The 2006 season has been full of surprises. With the new format, we’re
seeing a variety of fresh faces competing to perform in the Elite showcase.
With the new points distribution, teams are leap-frogging each other
at a crazy rate, making the Elite picture more interesting then it has
been in some time. Although the Hamilton Bowl eventually belonged to
the Piranhas, there were some great stories to compliment the Fish’s
second consecutive Elite Title. We’ll recap some of these moments
after we observe the quarter and semi-final scores.
Quarter-Finals
Ottawa Acc Argos 26 vs
Ottawa Capitals 21
Burlington Piranhas 29
vs T.Litzen Spartans 6
Ottawa Hellcats 34 vs
Toronto Trojans 33
Kitchener Gaels 26 vs
Toronto Landell Lightning 6
Semi-Finals
Burlington Piranhas 30
vs Ottawa Hellcats 21
Ottawa Acc Argos 23 vs
Kitchener Gaels 22
The Kitchener Gaels made some headlines with their inspired round robin
play. They took 1st place in their pool, defeating the mighty Piranhas
in an ultra aggressive contest. The Gaels would eventually move on to
the semi-finals, where they would lose a one point heartbreaker to the
Cinderella team of the tournament, the Acc Argos.
The Argos, or the Hughes & Hughes show as they are also known,
played some inspiring ball themselves. After tearing through the lower
tiers during the 2005 Trillium Tour, the Argos eventually climbed to
the Elite level, where they would give headaches to the Burlington Spartans
in a memorable quarter-final contest at the Provincial Championships.
Despite a battered and fatigued roster, the Argos would battle their
way to their very first Elite Championship game appearance, and the
first (in a very long time) for their rejuvenated living legend qb,
Barry Hughes. The Piranhas were their opponents in this one.
Despite their surprisingly easy quarter-final victory over their arch-rival
Spartans, the Piranhas were tested all weekend. The GTA lions took them
to a very close, and very controversial, round-robin result, and the
ever-dangerous Hellcats were only a few mishaps away from going to the
finals themselves.
Like most great teams, however, the Piranhas played their best ball
when it mattered most. They completely dominated their championship
game, nearly doubling the Argos to capture their second title in as
many tournaments. Not only have the Piranhas earned their second straight
“AA” title, they’ve also moved passed the Spartans
to take second place in the Province. Congratulations on your continued
success gentlemen!
Finals
Burlington Piranhas 42
vs Ottawa Acc Argos 22
