The T. Litzen Spartans are the defending Canadian Champions, however, the Hamilton Piranhas have drawn most of the early 2009 attention with consecutive top level Trillium Tour titles.

The Kingston stop saw Piranhas qb, Jay Hayes, give way to his up-and-coming second in command, the mighty armed Mike Cripps. Mike had this opportunity last year in Hamilton, where he led the “Fish” to a tier one title over the Gaels. Thanks to a spectacular last minute semi-final touchdown with ace-receiver Bryan Hickey in Kingston, Cripps and his Piranhas would once again get a crack at AA gold.

Standing in their way were the Spartans, a team hungry for 2009 tier one prominence. Despite being the defending top dogs, the Spartans had yet to compete for the AA crown this season, let alone win one.

Growing pains, thanks to newly acquired talent, have been attributed to the early Spartan “struggles”, though two straight A titles are anything but bad results.

Despite some close contests, the Spartans strung together 5 consecutive victories, including a hard fought 26 to 18 decision over the Piranhas to win their first AA title of the year. With this win the Spartans leap into the second spot in the Province. Congratulations guys!

Quarter-Finals

Hamilton Piranhas 38 vs Hamilton Bengals 28

Kitchener Gaels 39 vs Pinkofskys Gators 26

Burlington Spartans 34 vs Toronto Trojans 19

Ottawa Capitals 30 vs Lightning Football 13

Semi-Finals

Hamilton Piranhas 29 vs Ottawa Capitals 26

Burlington Spartans 12 vs Kitchener Gaels 6

Finals

Burlington Spartans 26 vs Hamilton Piranhas 18

The Toronto Trojans, and their restructured offense, have struggled to find a consistent pace this season despite oozing with some of the best talent in the country.

Kingston started off incredibly well for this bunch, however, as they dominated their way to a perfect 2 and 0 round-robin record before falling to the AA champion Spartans in quarter-final pla.y

A play-off action was a good place for the Trojans developing offense to bank some much needed field experience. There, with the help of solid play on both sides of the ball, they would get the chance to play and win three straight games, including an exciting last minute championship title over the Lightning.

The Trojans look better at every outing. Congratulations guys!

Quarter-Finals

Lightning Football 29 vs Hamilton Hogs 0

Toronto Trojans 28 vs Mississauga Rebels 16

Pinkofskys Gators 22 vs Ottawa Tailgators 8

Montreal Wolfpack 30 vs Hamilton Bengals 8

Semi-Finals

Lightning Football 25 vs Montreal Wolfpack 24

Toronto Trojans 27 vs Pinkofskys Gators 18

Finals

Toronto Trojans 27 vs Landell Football 21

It was only a matter of time before the talented Scarborough Raiders and their newly acquired offensive punch at qb would make headlines in their opponent’s end zones.

Splitting round-robin offensive-oriented contests, the Raiders fell into the BB division, where they continued their offensive prowess. In 4 straight BB-centric games, the Raiders accumulated a very impressive 109 points for, eventually earning their first title of the season.Congratulations guys!

Quarter-Finals

Ottawa Spartans 38 vs Toronto X-Men 20

Scar Raiders 15 vs Ottawa Express 7

Kingston Vikings 19 vs Hamilton Dolphins 13

Ottawa Seminoles 30 vs Miss Enforcers 20

Semi-Finals

Ottawa Seminoles 34 vs Ottawa Spartans 0

Scar Raiders 26 vs Kingston Vikings 12

Finals

Scar Raiders 35 vs Ottawa Semoniles 28

Ottawa Bud Light, sometimes referred to as the other solid Almonte team, despite having equally strong talent from the nations capital, split their round-robin matches to immediately land in the CC play-offs.

After a 13 to 0 shut-out of the Mississauga Gridiron, Bud Light advanced to the finals, where they would hold off the Stampeders 15 to 13 to earn their first title of the season. Congratulations guys!

Semi-Finals

Kitchener Stampeders 13 vs St Cats Hellcats 7

Ottawa Bud Light  13 vs Miss Gridiron 0

Finals

Ott Bud Light 15 vs Kitchener Stampeders 13

After a semi-final and championship birth in their first two outings, the Mississauga King Gators took the evolutionary leap at the Kingston stop.

The Gators were a perfect 5 and 0 at the Limestone, nearly doubling every team they faced. Posting convincing victories throughout, the King Gators earned their first title of as team. Congratulations guys!

Quarter-Finals

W.P. Jaguars 28 vs T.O. Hustlin’ Owls 7

Miss King Gators 28 vs King Jakk Tuesdays 14

Montreal Renegades 26 vs Ottawa Alouettes 15

Ottawa Knights 26 vs Burl Broncos 12

Semi-Finals

Ottawa Knights 20 vs W.P. Jaguars 19

Miss King Gators 22 vs Mtl Renegades 8

Finals

Miss King Gators 29 vs Ottawa Knights 19

The Ottawa Devils are making recaps of their tournaments a redundant affair. Of course, this isn’t a knock against the best team in the country, it’s just a sign of their clear dominance in our sport.

In fairness to the Toronto Shock, they did offer a very competitive match up for much of their championship meeting with the Devils in Kingston. The Devils, as they often tend to do, never wavered, eventually mounting a final score seemingly more one-sided than the entire contest actually was.

Over-all, however, Kingston was a one-sided Devil showcase. The defending national champions scored 147 combined points in their five outings, allowing only 36. Congratulations on another fine showing Devils. It’s almost scary to observe that you’re still improving as the season wears on!

Semi-Finals

Ottawa Devils 33 vs Ottawa Jets 12

Toronto Shock 27 vs Mtl Fleur De Lys 12

Finals

Ottawa Devils 31 vs Toronto Shock 18

Les Geants rebounded from a preliminary Devils shut-out loss to dish out one of their own. While their 20 to 0 victory over the Landell Lightning was impressive, it wasn’t quite as notable as their 30 to 12 decisive victory over the Rebels in the finals.

Not since their AA title over the Devils two years, have the Geants looked better. Congratulations on an awesome Kingston performance ladies, we look forward to seeing you at the Ottawa stop!

Semi-Finals

Mtl Les Geants 20 vs Landell Lightning 0

Finals

Mtl Les Geants 30 vs Toronto Rebels 12

After giving the Ottawa Devils more than they could handle in the AA semi-finals at the Hamilton Bowl, The Toronto Wolverines had to have been extra-disappointed with losing both Kingston round-robin matches, placing them two divisions below their previous Tour stop.

The Wolverines quickly proved that they are a better team than their pool results displayed by dominating their play-off opposition. In three straight contests, the Wolverines accumulated 77 points for, while allowing only a single touchdown against, easily earning their second title of the season. Congratulations ladies!

Quarter-Finals

Ottawa Fury 15 vs Toronto Venom 0

Scar Raiders 19 vs Toronto Jaguars 0

London Rebels 12 vs Mtl Coyotes 0

T.O. Wolverines 30 vs T.O. Thundercats 0

Semi-Finals

Toronto Wolverines 20 vs Ottawa Fury 6

Scar Raiders 38 vs London Rebels 7

Finals

T.O. Wolverines 27 vs Scar Raiders 0

Splitting round-robin results, the Ottawa Angels competed in the B division for their play-off matches. The Angels utilized their experience edge to nullify the Marauder and Titan rosters. Their real battle took place in the finals as they faced their hometown rival Mavericks.

We probably can’t count the number of times these two teams have faced each other, so it was no surprise that it ended in a close score. The Angels were on the positive end of this result, earning their first title of the season. Congratulations ladies!

Quarter-Finals

Montreal Titans 36 vs Toronto Falcons 0

Ottawa Pirates 16 vs Toronto Sting 0

Ottawa Mavericks 19 vs Scar Mavericks 0

Ottawa Angels 22 vs Markham Marauders 8

Semi-Finals

Ottawa Angels 20 vs Montreal Titans 0

Ottawa Mavericks 25 vs Ottawa Pirates 0

Finals

Ottawa Angels 13 vs Ottawa Mavericks 7

The Toronto Dirty Birdz made a solid impact at their first two stops by making a final and climbing into the A play-offs. Despite strong expectations for Kingston, the Dirty Birdz would post a disappointing 0-2 round-robin result.

Whether it was the feeling of a fresh start, or the player-favoured party they helped host the evening before, the Dirty Birdz were a better team on the field for Sunday play-offs. They pulled out close victories in three consecutive contests, eventually holding off a late-game surging Underdog squad in the finals to win their first title as a team. Congratulations guys. See you in Unionville!

Quarter-Finals

Ottawa Firm 28 vs Oshawa Buckeyes 8

Ottawa Underdogs 22 vs Montreal Bigg Dogg 14

Ottawa Silver Bullets 34 vs Ottawa MudPigs 19

Toronto Dirty Birdz 18 vs S.O. Cobras 12

Semi-Finals

Dirty Birdz 26 vs Ottawa Firm 24

Underdogs 28 vs Silver Bullets 14

Finals

Dirty Birdz 30 vs Underdogs 28