CFC50 Rankings Week 12: Overtime required to crown a champion in Quebec

Only the top contenders are left in the race with the high school football season across Canada sprinting towards the finish line.

We head to Quebec where we couldn’t have asked for a better matchup in the Bol d’Or between Seminaire-Saint-Francois and Charles Lemoyne. These two programs were a class above the rest throughout the regular season, and it took overtime to finally decide who would be crowned the kings of Quebec in 2022. It was a cold and miserable day which led to a very Canadian score line of 1-1 at halftime, but they were simply saving the dramatics for the fourth quarter. The Blizzard’s gamble on fourth down paid off to go ahead 15-8 with two minutes left on the clock, but the story wasn’t over yet with the Dynamiques replying with a last second touchdown of their own to send the game into overtime. Seminaire-Saint-Francois made the most of their first possession in the extra frame going ahead 22-15, and then sealed the deal on defence with a walk-off interception to reclaim the Bol d’Or for the first time since 2017. Unfortunately it was a case of so close yet so far for Charles-Lemoyne once again, who were forced to watch the championship celebrations from the sidelines for the third straight season.

It should be a colossal showdown in Alberta with the Tier I provincial finals featuring two powerhouse programs who left no doubt in the semis. The reigning champions Harry Ainlay had to deal with their rivals from Salisbury one last time, and we ended up with the same result as the Titans asserted their dominance once again with a 42-21 victory. The other side of the bracket provided a shocking result as Raymond went full throttle against Ernest Manning in a 48-6 blowout win, which was an unexpected result after the two schools played to a 34-34 draw earlier in the season. The roles will now be reversed with the Comets returning to the Tier I finals for the first time since 2011 when the Titans brought an end to their dreams of four straight provincial titles. Now it’s Raymond’s turn to play spoiler with the chance to deny Harry Ainlay their third consecutive provincial championship.

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We’ve reached the final four in BC, and it promises to be an epic finish with BC Place playing host for the semifinals this weekend. Top five ranked Vancouver College avoided the same fate as last year when they were upset in the quarterfinals with a convincing 49-13 victory over Seaquam, and they now prepare for a tough matchup against Carson Graham, who flew past Notre Dame by a score of 32-21. The Eagles will need to dig deep if they want to bypass the Fighting Irish, who handed them a 44-8 defeat during the regular season. Waiting on the other side of the bracket will be St. Thomas More, who had a scare against W.J. Mouat before closing the door with a 37-34 victory. They’ll now prepare to knock off the defending champions G.W. Graham, who found themselves in a wild west shootout against South Delta that ended 48-47. It’ll be a tall task for the Knights, who are looking to turn the tables after suffering a 38-13 loss to the Grizzlies in regular season action.

We wrap up our coverage this week with the road to the OFSAA Festival. The marquee matchup at the event is set after Laurier defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 24-14 in the WOSSAA finals, and now they’ll get their shot against number one ranked Huron Heights in the Western Bowl. Huron Heights will be making their ninth bowl appearance in school history with six banners already hanging in the rafters, while Laurier will be making their first appearance at the big dance.

Notre Dame have been one of the most dominant programs in Canada losing only one game in the Niagara region in the past five years, and they’ve also appeared at three of the last four OFSAA Festivals. Unfortunately their reign over the region came to an end this past week with Westmount prevailing 24-22 in the SOSSA semifinals. The Wildcats have won four straight Hamilton public titles and back-to-back bowl games, but history won’t help them when they lineup against A.N. Myer is the SOSSA finals. The Marauders earned their spot with a 24-6 victory over Saltfleet, and are hoping to go bowling for the first time since 2016 when the CFC100 wonder twins Tre and Tyrell Ford were running the show. The winner will advance to the Golden Horseshoe Bowl against the winners from the GHAC finals that will feature a rematch of the Hamilton Catholic finale after Bishop Tonnos slid by Corpus Christi by a score of 22-20, and Newman breezed past Nelson with an easy 37-0 victory. Bishop Tonnos is looking to cap off a magical year with their first appearance at the OFSAA Festival, while Newman are hoping to finally capture provincial glory after losing bowl games in 2017, 2015 and 2013. The Titans defeated the Cardinals 13-7 in the league finals two weeks ago, but both teams will also remember Newman’s massive 30-6 triumph during the regular season. Who will prevail this time? Get your popcorn ready.

Another region still deciding their champion is CWOSSA, who will be sending Jacob Hespeler and Resurrection to the Festival in Guelph – now it’s just the question of which bowl will they be playing for? The Hawks and Phoenix will faceoff in the CWOSSA finals this week with the winner going on to play Korah in the Northern Bowl, while the loser will take on the winners out of Toronto Catholic in the Metro Bowl. Hespeler are looking to regain control of the region after making bowl appearances in 2016, 2017 and 2018, while Resurrection will be making their third bowl trip with their last appearance coming in 2015.

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The Simcoe Bowl matchup has been decided, and we are guilty as charged with both programs making late entries on the list after operating behind the scenes all year long. Bear Creek will be making their second bowl appearance after handing St. Joan of Arc a 20-3 loss in the GBSSA finals, and Holy Trinity will be making their fourth bowl appearance after defeating O’Neill in the LOSSA finals by a score of 51-6. Bear Creek were unsuccessful in their first bowl game back in 2016, while Holy Trinity look to keep their unbeaten streak alive with successful trips to the Festival in 2017 and 2018, plus a Metro Bowl victory in 2010 before OFSAA expanded the format.

St. Patrick’s have finally learned who their opponent will be in the Central Bowl after St. Roch took home another ROPSSAA title with their 26-12 victory over Lorne Park. The Fighting Saints will be making their OFSAA debut after defeating St. Ignatius in the Thunder Bay city finals, while the Ravens will be making their third trip to the OFSAA Festival and are hoping to keep their unbeaten record intact with victories in 2021 and 2015.

St. Matthew are heading to the National Capital Bowl after defeating St. Joseph by a score of 20-13 in the Ottawa city finals. They will square off against Northern, who secured their seat with a victory over Richview in the Toronto Public Finals. The Tigers will be making their first visit to the OFSAA Festival since going back-to-back in 2016 and 2017 with one banner to their name, while the Red Knights will be making their second appearance in the Festival format, and looking for their third title after winning the Metro Bowl in 1994 and 1990.

Lastly the Eastern Bowl will feature an intriguing matchup between Frontenac and Belle River, who shocked the Windsor region this season and will be making their first ever bowl appearance after a fairytale run through SWOSSAA. The Nobles punched their ticket to the Eastern Bowl with a 38-8 win over St. Patrick’s this past week, while the Falcons have had a couple weeks to rest after defeating Holy Cross in the Kingston city finals. Frontenac are no strangers to OFSAA making their 11th bowl appearance with an 8-3 record, and their fifth since the format was expanded in 2013.

Did you keep up with all of the madness? Try to catch your breath before the OFSAA Festival kicks off on November 28th with three days of action at the University of Guelph.

PAST RANKINGS: PRESEASON – WEEK 2 – WEEK 3 – WEEK 4– WEEK 5 – WEEK 6 – WEEK 7 – WEEK 8– WEEK 9 – WEEK 10 – WEEK 11

#	Last Week	School/Team Mascot	City	Prov.	Conf. Rec.	Non-Conf. Rec	Results
1	1	Huron Heights Warriors	Newmarket	ON	0-0	7-0	BYE
2	2	Harry Ainlay Titans	Edmonton	AB	9-0	2-0	W 42-21 vs. Salisbury
3	3	Miller Marauders	Regina	SK	9-0	0-0	COMPLETE
4	4	Vancouver College Fighting Irish	Vancouver	BC	7-0	3-0	W 49-13 vs. Seaquam
5	6	St. Paul’s Crusaders	Winnipeg	MB	9-1	0-0	COMPLETE
6	8	Sém. St-François Blizzard	Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaure	QC	10-1	0-0	W 22-15 vs. Charles-Lemoyne
7	10	Raymond Comets	Raymond	AB	3-0	6-1- 1	W 48-6 vs. Ernest Manning
8	7	Laurier Rams	London	ON	9-0	0-0	W 24-14 vs. St. Thomas Aquinas
9	9	G.W. Graham Grizzlies	Chilliwack	BC	6-1	4-0	W 48-47 vs. South Delta
10	11	Charles-Lemoyne Dynamique	Sainte-Catherine	QC	10-2	0-0	L 22-15 vs. Seminaire-Saint-Francois
11	13	St Joseph Guardians	Saskatoon	SK	7-1	0-1	COMPLETE
12	14	Dakota Collegiate Lancers	Winnipeg	MB	8-2	0-0	COMPLETE
13	17	Jacob Hespeler Hawks	Cambridge	ON	8-0	0-0	W 33-0 vs. St. Mary’s
14	19	St. Thomas More Knights	Burnaby	BC	8-0	1-2	W 37-34 vs. W.J. Mouat
15	16	St. Roch Ravens	Brampton	ON	5-0	2-1	W 26-12 vs. Lorne Park
16	27	Westmount Wildcats	Hamilton	ON	8-0	0-0	W 24-22 vs. Notre Dame
17	20	Korah Colts	Sault Ste Marie	ON	6-1	0-1	BYE
18	12	Ernest Manning Griffins	Calgary	AB	4-1–1	2-0-1	L 48-6 vs. Raymond
19	22	Carson Graham Eagles	North Vancouver	BC	7-1	1-2	W 32-21 vs. Notre Dame
20	28	A. N. Myer Marauders	Niagara Falls	ON	8-0	0-0	W 24-6 vs. Saltfleet
21	30	Bishop Tonnos Titans	Ancaster	ON	8-1	0-0	W 22-20 vs. Corpus Christi
22	15	Salisbury Sabres	Sherwood Park	AB	7-3	1-0	L 42-21 vs. Harry Ainlary
23	23	St. Andrew’s College Saints	Aurora	ON	5-0	2-3	COMPLETE
24	24	Notre Dame Pride	Calgary	AB	5-2	1-1	COMPLETE
25	25	Holy Cross Crusaders	Saskatoon	SK	5-2	0-1	COMPLETE
26	32	South Delta Sun Devils	Delta	BC	5-2	3-1	L 48-47 vs. G.W. Graham
27	26	Frontenac Falcons	Kingston	ON	8-0	0-0	BYE
28	29	Belle River Aigles	Belle River	ON	8-0	0-0	W 38-8 vs. St. Patrick’s
29	5	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Welland	ON	7-1	1-1	L 24-22 vs. Westmount
30	18	Corpus Christi Longhorns	Burlington	ON	8-1	0-0	L 22-20 vs. Bishop Tonnos
31	34	St. John Henry Newman Cardinals	Stoney Creek	ON	7-2	0-0	W 37-0 vs. Nelson
32	21	St. Thomas Aquinas Flames	London	ON	6-1	0-0	L 24-14 vs. Laurier
33	31	Citadel Phoenix	Halifax	NS	8-0	0-0	COMPLETE
34	44	St. Matthew Tigers	Ottawa	ON	8-0–1	0-0	W 20-13 vs. St. Joseph
35	35	College Notre-Dame Cactus	Montreal	QC	6-5	0-0	COMPLETE
36	36	London South Lions	London	ON	5-2	1-0	COMPLETE
37	37	Riverview Royals	Riverview	NB	9-1	0-0	COMPLETE
38	39	Armand-Corbeil Scorpions	Terrebonne	QC	6-5	0-0	COMPLETE
39	33	Notre Dame Jugglers	Burnaby	BC	4-3	3-0	L 32-21 vs. Carson Graham
40	UR	Resurrection Phoenix	Waterloo	ON	9-0	0-0	W 35-14 vs. Centennial
41	UR	Bear Creek Kodiaks	Barrie	ON	8-0	0-0	W 20-3 vs. St. Joan of Arc
42	38	Terry Fox Ravens	Port Coquitlam	BC	5-2	2-1	COMPLETE
43	40	Holy Trinity Titans	Oakville	ON	6-2	0-0	COMPLETE
44	43	L.C.I. Rams	Lethbridge	AB	4-1	2-2	COMPLETE
45	50	Holy Trinity Titans	Courtice	ON	4-0	0-1	W 51-6 vs. O’Neill
46	47	Saint-Jean-Eudes Condors	Québec	QC	6-4	0-0	COMPLETE
47	45	St. Joseph Jaguars	Ottawa	ON	8-1	0-0	L 20-13 vs. St. Matthew
48	48	St. Francis Browns	Calgary	AB	2-3- 1	0-1	COMPLETE
49	49	Northern Red Knights	Toronto	ON	6-0	0-1	BYE
50	UR	St. Patrick Fighting Saints	Thunder Bay	ON	7-1	0-0	BYE