Two out of three is just fine for Lakeshore

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI



The muddy field at Riverdale High School in Pierrefonds was the focus Saturday of area pigskin inter-park followers as the North Shore Football League presented its annual championship day.

For the peewee winner, it meant a chance to advance to the coveted provincial final on Nov. 11. Continuing to build on momentum that began in mid-season, head coach Bill Mitchell’s Lakeshore Cougars did just that, defeating the A Ma Baie Alouettes 33-16.

Meanwhile, in atom play, the St. Lazare Stallions and Lakeshore Panthers played for the right to appear in an upcoming inter-regional final against a yet-to-be determined Montreal Metro Football League representative on either Nov. 4 or 5.

In a defensive battle played mostly between both sides’ 40-yard-lines, a 65-yard touchdown run by Stallions running back Johnny Hutchinson with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference. The Panthers then squandered a scoring opportunity with about two minutes left on a turnover.

“We knew for about a month now there would be a great chance we’d be facing this team in the final,� said Stallions head coach Michel Dutton, a longtime Lakeshore coach who switched over to St. Lazare at the start of this year. “So, we prepared hard. But if the kids didn’t produce, this wouldn’t have happened. What they did today shocked me.�

The mosquito match saw the Lakeshore Cougars and Sunnybrooke Bears hook up, with the winner moving onto play a Montreal Regional Football League rep also on either Nov. 4 or 5.

The game turned out to be a stark contrast from the previous regular season meeting between the two teams, won 42-40 by the Bears. In that contest, the Cougars fell behind big time, and rallied only to fall short. This time, a sloppy turf hampered both sides from putting together much offence, turning it over to the Cougars’ defence to take control of the game and dominate en route to a 14-6 win.

“It was one of those games where the coaches on both sides worked quite hard on the sidelines,� said mosquito Cougars head coach Derrick Joseph. “I really can’t say either team dominated the ball. I guess we capitalized on two touchdowns to sneak away with the win.�

The Cougars never trailed in the contest, and led 8-6 at the half on a Devin O’Donnell touchdown run followed by a two-point Vincent Dhall-Dubé convert. Cedric Joseph then scored what turned out to be the winning TD for the Cougars in the third quarter, also on the ground. James Tyrell scored the only touchdown for the Bears.

“Millions of dollars were spent on that new turf at Dollard Park, and we had to play on this horrible field,� said a disappointed Bears head coach Pat O’Brien. “Still, it goes both ways. I give them credit, though. They keyed on our key guys, Mike Dadibabungi at running back and Tyrell at tight end, and our offence never got rolling.�

Grid note: In Founders Cup action on Sunday, Ile Bizard beat A Ma Baie 22-8 in the atom contest, Ile Bizard beat Westpark 36-26 in the mosquito game while Westpark outscored Sunnybrooke 57-38 to advance to the provincial final. Both Vikings teams move on to play inter-regional finals.