BY SCOTT
HADDOW
The St. Benedict Bears' and Lo-Ellen Park Knights' football
teams have spilled a lot blood all season at Queen's Athletic
Field (QAF), and they're ready to do it one last time.
The high school A city championship goes tonight at QAF, with
kick off set for 7:30 pm.
The B Division final goes earlier at QAF, starting at 4:30 pm
between Notre-Dame and Lasalle. (Lasalle is attempting to win
their third straight B title.)
For the Bears and the Knights, their whole season hangs in
balance as both squads desperately want to hoist the city
trophy tonight.
The Bears are undefeated this season with a record of 6-0 and
made it to the final last week by dumping the defending city
champs, Lockerby. Lo-Ellen went 4-2 on the season, then
destroyed Confederation 42-7 in their semifinal match last
week.
The Bears and the Knights hooked up during the regular season,
which doesn't matter to both clubs, with St. Benedict winning
31-26.
The Bears football team has never been in a city championship
game. It's a wild and exciting time around the school as the
squad attempts to make history.
"It's huge for us to be in this game," said Bears head coach
Franco Rocca. "This is the biggest game of their lives and they
haven't lost focus of that."
The Bears are a tried and tested team.
"We have a veteran squad," said Rocca. "They've been through a
lot...taking their licks over the years like losing 49-0 to
other teams. They remember exactly what it was like...and use
it the right way now. They don't overlook anything. We came
back against Lockerby after they had a 10-0 lead...it shows
their character. We've overcome adversity all season...it's the
key to success."
Lo-Ellen is ready to go.
"Our goal was to make the A finals...and we did it," said head
coach Kevin Ellsworth. "The kids have a shot to win it all
right now and they're ready to go for it."
Lo-Ellen has learned a lot this season. By beating
Confederation last week, the Knights raised their
confidence...again.
"Confederation beat us earlier in the year and it was real
eye-opener for our guys," said Ellsworth. "We went into that
game feeling confident about ourselves and got the ball jammed
down our throats. The guys realized they weren't invisible and
they have really stepped up their play."
There's only one way for any team to earn respect in football,
and St. Benedict is looking for it.
"We don't have any respect...yet," said Rocca. "You get respect
by going 8-0 and winning the city championship outright.
There's no way we're going this far and lose in the final
game."
