Metro Bowl

2005

Date: December 8th

Venue: SkyDome, Toronto

Pickering (LOSSA) defeated Huron Heights (YRAA)

Semi Finals

Pickering (LOSSA)16, Upper Canada College (CISSA)12
Huron Heights (YRAA) 23, Richview (TDSSA) 13

Noteworthy:
Pickering became the first Durham (LOSSA) school to capture the Metro Bowl title.

Championship

Pickering Trojans (LOSSA) 24, Huron Heights Warriors (YRAA) 19

Trojan players hoist the Metro Bowl in celebration following victory over Huron Heights!

The Pickering News Advertiser published the following report by Al Rivett on December 9th:
After a 17-year drought, the Pickering High School Trojans are the Metro Bowl high school champions.

The Ajax school ended a perfect 12-0 senior football campaign in a perfect way, claiming the coveted Metro Bowl trophy with a 24-19 victory Thursday night over the York Region Champion Huron Heights Warriors of Newmarket before a good crowd at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The Trojans struck for two touchdowns in the second half en route to the victory over Huron Heights, which also came into the game undefeated, with a 10-0 mark.

More importantly, the Trojans recovered successfully from last year's Metro Bowl championship loss to the St. Michael's College Kerry Blues and ended a drought in the Metro Bowl that started in 1988 with a loss to the Central Tech Blues of Toronto.

In the pandemonium that ensued at the conclusion of the game was a relieved Trojans head coach John Martini, who had coached Pickering High football teams through the two previous bowl losses. It was with a sense of pride and relief that he accepted the championship trophy.

"After 20 years, it finally happened," said Martini. "I can retire now," he added, before backtracking to say "I still have a few years left."

The key, he says, was minimizing turnovers. He gave kudos to the defence, especially linebacker Dylan Locke, who made an integral play, stripping the ball from the hands of Huron Heights' Ezra Millington with the Warriors on their own five-yard line.

The heads-up play led to the second Trojans touchdown of the second half, giving Pickering High some much needed breathing room.

"I think Dylan was the MVP," says Martini. "I thought he made a lot of really great plays."

On the Trojans' first play after the fumble recovery, quarterback Troy Seivwright-Adams called his own number and ran untouched to the right and into the end zone from four yards out. The touchdown and Mohammad Khawaja's convert gave the Trojans a 24-13 lead and they never looked back.

Also integral to the outcome was game MVP Frank Aiello's 66-yard touchdown romp to give the Trojans a 17-13 lead at the end of the third quarter.

"I found the hole opened up by the O-line, followed the blocks and daylight opened up from there," he says.

He was effusive about the work of the team's offensive and defensive lines, saying Pickering High couldn't have won without them.

The Warriors opened up the third quarter with a 19-yard field goal from Millington. The field goal came after a 15-yard roughing the kicker penalty on the Trojans kept a Huron Heights drive alive on their own 34-yard line.

Huron Heights scored their last touchdown in the last minute of play, with quarterback Mike Needler scoring from one yard out. Millington had a 41-yard reception to put them on the one-yard line.

The Warriors scored the first points of the game after a Pickering fumble gave Huron Heights the ball on the Pickering 26- yard line. Millington later booted a 33-year field goal for a 3-0 lead with 7:30 to go in the first quarter. Pickering tied the score after an eight-play drive that started at the Trojans' 38-yard line. Khawaja kicked a 26-yard field goal with 2:30 left in the quarter.

Huron Heights regained the lead on the ensuing kickoff when Delroy Meyer rumbled 90 yards down the left sidelines. Millington kicked the convert for a 10-3 lead.

Pickering tied the game 10-10 on a long drive that ate up more than five minutes. The offensive series covered nine plays and 65 yards, capped by a one-yard plunge by fullback Frank Aiello with 4:42 to go in the first half. Aiello scored after the Trojans gambled successfully on a third-and-eight play at the Huron Heights 10-yard line. Gharone McLean took the ball down to the one-yard line to give Pickering the first down.

With the Warriors threatening to score late in the quarter, the Pickering defence came up big. Huron Heights was stopped on a third- and-inches play on the Pickering 29-yard line, turning the ball over on downs.