The Bear Creek Kodiaks are Georgian Bay champions after the senior football team's dominating victory over the St. Joan of Arc Knights today.
Bear Creek defeated St. Joan of Arc (JOA), 20-3, in the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) championship game on Wednesday and will now head to OFSAA in Guelph on Nov. 28.
Today's GBSSA title game was played on neutral ground on a snowy Wednesday morning at Barrie's Maple Ridge Secondary School and saw the Kodiaks grab a second-quarter lead and never relinquish it.
The win helped the south-end Barrie school avenge its loss to JOA in last season's GBSSA championship game. It also marks Bear Creek's first senior title since 2016.
Ellliott Barber, who plays “a little bit of everything” for the Kodiaks, scored eight of the winning side's points. The 18-year-old said he was relieved to get the win in his last season of high school football.
“Oh man, this feels amazing and we knew it would if we just played hard and played as a team,” Barber said. "This is more than I could ever ask for and I’m thankful for the opportunity.”
Today's championship tilt was also the final game for JOA head coach Nick Nicoletta, putting a cap on a 23-year career. He said he loved every moment.
“Well, seven GB wins in the last 10 tries isn’t too bad. This was a great game and Bear Creek played real hard. Congrats to them,” Nicoletta said.
“I am proud of starting this program for the Catholic board and seeing it come to be what it is now," he added. "I started it for my sons so they had somewhere to play, and now the games are highly competitive and that makes me happy.”
