BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI



With most area minor teams off last weekend, it was time for local amateur pigskin fans to don the rain gear, bear the wind and take in some major football action.

At Riverdale High School in Pierrefonds, a steady rain that fell all day only made a field already chewed up and soggy from previous storms that much worse. The end result was a Quebec Bantam AAA Football League playoff game Saturday night between the North Shore Lions and LaSalle Warriors that featured no scoring in the first half. The Lions decided to take matters into their own hands in the final 30 minutes of play though, scoring 20 unanswered points en route to a 20-0 victory.

“The bad field conditions cut down our passing game,� said Lions assistant head coach David St-James. “That’s one of our strengths and really changed the complexion of the game. Our depth proved to be the difference in the final 30 minutes. Perhaps some of their players were getting fatigued, resulting in sloppy tackling.�

The Lions went ahead 7-0 in the third quarter thanks to some nifty work by running back Sammy Mesidore. The former A Ma Baie performer helped the Lions put together a lengthy drive with several key runs, only to cap it off with a 10-yard touchdown romp. Spencer Karls on a 40-yard run and Richie Elias on a 50-yard pass from quarterback Matt Leblanc rounded out the Lions scoring.

The Lions defence continued its fine play, with Jesse St-James in particular, contributing several key tackles. The Lions will take on the Vimont Patriots Saturday at Dollard des Ormeaux Park in a crossover regional semifinal game.

At Dollard Park, the midget AAA North Shore Mustangs turned to the running game Saturday afternoon and relied on a defence that bent but did not break to register a 14-2 win over the Laurentian Wildcats. The Wildcats were a Wilbert Scott division team that had moved up to the Bruno Heppell division for the playoffs.

“That was a very solid football team, well coached, and we did not take them lightly,� said Mustangs head coach Justin McHugh. “Our playbook was somewhat limited with the rain and wind, but we were able to pull out a win. Our defence played rock solid. It was key.�

The Mustangs led 7-2 at the half thanks to a Jesse Lacle four-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats registered a safety. Lacle scored his second TD of the day in the fourth quarter on a similar run to make it 14-2 before the defence sealed the deal, stopping the Wildcats from scoring with a goal-line stand with a little under two minutes left to play in the game.

The Mustangs will play the Richelieu Pirates Saturday at Dollard Park in a semifinal contest.

At St. Leonard, the midget AAA Lakeshore Cougars had an old friend on their side heading into their quarter-final game against the hometown Cougars. It was called momentum. Riding a three-game winning streak, thanks mostly to a staunch defence that has tightened up at the right time of the season, Lakeshore beat St. Leonard 14-8.

St. Leonard went ahead 8-0 in the first quarter, and threatened to go up by 15 soon after but Lakeshore stopped them at the goal line. The score remained that way until early in the third quarter when running back Nour Moumeinmeh made it 8-7 on a one-yard plunge. Lakeshore went ahead to stay late in the fourth quarter on another Moumeinmeh TD precipitated by a couple of fine Alex Fox runs.

“ We have been playing ironman football over the past several weeks,� said Cougars head coach Bob Mironowicz. “That means guys have been going both ways, and it’s worked out for us. Our kids have been showing a lot of heart, even those who haven’t played that much.�

The Cougars will hop on a bus early Saturday morning and travel to the Beauce-Appalaches region to take on the Beauce Dragons in an afternoon semifinal contest.

Finally, at Chateauguay, the season came to an end on Sunday afternoon for the Quebec Junior Football League North Shore Broncos, who lost 18-6 to the Raiders in a quarter-final game.