Red Devil senior boys preparing for hometown OFSAA A draw

Woodstock CI shooting guard Derek Gravel (centre) cuts to a loose ball during WOSSAA A action against Goderich. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Post Correspondent

The Woodstock CI Red Devils already have an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) A senior boys’ basketball berth.

But they want to come into the Woodstock-based event as Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (WOSSAA) A champions, not simply because WCI is hosting.

“That’s the goal,” said Will Halward following a 68-51 WOSSAA-opening victory over the Goderich Vikings on Friday, Feb. 21 at London Monsignor Bruyere. “Catch fire for OFSAA… because we can’t go in playing the way we did today,” he added.

“You don’t want to lose WOSSAA and get in,” agreed point guard Zack Molinaro.

A 20-team OFSAA A draw will be contested in Woodstock from March 3 to March 5 on courts at WCI, E.S. Notre Dame, College Avenue and St. Mary’s CHS, who will host the medal round. Success at WOSSAA is important for both momentum and seeding says Red Devils head coach Eric Molinaro, who looks to be more than simply ‘competitive’ among the province’s best A teams.

“We want to go and win gold in our home community.”

‘Five Diamond’ sponsors for the event include Fowler-Kennedy Sports Clinic, Oxford Attack basketball, Maglin, Confident Sports and Camp Celtic. Although challenged by dual responsibilities of OFSAA A convenor and coach and facing weather-related delays in regional tournaments including WOSSAA, Molinaro anticipates provincial tournament seeding and scheduling to be available via the OFSAA website’s Boys A Basketball portal (https://www.ofsaa.on.ca/championship/basketball-boys-a/) later Feb. 27 or early Feb. 28. The information is also accessible through the OFSAA home page (ofsaa.on.ca) and its ‘Championships and Festivals’ button at the top left.

Tournament passes will be available for $20, day passes for $10, with student rates of $10 and $5 respectively, and kids 13 and under, free.

The second high school sports season is already a fractured one, given interruptions by Christmas holidays and exams, exacerbated this year by multiple snow days and travel challenges for teams in even heavier snow to the north. WCI’s schedule is further limited by a dearth of ‘A’ competitors, meaning direct entry into WOSSAA, but also, a lack of competition en route.

As Molinaro pointed out, it had been a month since the Red Devils last played a game.

“A month since we beat (St. Thomas) St. Joe’s by 30,” Halward interjected.

WCI worked some rust off its game during their return to the court in London, showing flashes of brilliance rather than 32 consistent minutes. Leading 18-11 after a quarter, the Red Devils saw that lead close to four, extending it to 11 (31-20) by halftime. With Molinaro slashing along the baseline, Halward working a nifty give-and-go to the low post, and Deer Gravel dropping a three-point field goal and success with full-court pressure, WCI extended its advantage to 17 through the third quarter. Up by 14 at its close, the Red Devils saw Goderich hang around until the latter stages, before recording the ‘W.’

“We did not play our best,” admitted Gravel, citing silly mistakes and turnovers.

“Not pretty,” in the words of coach Eric Molinaro, but getting the job done.

“The coaches are content,” he smiled.

The outing was a product of not playing for an extended period he theorized, combined with the psychological challenge presented by the fact an OFSAA berth is guaranteed.

WCI’s return to action continued that afternoon with a 3 p.m. tipoff against familiar rival Mitchell DHS. Having been upset by the home team that morning, Mitchell faced a must-win against a Red Devils team it had lost to twice this season.

Coach Molinaro’s pre-game message focussed on the difficulty of beating a good team three times in a single season, however, a better team getting the job done.

“They took that bull by the horns,” he credited of an explosive start seeing Gravel hit six or seven threes in the first half and WCI leading (unofficially) 31-7 after the opening eight minutes en route to a 17-point (also unofficial) victory (71-54).

“It was crazy,” said Zack Molinaro. “The best game we’ve played all year.”

The WOSSAA A championship game was scheduled for Feb. 24, tipping off at 9:30 a.m. at Monsignor Bruyere.

TVRA South East Junior Boys Basketball A Final

Feb. 11 at WCI

Woodstock CI 52, St. Thomas Arthur Voaden 32

WOSSAA AA

The Woodstock St. Mary’s Warriors cruised to a comfortable 64-30 victory over Listowel in the junior boys’ bronze medal game on Feb. 20 at St. Thomas St. Joe’s.

The home-court Rams had beaten the Warriors 64-49 in their semi-final matchup but lost to London Regina Mundi College 78-71 in the gold medal final. Regina Mundi had opened the draw with a 59-37 win over Listowel.

The Warriors entered the AA draw as the second Thames Valley Regional Athletics seed, following a 57-47 TVRA South East championship loss to the Rams in St. Thomas on Feb. 14. They would again meet to open WOSSAA.

St. Mary’s advanced to the TVRA South East final with a 60-49 semi-final win over Tillsonburg Glendale on Feb. 11, while the Rams eliminated the Woodstock Huron Park Huskies juniors 65-45.