We’ve got tears and cheers as hardware gets dished out to the top high school programs in Canada.
We begin in Manitoba where we got a rubber match between St. Paul’s and Dakota in the DI provincial finals at IG Field. These two programs fought tooth and nail this year splitting the regular season series to finish tied atop of the standings, but only one could lift the ANAVETS Bowl at the end of the evening. A snowy setting provided the perfect environment for this clash of powerhouse programs, and in the end it was St. Paul’s who managed to defeat the elements and their opponent to earn the 15-11 victory. It’s the 12th AAA provincial title in the Crusaders long history, and their fourth banner in the last six seasons.
We head across the border to Saskatchewan where Miller out of Regina put their provincial title on the line against St. Joseph out of Saskatoon. One day the tide will eventually turn, but once again Regina reigned supreme with Miller repeating as champions with a 34-20 victory on the back of a fantastic rushing performance. Miller had to wait a long time before they tasted provincial success again after a lengthy championship drought that stretched back to the 1970’s, but they’ve now taken home the banner three times since 2018. This also marks the 12th straight title for programs from Regina.
We now turn our attention to the next battleground with the Bol d’Or matchup shaping up to be a juicy one in Quebec. While there were some upsets along the way this season, the top two programs never wavered with Seminaire-Saint-Francois preparing to take on Charles-Lemoyne one more time. The Blizzard earned their spot in the finals with a dominant 34-6 victory over Armand-Corbeil, and the Dynamique dug deep to flip the script against the defending champions to come away with a 14-12 victory over College Notre-Dame, who they lost to in the finals last season. Seminaire-Saint-Francois took the honours in their first matchup earlier in the year by a score of 17-14, and if that game was any indication than we should be in for a treat this weekend. The Blizzard are looking for their first title since going back-to-back in 2016-2017, while the Dynamique are looking to finally write a fairytale ending after playing runner-up in the last two Bol d’Or finals.
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We’re inching closer to crowning a champion in Alberta with the provincial quarterfinals in the books. It was a drama-free affair for Salisbury who breezed by Notre Dame in a 35-16 victory, and Raymond also found little resistance in their 39-0 victory over St. Francis. The only matchup that provided some doubt was Ernest Manning facing off against Lethbridge CI, but in the end the Griffins proved their Calgary title run was no fluke defeating the Rams by a score of 31-25. This now sets the scene for some outstanding semifinal showdowns with Harry Ainlay looking to defeat their familiar rivals from Salisbury one last time, and on the other side of the bracket we’ve got Raymond taking on Ernest Manning in a magical matchup that nobody would’ve predicted at the start of the year. The last time the Comets and Griffins met ended in a 34-34 tie during the regular season, so there’s truly nothing separating these two programs heading into the semis.
Football on the East Coast has reached it’s conclusion, and we had very different results in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Citadel reclaimed their crown as the team to beat in Nova Scotia with a dominant 39-0 victory over the defending champions Auburn Drive, which marks their 12th provincial title in the past 14 seasons. On the other side of the border everyone was anticipating a Saint John repeat, but Riverview had a different plan in mind earning the title of provincial champions with a 23-22 victory over the Greyhounds. Riverview have suffered a long history of pain dating back to 1970 when they made their first appearance in the the provincial finals, and after enduring eight straight losses across multiple generations, they’ve finally broken the curse.
It’s finally playoff time in BC and of course we couldn’t get through the wildcard weekend without an upset along the way. Terry Fox have looked like strong contenders from day one, but they couldn’t handle Notre Dame who ran away with a 30-14 victory. St. Thomas More also had little issues dispatching Mt. Douglas by a score of 36-21, Carson Graham found similar success with a 28-14 win over Rutland, while South Delta found themselves in a war against Lord Tweedsmuir, but in the end they kept their playoff dreams alive prevailing 14-13. The quarterfinals promise to provide fireworks with Carson Graham taking on Notre Dame, G.W. Graham facing off against South Delta, St. Thomas More ready for a scrap against W.J. Mouat, and Vancouver College looking to assert their dominance against Seaquam.
We’ve got a ton of championship matchups to catch up with in Ontario, so try to keep up with all the madness. We start in London where Laurier defeated South by a score of 27-14 in the London Central final, while St. Thomas Aquinas secured the 22-18 victory over Catholic Central in the London District final. This sets up a contest between Laurier and St. Thomas Aquinas in the WOSSAA finals to determine who will take on top ranked Huron Heights at the OFSAA Festival in the Western Bowl.
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We now head to the GHAC and SOSSA regions who are set to faceoff in the Golden Horseshoe Bowl at the OFSAA Festival. The GHAC playdowns will feature two teams from the Hamilton Catholic league, and the champions from the Halton Public and Catholic leagues. Although both teams already secured their spot in the playdowns, you better believe it was a thrilling day for Bishop Tonnos who claimed the Hamilton Catholic title with a 13-7 victory over Newman. They are now preparing to take on Corpus Christi in the GHAC semifinals after the Longhorns completed a perfect season in the Halton Catholic League with a 41-24 victory over Holy Trinity in the finals, while Newman will dance with Nelson in the other semi after the Lords persevered to come away with a 28-27 victory over Iroquois Ridge in the Halton Public finals. On the other side in SOSSA we’ve got a four team tango to determine who gets to go bowling at the University of Guelph. The Hamilton Public League will provide two entries that will be looking to defeat the champions from the Niagara Catholic and Public Leagues. Westmount completed their mission in Hamilton with a 34-0 blowout over Saltfleet in the finals, and now will take on top five ranked Notre Dame, who easily defeated Blessed Trinity in the Niagara Catholic finals. It’s not the end of the road for Saltfleet who get another chance at life in their SOSSA semifinal against A.N. Myer, who won the Niagara Public title a week ago against Sir Winston Churchill.
It’s time to breakdown the CWOSSA region who will receive two bids at the OFSAA Festival this season due to their proximity to the University of Guelph. Unsurprisingly, Jacob Hespeler once again secured their spot in the playdowns with a 34-14 win over Grand River to take home their ninth straight Waterloo County title. They will now take on the winner of the Bluewater Athletic Association final between St. Mary’s and Saugeen in the CWOSSA semifinals, while on the other side of the bracket Centennial out of Guelph will take on Resurrection out of Waterloo, who put an end to a magical run by Paris District in the CWOSSA quarterfinals this week. The winner of the CWOSSA playdowns will go onto the Northern Bowl to take on Korah, who took home the NOSSA title with a win over Alognquin, while the runner-up in CWOSSA will head to the Metro Bowl where they will take on the winner of the Toronto Catholic League.
The Eastern Bowl will feature the top programs from SWOSSAA and EOSSAA. It’s been a Cinderella type of season for Belle River, who defeated perennial powerhouses Holy Names and W.F. Herman on route to their first WECSSAA title in more than 25 years. They will be looking to put an exclamation point on a fantastic season with a birth in the Eastern Bowl, but first they’ll need to defeat St. Patrick’s out of Sarnia in the SWOSSAA finals. On the other side they will faceoff against Frontenac, who took home the crown in Kingston this past week and will represent the EOSSAA in the Eastern Bowl.
The Simcoe Bowl is down to four contenders with Holy Trinity ready to faceoff against O’Neill in the LOSSA finals, and on the other side we’ve got Simcoe Catholic champions St. Joan of Arc preparing to lock horns with the Simcoe Public champions Bear Creek in the GBSAA finals.
The Central Bowl has one team decided with St. Patrick’s prevailing in Thunder Bay to represent the NWOSSAA region, and now they await the results of the ROPSSAA final between St. Roch and Lorne Park to find out who their opponent will be.
Finally wrapping up our OFSAA coverage this week we’ve got Northern advancing to the National Capital Bowl after defeating Richview in the Toronto Public finals, and they now await the winners of the Ottawa city championship between St. Matthew and St. Joseph.
PAST RANKINGS: PRESEASON – WEEK 2 – WEEK 3 – WEEK 4– WEEK 5 – WEEK 6 – WEEK 7 – WEEK 8– WEEK 9 – WEEK 10
| # | Last Week | School/Team Mascot | City | Prov. | Conf. Rec. | Non-Conf. Rec | Week 10 |
| 1 | 1 | Huron Heights Warriors | Newmarket | ON | 0-0 | 7-0 | BYE |
| 2 | 2 | Harry Ainlay Titans | Edmonton | AB | 8-0 | 2-0 | W 35-16 vs. Notre Dame |
| 3 | 3 | Miller Marauders | Regina | SK | 9-0 | 0-0 | W 34-20 vs. St. Joseph |
| 4 | 4 | Vancouver College Fighting Irish | Vancouver | BC | 6-0 | 3-0 | BYE |
| 5 | 5 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Welland | ON | 7-0 | 1-1 | W 34-12 vs. Blessed Trinity |
| 6 | 10 | St. Paul’s Crusaders | Winnipeg | MB | 9-1 | 0-0 | W 15-11 vs. Dakota |
| 7 | 8 | Laurier Rams | London | ON | 8-0 | 0-0 | W 27-14 vs. South |
| 8 | 9 | Sém. St-François Blizzard | Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaure | QC | 9-1 | 0-0 | W 34-6 vs. Armand-Corbeil |
| 9 | 6 | G.W. Graham Grizzlies | Chilliwack | BC | 5-1 | 4-0 | BYE |
| 10 | 12 | Raymond Comets | Raymond | AB | 0-0 | 7-1- 1 | W 39-0 vs. St. Francis |
| 11 | 11 | Charles-Lemoyne Dynamique | Sainte-Catherine | QC | 10-1 | 0-0 | W 14-12 vs. College Notre-Dame |
| 12 | 14 | Ernest Manning Griffins | Calgary | AB | 4-1-1 | 2-0-1 | W 31-25 vs. Lethbridge CI |
| 13 | 13 | St Joseph Guardians | Saskatoon | SK | 7-1 | 0-1 | L 34-20 vs. Miller |
| 14 | 7 | Dakota Collegiate Lancers | Winnipeg | MB | 8-2 | 0-0 | L 15-11 vs. St. Paul’s |
| 15 | 16 | Salisbury Sabres | Sherwood Park | AB | 7-2 | 1-0 | W 35-16 vs. Notre Dame |
| 16 | 15 | St. Roch Ravens | Brampton | ON | 4-0 | 2-1 | BYE |
| 17 | 17 | Jacob Hespeler Hawks | Cambridge | ON | 7-0 | 0-0 | W 34-14 vs. Grand River Collegiate |
| 18 | 18 | Corpus Christi Longhorns | Burlington | ON | 8-0 | 0-0 | W 41-24 vs. Holy Trinity |
| 19 | 19 | St. Thomas More Knights | Burnaby | BC | 7-0 | 1-2 | W 36-21 vs. Mt. Douglas |
| 20 | 20 | Korah Colts | Sault Ste Marie | ON | 6-1 | 0-1 | W 49-6 vs. Algonquin |
| 21 | 22 | St. Thomas Aquinas Flames | London | ON | 6-0 | 0-0 | W 22-18 vs. Catholic Central |
| 22 | 23 | Carson Graham Eagles | North Vancouver | BC | 6-1 | 1-2 | W 28-14 vs. Rutland |
| 23 | 24 | St. Andrew’s College Saints | Aurora | ON | 5-0 | 2-3 | W 37-8 vs. Upper Canada College |
| 24 | 21 | Notre Dame Pride | Calgary | AB | 5-2 | 1-1 | L 35-16 vs. Salisbury |
| 25 | 26 | Holy Cross Crusaders | Saskatoon | SK | 5-2 | 0-1 | COMPLETE |
| 26 | 28 | Frontenac Falcons | Kingston | ON | 8-0 | 0-0 | W 32-27 vs. Holy Cross |
| 27 | 29 | Westmount Wildcats | Hamilton | ON | 7-0 | 0-0 | W 34-0 vs. Saltfleet |
| 28 | 30 | A. N. Myer Marauders | Niagara Falls | ON | 7-0 | 0-0 | BYE |
| 29 | 31 | Belle River Aigles | Belle River | ON | 7-0 | 0-0 | W 27-7 vs. W.F. Herman |
| 30 | 33 | Bishop Tonnos Titans | Ancaster | ON | 7-1 | 0-0 | W 13-7 vs. S.J.H. Newman |
| 31 | 37 | Citadel Phoenix | Halifax | NS | 8-0 | 0-0 | W 39-0 vs. Auburn Drive |
| 32 | 39 | South Delta Sun Devils | Delta | BC | 5-2 | 3-1 | W 14-13 vs. Lord Tweedsmuir |
| 33 | 50 | Notre Dame Jugglers | Burnaby | BC | 4-3 | 3-0 | W 30-14 vs. Terry Fox |
| 34 | 32 | St. John Henry Newman Cardinals | Stoney Creek | ON | 6-2 | 0-0 | L 13-7 vs. Bishop Tonnos |
| 35 | 40 | College Notre-Dame Cactus | Montreal | QC | 6-5 | 0-0 | L 14-12 vs. Charles Lemoyne |
| 36 | 35 | London South Lions | London | ON | 5-2 | 1-0 | L 27-14 vs. Laurier |
| 37 | UR | Riverview Royals | Riverview | NB | 9-1 | 0-0 | W 23-22 vs. Saint John |
| 38 | 25 | Terry Fox Ravens | Port Coquitlam | BC | 5-2 | 2-1 | L 30-14 vs. Notre Dame |
| 39 | 34 | Armand-Corbeil Scorpions | Terrebonne | QC | 6-5 | 0-0 | L 34-6 vs. Seminaire Saint-Francois |
| 40 | 36 | Holy Trinity Titans | Oakville | ON | 6-2 | 0-0 | L 41-24 vs. Corpus Christi |
| 41 | 41 | St. Joan of Arc Knights | Barrie | ON | 7-0 | 0-0 | W 21-6 vs. St. Theresa’s |
| 42 | 42 | Centennial Collegiate Spartans | Guelph | ON | 7-0 | 0-0 | BYE |
| 43 | 43 | L.C.I. Rams | Lethbridge | AB | 4-1 | 2-2 | L 31-25 vs. Ernest Manning |
| 44 | 44 | St. Matthew Tigers | Ottawa | ON | 7-0-1 | 0-0 | W 50-21 vs. Ashbury College |
| 45 | 46 | St. Joseph Jaguars | Ottawa | ON | 8-0 | 0-0 | W 17-3 vs. St. Peter |
| 46 | 47 | Nelson Lords | Burlington | ON | 6-1 | 0-1 | W 28-27 vs. Iroquois Ridge |
| 47 | 45 | Saint-Jean-Eudes Condors | Québec | QC | 6-4 | 0-0 | COMPLETE |
| 48 | 27 | St. Francis Browns | Calgary | AB | 2-3-1 | 0-1 | L 39-0 vs. Raymond |
| 49 | 48 | Northern Red Knights | Toronto | ON | 6-0 | 0-1 | W 21-14 vs. Richview |
| 50 | UR | Holy Trinity Titans | Courtice | ON | 4-0 | 0-1 | BYE |
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