It’s the battle of the undefeateds, as the South division’s early winners clash in Week Two of the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel travels to St. Marcellinus for a Friday Night Lights affair in a marquee matchup between two schools that took different paths en route to victory last week.
Lorne Park opens its season at home against St. Joan of Arc, which also hopes to keep its record perfect.
The Mount Carmel Crusaders played a near-flawless game versus the Meadowvale Falcons in Week One, winning 42-6 behind quarterback Kaine Summerfield’s superb passing and a well-oiled offense that dominated at will.
St. Marcellinus, however, is expected to offer more resistance than Meadowvale, which was winless in six games last year.
The Spirit didn’t score a touchdown in blanking St. Joseph 8-0 last Friday but the South division transferees showed that, in coach Vinnie Saliba’s words, they could win a “dog fight.”
“We’ve been preaching 48 minutes, one play at a time, together. That’s our slogan,” Saliba said.
“It’s going to be a big test against Mount Carmel. They’re one of the favourites. We’ll have our hands full, but we’re here to compete and compete to the final whistle.”
Notre Dame, Ropssaa’s 2011 Tier One champions, could attest to St. Marcellinus’ grind-it-out mentality in their lone game last year.
The Knights were averaging 31.5 points in four victories leading up to their meeting against the Spirit. In their game, Notre Dame barely edged St. Marcellinus, 7-3.
Mount Carmel’s coaching staff knows the Crusaders need to play their game and match, if not surpass, the Spirit in the efforts department.
“This is not just a cliche, but it comes down to how well our offensive line will protect Kaine, and how well we’ll do in allowing Javari [Bennett, running back] and our running backs to run the ball,” said Crusaders offensive coordinator Danny Talmateer.
Lorne Park coach Scott Price has a solid mix of veterans and newcomers from the junior ranks, which makes his squad a legitimate threat to the title.
The Spartans have returning quarterback Tom Peak, who has shown great qualities as a player and a leader.
“He sort of proved himself last year [in the semifinal game against Mount Carmel],” Price said. “He broke his arm in the game. He came back and played with it in the fourth quarter. It showed the guy can be a leader out there, and he’s going to go war with [the team].”
Peak will be looking to wide receiver Josh Perez and Mississauga Warriors running back Adam Black to backstop the offense.
Price added: “We’d like to develop our offensive and defensive lines. We have a really good offensive line coach. We have some returners but we have some young guys coming in with some good size.”
Facing the Angels, Price said his team can’t lose its focus.
“We’re in a really tough conference. The way the South breaks down, it’s sort of like an NCAA schedule. You drop a game, you might be out of the race,” he said.
“Joan of Arc runs a really good program. They’ve been down in the States this year. They’re well-prepared.”
In Thursday’s lone South division game, Meadowvale visits St. Joseph as the two squads prevent sinking 0-2. St. Francis, which lost 20-0 to Joan of Arc in Week One, gets a bye this week.
In Central division action, St. Augustine opens its campaign hosting Week One winner Philip Pocock, while Father Goetz travels to St. Edmund Campion hoping to avoid a second successive loss. Both games are also on Thursday.
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
