National Capital Bowl

2003

Date: Friday, November 21st

Venue: SkyDome, Toronto

Almonte defeated Crestwood (Peterborough)

COSSA

Crestwood 42, Centennial 14

Semi-finals

Crestwood 37, Bayridge 0
Almonte 8, St. Peter 7

Championship Game
Almonte 17, Crestwood (Peterborough) 2

The following article, written by Dale Clifford, appeared in the November 22nd edition of the Peterborough Examiner:

It was not a dream day for Crestwood Mustangs. Yet to many, it was still a dream season.

The Kawartha high school senior football league champions dream for a National Capital Bowl championship came to an end with a 17-2 loss to Ottawa District champion Almonte Thunderbolts before about 1,000 fans at the SkyDome here yesterday.

While it was the not the finish the Mustangs wanted, they still ended the season with an overall 11-2 record. By winning the Kawartha, COSSA and East Regional championship and going to SkyDome as part of the OFSAA Football Festival, they made local history. They not only went the farthest of any Crestwood football team, they also became the first Peterborough and Kawartha district squad to do that in the four-year history of the format.

It was also the first visit to the grand finale for the Almonte school who finished 11-1, including an 11-0 run.

Five bus loads of Crestwood fans attended the game and, including parents and friends who travelled individually, about half the gathering was from the Peterborough area.

They saw a Crestwood team commit six turnovers and struggle on offence. Part of that reason was a determined Almonte defence. Crestwood's only score came on a safety by the defence.

The Thunderbolts didn't do a whole lot more on offence but they did enough to score two converted touchdowns and a field goal. They also threw in a fake punt.

Part of the reason their offence stalled was losing starting quarterback Don Hickey and running back Matt Rice to knee injuries in the second quarter. They didn't return. The Mustangs didn't give up too much on defence.

"You can't win games with six turnovers," said Shane Oldfield, Crestwood coach with Andrew Ross and Garth Scott. "We didn't execute. Almonte is a good team and they played well but we couldn't get anything going. It might have been nerves, playing in this game and in the Dome for the first time. We're a young team and have most players back. We played well on defence. It was a tough loss but still a great season. It was a rebuilding year and we went a lot farther than many thought we would. It was great for the school."

It was rough afternoon for Crestwood quarterback Jarett Frame who threw four interceptions. The offence also fumbled twice, including one by running back Steve Ward on the Almonte six-yard line near the end of the half.

"Almonte played well but we couldn't get a handle on their defence," said Frame, a second-year senior. "Anytime we would do something, we made stupid mistakes. We would take a step forward, then one back. Overall we still had a good year and got to play in the Dome. That was pretty good. We have to look at that."

Returning Crestwood lineman Kevin Hobbins was disappointed in the loss but remained positive.

"They had good yards passing and running outside on us but we shut down the middle for most of the game," he said. "Mistakes hurt us. We still had a great year and it was a great bunch of guys. It was a wonderful experience playing in the SkyDome."

Almonte got things started quickly with Rice running up the middle for 50 yards on their first play from scrimmage. Three minutes later Matt Metcalfe booted a 19-yard field goal.

They made it 10-0 at eight minutes of the first quarter when Hickey hooked up with tight end Konrad Binder on an 18-yard scoring strike. Metcalfe converted.

The Mustangs scored their only points with two minutes left in the half when defensive lineman Kevin Croswell tackled Hickey in the end zone. Hickey was injured on the play.

Defences took over after that and there was no scoring until three minutes left when fullback Simon Binder, Konrad's brother, scored on a two-yard run. Metcalfe converted.

It was set up after the Thunderbolts converted a fake punt into a long gain. Metcalfe lined up in punt formation from the Crestwood 45, faked the kick and passed to a wide open Shayne Cormier on the sidelines who ran it down to the five. That all but killed Crestwood's chances.

"We thought they would do it and almost had it," said Oldfield. "It was a big play."

Almonte coach Chris Spratt was happy for his school and his players.

"We have a great defence," he said. "We're not big but we're fast. We lost some key players and everybody did his job. We pushed the ball when we had to and dug in. We have a lot of pride, rich tradition and tremendous leaders."