Griffins ousted in quarter-final
TASSS juniors had a great season in winning COSSA and reaching Metro Bowl quarterfinals, coach says
Losing for the first time this season in the Metro Bowl quarter-final is nothing to be ashamed of, Thomas A. Stewart Griffins head coach Jeff Challice told his players after the junior football team was ousted Tuesday night by Monsignor Paul Dwyer of Oshawa.
The team did win COSSA, after all, he reminded them, before encouraging them to remember all the great things that happened this season, and not the bad.
“You had a very successful season ... I’m proud of you and you should be proud of yourselves,” Challice told his players as they huddled one last time under the lights and sheets of rain soaking their field following the 45-14 loss to the Saints.
“We are super proud of the effort the guys put in,” he told media after. “We lost to a great football team and there’s no shame in that.”
Robin French, who was named the Griffins’ player of the game, agreed.
“It was a great season,” he said, adding that he enjoyed playing with a great group. “We met our Waterloo. They are a really good team.”
The difference Tuesday was the Griffins played well, but not excellent, Challice said. “To beat a team like that, you have to be perfect.”
The Saints got on the scoreboard first, running in a touchdown at the end of the first quarter and kicking the first of several successful conversions.
With 4:16 left in the second quarter, they scored again, capping a drive with an end zone pass and converting it to double the lead.
The Griffins cut the lead to 14-7 two minutes later, recovering a Saints fumble before Noah Thompson aired out a lengthy pass to French, who then ran the ball about 90 yards for a touchdown before kicking the conversion himself.
The Saints re-extended the lead on the next possession, capping a drive with a touchdown and successful conversion to make it 21-7.
Light rain which steadily increased in intensity started to fall just before halftime. Spectators in the small but vocal crowd pulled hoods up over their heads or huddled under umbrellas doing their their best to stay as dry as possible.
The Oshawa team poured it on in the third quarter, scoring another end zone pass and conversion to increase the lead to 28-7 at 9:33 and kicking a field goal from about 12 yards out to make the score 31-7 with 2:32 left.
The Griffins struck about a minute later, as Thompson ran in
a long pass from midfield before French kicked a conversion to make the score 31-14.
The Saints added two more touchdowns and conversions in the even-soggier fourth quarter, first by capping a drive with 4:49 left and then more suddenly at 1:12, when a Saints punt returner broke free of several tackles before scrambling about 75 yards to the end zone.
TAS finished the game on a high note, however, completing a lengthy passing play after time had elapsed, prompting an enthusiastic ovation as the crowd shared its appreciation for what had been until Tuesday, an undefeated season.
The Saints now advance to the Metro Bowl semi-finals scheduled for Saturday at Toronto’s St. Michael’s College School.
Their opponent – the winner of the other quarter-final that also took place Tuesday – was not known at the time of publication.
We are super proud of the effort the guys put in. We lost to a great football team and there’s no shame in that” Jeff Challice, Thomas A. Stewart Griffins head coach