CFC25 Small School Rankings (9): Plenty of drama in the SK, MB and NB provincial finals

Memories that will last a lifetime are being created across Canada with multiple provincial championships going down to the wire this past week.

We begin in Saskatchewan where Bishop J. Mahoney saw their dreams turning into a nightmare against Weyburn. It was all roses heading into the fourth quarter with the Saints slowly building an 18-0 lead, but a furious comeback by the defending champions turned the final frame into a mad dash for the finish line. Thankfully for the Saints their prayers were answered with the clock hitting zero before the comeback could be complete with Bishop J. Mahoney taking home a 18-15 victory and their first provincial title since 2018.

We cross the border to Manitoba where reality lived up to the hype when Vincent Massey and Sturgeon Heights put their undefeated records on the line in the DII finals. It took two overtime periods to finally separate these two stellar programs, but in the end it was Vincent Massey who prevailed 20-14 at a snowy IG Field to take home their second straight provincial title. The Vikings are now exploring the dynasty conversation winning their fourth DII title in the past six seasons, while Sturgeon Heights return to the drawing board for another offseason to figure out how they can recapture the coveted crown for the first time since 2015.

Our final provincial title this week was handed out in New Brunswick in a historic rivalry matchup between Mathieu-Martin and L’Odyssee. These two programs meet annually in the Acadie Bowl, but they’ve never met in the provincial finals, and they made sure this contest will be talked about for years to come. L’Odyssee have traditionally held the upper-hand in this rivalry, but it was the year of the Matador with Mathieu-Martin taking home the Acadie Bowl and the Nick Desilets Memorial Trophy with a 32-27 victory in the finals. The win brings an end to Mathieu-Martin’s championship drought that stretched back to 2012.

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We entered last weekend with four true contenders for the DII Bol d’Or in Quebec, but only two remain after a thrilling semifinal round. Nobody knew where Dalbe-Viau would stack up when they entered Juvenile DII at the beginning of the season, but there’s no doubters left after the Aigles D’Or defeated the defending champions College Bourget by a score of 35-28 to secure their spot in the finals. They are now preparing to take on College Laval, who survived a dogfight with Saint-Joseph to come out on top 23-19 in the other semifinal. No matter who advanced we were promised an exciting finish in Quebec this year, and now it’s time to see if College Laval can repeat their regular season performance and be crowned champions for the first time since 2015-2016 when they went back-to-back, or will Dalbe-Viau complete their fairy tale journey with their first Bol d’Or.

It’s time to catchup with the playdowns in Alberta where we have ranked programs competing for three different provincial championships from Tier I Regional Based down to Tier III. This is the first year that Cochrane have competed for the Tier I Regional Based title, and they got a chaotic wake up call in the quarterfinals where Henry Wise Wood took them to five overtimes before the Cobras could finally prevail 50-48 in what might be the game of the year across Canada. Cochrane will now be hoping to keep their provincial dreams alive taking on All Saints out of Calgary in the South Championship semifinals this week. Our Tier II programs are happy they didn’t have to navigate the same dramatics with top ranked Holy Trinity Academy handing Medicine Hat a 42-6 defeat, while the defending champions St. Joseph were able to outscore Bellerose in a 39-21 victory. Holy Trinity Academy will now faceoff against Hunting Hills in the South Championship semifinals, and St. Joseph will take on newly ranked Austin O’Brien out of Edmonton Metro in the North Championship, who earned their spot on the rankings with a 40-3 victory over Lloydminster. Lastly we’ve got Holy Rosary looking to repeat as Tier III champions, and they’re one step closer after defeating a tough squad from Stettler by a score of 17-0. The Raiders are now game planning to take on Sturgeon in the semifinals to see who’s crowned North Champions this year.

CFC100 CLASS OF 2023 3RD EDITION

BC finally entered playoff mode this past week with Robert Bateman, Langley and Vernon all receiving byes. That left John Barsby as our only ranked school left scrapping in the wildcard round, but they wouldn’t be denied their spot in the quarterfinals fighting their way to a 32-20 victory against Ballenas. This sets up a great round of AA Varsity action with Robert Bateman taking on Argyle, Vernon going to battle with South Kamloops, and Langley squaring off against John Barsby in a matchup of ranked programs.

We conclude this week’s coverage with a trip to Ontario where two programs will live to see another day. Thomas A. Stewart will be bowling once again after defeating Crestwood by a score of 10-7 in the COSSA finals. The Griffins will now head to Guelph to participate in the Independent Bowl against St. Michael’s College, who will represent CISAA despite their 1-4 record this season. It’ll be a much tougher road to the OFSAA Festival for St. Mary’s, who won their eighth straight Bluewater Athletics Association title with a 41-7 victory over Saugeen. The Mustangs’ reward is a trip to the CWOSSA playdowns with a matchup against powerhouse CFC50 program Jacob Hespeler in the semifinals.

PAST RANKINGS: WEEK 1 – WEEK 2 – WEEK 3 – WEEK 4 – WEEK 5 – WEEK 6 – WEEK 7 – WEEK 8

#	Last Week	School/Team Mascot	City	Prov.	Conf. Rec.	Non-Conf. Rec	Results
1	1	Holy Trinity Academy Knights	Okotoks	AB	0-0	9-1	W 42-6 vs. Medicine Hat
2	3	Vincent Massey Vikings	Brandon	MB	10-0	0-0	W 20-14 vs. Sturgeon Heights
3	2	Robert Bateman Timberwolves	Abbotsford	BC	7-0	3-0	BYE
4	12	Bishop J. Mahoney Saints	Saskatoon	SK	8-0	1-0	W 18-15 vs. Weyburn
5	6	College Laval Maraudeurs	Laval	QC	9-1	0-0	W 23-19 vs. Saint-Joseph
6	9	Dalbé-Viau Aigles D’Or	Lachine	QC	9-2	0-0	W 35-28 vs. College Bourget
7	4	Sturgeon Heights Huskies	Winnipeg	MB	9-1	0-0	L 20-14 vs. Vincent Massey
8	8	Holy Rosary Raiders	Lloydminster	AB	8-0	2-1	W 17-0 vs. Stettler
9	10	St. Joseph Celtics	Grande Prairie	AB	6-0	3-2	W 39-21 vs. Bellerose
10	5	Weyburn Eagles	Weyburn	SK	8-1	0-0	L 18-15 vs. Bishop J. Mahoney
11	13	Langley Thunderbirds	Langley	BC	6-1	2-0	BYE
12	7	Collège Bourget Voltigeurs	Rigaud	QC	8-2	0-0	L 35-28 vs. Dalbe-Viau
13	14	George McDougall Mustangs	Airdrie	AB	7-2	2-0	FINISHED
14	11	Séminaire Saint-Joseph Vert et Or	Trois-Rivieres	QC	8-2	0-0	L 23-19 vs. College Laval
15	15	Greenall Griffins	Balgonie	SK	7-1	0-1	FINISHED
16	16	Cochrane Cobras	Cochrane	AB	8-2	0-0	W 50-48 vs. Henry Wise Wood
17	21	Mathieu-Martin Matadors	Dieppe	NB	9-1	0-0	W 32-27 vs. L’Odyssee
18	18	Thomas A. Stewart Griffins	Peterborough	ON	7-0	0-0	W 10-7 vs. Crestwood
19	17	Yorkton Raider Gridders	Yorkton	SK	6-2	0-0	FINISHED
20	19	Central Cyclones	Moose Jaw	SK	5-2	0-0	FINISHED
21	20	Vernon Panthers	Vernon	BC	2-0	3-1	BYE
22	22	John Barsby Bulldogs	Nanaimo	BC	5-3	0-2	W 32-20 vs. Ballenas
23	UR	Austin O’Brien Crusaders	Edmonton	AB	5-3	0-0	W 40-3 vs. Lloydminster
24	UR	St. Mary’s Mustangs	Owen Sound	ON	7-1	0-0	W 41-7 vs. Saugeen
25	23	Académie les Estacades Aigles	Trois-Rivières	QC	7-3	0-0	FINISHED