CFC25 Small School RANKINGS WEEK 11: Bedlam leads to four new Top 10 programs

And boom goes the dynamite. The Top 10 explodes after huge upsets in BC and Alberta.

HEADLINES

British Columbia

• The chaos begins in British Columbia, where Windsor brought an end to Robert Bateman’s 23 game winning streak with a shocking 15-13 upset in the quarterfinals. Windsor have been flirting with the rankings all year, but losses to John Barsby and Holy Cross stopped them from making the leap into the top 25 during the regular season. They landed their best punch when it mattered most, and have now earned a shot a redemption against John Barsby in the semifinals at BC Place, who defeated them 35-28 earlier in the year.
• It was a tremendous run from Holy Cross, but they had no answers for John Barsby falling 19-0 in the quarterfinals. We believe the Bulldogs playoff experience from last year when they made it all the way to the finals played a big role in the mental preparation, while this was brand new territory for an upstart Crusaders program that finished 1-7 in 2021, and 3-3 last season before bowing out in the wild card round. John Barsby won’t be getting the rematch they were looking forward to against Robert Bateman – who handed them their only loss this season and defeated them in the AA Finals at BC Place last year – but they cannot afford to overlook a strong squad from Windsor in the semifinals. Just seven points separated the Bulldogs and Wolves in their first contest this year, so we are expecting these two to put on a spectacular show.
• On the other side of the bracket, Vernon continued their joy ride to the semifinals with an easy 54-14 victory over South Kamloops. Now they’re preparing to face an interesting challenge from Nechako Valley, who are members of the AA North Division, and will be making the 10 hour journey to BC Place. This is will be a massive event for the coaches, players and parents making the trip, and they should be feeling confident about their chances after trouncing a very good squad from Westsyde 34-7 in the quarterfinals. It’ll also be a long five hour trip for Vernon, so unfortunately the only thing we can predict heading into this contest is that one sideline is gunna have a very long journey home to think about what went wrong, while the other bus will be bouncing the entire way.

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Alberta

• Even when you think you can count out Cochrane, there’s something about the cold November weather that makes the Cobras come to life. Cochrane is heading to the Tier II Provincial Finals for the first time since 1998 after defeating the defending champions Holy Trinity Academy 17-15. The Cobras have proven once again why they were such a force at the Tier III level winning 13 out of 19 titles between 2002-2021, and will be chomping at the bit to become the first group of players and coaches to bring home a Tier II banner in the 21st century.
• On the other side of the field will be Austin O’Brien, who have advanced to the Tier II Provincial Finals for the second year in a row after handily defeating Hunting Hills by a score of 23-5. The Crusaders are always in the mix come November, but it’s been a long time since they’ve raised the banner with their last Tier II title coming in 2013 when they completed the three-peat. Funnily enough, there is some provincials history between Cochrane and Austin O’Brien, who met in the 1998 finals when the Cobras won their last Tier II title. So we guess it’s time to party like it’s 1998?

Quebec

• Champions at last. Saint-Joseph completed their flawless journey this season with a 17-10 victory over Estacades to reclaim the DII Bol d’Or. It was an extra special day for the Vert et Or family after suffering losses in the 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019 finals. They completed a rare perfect season with an 11-0 record, and the fact they capped it off against their local rivals in the first championship showdown between two programs from Trois-Rivieres since 1997 was the cherry on top.

CFC PROSPECT GAME/CFC SELECTION CAMP NOMINATIONS

PAST RANKINGS: WEEK 1 – WEEK 2 – WEEK 3 – WEEK 4 – WEEK 5 – WEEK 6 – WEEK 7 – WEEK 8 – WEEK 9 – WEEK 10

#	Last	School	City	Prov.	Conf. Rec.	Non-Conf. Rec	Results
1	1	Weyburn Eagles	Weyburn	SK	9-0	1-0	COMPLETE
2	3	Séminaire Saint-Joseph Vert et Or	Trois-Rivieres	QC	11-0	0-0	W 17-10 vs. Estacades
3	5	Académie les Estacades Aigles	Trois-Rivières	QC	8-3	0-0	L 17-10 vs. Saint-Joseph
4	11	John Barsby Bulldogs	Nanaimo	BC	7-1	1-0	W 19-0 vs. Holy Cross
5	8	Vernon Panthers	Vernon	BC	7-0	2-0	W 54-14 vs. South Kamloops
6	13	George McDougall Mustangs	Airdrie	AB	8-2	1-0	COMPLETE
7	9	Dalbé-Viau Aigles D’Or	Lachine	QC	9-1	0-0	COMPLETE
8	UR	Windsor Wolves	North Vancouver	BC	7-2	0-0	W 15-13 vs. Robert Bateman
9	18	Cochrane Cobras	Cochrane	AB	9-2	0-0	W 17-15 vs. Holy Trinity Academy
10	10	Aden Bowman Bears	Saskatoon	SK	9-1	0-1	COMPLETE
11	23	Austin O’Brien Crusaders	Edmonton	AB	6-4	0-0	W 23-5 vs. Hunting Hills
12	2	Robert Bateman Timberwolves	Abbotsford	BC	7-1	3-0	L 15-13 vs. Windsor
13	4	Holy Trinity Academy Knights	Okotoks	AB	1-1	8-1	L 17-15 vs. Cochrane
14	12	Fort Frances Muskies	Fort Frances (ON)	MB	8-1	0-0	COMPLETE
15	7	Hunting Hills Lightning	Red Deer	AB	7-1	0-1	L 23-5 vs. Austin O’Brien
16	6	Holy Cross Crusaders	Surrey	BC	7-2	1-1	L 19-0 vs. John Barsby
17	16	Lo-Ellen Knights	Sudbury	ON	7-1	0-0	COMPLETE
18	15	St. Joseph Celtics	Grande Prairie	AB	8-1	0-1	COMPLETE
19	17	College Laval Maraudeurs	Laval	QC	6-4	0-0	COMPLETE
20	19	Beaver Brae Broncos	Kenora (ON)	MB	8-1	0-0	COMPLETE
21	20	Greenall Griffins	Balgonie	SK	7-2	0-0	COMPLETE
22	21	Holy Trinity Titans	Simcoe	ON	6-1	0-0	COMPLETE
23	22	Oakridge Oaks	London	ON	6-1	0-0	COMPLETE
24	24	Central Cyclones	Moose Jaw	SK	5-2	0-0	COMPLETE
25	25	Polyvalente Deux-Montagnes Centurions	Deux-Montagnes	QC	6-4	0-0	COMPLETE