * *

Meanwhile at the triple-A tourney in London, the No. 9 KCI Raiders scored a 49-24 win over No. 14 Father Leo J. Austin of Whitby to improve to 2-0 won-lost.

Next up for the Raiders is a 6 p.m. quarter-final contest against No. 6 Bishop Ryan of Hamilton.

* * *

SJAM is off to a great start at the boys quad-A volleyball championship in London, scoring victories over Mississauga (26-24, 25-16) and Neil McNeil (25-6, 25-15). The No. 6 Highlanders face No. 1 Birchmount Park in their final pool game at 4 p.m. on Friday.

* * *

The Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders have lost two straight games at the triple-A volleyball championship in Stratford, falling to Regiopolis (25-17, 25-13) and  St. MIchael (25-17, 25-15)

* * *

The Woodland  Christian Cavaliers are 2-0 at the single-A volleyball championship in Durham, scoring wins over  Mon. Bruyere (25-17, 25-18) and Louis-Riel (25-21, 25-18).

The answer is final!

 

Nicola Schaan finally got her answer.

In a brief letter to the Saskatchewan transfer student who attends KCI, the OFSAA Board of Reference - Transfers committee had this to say:

"After considering the information presented, the Board determined you are not eligible under section "e" of the policy because you are not taking a series of related courses that are a pre-requisite for a post-secondary goal.

You are therefore ineligible for those sports in which you participated at the interschool level during the past twelves months at McClellan School, for twelve months from your date of entry into Kitchener-Waterloo C. & V.I.

Decisions of the OFSAA Board of Reference - Transfers are final."

And that is that!

* * *

Ontario senior girls triple-A basketball games being played at Regina Mundi in London are being shown live on the internet.

http://www.ofsaa.on.ca/girlsaaabasketball/index.cfm?DSP=Chapter&ID=5129

* * *

Here's a link to the 26th annual Heinbuch Classic.

* * *

In case you missed it,  the District 8 boys basketball season tipped off on Wednesday.  In a rematch of last year's title game, the St Mary's Eagles turned the tables on the St. David Celtics in a 59-49 win.

The Waterloo County hockey season is also underway as a full slate of games was held Tuesday.

Elmira's Erin Zach scored four goals in an 8-2 win over Bluevale in girls play, while Grand River's Brandon Versamy had the first hat-trick of the boys season in a 10-0 rout of Eastwood.

 

All in the family

The Waterloo County field hockey all-stars are (front row, from left):  Chelsea Linseman, Huron Heights; Samantha Grace, KCI; Emma Stairs, Forest Heights; Amanda Woodcroft, SJAM; Laura Gordon, Southwood and Jillian Robbin, Grand  River. (Back row, fromt left) Melissa Lewis, Bluevale: Rachel Stark, Bluevale; Tatum McLeod, Cameron Heights; Lia McKelvey, Cameron Heights; Nikita Nathwani, WCI; Colleen Thwaites, WCI; Emma Spofford, WCI; Tara Otto, Waterloo-Oxford; Alyssa Vink, Waterloo-Oxford. (Picture by Mathew McCarthy, Record staff)

* * *

Thanks to a pair of readers for some interesting family facts heading into the various Ontario high school championships this week.

When Kyle Weber and the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders compete for the Ontario senior boys volleyball title in Stratford starting Thursday, it will be the first time W-O has gone for Ontario gold since 1983.

Kyle's father Mark Weber of New Hamburg competed on that 1983 squad that won it all.

* * *

Sticking with that theme, Rachael Urosevic's aunt Kiki was on the 1984 KCI team that was the last KCI team to win the  Central Western Ontario title until this year's squad did it on Saturday.

Kiki was in the stands for Rachael's outstanding performance on Saturday when the Raiders downed the heavily favoured  WCI Vikings.

 

Pickering returns to Heinbuch

While girls basketball teams and boys volleyball squads are competiting for provincial gold later this week, the boys basketball season gets rolling with the 26th annual  Heinbuch Classic at St. Mary's and Huron Heights.

Schedule

Pickering High School, two-time Ontario champion, is in the field, as is last year's Heinbuch champion, Mother Teresa of Scarborough. Pickering won the event the previous two years and lost to Mother  Teresa in last year's final.

Sir John A. Macdonald, KCI, St. David and  Bluevale are the local entries in the 16-team field. The event begins Thursday and wraps up Saturday night.

* * *

Ontario volleyball and basketball championships will run Thursday to Saturday in a number of locations.

The Rockway Flames are at the girls single-A basketball championship in SImcoe,the KCI  Raiders are at the triple-A event in London and the WCI Vikings are at  the quad-A tourney in Hamilton.

In volleyball, Woodland Christian is at the single-A championship in Durham, Waterloo-Oxford is in Stratford at the triple-A tourney and SJAM is in London for the quad-A competition.

Rez repeats as Waterloo County football champions

Beau Landry scored two touchdowns -- one on a rush and one on an interception return -- to lead the Resurrection Phoenix to a 27-17 win over the  Cameron Heights Golden Gaels on Saturday.

With the win, the Phoenix repeated as Waterloo County senior boys football champions.

While thrilled with the win, Landry and Steve Fedy are disappointed they won't get a chance to defend their Western Bowl titles.

Here's a link to the stories. The sidebar on the Western Bowl is on the right in shaded type.

* * * 

A great line, at least for me, from  Derek Carasco of Huron Heights during Friday night's 'B' Division championship at St. David.

With his team trailing 20-0, he sees me walking past and says, "We're coming back, just like Liverpool in Istanbul."

Obviously a fan of the beautiful game and a reader of this blog, he was  referring to the Reds' unbelievable win over AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final. Liverpool trailed 3-0 at half before rallying with three second-half goals and winning  in penalty kicks.

The game is often referred to as "The Miracle in Istanbul."

Unfortunately for Carasco and the Huskies, there was no  "Miracle at St. David" as the Vikings held on for the win.

* * *

Rachael Urosevic drained 28 points to lead the KCI Raides to a 66-59 win over Brantford  North Park in the title game of the Central Western Ontario senior girls triple-A basketball tournament on Saturday night.

Kate MacTavish and Barbara Robertson added 10 points each.

Crusaders take CWOSSA

Congrats to the Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders, who captured the Central Western Ontario senior boys volleyball championship on Thursday in Paris.

The lads topped the Galt Ghosts in the triple-A final and will head to next week's Ontario championship in Stratford.

The CWOSSA website tells us nothing about the win so if there's anyone out there who wants to give an account of what happened, the floor is yours.

* * *

Still with Waterloo-Oxford, former student Cam Burke was named to the Royal Canadian Golf Association's 'Team Canada' for the 2010 season.

The two-time Canadian men's amateur champ, who also attended Grand River, is currently at Eastern Michigan University.

This is a huge accomplishment for Burke, who follows in the footsteps of Waterloo Region residents Mark  Sommerfeld (Bluevale) and Victor Ciesielski (St. Benedict).

* * *

On my way out to cover the B Division final between the WCI  Vikings and Huron Heights Huskies.  Both teams were impressive on Tuesday.  The Vikings' running game was outstanding against Glenview Park on Tuesday night and will probably be a bit much for the gutsy Huskies to handle. The Vikings should prevail.

As for the big game on Saturday, this time last week, I'd have taken Cameron. After watching the semfinals this week, Rez has to  be favoured and they're my pick to repeat as champions.

* * *

It was a great start to the NCAA season for St. David graduate Bryson Johnson at Bucknell University.

Check it out

Raiders win nailbiter

A belated congratulations to the KCI Raiders for their upset victory over the WCI Vikings in the Waterloo County senior girls basketball final on Wednesday night in Cambridge.

Both team were a perfect 14-0 going into the game, which the Raiders won 69-67 on the strength of 17-point performances by Rachael Urosevic and Kate MacTavish. Shelby Kurt had 27 points for WCI.

Urosevic had played in three consecutive title game losses to WCI prior to Wednesday night's victory.

I've put in a call to KCI coach  Nick  White in an attempt to get more details on what was obviously a thrilling game.

Both teams are now off to compete in Central Western Ontario championships, with WCI co-hosting the quad-AAAA event with Bluevale on Friday and Saturday, and KCI off to the triple-A tourney in Brantford.

WCI will be looking to make it six consecutive championships at the  regional  competiton. Tickets are  $5 per day with Friday's admission price good for both gyms.  Children under 12 are free.

Click here for tournament schedule 

* * *

WCI was victorious in the junior final as Alex Klein had  20 points for the Vikings in a 41-38 overtime win over Southwood.

* * *

Kaitlyn Kilgour is a confident teen.

"I'm going to be working on TSN one day," the Resurrection student said as she patrolled the sidelines during Wednesday's WCSSAA senior boys football final between Rez  and Preston.

Kilgour was one of five students from the Resurrection  Television Production class that was putting together a video for the football team to enjoy when the season is over. Only 11 students were selected to be part of Richard Sloos' class and are pursuing careers in broadcasting, film or music recording.

Anthony Beiler, Devin Kufske, Chelsea Scherer and Sydney Boniface were also working the Rez game. Thanks to their  involvement with the class, they have rubbed shoulders with the likes of William Shatner (cool) and  Ben Mulroney (not so much) this year,  while also bumping into MuchMusic veejays Sarah Taylor and Devon Soltendieck.

* * *

Although they're out of the picture now, a case could be made for calling the Jacob Hespeler Hawks the best team in senior boys football.

Despite falling to the Cameron Heights Golden Gaels on Wednesday, head coach Greg White's players put on a fantastic performance in a losing effort. In the end, it was five turnovers that did them in.

For more than three quarters, the Hawks defence shut down the potent Cameron attack led by Tyler Varga and Andrew Thibaudeau.

So now it's Cameron and Resurrection in Saturday's final? I'm curious as to who readers think will win, why and by what score?

I was definitely leaning toward picking Cameron before seeing Wednesday's games, but now I'm not so sure.

* * *

Punt returns have all but  disappeared from Waterloo County games.

And that's a shame. 

The  Canadian game has the no-yards penalty to encourage returns, but pretty much every high school team I have seen this season elects to kick the ball out of bounds and eliminate the possibility of a big return.

It  won't happen, but it would be nice to see out-of-bounds punts penalized to encourage returns and make an exciting brand of football even better.

* * *

A great start to the season for former Waterloo's May Kotsopoulos, who is in her senior year at the University of Vermont.

The former WCI star was named the tournament MVP at last weekend's Sheraton Raleigh Wolpack Invitational in North Carolina.

Check it out.