With the Spartans, Frogs and Ravens skipping the Ottawa chapter of the tour, lower ranked teams had the chance to earn some much cherished trillium points.

We start our overview with the quarter finals. The Piranhas took on the Trojans. Though the Piranhas came down with a small roster, they were able to squeak past the up surging Trojans, 39 to 36. The Canadians handled The Blue Devils with a 42 to 12 defeat. Montreal's GMP Monster cruised past the Jets 44 to 14. The Mustangs outlasted the Hellcats 36 to 33 to move on to the semis.

In the semis, The Piranhas continued their magic show, as they pulled a hail marry touchdown on the last play to advance to their third Championship game appearance this season. The Canadians kept their momentum rolling as they handed GMP a two score defeat to face off against the Piranhas for their second championship game appearance.

After going undefeated last year, the Canadians have been unable to capture a title in 2003. Have is the key word here. The Piranhas were out of magic, and probably out of gas (small roster) in this one, as the Canadians cruised to an easy 38 to 8 victory, earning their first title for 2003. Congratulations to both teams for making it to the finals. Good luck in Unionville!

Candians GM Pat Sterling shared a few words with us regarding his ONC troops and their Ottawa effort.

The Ottawa Nepean Canadians won their first Trillium Tournament of the 2003 season. The Tier 1 draw featured seven teams from Ottawa, Montreal’s GMP Monsters, and four teams from the Toronto area.

The Canadians first opponent was the Ottawa Vikings who put up a strong defensive game before losing 20-13. This is the lowest score that the Canadians have been held to in a number of years. In our second game the Toronto Trojans used their offensive speed to stay with the Canadians until late in the game.

In the semi-finals the Montreal Monsters were tied with the Canadians until the fourth quarter. A timely interception by Danny Berrea seemed to turn the momentum for the Canadians and the game ended in a deceiving 32-20 final score. The Canadians had the opportunity to see the dramatic finish of the other semi-final where the number one ranked Piranhas defeated the Ottawa Mustangs on a Hail Mary pass on the final play. This play can be seen on the video highlight package at the touch football site. Great call refs.

The Piranhas came into the tournament ranked first but made it to the final with depleted ranks. They played without two of their star receivers Jason (Jay) green and Andrew Wells, who was the MVP of the Kingston Tournament. The Canadians saved their best game for the final and dominated both sides of the ball throughout the final. The final score was 38-8 and featured the excellent play of team leaders Rodney Moors and Leo Benvenuti.

Thanks to all teams for supporting the beer tent. The upcoming Unionville tournament will now be the most significant one of the year in determining the rankings for the Provincials. Good luck to all teams.

On a personal note, my dog Buddie turned ten years old this week. This makes her 70 years old and she is now officially older than Dave Thompson’s knee brace..

Pat Sterling

Coach Ottawa Nepean Canadians

National Champs 2002

Thanks Pat!! Please see pictures of the champions, finalists and game mvp's below. Click on their images to have them enlarged.

Quarter Finals- Brlt Piranhas 39 vs T.O. Trojans 36

Quarter Finals- ONC Canadians 42 vs Ham Blue Devils

Quarter Finlas- Mtl Monster 44 vs Tor Landell Jets 14

Quarter Finals- Ott Mustangs 36 vs Almonte Hellcats 33

Semi Finals- Piranhas 36 vs Mustangs 33

Semi Finals- ONC 32 vs Monster 20

Finals- ONC 38 vs Piranhas 8

"AA" CHAMPIONS

"AA" FINALISTS

GAME MVP's