Sadly, a rare evening work commitment made it so that I was unable to attend yesterday's finals. Not that KCI was complaining, mind you --- I also missed the 2009 senior girls' event where KCI stunned heavily favoured WCI.
So it seems like KCI will be paying me not to attend any future WCSSAA finals. Good to know.
The game played out as I almost said it would have to for KCI to have a shot, a slow-paced game in the low to mid-30s (36-36 at the end of regulation). The pace was almost brought to a crawl with 33 fouls called in the 36 minute game, something that I find generally favours the underdog.
Combine those factors with KCI playing extremely well, and the perfect storm was created for the upset as the Raiders handed the Renegades their first loss on the season.
On the senior side, WCI won as expected over Jacob Hespeler, though the Hawks put forth a valiant effort yesterday. Keep in mind that almost all of their key players are eligible to return next year, so they may find themselves back in the title game. Grade 10 Courtney Wright (21 points yesterday) had a tremendous game for JHSS yesterday, while I heard WCI's veterans (Klein/Taylor/Pavlik) were their usual steady selves.
An interesting sidenote is that WCI Head Coach Craig Nickel coached JHSS Head Coach Brianne Pedersen back during her high school days at Grand River. Pedersen (then Henry) went on to play CIS basketball at Laurentian University.
For those four teams that played last night, don't celebrate too much (or get down after losing) because CWOSSA is tomorrow. Here's a quick look at the "AAA" and "AAAA" Pools and teams.
Junior - AAA
The "A" Pool at the AAA level features two league champions --- the WCSSAA champion KCI Raiders an the D10 champs, Guelph CVI Gaels. Joining those two teams will be the Jacob Hespeler Hawks, who defeated Orangeville Westside in a play-in game.
Needless to say, KCI and GCVI are strong favourites to advance. I would have had GCVI as a favourite to win the pool earlier in the week, but with how KCI is playing right now I think it's a toss-up. Both should advance barring a big upset on the part of the Hespeler Hawks, though.
Mark's Pool A Picks
KCI 2-0
Guelph CVI 1-1
Jacob Hespeler 0-2
Over in "Pool B", Brantford North Park, one of my top-3 CWOSSA teams all-season, will be joined by St. David from Waterloo and Elmira DSS. I think the Trojans, playing at home, should win both of their pool games while I expect the Lancers and Celtics to battle in a low-scoring affair in the other contest. Look for the Lancers to sneak through in that one.
Mark's Pool B Picks
North Park 2-0
Elmira 1-1
St. David 0-2
Semifinal & Finals - AAA Junior
KCI over Elmira
North Park over Guelph CVI
Final: North Park over KCI
Senior - AAA
The senior field features four teams that have been ranked in the "top 10" of CWOSSA teams this season --- St. James (Guelph), Jacob Hespeler, North Park and Southwood SS.
Joining them will be Holy Trinity from Simcoe and Brantford Collegiate.
Pool "A" will feature Jacob Hespeler, St. James and Brantford Collegiate. The Hawks are favoured going in, but the Lions could swing an upset if they got hot. Speaking of upsets, Brantford Collegiate was tied with St. John's in their league semifinal, so don't sleep on them. They handled Elmira handily in their play-in game.
Mark's Pool A Picks
Jacob Hespeler 2-0
St. James 1-1
Brantford CI 0-2
Over in Pool B, North Park and Southwood look like very strong favourites to advance over Simcoe Holy Trinity. I think the NPC-SSS game will be a good one; I'll go with the home Trojans but it could certainly go either way.
Mark's Pool B Picks
North Park 2-0
Southwood 1-1
Holy Trinity 0-2
Semifinals & Finals - AAA Senior
Jacob Hespeler over Southwood
North Park over St. James
Final: Jacob Hespeler over North Park
Junior - AAAA
After dropping yesterday's WCSSAA finals, the Grand River Renegades will need to regroup quickly before tipping off pool play tomorrow at Centre Wellington in Fergus.
Pool "A" features the Rens, JF Ross (Guelph) and Kitchener Resurrection. I don't see Grand River having much trouble there while the Ross-Rez game should be a pretty good one. I'll give the slight edge to the D8 champs in that one.
Mark's Pool A Picks
Grand River 2-0
Resurrection 1-1
JF Ross 0-2
Over in Pool "B", St. John's, WCI and Centennial will do battle with the powerhouse Green Eagles and Vikings being favoured to advance. St. John's has been playing very well as of late, so I'll give them the nod in that pool.
Mark's Pool B Picks
St. John's 2-0
WCI 1-1
Centennial 0-2
Semifinals & Finals - AAAA Junior
St. John's over Resurrection
Grand River over WCI
Final: Grand River over St. John's
Senior - AAAA
Three WCSSAA teams qualified for the "AAAA" senior championship, including WCI, Bluevale and Waterloo-Oxford. Those three will be joined by D8 champion Resurrection, D5 Champion St. Johns and D10 semifinalist JF Ross.
Pool "A" will feature the heavily-favoured Vikings, Resurrection and Waterloo-Oxford. The Crusaders should be able to get past Rez in their second game, but they did seem slightly vulnerable against CWDHS in their play-in game. Perhaps a case of shaking off some rust?
Mark's Pool A Picks
WCI 2-0
Waterloo-Oxford 1-1
Resurrection 0-2
Over in "B", St. John's should advance over Bluevale and JF Ross. Look for the Knights to claim the second spot in that pool.
Mark's Pool B Picks
St. John's 2-0
Bluevale 1-1
JF Ross 0-2
Semifinals & Finals - AAAA Senior
WCI over Bluevale
St. John's over WODSS
Final: WCI over St. John's
