To be better is always a team’s goal heading into a new football season.
And for Pat McCallion and Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s senior team, that only means one thing – capturing the tier-one championship of the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association.
Having been to the final last season but falling short of the ultimate prize, McCallion won’t settle for anything less than lifting the trophy this time, as a Crusaders squad that boasts of superb depth and practically an intact core welcomes a new campaign as favourites.
“Last season was a very successful season for us despite the fact that we only finished second and lost to Notre Dame in the finals,” said third-year coach McCallion, whose Crusaders fell 28-21 to the Knights in the title game.
“But we’re really proud of the group. We were a young group then, so our expectations for this season are a little bit higher.”
Mount Carmel’s attempt to reach the summit won’t be paved with roses though.
St. Joan of Arc and St. Marcellinus, two schools predicted by coaches to crowd the top of the South division, and Lorne Park, the Peel region’s winningest program, all have a legit chance to go all the way too.
Add the revamped playoff format, which scrapped the quarterfinals and reduced the number of postseason teams from six to four, and one can expect a tight race to the finish.
“There’s a lot of strong programs out there,” McCallion said. “There are no weeks off. There’ll be no looking by any opponent this year.”
The Crusaders are looking to start quarterback Kaine Summerfield, whom McCallion describes as “a very athletic, high-energy individual,” in their opening game against neighbours the Meadowvale Falcons this week.
Among the returnees McCallion will bank on to make an impact are running back Jahvari Bennett; linebackers Spencer McIntosh, Chris Kotselidis and Henson Wainkem; and receivers Jason Anyimadu and Brandon Neill, who both played for the Mississauga Warriors.
Other games on Friday include the St. Joan of Arc Angels battling the St. Francis Xavier Tigers, and the St. Marcellinus Spirit taking on the St. Joseph Jaguars. Lorne Park gets a bye this week, before the Spartans face the Angels on Sept. 28.
Joan of Arc is a consistent playoff fixture since its program debuted in 2006. Last season, they beat St. Marguerite d’Youville 23-15 in the quarterfinals but bowed out of contention in a 32-22 loss to eventual champion Notre Dame.
Angels coach Tom Pianta sees Nate Hobbs, the Warriors’ junior varsity QB, and Joan of Arc holdovers like running back Brandon Gordon and linebacker Jevon Wisdom making significant contributions. Pianta also mentions the intangibles as one of the keys to his team achieving success.
“We have a good young quarterback, a good running back, good receivers and just a generally good work ethic and good attitude,” Pianta said.
The Spartans will be infused with new blood coming from their juniors program, which won the Ropssaa championship last year.
Coach Scott Price says the combination of veterans and battle-tested newcomers puts them in a good position to collect a record 16th Ropssaa title.
“Hopefully [for the champion juniors team], winning is contagious,” the second-year Lorne Park coach said.
“It’s like once you lift the trophy, you realize how good it is and you want to do it again. And for the guys who lost in the semifinal last year, it’ll bring them back hungry.”
The move to the South this season by St. Marcellinus, which narrowly missed last year’s playoffs on a tiebreaker, further complicates matters in the already stacked division.
First-year coach Vinnie Saliba’s squad had faced some of the South teams in previous playoffs. Now the Spirit will have a regular dose of championship-quality competition week in, week out.
Saliba said the special teams (led by kicker Gabriel Ferraro, who is on the radar of university scouts) and the defensive line (featuring Anthony Galic and the school’s junior athlete of the year, Emmanuel Kusi-Acquai) will help solidify St. Marcellinus’ elite status.
“Our team’s strength is really our unity. We started an offseason program in January, and we haven’t done that in the past. It really brought our team together,” Saliba said.
“We’ve had a very strenuous camp. We’ve really ramped it up and we feel ready to go this season.”
The Jaguars, the Tigers and the Falcons, who posted losing records last year, hope to spring some surprises.
Coach Mike Uhm, whose Jaguars finished 2-4, is already optimistic that they’ll be better this time.
“[The St. Marcellinus game] will be good for us,” he said. “We’re not going to roll over and I don’t expect us to just steamroll them either so we expect a good, tough game.”
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