Both the junior and senior EDSS football teams have made a Cinderella-run through the playoffs this year and will be competing for the league championship.
Following the junior squad’s 33-0 victory over Galt Collegiate, and the senior Lancers’ 43-23 win over Southwood on Tuesday afternoon in front of a cold but happy crowd at EDSS, they moved on to play for the championship at St.
David Catholic school in Waterloo on Friday. The juniors kick off at 5 p.m. and the seniors play at 7 p.m.
“It’s been a while since Elmira has had a chance to play for a championship,” said junior coach Dave Munroe following Tuesday’s victory. “The guys are excited to play under the lights at St. David’s.”
The juniors finished with a 2-5 record, but have been hot throughout their first two games of the playoffs and will be playing against a much tougher team from Eastwood Collegiate, who went undefeated during the regular season.
“We haven’t seen Eastwood this season, and we don’t know too much about them heading into Friday, but it should be exciting,” noted Munroe. “We have a couple big practices to work out some kinks, that’s for sure.”
Regardless of the outcome, it can certainly be qualified as a successful season for the junior boys.
“We’ve come a long way since the start of the year, when a lot of the guys were just learning how to put their equipment on,” the coach laughed. “Our defence can contend with anyone in the league right now, and our offence is putting points on the board. It should be a good game.”
The senior boys are in action following the junior game. The team came into this season with high expectations, but a combination of injuries and bad luck limited the team to a 1-6 record. But a hard-fought 21-7 win over Kitchener-
Waterloo Collegiate last Wednesday, followed by their relatively easy victory over Southwood on Tuesday, has the team’s confidence riding high.
“The last three weeks we’ve played some awesome football,” said senior head coach Steve Karn, who attributed their overall success this season to the team being more dedicated to showing up for practice than ever before.
The senior squad will play against Jacob Hespeler, who finished just ahead of the Lancers in the standings. For Karn, who has been with the program since it began six years ago, it is sweet to finally make it to the championship game.
“It will be the first time Elmira has played for a B championship. The fifth-year guys who have been a part of the program since it started are excited too.”
