The St. Joan of Arc Knights senior football team capped off a dominating Catholic School Athletics of Simcoe County (CSASC) season with another championship title on Wednesday.
The Knights marched their way to convincing victory this afternoon with a 28-3 victory over St. Joseph’s Jaguars at Georgian College's J.C. Massie Field in Barrie.
JOA's running game showed up as advertised, but it was their air attack and their defensive interceptions that made them victors in this championship game.
Despite their slow start putting points on the board, the second half was much more productive for the Knights.
JOA quarterback Jackson Levely said he wasn’t surprised with the success in their passing game.
“We work on it all the time in practice. You just gotta go out there and execute it,” he told BarrieToday after claiming the CSASC title.
“We’ve got all the pieces to win,” Levely added. “On my part, I have to cancel out the mistakes and then I think we’ll be good.”
Knights coach Chris Forde said he was happy with the way his team claimed the trophy.
“We were pushed very hard by a very good St. Joe’s team and we needed that,” Forde said.
“It’s no secret what we do well, and we’ve just got to keep plugging away on the ground, and throwing the ball a little bit," he added. "The ground game is our strength.”
Forde says he's confident going into next week’s even bigger Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) title game against the champions from the public board's Simcoe County Athletic Association (SCAA). That opponent has yet to be determined, however.
Getting a quick start with points on the board is what Forde wants to see in the next game, and “make sure we improve coming out from the opening whistle next week, otherwise it could go the wrong way.”
The Knights will face the winners of Friday's SCAA senior loop championship game, which pits the Barrie North Vikings against the Bear Creek Kodiaks. The SCAA title game gets underway at 11 a.m. at Maple Ridge Secondary School in south-end Barrie.
The GBSSA senior championship game is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 15 beginning at 5 p.m., at J.C. Massie Field.
The CSASC junior final was also played today. The junior match-up saw the St. Peter's Panthers defeat St. Joan of Arc, 22-15. The Panthers will now face the SCAA junior champion — Barrie North takes on Collingwood this Friday at Maple Ridge — for the GBSSA crown on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at J.C. Massie Field.
