On Thursday night, football fans will finally get to see the match up they have been dreaming about since opening kick-off: a heavy weight clash between CFC #9 Resurrection Phoenix and CFC #11 Jacob Hespeler Hawks.
And it’s for all the marbles.
Both teams head into the WCSSAA Senior Boys Football final with unblemished records.
Resurrection says this was their goal from day one, while the Hawks will look to win the title game – one that slipped away from them last year.
Phoenix were 5-0 in the regular season before rolling of wins over Preston and SJAM to reach this point.
Head coach Kyle Armour says it was their goal from the beginning of the season.
“Our guys worked very hard in the off season last year and came ready to play,” said Armour. “Our long term goal was to be in this game, and we just focused on being successful in each game all season.”
The Hawks, also undefeated, will be their toughest test to date. They have outscored opponents 335-20 in seven games this year.
Before Elmira scored a second half TD late in their semi-final game, Jacob Hespeler had not allowed a major since September 26th.
Armour knows it won’t be easy.
“They have great coaching, and a very veteran team. We will have to be perfect in our execution on offense and defensively, we will have to be ready to stop the multiple weapons they have,” he says.
The Hawks are coming of a 17-7 win over Elmira last week – an uncharacteristic scoreline for the offensive juggernaut.
Head coach Greg White says the game was riddled with poor execution and dropped passes.
“I think we left 21 points on the board,” he says.
White will look to rally the troops and put together a more typical Hespeler outing on Thursday night.
However, he also says Resurrection has lots of weapons to be wary of.
“We need fewer penalties a better run game and to contain their big players,” he said. “They looked impressive [in the semis].”
Armour said the Hawks also have athletic players they need to watch out for. He says it will be a battle between two athletic teams.
“We are very fortunate to have some fantastic athletes that fit well into our system,” said the Rez Head Coach.
Preparation for Amour and the Phoenix players started right away.
“I told the guys after the semis that even though we just had a big win, our preparation is starting right away,” he said. “We look forward to getting ready for the challenge ahead.”
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