BEAR CREEK KODIAKS (6-1-1) VS. CFC50 NANTYR SHORES TRITONS (8-0)
It was just 364 days ago the Bear Creek Kodiaks and CFC50 Nantyr Shores Tritons were in this exact same position, getting ready to play on the exact same field, for the exact same prize.
Albeit, under much different circumstances.
The Kodiaks had lost their semi-final game to Barrie North the Friday before, but in an 11th-hour decision, were allowed to rejoin the parade after it was ruled the Vikings had played an ineligible player in the victory.
So, with that, the Kodiaks came back to face the Nantyr Shores Tritons, a team that had yet to lose a game. Points were at a premium in a defensive battle that saw heavy winds and some white stuff falling from the sky. By game’s end, it was the Kodiaks who came away with the upset by a score of 10-4, advancing them to the GBSSA championship game against the Catholic league winners from St. Joan of Arc.
Now, a year later, both the Tritons and Kodiaks will do it all again on yet another gust-filled, rainy day in search of the Simcoe County Athletic Association’s (SCAA) ultimate prize.
That loss by the Tritons to Bear Creek in last year’s final is the only loss the Tritons have suffered over the last two calendar years, after running the table in the six-game regular season, winning their quarter-final game by forfeit over Collingwood, and then being victorious in a 20-0 semi-final win over the Barrie North Vikings.
For the Kodiaks, it’s been a bit of a bumpier ride to the final. The first two games of their season were evidence of a possible championship hangover – losses to these same Tritons in Week 1, and then to the Banting Marauders in Week 2. Since then, though, it’s been smooth sailing for a now-red hot Kodiaks team. Wins over Innisdale, Orillia, Collingwood and North saw them finish third in the SCAA standings, which netted them a first-round matchup with the Marauders. Bear Creek took care of Banting this time around, rather easily, and then were able to upset the two-seed Eastview Wildcats in the semis to earn them a berth in today’s title game.
The Kodiaks expect a tough battle, and while they may be underdogs on paper, they believe they have a legitimate chance to snap another long Nantyr win streak.
“They’re a good team, well coached with good athletes, but so are we,” said Kodiaks’ linebacker Owen MacLeod. “We will need a solid team effort and some guys to step up and make some plays.”
The Tritons are anticipating much of the same, and they know Bear Creek will be ready to play.
“They are a solid team and they’re lead by a good QB,” said Nantyr coach Jeff Rosar. “Of course we expect them to be prepared, which is a testament to their coaching staff and program.”
The Tritons beat Bear Creek back in the season-opener by a score of 24-8. While not their most dominating performance, they did control much of the game. That said, they know Bear Creek is a much-improved football team from the one they dispatched way back in the first week of the season, and they’re planning accordingly.
“We will be changing the our game plan totally,” admitted Rosar. “We understand Bear Creek will not be the same team we played in Week 1.”
The former CFC50 Kodiaks are coming in riding a major high. Winners of six in a row including two playoff games, they don’t plan to come down off that high anytime soon.
“Every game we’re getting more and more confident and every practice we’re getting better and better,” MacLeod said. “We’re a different team than we were when we played them the first time and we should not be taken lightly.”
They were 0-2 heading into their third game of the season against the Innisdale Invaders, and in desperate need of a victory. They got it, and ever since then, they’ve been a completely different team.
“We’ve always been a dangerous team,” MacLeod asserted, “and we knew that but after starting 0-2 it was a wake up call and we have really put it all together.”
In any game – but especially one of this magnitude – both teams are well aware that the importance of getting off to a good start can not be understated.
“You expect every final to be a tough exciting game,” Rosar said. “We are also excited to be playing on the turf field; we have being starting off every practice with a up start drill to get ready for the game.”
That said, the Kodiaks also know they have the ability to claw back into games when they do fall behind. Though not ideal, they aren’t going to panic if that does happen for that very reason.
“It’s always important to have a good start to a game,” MacLeod said, “but our team has shown how we can come back from adversity, showing that it’s not how you start but how you finish that matters.”
Perhaps the most dynamic aspect of the Tritons’ game so far this season is their special teams. They have a pair of stellar returners in Steven Sadl-Kolchetski and Steven Noble, along with a terrific cover team. They’ll need their special teams to keep up the strong play if they want a chance to avenge last year’s crushing defeat.
“It’s huge,” Rosar said when asked the importance of special teams in games such as these. “Games are won and lost because of special teams, [and] we have been working on some different things with specials all week.”
On the other side, the largest downfall in their game is a lack of discipline. They have had trouble containing their emotions at many points this season, which has allowed certain teams to hang around in games they otherwise would have won going away.
“Discipline,” Rosar said when asked a key to victory for his squad. “We must stay disciplined and not let any other factors affect us.”
At this time of year, the weather almost always plays a major factor in the results of games. Today has rain and heavy wind in store, meaning offence will – in all likelihood – be tough to come by.
“Both our offences are explosive but the conditions may slow the game down,” MacLeod said, “so we will have to capitalize on our opportunities.”
The Tritons are preaching the importance of staying in the moment. In a win-or-go-home game, you can’t be looking ahead, or behind. Staying focussed on the task at hand is imperative, because if that focus is lost, there may be no ‘next week.’
“[The] message is simple: ‘one play at a time,'” Rosar said. “If we play hard every snap and leave it all on the field we will get the outcome we have been working for all season. The past doesn’t matter the future is not relevant; we need to be disciplined and focused on the present.”
On the Kodiaks’ side of things, the message to the team has been to go out and prove itself, illustrating to the rest of the league that they are on par with some of the best in the SCAA.
“They beat us early in the season so it’s up to us to show everyone we deserve to be there,” MacLeod asserted, “and we intend to do that.”
Photos courtesy of: Barrie Examiner; Collingwood Connection
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