Metro Bowl

2003

Date: November 21st

Venue: SkyDome, Toronto

Cedarbrae (Toronto/East) defeated Northern (Toronto/South)

Noteworthy: Richview captured the Toronto South-West title when they defeated Northern by a score of 8-0.

Semi-finals

Northern 23, St. Michaels 9

Cedarbrae 31, Richview 14

Metro Bowl Championship

Cedarbrae Colts 25, Northern Red Knights 21

The following article by David Grossman was published in the November 22nd edition of the Toronto Star:

With the biggest game of their high school football careers on the line, the Cedarbrae Colts turned to the player who had led them all season.

And Matthew Morris engineered a stunning second half come-from- behind win as Cedarbrae won the school's first Metro Bowl championship with a 25-21 win over the Northern Red Knights.

Cedarbrae coach Eddie Kim credited the graduating quarterback with the win.

"Morris ran a no-huddle offence. The game was up to him and he proved just how talented he is under pressure," said Kim.

With two early touchdowns from wide receiver/safety Matt Black, Northern appeared headed for a rout and a record third title before a disappointing crowd of a few hundred fans at SkyDome.

But Morris, whose Colts entered the game riding an eight-game undefeated streak, decided he'd seen enough.

His first of two touchdowns came with six seconds left in the first half and Northern up 21-1.

"Champions ride it to the end, never give up and this was my last high school game," said Morris, chosen the Star's game MVP. "The coaches said things would turn around, we'd be able to pound away and the guys turned to me and I had to pull out everything."

Cedarbrae, with strong running from Ishamar Savory and Marc Gaudet, took control of the game on the last play of the third quarter with Morris' two-yard touchdown run. Ben Brown added a 29- yard field goal midway through the final quarter.

Northern coach Dan Dominico, stunned by the second half barrage, said he thought the Red Knights' lead was enough.

"We thought they'd be in tough at halftime but they just persevered, shut down our running game and took control of our young defensive line," said Dominico, whose team was looking to become the first school to win three Metro Bowls.

Savory, with a 29-yard TD, piled up 172 yards on 19 carries while Gaudet added 106 yards on 10 carries.

Northern had one last chance to pull out some magic but Milan Jovanovic fumbled with 3 48 left in the game after catching a pass on the Cedarbrae 12-yard line. Greg O'Sullivan fell on the loose ball and the Colts ran out the clock.