CFC50 High School Rankings FINAL: And your CFC50 National Champion is …

Congratulations to every program across Canada who made an appearance on the rankings this season, and a huge thank you to all the dedicated coaches from coast to coast who volunteer their time every year to help our game continue to grow and make the CFC50 Rankings possible. We can’t wait to fire up the engine again in 2024.

Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for – and your winner is?

HEADLINES

British Columbia

• Congratulations to your 2023 CFC50 National Champions – the Vancouver College Fighting Irish. The Irish earned the right to call themselves National Champions after securing their 26th straight victory with a 21-0 triumph over Carson Graham in the AAA Varsity finals at BC Place on Saturday night. To truly appreciate the journey, we need to take a flashback to the 2021 playoffs, where Vancouver College suffered a devastating upset in the first round to Centennial after beginning the season with nine straight wins, which put an end to their bid for back-to-back titles coming out of the pandemic. They returned last year with their newly hired Head Coach, Bryan Chiu – and although there was some very close calls along the way – they managed to ride the wave of momentum to a perfect 13-0 campaign to reclaim their spot atop the mountain. A lot of programs go into reload mode after winning two out of three titles – and really it was a four year span with the pandemic – but somehow this edition of the Irish found a way to get better over the offseason. Usually you expect adversity to strike at some point in the year, but Vancouver College was in cruise control from start to finish outscoring their opponents 572-98 in twelve games – minus their forfeit win against Handsworth – for a mind boggling average final of 47-8. The only program who even dared to challenge them was Carson Graham, but in the end they never got closer than 13 points on the scoreboard, and couldn’t even penetrate the goal line in the grand finale. We will leave you with one last stat that shows you just how dominant Vancouver College have been in recent memory; since 2018 their record is now an astonishing 54-3. The entire Fighting Irish squad deserves a shoutout for their flawless performance this year, but we’d like to give a special spotlight to superstars like QB Finn Teasdale, RB Hudson Bromley, RB Ryder Quintana, WR Arjun Kang, WR Isaiah Bias, LB Cayden Nguyen, LB Cole Pryputsch, DB Lucas Gonzales, DB Nathan Lowden, OL/DL Carter Martin, OL/DL Jaiden Hong, and OL/DL Vittorio Verdicchio, who all played a massive role in earning the first CFC50 National Title in Fighting Irish history. Now the question is – how long can Coach Chiu keep fueling this magic carpet ride after beginning his coaching career with a perfect 26-0 record?

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Ontario

• If we had the ability to pull off a CFC50 National Playoffs, we’d absolutely love to see how Huron Heights would line up against Vancouver College, Ernest Manning or Saint-Jean-Eudes after witnessing the closest title battle we’ve ever had with all four programs having a legitimate claim at the National Title. Unfortunately that’s a dream for another year, but Huron Heights still has every reason to hold their heads high after a grueling campaign that saw them play six games south of the border with a 5-1 record, and then capped off the season with a dominant display in the OFSAA Golden Horseshoe Bowl with a 37-2 victory against Corpus Christi. It’s the seventh banner they’ve brought back to Newmarket since 2012, but the final score doesn’t tell the entire story with the Warriors defence making multiple goal line stands in the first half that changed the entire complexation of the game, and then they turned to their vaunted veer offence to slowly but surely break their opponent’s spirit as the clock ticked away. They led 17-2 at halftime, and a key touchdown midway through the third quarter allowed the floodgates to open as Huron Heights imposed their will until the final whistle led by QB Ethan Schwarz, RB Josh Martin-Pendley, LB Robert Wood and DB Alex Figen. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic year for the aptly nicknamed “Road Warriors”, who have continued to find ways to challenge their players and keep the program running at an elite level under the guidance of Head Coach Heath Weir despite not having a league to call their own since 2019.
• South can call themselves provincial champions again for the first time since 2016 after a dominant 33-0 shutout performance against St. Mary’s in the Western Bowl. It didn’t look like it’d be an easy ride after a scoreless first quarter, but then the snow started falling in Windsor, and the Lions came to life piling up a 17-0 lead heading into the break. Whatever glimmer of hope that was left on the Knights sidelines vanished when they watched South march down the field on their opening drive of the second half to make it 24-0, and then the rest was nothing more than a formality before the celebrations could begin. The Lions land in the top ten after a tremendous 8-1 season led by superstar prospects DB Chase Smith, RB Kanye Nethersole, LB
  Javonte Benoit and QB Andre Thompson.
• A.N. Myer are back in the top ten conversation after a masterful 38-21 victory over Ursuline College in the OFSAA Central Bowl. Huge credit goes to the Lancers players and staff, who gave the Marauders a serious run for their money after becoming the first team out of Lambton-Kent to earn a spot at OFSAA, but in the end A.N. Myer would not be denied their first OFSAA banner since 2016. It wasn’t easy with Ursuline College opening the scoring to take a 7-0 lead, and then a pick-six injected the Lancers with a new sense of hope heading into halftime down just 21-14, but it was the final frame that was the difference maker as the Marauders pulled away in the dying moments to secure the victory. It seems like we’ve been looking back to the glory days of Myer when the Ford twins were still rocking purple for a long time now, but there’s a new generation of talent that’ve left their mark in the history books including stars like QB Thomas Somerville, WR Travis Boland and DB Dante D’Amario.

CFC PROSPECT GAME/CFC SELECTION CAMP NOMINATIONS

• Frontenac completed the hattrick with their third straight OFSAA title in a 27-7 victory over St. Joseph in the National Capital Bowl. Once again, this game like most at OFSAA this year was a tale of two halves with St. Joseph keeping Frontenac honest heading into halftime with just a 6-0 lead. As the game wore on, it became evident that the Falcons had one more gear as they built a 20-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter, and then salted the game away with one final dagger by WR Blake Buchanan, who made a highlight reel catch in the end zone on a pass by QB Jet Zakrzewski to put an end to any thoughts of a comeback by the Jaguars. It’s the ninth OFSAA banner in school history, making the Falcons one of the most successful teams at the provincial level since they expanded the bowl schedule in 2000.
• Assumption returned to Brantford with an OFSAA banner for the first time since 2013 after a 21-4 victory over Hammarskjold in the Northern Bowl. The Lions put on a gritty defensive performance from start to finish, and the cherry on top was a pick-six by DB Cole Von Lukawiecki in the final minute that put the game to rest. This Assumption team flew under the radar all year, but left no doubt about their rightful place on the rankings with hard-fought victories against Bishop Macdonnell, Laurel Heights and Hammarskjold to cap off a terrific 8-1 campaign.
• Bear Creek will be hanging another OFSAA banner in the rafters after defeating Chaminade College 25-0 in the Simcoe Bowl. It took a little bit of time for the Kodiaks to warm up, but after a scoreless first quarter they began to dominate their competition building a 14-0 lead at halftime, and then seized all momentum coming out of the break with QB Justin Cunningham slicing his way through the Gryphons defence for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that cemented their place in history. It was the perfect ending to a fairytale 9-0 campaign for the boys from Barrie.
• It might not have been the banner they were aiming for when the season began, but this W.F. Herman squad will forever be remembered as OFSAA champions after defeating St. Michael’s College 35-0 in the Independent Bowl. A first quarter touchdown by RB Keyanni Elliott got the party started, and then this game was never in doubt as the Green Machine couldn’t be stopped as they rolled towards the eighth OFSAA victory in the program’s storied history. The Green Griffins easily could’ve switched off after a devastating loss to Ursuline College in the SWOSSAA finals, but they showed their character by bouncing back in a big way on home soil to secure the first banner for Herman since 2016.
• Our final recap of the 2023 season belongs to the Richview Saints, who managed to do what seemed like the impossible by handing Holy Trinity their first ever loss at OFSAA with a 22-7 victory in the Metro Bowl. Holy Trinity were 4-0 at the provincial level heading into this contest, and with the score 7-2 in favour of the Titans at halftime, it looked like they were about to add another victim to their catalog. Richview could’ve folded, but instead they came out of the locker room with a renewed sense of hope that led to 20 unanswered points, including the final nail in the coffin on a failed kickback with 24 seconds left on the clock that was recovered by DE Ryan Forte in the end zone to seal the deal. It’s the Saints first OFSAA title since 2017, and the fifth Metro Bowl in their program’s long history.

PAST RANKINGS: WEEK 1 – WEEK 2 – WEEK 3 – WEEK 4 – WEEK 5 – WEEK 6 – WEEK 7 – WEEK 8 – WEEK 9 – WEEK 10 – WEEK 11 – WEEK 12 – WEEK 13

#	Last	School	City	Prov.	Conf. Rec	Non-Conf. Rec	Results
1	1	Vancouver College Fighting Irish	Vancouver	BC	9-0	4-0	W 21-0 vs. Carson Graham
2	4	Huron Heights Warriors	Newmarket	ON	0-0	7-0	W 37-2 vs. Corpus Christi
3	2	Ernest Manning Griffins	Calgary	AB	11-0	1-0	COMPLETE
4	3	Saint-Jean-Eudes Condors	Québec	QC	11-0	0-0	COMPLETE
5	6	Miller Marauders	Regina	SK	9-0	0-0-1	COMPLETE
6	8	Raymond Comets	Raymond	AB	1-1	5-0	COMPLETE
7	10	Dakota Collegiate Lancers	Winnipeg	MB	9-1	0-0	COMPLETE
8	12	London South Lions	London	ON	8-1	0-0	W 33-0 vs. St. Mary’s
9	15	A. N. Myer Marauders	Niagara Falls	ON	10-0	0-0	W 38-21 vs. Ursuline College
10	11	Collège Bourget Voltigeurs	Rigaud	QC	9-3	0-0	COMPLETE
11	13	Holy Cross Crusaders	Saskatoon	SK	6-3	0-0	COMPLETE
12	7	Carson Graham Eagles	North Vancouver	BC	7-2	2-0	L 21-0 vs. Vancouver College
13	14	Harry Ainlay Titans	Edmonton	AB	9-1	1-0-1	COMPLETE
14	17	Leboldus Golden Suns	Regina	SK	5-3	0-0	COMPLETE
15	16	Armand-Corbeil Scorpions	Terrebonne	QC	7-4	0-0	COMPLETE
16	18	Laurier Rams	London	ON	4-3	0-0	COMPLETE
17	5	Corpus Christi Longhorns	Burlington	ON	11-1	0-0	L 37-2 vs. Huron Heights
18	9	Bishop Tonnos Titans	Ancaster	ON	9-1	0-0	COMPLETE
19	21	Frontenac Falcons	Kingston	ON	9-0	0-0	W 27-7 vs. St. Joseph
20	20	Grant Park Pirates	Winnipeg	MB	8-2	0-0	COMPLETE
21	22	Oak Park Raiders	Winnipeg	MB	7-2	0-0	COMPLETE
22	25	St. Paul’s Crusaders	Winnipeg	MB	8-1	0-1	COMPLETE
23	30	St Joseph Guardians	Saskatoon	SK	5-2	1-1	COMPLETE
24	29	Westmount Wildcats	Hamilton	ON	8-1	0-0	COMPLETE
25	41	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Welland	ON	8-1	1-0	COMPLETE
26	19	G.W. Graham Grizzlies	Chilliwack	BC	6-2	2-0	COMPLETE
27	23	College Notre-Dame Cactus	Montreal	QC	5-6	0-0	COMPLETE
28	24	Sém. St-François Blizzard	Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaure	QC	7-3	0-0	COMPLETE
29	32	St. Francis Browns	Calgary	AB	7-4	1-0	COMPLETE
30	37	Ursuline College Lancers	Chatham	ON	8-2	0-0	L 38-21 vs. A.N. Myer
31	27	St. John Henry Newman Cardinals	Stoney Creek	ON	6-3	0-0	COMPLETE
32	28	Nelson Lords	Burlington	ON	7-1	2-0	COMPLETE
33	35	Auburn Drive Eagles	Westphal	NS	7-1	0-0	COMPLETE
34	36	Riverview Royals	Riverview	NB	8-1–1	0-0	COMPLETE
35	38	Assumption Lions	Brantford	ON	8-1	0-0	W 21-4 vs. Hammarskjold
36	44	Bear Creek Kodiaks	Barrie	ON	9-0	0-0	W 25-0 vs. Chaminade College
37	46	South Delta Sun Devils	Delta	BC	5-3	2-1	COMPLETE
38	42	A.B. Lucas Vikings	London	ON	6-2	0-0	COMPLETE
39	UR	W. F. Herman Green Griffins	Windsor	ON	5-4	0-0	W 35-0 vs. St. Michael’s College
40	48	Laurel Heights Hurricanes	Waterloo	ON	9-1	0-0	COMPLETE
41	47	Richview Saints	Toronto	ON	7-2	0-0	W 22-7 vs. Holy Trinity
42	26	St. Mary’s Knights	Sault Ste Marie	ON	9-2	0-0	L 33-0 vs. South
43	33	St. Joseph Jaguars	Ottawa	ON	6-2	0-0	L 27-7 vs. Frontenac
44	40	St. Matthew Tigers	Ottawa	ON	6-1	0-1	COMPLETE
45	31	Rutland Voodoo	Kelowna	BC	6-3	2-1	COMPLETE
46	39	Salisbury Sabres	Sherwood Park	AB	7-3	0-1	COMPLETE
47	UR	Bishop Macdonell Celtics	Guelph	ON	7-2	0-0	COMPLETE
48	43	Notre Dame Pride	Calgary	AB	5-3	0-2	COMPLETE
49	50	Paul Kane Blues	St. Albert	AB	7-4	0-1	COMPLETE
50	49	Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers	Surrey	BC	5-3	2-1	COMPLETE