OFSAA Football Festival Preview (Simcoe Bowl): #CFC50 No. 47 Bear Creek takes on St. Ignatius in a battle of Northern Ontario

Feature photo courtesy of Leith Dunick/tbnewswatch.com

Get ready for a clash between two evenly matched teams as the #CFC50 No. 47 Bear Creek Kodiaks take on the St. Ignatius Falcons in the Simcoe Bowl.

No team may have taken a tougher road to the festival than St. Ignatius, who had to battle through a cancelled championship game which was then played on two inches of ice where they came away with a 12-7 victory.

With that said, Bear Creek didn’t have an easy route either despite the lack of snow, facing off against former #CFC50 St. Joan of Arc in the GBSSA finals who were on a 39 game winning streak in the region, and hoping to secure their fifth straight title. Before that even happened though, the Kodiaks actually lost their semifinals matchup versus Barrie North, but ended up getting a second chance at life after it was determined that Barrie North had played an ineligible player. This set up a rematch with an undefeated team from Nantyr in the public finals, which would end up being the first of two upsets that led Bear Creek to Hamilton. Going into their game versus St. Joan of Arc, the Kodiaks themselves even said they didn’t think they’d win, but with pure heart and determination led by Head Coach Sam Loucks, the mythical dynasty fell in a 21-15 decision for Bear Creek.

Can Bear Creek's Cinderella story end with an @OFSAAFootball Championship? https://t.co/VSBiVAdv4z @CreekAthletics @CTVBarrieNews

— Mike Arsalides (@MArsalidesCTV) November 25, 2016

In the Falcons neck of the woods, however, they are that mythical dynasty after taking home their third straight NWOSSAA championship, but the one goal that has eluded them is an OFSAA Bowl after tough losses at the festival the past two seasons. The hero for St. Ignatius in what is being dubbed the Thunder Bay Ice Bowl by local reporters was Noah Penfold who took a pass 37 yards to the end zone for the game deciding touchdown, and with the weather reports favouring a clean playing surface this time around, Bear Creek will need to pay close attention to Penfold who will be looking to play a big role once again. Fellow receiver Josh Newransky should also garner some attention playing in his final game at St. Ignatius with high hopes to go out on top along with quarterback Bryce Covello.

Many players have similar sentiments for Bear Creek, including quarterback Josh Cook who was a catalyst in the Kodiaks win over St. Joan of Arc. While they did get shutout one time this season versus Nantyr, that was an anomaly for a Kodiaks’ offence that is averaging 34.2 points per game. The two playmakers to watch will be Tyler Poole and Noah Jacka who also had big games the last time Bear Creek took the field, and are two of the main reasons why they have made their way to the festival for the second time in school history. Not to be forgotten, Cook will also have the talents of Christian Maciag and Hayden Greeley who have both found ways to hurt defences when they least expect it this season.

Good luck to our senior football team who are on the road to ofssa right now!! Hope you guys play amazing out there #GoFalcons ?⚪️⚫️?

— Falcons SAC (@stignatius_tbay) November 27, 2016

The Falcons’ defence has showed some cracks allowing 54 points in their final two games of the season, but for the most part they have been a guiding influence for an offence that is capable of keeping pace if the score gets out of hand. That won’t be the case though if Liam Puskas and Pitia Modi have their say after leading the way for a pair of bounce back games, including a combined 17 tackles versus Westgate in the finals that ended on an interception in the end zone by Newranksy.

No slouches on defence themselves, Bear Creek will come prepared to swarm riding a season average of just 5.6 points against per game. The Kodiaks have allowed only two teams to score in double digits, and no team has been able to crack 20 points against a defence led in part by Rylie Duxbury and Luke Mackey. There will be plenty of targets to keep tabs on, so it will be interesting to see how Bear Creek attacks a versatile Falcons’ offence.

The Simcoe Bowl will be up for grabs at 1:00pm on November 29th at Tim Hortons Field.

 

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