Ontario (Peel): Angels, Panthers clash for title

For a third straight year, the St. Joan of Arc Angels and the St. Marguerite d’Youville Panthers are meeting in the playoffs.

This time, however, it’ll be for all the marbles.

The tournament’s two undefeated programs battle in the title game of the Region of Peel Secondary Schools Athletic Association on Thursday, with the Angels seeking their first tier-one title and the Panthers looking for their second in three years.

If last week’s semifinals — and their previous postseason meetings — were any indication, the final at the Centennial Park Stadium in Etobicoke could go down to the wire.

“We know that this could probably be the best team we’d face,” Angels coach Tom Pianta said.

“[The team] knows it’s going to be a tough game. If we’re going to win, it’s going to take a full team effort.”

Panthers coach John Paul Falacho agrees.

“I’m confident that these are the two best teams in Ropssaa right now fighting for the championship,” he said.

“It’s going to be a nail-biter. It’s going to be 48 minutes of football.”

Joan of Arc rallied from a first-half deficit to beat St. Edmund Campion, 35-34, and d’Youville survived an overtime thriller to eliminate last year’s champion Notre Dame, 23-16, to advance.

The Angels and Panthers’ history certainly add more to the drama.

D’Youville downed Joan of Arc in the semifinals two years ago, 28-24, en route to the 2010 Ropssaa title. The following year, the Angels got even in the quarterfinals with a 23-15 win.

Behind a highly effective ground-and-pound attack, the Panthers finished the regular season first in the 18-team league in points scored and points allowed. They ended up topping the North division with a 6-0 record.

Falacho called d’Youville’s win over Notre Dame on Friday a “character victory.”

“Our defence has never given up a touchdown all season, and we give up two touchdowns in one game. So our guys battled back from that,” he said.

The Angels, whose system is predicated on the spread offence, qualified out of the South division also with a 6-0 mark. They finished fourth behind d’Youville, Campion and Notre Dame in points scored and allowed.

Pianta said dealing with Campion’s run plays has helped Joan of Arc prepare to face d’Youville’s run-heavy offence.

The Panthers are led by what many in the league are saying is Ropssaa’s best running back, Jadon Johnson, who can run for more than 300 yards and score multiple touchdowns any given game.

Pianta said the key to containing the Panthers is to “take away the big play.”

“We know that you can’t just stop a team like that, but you have to try to slow them down,” he said.

“You can’t give up that huge play. They’re gonna get their yards running the ball and passing, but you give up the 5-yard play than the 50-yard play.”

The Panthers’ defence, meanwhile, is expected to pay a lot of attention to Nate Hobbs, whom many coaches consider as the Peel region’s top tier-one quarterback.

“You have to respect their passing attack, and at the same time you have to respect the ground game,” Falacho said.

“We also respect that their quarterback can run as well, so obviously we have to do our best to change it up and defend that in any given play.”

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