The defending Ontario Elite champions, the Hamilton Piranhas, expectedly opened their 2009 Trillium Tour by capturing the top title.  Losing only three games in 30+ battles last season, it’s no surprise that the Piranhas posted an undefeated 5 and 0 record at the Early Bird. What was impressive was how they went about posting that mark. From their first game to their last, the Piranhas dominated their opponents to record a hefty 171 points for, while allowing only 64 against.

Whereas the Piranhas came up slightly short against the T.Litzen Spartans at last years national championships, their quest for elite Canadian gold in 2009 is off to a perfect start. Congratulations guys!

In other AA news, the Hamilton Dolphins turned more than a few heads with a stellar Early Bird performance.  They knocked down the defending Canadian champion Spartans before losing a close one-point decision to the Kitchener Gaels in semi-final play. 

Tier one has a new player and we can’t wait to see more from them!

Quarter-Finals

Hamilton Dolphins 25 vs T.Litzen Spartans 22

Landell Lightning 21 vs Toronto Trojans 12

Hamilton Piranhas 40 vs Mississauga Rebels 8

Kitchener Gaels 30 vs Montreal Vandals

Semi-Finals

Hamilton Piranhas 29 vs Landell Lightning 12

Kitchener Gaels 23 vs Hamilton Dolphins 22

Finals

Hamilton Piranhas 27 vs Kitchener Gaels 6

The two-time defending Canadian elite champion T.Litzen Spartans, despite strengthening an already powerful line-up, were sent to the A side of things for elimination play.

Growing pains continued to persist for this revamped squad. They still managed to string together consecutive victories before facing one of the most revamped AA squads in the finals, the Toronto Trojans.

The Trojans were by far the most active off-season recruiting machine I had ever seen, acquiring talent from all across Ontario and Quebec. Like the Spartans, the Trojans displayed slight chemistry issues, which made for a very intriguing championship game between the two.

In a very close contest, the Spartans emerged victorious, earning the all important 46 points to maintain their third rank in the province. Congratulations guys!

Along with the Trojans, the Spartans will see their six games of Early Bird experience greatly improve team chemistry. Athlete for athlete, both teams are stacked and looking to move up the ladder, making AA in 2009 more interesting than ever!

Quarter-Finals

Toronto Trojans 27 vs Hamilton Bengals 14

T.Litzen Spartans 18 vs Pinkofsky Gators 13

Montreal Vandals 26 vs Hamilton Hogs 6

Hamilton Hornets 7 vs Mississauga Rebels 6

Semi-Finals

Toronto Trojans 26 vs Hamilton Hornets 12

T.Litzen Spartans 21 vs Montreal Vandals 6

Finals

T.Litzen Spartans 20 vs Toronto Trojans 14

The Montreal Hitmen opened their 2009 Trillium Tour with a perfect 2 and 0 round-robin record. A contested preliminary play-off loss to the Hamilton Bengals saw them drop to the BB division.

The next three contests displayed why the Hitmen routinely make AA appearances on the Tour. They scored 84 combined points and allowed only 21 to convincingly capture the first BB title of the year. Congratulations guys!

Quarter-Finals

Montreal Hitmen 33 vs Ottawa Firm 7

Toronto X-Men 21 vs Scarborough Raiders 20

T. Dirty Birdz 22 vs Miss Enforcers 15

Ottawa Tailgators 15 vs Forest City Fury 14

Semi-Finals

Montreal Hitmen 24 vs Ott Tailgators 0

T. Dirty  Birdz 23 vs Toronto X-Men 20

Finals

Montreal Hitmen 27 vs Toronto Dirty Birdz 14

Posting a 1 and 1 round-robin record, the London Colts were able sleep in as they got the 12 pm CC semi-final start. The rest seemed invaluable as the Colts crushed their next two opponents to win the championship. In both play-off battles, the Colts combined for a perfect 86 points, without allowing a single point against. Congratulations guys, impressive stuff to say the least!

Semi-Finals

London Colts 40 vs Burlington Broncos 0

Miss King Gators 14 vs Hamilton Hitmen 6

Finals

London Colts 46 vs Mississauga King Gators 0

Posting a respectable 1 and 1 round-robin record, the Burlington Hardknocks would step up their play on both sides of the ball for the next phase of the tournament. Winning three consecutive play-off games, the Hardknocks accumulated 69 points, only allowing a single touchdown against. Impressively, the Hardknocks earned their first Trillium Title. Congratulations on a great start guys!

Quarter-Finals

Burlington Hardknocks 25 vs Miss Razorbacks 0

Hampton Rogues 19 vs Burlington Fox 40 6

Jakk Tuesdays 20 vs Burl El Muchachos 7

W.P. Jaguars 22 vs Ottawa Boilermakers 21

Semi-Finals

Burlington Hardknocks 28 vs W.P. Jaguars 6

Hampton Rogues 12 vs Jakk Tuesdays 6

Finals

Burl Hardknocks 18 vs Hampton Rogues 0

The two-time defending provincial and national elite champions, the Ottawa Devils, began and will continue their 2009 campaign a few players short. Looking at their stats or watching them in action at the Early Bird, one would be hard pressed to notice that some notable talent is missing. This is a testament to their leadership on both sides of the ball, which was backed up by extraordinary figures.

With a perfect 5 and 0 Early Bird record, the Devils racked up 144 points, allowing only 6 against, eventually earning the AA title from the Toronto Shock in a defensive oriented 13 to 0 battle.

The Devils are considered the best team in women’s football for reasons the Early Bird clearly displays. Congratulation ladies!

Semi-Finals

Ottawa Devils 32 vs Toronto Rockets 0 Toronto

Shock 21 vs Toronto Rebels 12

Finals

Ottawa Devils 13 vs Toronto Shock 0

The Toronto Wolverines and the Fleur De Lys of Montreal dropped 2 point AA decision losses to their respective opponents in preliminary play-off action. Each would pull out 13 point victories in A semi-finals before facing each other for the title.

With near mirrored results in recent contests, it was no surprise that their championship was meeting was as close as it gets. Defense played the largest role in this match up as the Wolverines edged out a 7 to 6 decision over the 2006 elite Canadian finalists.

Not only did the Wolverines earn the Early Bird title, they also climbed to within one point of the 5th ranked Fleur De Lys in Trillium Tour standings. Congratulations ladies!

Semi-Finals

Montreal FDL 26 vs London Rebels 13

Toronto Wolverines 14 vs Toronto Venom 1

Finals

Toronto Wolverines 7 vs Montreal FDL 6

Toronto’s Landell Lightning was one of the hottest teams on the Tour last year. They captured three Trillium titles, including the A championship at the Trillium Cup, no easy feat. Injuries and an 0 and 2 season start, however, greeted them in the new season.

Despite a disappointing beginnig, Landell rebounded with a trio of play-off victories, including the BB Early Bird title. Way to turn things around ladies, congratulations!

Quarter-Finals

Landell Lightning 14 vs Toronto Thundercats 6

Scar Raiders 7 vs  Scar Mavericks

Ottawa Fury 33 vs Hamilton Shockers 0

Semi-Finals

Landell Lightning 21 vs Scar Mavericks 0

Scarborough Raiders 13 vs Ottawa Fury 1

Finals

Landell Lightning 18 vs Scarborough Raiders 6

Off-season player movement is always an endless batch of interesting gossip. The Ottawa Pirates, formerly the Inferno, performed a surprising about face in the quarterbacking department, while changing their name in the process.

The gauge of such a move can only be observed on the field, and the results for the Pirates came quickly. In round-robin play, they posted a respectable 1 and 1 mark, including an impressive 33 to 0 victory over the Hamilton Shockers.

Play-off action brought back to back victories, giving the Pirates early confidence and a Trillium title. Congratulations ladies!

Semi-Finals

Burlington Enemy 19 vs Toronto Flacons 0

Ottawa Pirates 7 vs Toronto Jaguars 1

Finals

Ottawa Pirates 13 vs Burlington Enemy 1

Montreal’s Blue Bayou kicked off their 2009 Trillium Tour in favourable fashion as they avenged their Canadian championship defeat to the Burlington Squires.

This semi-final victory, also in B division play, was followed by a 26 to 14 handling of the Kitchener Stampeders (Vipers) in the finals, earning La Belle Provence a second 2009 title. Congratulation guys!

Quarter-Finals

Montreal  Blue Bayou 27 vs S.O. Cobras 12

Kitchener Stampeders 24 vs Miss Gridiron 8

T.O. Hustlin’ Owls 24 vs Mississauga Pyhom 7

Burlington Squires 26 vs Toronto Killer Beez 0

Semi-Finals

Montreal Blue Bayou 28 vs Burlington Squires 23

Kitchener Stampeders 7 vs T.O. Hustlin’Owls 6

Finals

Mtl Blue Bayou 26 vs Kitchener Stampeders 14

The Oshawa Buckeyes lost a boatload of players in the off-season, and with their late addition to the tournament, their placement was a crapshoot.

While they pulled off a couple of one-sided victories, they were handed a loss and faced some stiff competition.

After squeaking out a low scoring 1 to 0 semi-final result over the Mississauga Steelers, the Buckeyes would advance and convincingly defeat the Burlington Renegades to win the DD title, congratulations guys!

Semi-Finals

Burl Renegades 21 vs Kitchener Stingers 0

Oshawa Buckeyes 1 vs Mississauga Steelers 0

Finals

Oshawa Buckeyes 20 vs Burl Renegades 6