Western Bowl 2004

Catholic Central Crusaders (London) defeated Bluevale Kinghts (Kitchener/Waterloo; Waterloo)

Quarter-finals
Pauline Johnson Thunderbirds 21, John F Ross Royals 20
Bluevale Knights 35, Saugeen Royals 28
Northern Vikings 16, Herman (Windsor) 15

Semi-finals
Bluevale Knights 17, Pauline Johnson Thunderbirds 7
Catholic Central Crusaders 52, Northern Vikings 28

Catholic Central Crusaders (London) 33, Bluevale Kinghts (Kitchener/Waterloo; Waterloo) 27 (Overtime)

The following article by Josh Brown appeared in the November 29th edition of the Kitchener Record:
For the last 35 years Waterloo Region's incredible high school football talent has remained within its borders.

Now, thanks to Bluevale Collegiate, the secret is out. And the rest of the province is beginning to take notice.

Yesterday, the Knights lost 33-27 in an overtime thriller to London Catholic Central in the Western Bowl final at Ivor Wynne Stadium. It was the first time a Waterloo Region team had competed in any game beyond the WCSSAA final since 1969.

"We're really proud of how we played," said coach Bob Serviss. "We took one of the top teams in the province to overtime.

"We played our hearts out and I'm proud of every kid on the team. We were great ambassadors for Waterloo Region."

The Knights had the Crusaders on the ropes in the fourth quarter. Up by seven with a minute and a half remaining, BCI could taste victory. But London's Flavio Raposo had other plans. The speedy running back found a hole on the outside and ran for an 85-yard major. A Noel Cunningham convert tied the game 27-27.

Overtime was shotgun format, meaning each team received the ball on their own 35-yard line for a chance to win. London scored a TD, BCI came up short.

"They played one hell of a game and we played our best game," said lineman Aaron Martin, who put on a tackling clinic against the Crusaders' offence. "It sucks to lose in overtime but if there is any way to go, this is it."

And Bluevale can take nothing but positives away from the 11-1 season. Besides gaining valuable experience outside of WCSSAA, the Knights proved they belonged with Ontario's best teams.

It took BCI awhile to get going yesterday. The Knights only had one possession in the first quarter and found themselves down 8-0 in a heartbeat.

But running back Andrew Van Pelt woke up the throng of BCI supporters in the second quarter when he ran the ball 75 yards for the Knights' first major. From there, Bluevale played a more inspired game and controlled the action until the final minutes of the fourth.

"We played at their level and I'm telling you we gave them a hell of a scare," said Serviss. "Those guys can score 60 points on you if you're not careful."

London coach Mike Circelli, whose Crusaders have been to the Western Bowl final before, was impressed by the high calibre of football from the Waterloo Region champs.

"My hat is off to them," he said. "This could have gone either way. I thought they were very well coached and had great team speed. They surprised us a little bit.

"That Van Pelt kid can run with the best of them. When he scored that opening touchdown I knew we were in for a tough game."

You can bet Bluevale will be one of the favourites to return to next year's Western Bowl. Quarterback Tyrus Koch will be back at the helm while all four running backs including Van Pelt are also returning. The Knights will have to replace some key lineman such as Martin, Josh Michalisko and Matt Sandtner. Kicker Freddy Buehl and receivers Matt Valeriote and Nathan Zettler will also be missed on offence and special teams.

"We have a lot of kids on this team who played hard and we have a lot of heart," said Zettler who caught two touchdown passes in the loss. "I'm just proud of my team. Ever since game one we've just been like brothers."

Scoring Summary
Catholic Central 33	Bluevale 27
Flavio Raposo 2 TD Mike Labelle TD Noel Cunningham 4 FG, 2 C, SFT	Andrew Van Pelt 2 TD Nathan Zettler 2 TD Freddy Buehl 3 C

Inaugural Ontario Federation of Schools Athletic Association A/AA senior football championship
Nov. 21st
St. Christopher 42, Confederation 0

Semi-finals:
Confederation (Sudbury) defeated Northern (Sturgeon Falls)
St. Christopher 50, Wallaceburg 0