Although the Kitchener Gaels had a stellar season, they may have been somewhat overlooked as the Piranhas racked up a very impressive four consecutive titles. Prior to the Unionville Invitational, the Gaels made four straight trips to a championship contest, all but one at the elite level.

Posting a perfect 5 and 0 record and a tournament second best points for and against average, the Gaels made their fifth consecutive Tour stop championship appearance.

Finally, the Gaels earned their first title of the season, outlasting the surging Trojans in an exciting 21 to 12 final. Congratulations on your awesome season guys and good luck at the Provincials!

In other elite news, the Toronto Trojans have to be considered the most improved team on the Tour. With a slew of injuries last year, this bunch fell out of the elite picture.

With healthy bodies, some new faces, and a positive attitude, however, the Trojans rose from the ashes like the proverbial Phoenix to reach a very respectable 5th place season finish. Congratulations guys!

Quarter-Finals

Dolphins vs Bengals 8

Gaels 26 vs Irish 6

Lightning vs Spartans 14

Trojans vs Capitals 14

Semi-Finals

Trojans 30 vs Dolphins 14

Gaels 40 vs Lightning 15

Finals

Gaels 21 vs Trojans 12

What more can we say about the Hamilton Piranhas? Heading into the Unionville stop this team compiled four consecutive titles. Even when their quarterback takes a tournament off, as he did in Unionville, this confident bunch banded together to capture another championship.

After dropping their round-robin contests, the Piranhas strung together four consecutive wins to capture their fifth consecutive title. The defending elite Ontario champions are in the driver’s seat as the Trillium Cup approaches. Good luck in your quest for consecutive Provincial gold!

Quarter-Finals

Gators 23 vs Bengals 19

Irish 22 vs Seminoles 6

Rebels 40 vs T.L. Spartans 32

Piranhas 26 vs Capitals 7

Semi-Finals

Piranhas 22 vs Gators 21

Irish 21 vs Rebels 20

Finals

Piranhas 29 vs Irish 14

I called the Toronto Trojans the most improved team on the team on the Tour, but if there is a close second in that category, it’s the Toronto X-Men.

After their inspiring National title three years ago they must have used their invisibility mutation, as they practically vanished from the scene, contention wise that is.

With the return of key members this year, the X-Men opened the Tour with two consecutive titles. After a slight set-back in Kingston, they rebounded to earn their most important title yet.

In one of the best and most talked about contests of the weekend, the X-Men edged out the Hamilton Hogs 43 to 34 to earn their third championship of the season.

With this win, the X-men earned enough points to make the top tier for the Trillium Cup. The opportunity for mega points are up for grabs for the X-men, aiding their climb to the top. Congratulations gentlemen!

Quarter-Finals

X-Men 27 vs Raiders 18

Hogs 36 vs S.C. Hellcats 13

L.K.  Realty 20 vs T.O. Cobras

Buckeyes 25 vs Enforcers 21

Semi-Finals

X-Men 29 vs Buckeyes 7

Hogs 19 vs L.K. Realty 18

Finals

X-Men 43 vs Hogs 34

The Markham Steelers clawed out of the convoluted K pool and earned a shot at the CC title.

Losing to the eventual champions in a hard-fought 25 to 12 semi-final result, the Steelers dropped to the C end of things, where they edged out the Killer Beeezzz in a close 7-6 battle. Congratulations on your first title of the year guys!

 

Finals

Steelers 7 vs Killer Beeezzz

The Ottawa Devils have had a near perfect season. Other than a semi-final defeat to the Toronto Rebels in Kingston, the Devils earned the elite title in all of their Tour stops.

Add Unionville to that list, as they defeated their nemesis of the past six seasons, the Toronto Shock, to capture elite gold. While the score shows a large gap, in actuality the game was another classic showdown between these two great teams.

Probably even more important for the Devils psyche heading into the Trillium Cup, was their semi-final victory over the Toronto Rebels. Not only did they hand one of the most dangerous teams a one-sided loss, they avenged their only loss of the season.

Congratulations on your outstanding Trillium Tour ladies, and good luck at the Trillium Cup as you defend your 2007 elite title!

Semi-Finals

Devils 34 vs T.O. Rebels 6

Shock 22 vs Wildcats 16

Finals

Devils 35 vs Shock 18

Lovely Landell are without question the most improved team in women’s football. This talented bunch has struggled with growing pains since their inception a couple of years ago. Now, with their new/maturing quarterback meshing well with an already experienced core, we’re seeing them pull out some notable victories.

While they’ve tasted success at various points in their evolution, they’ve never earned anything as valuable as their Unionville achievement. In back-to-back play-off contests, Landell defeated two elite/higher ranked squads to earn their second A title of the season. Of note was their championship victory over the number three ranked Toronto Rockets.

Landell was basically formed from several former Rockets. This was the first Trillium Tour contest that ended in their favour, and in a championship contest, it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Congratulations ladies!

Semi-Finals

Rockets 28 vs L. Rebels 19

Landell 22 vs Ravens 14

Finals

Landell 15 vs Rockets 14

Two Tour stops in, the Toronto Venom suffered two admirable semi-final losses. Kingston was a step back for this competitive squad, and took a welcome break from the Ottawa stop. The Venom proud were back in solid form for Unionville.
 
Finding their proper place, post round-robin defeats, the Venom went on a roll. Starting with a convincing victory over the Thundercats in preliminary action, the Venom earned three consecutive victories, including their first title of the season. Congratulations ladies!

Semi-Finals

Raiders 15 vs old Skool 7

Venom 13 vs Angels 3

Finals

Venom 7 vs Raiders 0

The Montreal Coyotes were the defending BB Unionville champions heading into the weekend. While they slipped a division this time around, courtesy of a 6 to 1 preliminary loss to Toronto’s Old Skool, they excelled in the B division and captured their second title of the year. Congratulations ladies!

Semi-Finals

Coyotes 7 vs Inferno 6

Mavericks 7 vs Thundercats 6

Finals

Coyotes 14 vs Mavericks 0

In what has to be the strangest division for this years’ Tour, the Markham Marauders emerged victorious. While they only had to win one game to earn the consolation prize, they still ended their regular season with two titles. Congratulations!

Finals

Marauders 12 vs Toronto Sting 0