Ontario (Peel): ‘Clash of titans,’ battle of unbeatens themes in Ropssaa semis

Coaches of the four teams playing in the semifinals of the Region of Peel Secondary Schools Athletic Association are expecting a tough affair ahead, as the tournament opens postseason action on Friday.

Defending champion Notre Dame visits St. Marguerite d’Youville in a clash of North division rivals, while St. Joan of Arc travels to St. Edmund Campion in a matchup of two undefeated teams.

Both games begin at 1 p.m. as listed on Ropssaa’s website.

Notre Dame (5-1) booked a semifinal seat as the second-placed team with the best record. Its lone loss? It came against d’Youville (6-0) in the two squads’ season opener.

“Our first meeting was evenly matched. We just had an untimely penalty that cost us a touchdown,” said Knights coach Dario Pretto, who fell 15-6 to the Panthers in Week One.

“As the season progressed, we’ve become more disciplined. We tried to carry the ball. We just play hard, and our defence has become stronger.”

The Knights need no less than their A-game to stop the Panthers juggernaut.

After surrendering six points in their first game, the Panthers were a combined 239-0 the rest of the way, breaching the 60-point barrier twice to top the league in points-for and points-against categories.

Panthers coach John Paul Falacho said, if the Knights have improved so has his team.

“I have big respect for their program. They’re much better right now, way stronger now,” he said.

“But we’re also way better now at this point. It’s going to be clash of the titans for sure. We’ll be ready, and we know what they’re capable of.”

Edmund Campion will face a stern test in Joan of Arc, a postseason fixture since its program entered Ropssaa in 2006.

The Bears, who were playing in tier two just two years ago, completed a sweep of their division by defeating the St. Augustine Falcons 14-6 on Oct. 31. They had a chance to scout the Angels on Nov. 1 and saw first-hand how good their semifinal opponents are.

“It’s going to be tough. We went and watched Joan of Arc play Mt. Carmel. They got probably one of the best quarterbacks in the league in that kid [Nate] Hobbs,” Bears coach Oliver Ocampo said.

“We’re gonna have our hands full. It’s gonna be a really good game because you got two teams that are both 6-0, and it’s gonna be basically which team wants it more.”

Joan of Arc enters the final four as arguably the most battle-tested team, having gone through storied programs like St. Marcellinus and Lorne Park and last year’s losing finalist Mt. Carmel during the regular season.

The lopsided victories showed how talented and deep the Angels are, but the close wins no doubt helped to strengthen their character.

“[The guys] worked hard all season. We had a very close game against St. Marcellinus, and we’re fortunate to win that. And the guys realized that nothing is accomplished without hard work,” Angels head coach Tom Pianta said.

“We know that Edmund Campion is a quality team. They wouldn’t go 6-0 without being a well-rounded, solid team. So we know they’re going to be stiff competition.”