The Bear Creek Kodiaks are the 2021 Simcoe County Athletic Association (SCAA) football champions and will now face the St. Joan of Arc Knights for the region’s bragging rights in a battle of south-end Barrie schools.
Bear Creek dominated Thursday afternoon’s SCAA senior boys final by beating the Eastview Wildcats, 36-8.
Eastview, who finished last in the regular-season standings, shocked many local high school sports observers by even getting to the finals after defeating first-place Barrie North Vikings, 27-0, on Nov. 4.
But an upset wasn’t happening today as the Kodiaks jumped out to a 27-0 first-half lead in front of their home-field fans. Kodiaks running back Zaman Zamani scored nine of those points.
Bear Creek head coach Sam Loucks said his team was prepared for a hard-fought SCAA final.
“We didn’t take them lightly, we won’t take any team lightly,” Loucks told BarrieToday. “They’re the same as us, we’re the same as any other team playing, we’re all the same. It just so happened we had a better day today. We made some good plays today, they didn’t and that's how it goes sometimes.”
Bear Creek added eight more points before the final whistle while the Wildcats would score a fourth-quarter touchdown with a two-point conversion to spoil the shutout.
Bear Creek quarterback Aidan Goss said the season was definitely different with COVID hanging overhead, but that didn’t take away from what needed to be done on the field.
“For sure it was something we had to be extra prepared for with protocols and all that, but on the field it was the same as any other season of football,” said the 17-year-old pivot. “You still have to make plays and still have to find ways to win, and thankfully we did that and head off to the GBs to face St. Joan of Arc.”
It was announced in September that, due to the pandemic, there would be no Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships this year. That means the the Georgian Bay Secondary Schools Association (GBSSA) final between the Catholic board champions and their SCAA counterparts will be the grand finale this year.
The GBSSA championship between Bear Creek and St. Joan of Arc will take place Wednesday, Nov. 24 beginning at 1 p.m. the Orillia Sports Complex. The site was chosen for its artificial turf and being able to hold the game no matter the weather conditions.
Loucks says he's looking forward to what he believes will be a great final between the two high school champions.
“JOA is a tough team, there’s no doubt about that. They have a great program, it is well coached with really good kids. It has been so consistent over the years," he said. "We like to think we have all that as well, so it is going to be a really great game, I'm sure.”
