National Capital Bowl 2006 Newspaper Stories

Quarterfinal
Crestwood Mustangs (Kawartha; Peterborough) 31 defeated Centennial Chargers (Bay of Quinte; Belleville) 7
Almonte 57, Thousand Island 16

Semi-finals
Frontenac Falcons (Kingston) 21 defeated Crestwood Mustangs (Kawartha; Peterborough) 10
St. Mark's Lions (Ottawa) 50 defeated Almonte Thunderbolts (Ottawa Valley) 21

Championship
Thursday, December 7th at the Rogers Centre (2:30 p.m.)
St. Mark Lions (Ottawa) 10, Frontenac Falcons (Kingston) 8

Ottawa	Kingston
Ottawa Sun	Kingston Whig
Lions Roar To National Capital Bowl	Frontenac loses 10-8 in National Capital Bowl football championship

December 8, 2006	Dec 8, 2006
By FRANK ZICARELLI, SUN MEDIA	By Doug Graham/Whig-Standard Staff Writer
Their breakthrough football season now fulfilled, the St. Mark Lions shared a moment that will last a lifetime. As the final whistle sounded to signal the end of a rather dramatic conclusion, the kids ran to midfield here at Rogers Centre and burst into unabashed joy. For years the football program at St. Mark High School has knocked on the city's championship door, only to be knocked down. This year, though, the kids stepped up their game to finally win a city crown and capped their magical season with a 10-8 win over the Kingston Frontenac Falcons in the National Capital Bowl. The team made its way to Toronto late Wednesday afternoon and checked into the adjoining hotel at the sporting venue formerly known as SkyDome. The Lions' hotel rooms overlooked the cavernous field, which would turn into their football field of dreams. "We've been so close so many times in the city and to win it this year and to win this game here in this building feels so great,'' Lions running back Sean Murphy said. Several fans made their way to Toronto, including Murphy's parents -- Kevin and Olive. "The school support has been tremendous,'' Murphy said. "I know when we get back home everyone will be very proud." Murphy's 35-yard run in the second quarter set up the game's first touchdown when quarterback Michael Doucette called his own number on a five-yard plunge. For most of the day, the game featured plenty of defence and fleeting moments of offensive brilliance. Still, the game came down to a field goal -- three actually. With Frontenac poised to send the game into overtime, an attempted field goal got blocked. Unfortunately for St. Mark, the team was offside and the Falcons were given a reprieve. Then came another blocked field goal followed by an offside penalty and another repeat of the sequence. Finally on Frontenac's third attempt, St. Mark stayed onside and saw the football sail wide left for a meaningless single. "I just think the guys were really nervous,'' Murphy said. "All year our offence really stepped up. (Yesterday) our defence rose to the challenge and we all know that defences win championships." Murphy, Doucette, Conner Grinnel, Stefano Scaini, Steve Laporte, Ian Jones, Scott Mitchell, Adam Moore, Alessandro Lappa, Scott Fournier, Santino Filoso, James Teevens, Ameen Mahmud, Matt Bertrand and Rudy Vial each played their final games at this level. "What a great way to end your high school football career,'' Murphy said. "What a great experience."	The National Capital Bowl Championship, while invoking inspiring defensive play by both teams, had a wacky ending. The Frontenac Falcons, needing a field goal to force overtime with the Manotick St. Mark’s Lions in front 10-7, were afforded four chances at the game-tying kick. Three times the Falcons kicked and weren’t successful. However, on each try the Lions jumped offside. Starting from the 31-yard line, twice Jake Bagg’s kicks were blocked but the Lions were flagged. On the third attempt, from the 21-yard line, Bagg’s kick went wide left but again Manotick was offside. Finally, with Scott McCahill coming on for one more try, the kick was wide and Manotick came off with a 10-8 victory yesterday at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. It was a subdued Frontenac team on the bus ride home late last night. "Defensively we did a really good job. We just couldn’t get it done offensively," head coach Mike Doyle said. "We missed a couple chances for long plays in the first half. Our running backs came out of the backfield and were wide open a couple times and we just didn’t get it done. Doyle said it was bad circumstances at the end that led to the missed field goal attempts. Bagg, playing on defence, had sustained a hit to the head prior to the final drive. "It was sort of questionable. Should he go out for the kick?," Doyle said. "I wouldn’t say he was groggy but he did take a hit to the head. "Poor Jake. We were asking him to do something that was difficult." After the third Bagg kick, the call went to McCahill, who was playing with a shoulder injury. Doyle said that earlier in the final drive, when quarterback Ryan Clark was scrambling for first-down yardage, it was McCahill who made a block to spring him free to make the gain. "A pretty gutsy effort by Scotty," Doyle said. "Here’s a guy who was barely able to raise his arm and laying out a guy to get Ryan the first down." The ending spoiled a determined second-half effort by Frontenac, which in two previous Bowl appearances had come out the victor. Yesterday, Manotick’s size advantage on the defensive line stood up as the difference. The Falcons trailed 7-0 at the half and 10-0 after Matt Bertrand kicked an 18-yard field goal at the 5:56 mark of the third quarter. Unable to run the ball – Frontenac finished with just 38 of its 188 total yards on the ground – the Falcons nevertheless hung in behind their defence. Frontenac, held to two first downs in the opening half, started moving the ball in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Clark, unable to throw long, directed the team 59 yards on six plays for the only Frontenac touchdown. Running back Ben Becker, who had 26 yards on the drive from two runs and a reception, punched over the major from four yards out. Bagg made the convert. The Falcons had two more mini drives in the final quarter. The first one was stalled by an interception. However, the Lions went three and out and Frontenac got the ball with two minutes left. The Falcons moved to the St. Mark’s 31-yard line, where the first of the field-goal attempts came on what should have been the final play of the game. St. Mark’s not only gained more offence than Frontenac but didn’t turn the ball over. Quarterback Michael Doucette of the Lions didn’t throw once as he relied on the team’s vaunted running game. All 208 of the Lions offensive yards came from rushing with Ian Jones picking up 102 yards on 12 carries. The Falcons got to Doucette at times, sacking him four times, including twice by Bagg. "We didn’t have a banner day offensively. You can also look at it that they defended us very well," Doyle said. "I think we in turn defended their run as well as anybody has all year." The National Capital Bowl was one of five high school football championship games yesterday at the Rogers Centre. The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations brings together 10 teams from across the province to play in the bowl games to determine regional champions. The Kingston Area, which Frontenac represented, is now 2-for-4 in its bowl appearances. Frontenac won both of its previous trips while the Sydenham Golden Eagles lost in last year’s final.