GHAC Champion Titans Advance to OFSAA Bowl

By: D'Arcy Murphy
Photo Credit: Fadi Jameel and Eilidh Major (from Nov. 13th)

An impressive 42-17 victory over the Hamilton juggernaut Cardinal Newman Cardinals on Monday extended the senior football team’s unbeaten record to 10-0 this season. With this win, the Titans have booked their second trip to Ron Joyce Stadium in the span of two weeks. On Thursday morning at McMaster, Holy Trinity will take on the St. Peter’s Knights who will make the trip from Ottawa to compete in one of nine OFSAA Bowls.

The game came with a rocky start for the boys in black and gold. The Cardinals struck first when they took a 1-0 lead following a missed field goal attempt. Later, on the heels of Tevin Doyle’s 35 yard pass reception, the Titans turned the ball over on downs in the Newman red-zone. Following a 30-yard pass over the top by Newman quarterback Jake Marquette, the Cardinals drove the ball back down the field. On that same possession, Cardinal Newman scored on the first play of the second quarter, making the score 8-0. In the next few minutes of the game, the Trinity offence was able to fight back. A safety and a 70-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nathan Rourke to star senior Will Ellis gave the Titans a 10-8 lead. Not to be outdone, the Cardinals answered with a major of their own. The final moments of the half featured a swing of the momentum in the favour of the home side. Ellis’ second touchdown of the quarter was followed up by a touchdown by Entinosa Eguavoen that sent Holy Trinity to the halftime interval up 25-15.

The ten-point lead was extended right at the kick-off opening the second half. Grade 11 student Matt Creelman, notorious for the medals he has won competing in the 100-metre dash, returned the CN kick 90 yards to the house, as the Titans pulled away in the race for the OFSAA Bowl. A Newman safety rounded out the third quarter that was debilitated by strong winds and hard sheets of rain. In a similarly blustering fourth quarter, Jason Uleryk-Carvalho added to his impressive tally of touchdowns for the season and put an exclamation point on the end of HT’s 42-17 victory.

Uleryk-Carvalho spoke after the game: “I just credit it all to the O-line and the way Rourke spreads out the ball... I just do my job."


Despite the undesirable weather, Holy Trinity students spent their lunches cheering the guys on from the bleachers. Grade 11 student Jack Copeland voiced his pride for the team, saying, “It’s amazing; all these boys have been putting in work after school, they’ve been dedicated, they’ve been playing out here hard in the rain. We’re proud Titans!”

When asked about preparations for the upcoming game, Tarik Pryce said of his squad, "We're a good football team. We put in 110% effort... You know we're going to come out here and we're going to do what we do."

Even more confident was receiver Tevin Doyley, who had a touchdown in the Halton Championship game two weeks ago: "It's just another day in the office. We come out here week after week. [With] preparation, it's easy- it's too easy."


The Titans’ final test of the season comes on Thursday when they take on the St. Peter’s Knights, the champions of our nation’s capital. The Knights, who have won five straight Ottawa Tier 1 titles, will face a Trinity squad that just two weeks ago won their first Halton Tier 1 title in school history. Supported by what is sure to be an army of students enjoying another buyout, the Titans will look to protect their 10-0 undefeated record against the visiting Knights in the season finale.

GO TITANS!