Coming home didn’t ease the Christ the King Jaguars’ heartbreak.
A year after settling for a silver medal following a loss in the provincial high school final, the Jaguars had home-field advantage as the host of the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) field lacrosse championships.
The Jaguars looked to be on their way to claiming the bronze medal, carrying a 6-3 into the final quarter. However, St. Catharines’ Denis Morris rallied for three goals in three minutes to tie the game and then scored with two minutes remaining to steal a 7-6 victory.
That came on the heels of a 10-9 semifinal loss to St. Peter’s earlier in the day.
“Two one-goal losses is tough. You prepare as much as you can, you figure out what you need to do, but the breaks did not go our way today,” said Jaguars coach Timm Stephenson.
The Jaguars hope the consecutive final-four appearances are not the end though. In fact, Christ the King sees a lot of promise for the future. Of the 25 players on the Jaguars’ roster, more than half are in Grade 9 and 10.
There will be some key roles to fill with the loss of the six graduating players: Zak Marshall, who had a hat trick in the bronze medal game, Braydon Hobson, who had a goal and an assist, Team Ontario U19 goalie Austin Stephenson, Ryan Clarke, Mike Salvatore, Tye Ingram and Jaedon Holloway.
“I started coaching these guys (in minor lacrosse) when they were four years old,” Stephenson said. “To coach this group the last three seasons has been extremely special.”
Stephenson said the team has compiled a 45-5 over the past three seasons and a big part of that has been the commitment of the players.
“It’s been their leadership and their willingness to give themselves over to the game,” the Jaguars coach said. “They always wanted to do their best for the team.”
Assistant coach Paul Noonan said there is a group of 11 players coming in from the Halton Hills minor lacrosse system that should help fortify the Jaguars’ roster.
“With the group coming in from the Bulldogs, we hope to be one of the best teams in the province for the next three or four years.”
