BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI



Following two-week layoffs, the atom St. Lazare Stallions and mosquito Lakeshore Cougars finally had the opportunity to hit the field on Sunday afternoon in playoff encounters that featured huge ramifications.

For the Stallions, it was mission accomplished. Head coach Michel Dutton’s side defeated the Verdun Ti-Cats 8-6 right in Verdun, and will meet the Sun Youth Hornets Saturday at 10 a.m. in the championship game. For the Cougars, the news was not so good. Head coach Derrick Joseph’s troops dropped a 28-15 decision to the Laurentian Wildcats at Parc des Bénévoles in Kirkland.

“Once again, the kids worked very well together,� said Dutton, a longtime Lakeshore coach who switched over to St. Lazare at the start of this year. “They came out ready to play today, just as did two weeks ago in the inter-park final against the Lakeshore Panthers. Our defensive line played extremely well, penetrating and getting into their backfield pretty quickly. That being said, it’s going to be a tough challenge against the Hornets.�

The Stallions got off to a quick start in the game, recovering an on-side opening kickoff. A couple of plays later, Ryan DeFillipo burst into the end zone to give his team a 6-0 lead. Shawn Brugmans’ convert proved to be the difference in the game. The Ti-Cats narrowed the mark to 8-6 in the second quarter, but the convert was unsuccessful. The Stallions defence took over in the second half.

“Most of our kickoffs are on-side,� said Dutton. “In atom football, it’s a less risky play, because if you keep it deep, chances are pretty good one of their fastest player will run it back a long way.�

Speaking of running it back a long way, that’s exactly what a Wildcats defender did against the mosquito Cougars during the first quarter of their game on Sunday, picking up a fumble and returning it 60 yards for a touchdown to give his team the lead. The Cougars replied quickly on a Vincent Dhall-Dubé touchdown run from six yards out, but the Wildcats went ahead again, scoring on a counter play to make it 14-8 at the half. The visitors went up by 20 in the second half before the Cougars’ Devin O’Donnell scored on a pass from Cedric Joseph to narrow the gap to 13, but there would be no more points put on the board on this day for the boys in red and silver.

“I don’t believe they were a physically or athletically better team than us,� Joseph said. “They executed well, that was the difference. You have to put points on the board to win. They simply scored two more touchdowns than us.�

Extra points: The Westpark peewee Packers defeated the St. Bruno Barons 12-9 Saturday afternoon at Molson Stadium to capture the Alouette Cup. Meanwhile, the peewee Lakeshore Cougars will be playing for a provincial championship Saturday, as well. Head coach Bill Mitchell’s side has been off for two weeks now, after defeating the A Ma Baie Alouettes 33-16 in the North Shore Football League inter-park final. The Cougars will play the Vimont Patriots at 2:30 p.m.