The Toronto Jr. Argos started their five week road trip in North Bay on Sunday against the Nipissing Wild. It was a close 23-20 finish in favor of the Wild.
(Photo by Hannah McGregor)
The Jr. Argos started the game slowly as they had trouble finding their legs after the four hour bus ride up north. The team was only able to bring 28 players with them to face off against Nipissing. Early in the third quarter Toronto found themselves down 23-0, but they refused to let the game get away from them.
[no. 89 Kevin Collins punts ball away (photo by Hannah McGregor)]
Similar to last week, the Jr. Argos got that third quarter energy kick to help start a comeback. Led by QB Chris Sharanewych and offensive weapons no. 89 Kevin Collins, no. 84 Nate Rouse and no. 40 Nick Adjei, the Jr. Argos fought back and were able to come within three points towards the end of the fourth quarter.
[no. 84 Nate Rouse looks upfield for the pass (photo by Hannah McGregor)]
With under a minute left, the Jr. Argos had the ball in Wild territory, but were unable to convert a third down in order to win the game. Regardless of the final score, head coach Frank Trentadue was pleased with the team’s comeback. “Our quarterback Chris Sharanewych was outstanding”, commented Trentadue. “The way he led our team back from 23-0 was incredible”.
Although the Jr. Argos gave a valiant last stitch effort, the slow start cost the team the game. Along with the slow start, the Jr. Argos could not find their running game; and issue that has plagued the team so far this season. QB Sharanewych was “forced to throw the ball a lot” because of the lack of running game, says Trentadue.
[no. 12 Chris Sharanewych lets the ball go at a Jr. Argos home game (photo by Hannah McGregor)]
Defensively, the Jr. Argos had problems stopping the Wild early in the game. “We couldn’t stop them at the beginning” comments Trentadue, “but once we figured out what they were trying to do, we were able to put a stop to it”. Captain linebacker Frank Trentadue (Jr.) was still out this week because of an injury, but linebackers no. 91 Luca Zuliani and no. 55 Mike Moore stepped up to make critical plays to hold back Nipissing.
With their third straight loss, the Jr. Argos fall to ninth place overall in the Ontario Football Conference. “It’s hard” says Trentadue. “We have a good team, but we don’t have the wins”.
The season is not going to get any easier for the Jr. Argos as they have four away games left this season, including another drive up north to Sudbury before the end of the year. It is a lot to ask, especially in June, for students to travel up to four hours for an afternoon game. Students who are graduating from high school have to sacrifice precious study time for the long bus ride.
Next week the Jr. Argos will have to travel back up north to face off against the Huronia Stallions. It will be a challenging game for Toronto as the fourth place stallions have only lost once this season. The game will take place at 8PM at the Barrie Sports Complex.
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
