Metro Bowl

2000

Date: December 1st

Venue: SkyDome, Toronto

Lorne Park defeated Notre Dame

Qualifiers
Southern Ontario: Waterdown 27, Barton 7
Halton Region: Notre Dame 21, Nelson 0

Quarter-finals
Notre Dame 38, Upper Canada College 7
Lorne Park 42, Waterdown 14
St. Mary Monarchs 28, Markham Marauders 0
St. Michaels College Kerry Blues 24, Richview Saints 13

Semi-finals
Notre Dame 21, St. Mary Monarchs 0
Lorne Park 28, St. Michaels College Kerry Blues 21

Championship

Lorne Park Spartans 11, Notre Dame Fightin' Irish 0

The Toronto Star published the following report on the game from David Grossman on December 2nd:

The Lorne Park Spartans wanted to celebrate their Metro Bowl football championship all night. And they might have had SkyDome security not dimmed the lights, cutting short their 40-minute on- field party.

After all, the Mississauga school had waited a long time for this. A hard-hitting 11-0 victory over Burlington's Notre Dame Fightin' Irish gave the Peel Region team their first Metro Bowl title in the school's history.

The Spartans' defensive squad forced six turnovers and kept the Halton Region champs scoreless for the first time in seven years.

And while running back Marc Champagnie, bothered by a back injury, didn't dazzle a crowd of 2,719 with any game-breaking plays, he did pile up 165 yards on 29 carries and scored the game's only touchdown.

"We usually give defences a tough time but Notre Dame was the best we've played and when we got a few breaks, we converted," said Champagnie, The Star's game MVP.

With Notre Dame's ball control game almost non-existent, Champagnie was instrumental in ending a 10-play, 91-yard drive with a 14-yard sweep with 55 seconds left until halftime.

"A lot of people underestimated us and it all goes back to the Nelson (pre-season) loss. It really motivated us to do well," said coach Brian Brock.

Notre Dame coach Mike Harris had a tough time explaining the loss.

"They did to us what we've done to others all year they controlled the ball," said Harris. "I look up at the clock and it seemed like we touched the ball a few times all game and when we did, the turnovers hurt us big time."

Lorne Park had opened with an impressive 13-play drive, but Garth Watkins' key sack on Mike Zaremba foiled the Spartans bid to reach the end zone early. Cameron Sacret broke the scoreless game with a single on a wide 32-yard field goal attempt with 1:14 left in the opening quarter.

Notre Dame missed out on a glorious chance to capitalize on a Lorne Park miscue midway through the second quarter when Zaremba and Champagnie botched a handoff.

Defensive end Myles Dorion picked up the loose ball on the Lorne Park 31-yard-line but the Spartans' defence dug in.

Notre Dame quarterbacks Mike Crabtree and Todd Cooney were good on only 4 of 13 passes and three interceptions and tried to get the Irish moving in the third quarter and down 8-0. But Mike Hibbert's interception late in the third quarter set up an 18-yard Lorne Park field goal the final points of the game.