Weekly ‘Did you know?’ (1): Tragedy, new teams, teams folding, female players, and AUS competitiveness

Each week, CanadaFootballChat.com will bring you some of the fascinating stories from Canadian amateur football

We introduce to you the first weekly installment of CFC’s “Did you know”:

1)      HISTORY IN THE MAKING FOR ORILLIA HIGH SCHOOL:

The Patrick Fogarty Catholic High School (Orillia, Ontario) football team has arrived!  For the first time in the school’s 29 year history, there will be a competitive junior varsity football team taking to the field.  The team will compete in the Simcoe County Football League in the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA).  While many of the players are new to the game, their enthusiasm and commitment to play organized football compensates for their lack of experience.  Patrick Fogarty plays their first ever football game on September 17^th as they welcome St. Theresa Thunder at 2:30pm.

2)      END OF THE LINE FOR NANTYR SHORES:

As one team enters the Simcoe County Football League, another one leaves.  This past week, Nantyr Shores Tritons will not be fielding a senior team due to a lack of interest – only 20 students signed up which is far from the 40 signups the team gets annually. Some students were disappointed with the decision as it may affect their recruitment chances for this season.  An interesting thing to note is that the Tritons become one of 12 sports teams in Simcoe County that cannot continue due to a shortage of players and/or coaches.

3)      EDMONTON HIGH SCHOOL FIELDS 15 YEAR OLD DEFENSIVE END:

Lilla Rae-Mahan has made quite an impression on the Eastglen Blue Devils.  So much so that, she has cracked the senior men’s team this fall.  The 15 year old defensive end has arrived at the right time as the Blue Devils have returned to 12-Man football in the Metro Edmonton High School Football League (Tier 3 Division) after playing 6-Man for the last two years. In their first game of the season, the Blue Devils lost 33-20 to Leduc and at press time, we do not know the outcome of their second game against Archbishop Jordan yesterday.

4)      SASKATCHEWAN TEAM INVOLVED IN ACCIDENT:

One week ago, the Northern Saskatchewan Football League’s Laloche Lakers faced an unfortunate circumstance.  A 15-passenger van carrying members of the team tipped over and crashed on a Saskatchewan highway.  Ricky Janvier, a player on the team, was airlifted to hospital and treated for a back injury.  Furthermore, his cousin Dianna, who was a passenger on the van, lost her right leg in the accident. Overall, five people were taken to hospital to be treated for injuries. CanadaFootballChat.com’s thoughts go out to the entire Lakers team and families involved in this tragic accident.

5)      FOOTBALL SHIFT IN LAMBTON-KENT:

There is a trend occurring with more high school teams in Lambton-Kent area.  Many schools are shifting from 12-Man 8-Man football.  This growing trend is due to the difficulty in being able to get the number needed to be able to field a team in 12-man football.  This season, five schools will play in the 8-Man league are the Sarnia Blue Bombers, St. Clair Colts, John McGregor Panthers, Blenheim Bobcats and Petrolia.  Another five teams will participate in the 12-Man League – Ursuline College Lancers, Wallaceburg Titans, Sarnia Northern Vikings, Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks and St. Patrick’s Fighting Irish.

6)      AUS COMPETITIVENESS DEBATE CONTINUES:

At a recent AUS Media Event, discussion during the question and answer portion of the event centered on AUS competitiveness.  This stemmed from the first CIS TOP 10 rankings as no AUS teams were included (NOTE:  Mount Allison Mounties were ranked 10^th in this past’s weeks rankings).  Coaches have commented that parity among the four teams will make for an exciting yet unpredictable season in the AUS. There has been an ongoing debate whether the AUS can compete nationally with CIS teams in the other three conferences as well.  Acadia Axemen Head Coach Jeff Cummins defended the conference at the AUS Event and offered a reason why the AUS may be getting the short end of the stick in the rankings – “People don’t see us across the country.  It’s all in the hands of someone who’s probably never seen Acadia play a game of football, ever.”

Photo credits:

Patrick Fogarty Football:  Dave Dawson, The Packet and Times
Nantyr Shores Football:  Mark Wanzel, The Barrie Examiner.com
Jeff Cummins:  Mona Ghiz, Ghiz Photography (www.GhizPhotography.com)