After winning both the Catholic School Athletics of Simcoe County and Georgian Bay Secondary School regional crowns without dropping a game, the Patrick Fogarty Flames boys lacrosse team entered the A/AA OFSAA championships with high hopes.
Even tournament organizers had the Flames as medal contenders, seeding them third heading into the two-day event which was held earlier this month in Peterborough.
The Flames did not disappoint, earning praise for their skilled, hard-nosed play which eventually led them to the OFSAA silver medal.
The Flames cruised through their opener with an 11-2 victory over E.L. Crossley Secondary School from Pelham. They then went on to beat the defending gold medalists, Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School from Courtice, 13-7, to book a spot in the medal round.
The semi-final saw Fogarty draw the second-seeded team from St. Mary’s of Owen Sound. After jumping out to a 7-3 lead the Flames withstood a late push and came away with a 9-8 victory to book themselves a spot in the gold medal game.
Though the Flames had medaled in two of the last three OFSAA championships, this marked their first appearance in the championship final.
The gold medal game featured the Flames versus the top-seeded Governor Simcoe Secondary School of St Catharines. It was intense from the outset with Governor Simcoe jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the first quarter. Though the Flames threatened at different points in the game, Governor Simcoe eventually prevailed by a 10-4 score.
“There were a few key times in the game when we were down by a couple and had them on their heels with man-up situations, but in each instance, we quickly took penalties which negated our advantage," said long-time Fogarty coach Dave Pellarin.
"If we score in even one of those situations it would have been a big momentum shift. We give them full marks though, they played a very disciplined and effective game against us," said Pellarin.
“Our boys played their hearts out, and demonstrated outstanding work ethic and skill. Together, they have come so far this year. We were very grateful to get to test ourselves against the best and to perform so well under the bright lights of OFSAA," said the coach.
The Flames' balanced attack was led by senior Carter Balkwill and featured strong performances from Brycen Murray, Hunter McLaughlin, Ethan Hardy, and Cole Balkwill.
The midfield’s top scorers were Alex May, Jake Curran and Colsen Maracle and also featured excellent work by Tyler Ross, Sam Reda, Zeke Neely, Will Tibbett and Lucas Lynch.
Fogarty’s defence generated numerous turnovers throughout the tournament and was led by long pole starters Carter McLaughlin, Kaden Goggins, Zach Clarke and Max Schryer. They also received strong contributions from Lukas Hagman, Tom Goard, Walker Lazier, Scott Barkley and Ben Tibbett.
Flames face-off specialists Ben LaHay and Colsen Maracle had excellent tournaments as well.
Goaltenders Chase Beiers and Wes Brain were exceptional throughout with Beiers providing some highlight reel moments along the road to the final.
The Flames coaching staff is led by teachers Dave Pellarin and J.P. Falacho and boasts some excellent alumni, including veteran coaches Genicko Galvan, Mitch Goode, and Liam McCrimmon.
“Our alumni and community coaches have been such a big part of the winning culture we have developed here over the years. They provide such a great example playing at the next level then sharing their experiences with our student athletes,” Pellarin explained.
“We also have university players like Aiden Colebrook and Mitchell Pellarin come in to run skill sessions for us. As a part of the OFSAA banquet, teams attended a Peterborough Lakers Jr A game and our students were able to watch alumni Ben and Sam Trumble play for the Lakers. It just sends such a great message to our student athletes to see these young men growing in the sport," said Pellarin.
