A clear favourite and a Cinderella squad clash this afternoon for the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) senior football title when the Barrie North Vikings take on the St. Joseph’s Jaguars at the sparkling, windswept turf field at Maple Ridge Secondary School in the city's south end.
Kick-off is at 2 p.m. at the Prince William Way school.
The Vikings earned their spot in the final by defeating the Bear Creek Kodiaks, 23-0, last week at the same neutral site at Maple Ridge to win the Simcoe County Athletics Association (SCAA) title.
Across town, the Jaguars ended the St. Joan of Arc (JOA) Knights' run atop the Catholic School Athletics of Simcoe County (CSASC) league with a thrilling 21-14 victory under the lights at J.C. Massie Field on the campus of Georgian College.
One team has been barely tested this year, the other has had to scratch and claw its way to get here.
“It’s not just beating JOA. We’ve had other close games that have helped us (compete),” said Jaguars head coach Erik Scott.
Barrie North head coach Burke Erwin was taking nothing for granted.
“(They are) well coached and they have tremendous athletes,” said Erwin. "We respect our opponent.”
The Jaguars are an interesting team in a few ways. They have a few individual standouts — Logan Forsyth, Joseph Chuich. Liam Walton — but are more a steady, no-frills group to the naked eye. By that measure, Erwin’s assessment is bang on.
The Jags suffered a 35-10 loss to the Knights early in the season and came back to twice beat the defending Catholic champs.
Last Friday’s win was particularly impressive, shaking off two long TD runs by Knights game-breaker Judah Davis that created a white-knuckle finish. The Jags got a few crucial stops in the game’s waning moments to preserve the victory.
Frankly, it was an impressive, inspiring effort that would have seemed remote six weeks ago.
Not every game the unbeaten Vikings have played this year was a blowout, but North was never in danger of losing. The defending SCAA champion Kodiaks had a down year and traditional power Collingwood never found its rhythm. As shown in their rampage through the SCAA regular-season schedule and playoffs, North simply may have too much firepower.
But it’s hard to imagine St. Joe’s rolling over or losing their cool if they fall behind. Not that Scott wants his team to be in that position.
“It’s always better to play with the lead,” Scott said during a telephone conversation as he prepared for practice in, critically, perhaps, high winds.
The Maple Ridge field is a terrific venue – save for the snazzy scoreboard that doesn’t work – but, in Scott’s words, it's a "bit of a wind tunnel.”
High school football has been defined this season by warm, almost wall-to-wall sunshine throughout the regular season and first week of the playoffs. It's now mid-November and while the temperature should be fine, it is expected to be windy. Again. That generally means the team that runs the ball best – and/or makes stops on defence – has a clear advantage.
Watch for Barrie North backs Christian Giguere and Dylan Lathanque to carry the ball a lot. Ryan Minns is dependable kicking the pigskin, critically important in wind. There are a slew of big fellas in green on both of the Vikings' lines to carve out paths for Giguere and others and make for a long afternoon for those trying to do the same on the opposition.
But the St. Joe’s offence has done what it has needed to do to get here. Scott said scoring a late first-half TD last Friday night to tie the game at the half was particularly important.
But St. Joe’s QB Walton, Forsyth, Chuich and Co., will have an entirely different beast to contend with today when they have the ball.
North’s defence is coached by Kelly Wiltshire, the two-time Grey Cup champion and two-time CFL all-star. Having someone of that background patrol the sidelines at the high school level speaks for itself.
Erwin has been effusive in his praise for the entire Barrie North coaching staff and Wiltshire, who moved to the area to work for the Ontario Provincial Police in Orillia.
“The intangibles of having him — a champion, a former pro — is difficult to explain,” said Erwin. “He’s probably the (biggest) reason why we’re here.”
The winner of today’s game will compete in the provincial championship Nov. 25-27 in Windsor.
