Stangs, Griffins win titles
Crestwood Mustangs win Kawartha senior football title; TASSS Griffins romp to junior championship.
The Thomas A. Stewart Griffins junior football juggernaut marches on.
The Griffins captured their second straight Kawartha title, improving their record within COSSA to 17-0 the past two seasons, with a 41-8 win over the Adam Scott Lions Friday afternoon at the TASSS Athletic Field.
Max Levasseur scored three touchdowns and Robin French recorded two with a couple of key interceptions while also kicking five converts for the Griffins.
It was competitive for much of the game until the Griffins pulled away in the final quarter. Both teams will advance to COSSA with the Griffins playing in Belleville in the AAA final on Wednesday and the Lions hosting a AA game on a date to be confirmed.
Prior to last season, it had been more than two decades since TASSS won a Kawartha title.
“It’s a great feeling to go backto-back and unbelievable to be a captain on this team,” French said. “I’m proud of the guys who worked hard all season.”
French says the Griffins have bigger goals after reaching the Metro Bowl semifinal last season.
“We want the Metro Bowl this year and nothing less,” he said.
The Griffins got off on the right foot with Levasseur scoring on a 31-yard run on their first possession for a 7-0 lead after French’s convert. French followed up a 30-yard run in the second quarter with an 18-yard romp to make it 14-0 at half-time. A dropped pass by the Lions late in the quarter cost them a potential touchdown.
Levasseur busted out for a 45-yard TD run 2:53 into the third quarter making it 20-0. The Lions relied heavily on a passing game and it led to their lone score as Jack Moloney found Nick Carter with a long pass and he fought off a tackle to plunge into the end zone. Carter followed up with a short run for a two-point convert with 6:48 left in the third. A French interception set up a French reception from quarterback Daniel Milburn for a 27-8 lead late in the third.
“Adam Scott played us very tough and it wasn’t until later in the game we pulled away,” said Griffins head coach Jeff Challice. “It was a good, physical game. We were happy with the outcome.
“We were happy the game actually happened. There was a possibility the game wasn’t going to happen. There was some confusion about whether the game had to be played because one was AAA and one was AA. We’re really happy it was decided by Kawartha that, yes, you have to play the game,” Challice said.
In the fourth quarter, Milburn scrambled on a broken play for a long TD run and Levasseur rumbled 45 yards for a major.
“We peaked last game, for sure,” said Lions head coach Jeff Allen, of their 44-0 semifinal win over Crestwood.
“We were resting a few of our starters because we knew today was an exhibition game. It meant nothing in the standings. It was a AA team showcasing some great high school talent with some Grade 9s and 10s against a team that has upwards of a dozen to 15 Wolverines players. Some of those kids are playing potentially in their fifth or sixth year of football. They’re a very seasoned team even though they share the same age.
“We wish each other well. Their student body classifies them as AAA which gives them a few more athletes to choose from and they’re a well coached team. Today, a lot of things didn’t go right for us. It wasn’t the effort we showed against Crestwood.”
NOTE: See Kawartha senior footbal championship coverage on Page D1.