Warriors, Red Devils looking forward to respective post-seasons

Woodstock CI’s Preston Dopf dribbles out of the corner under pressure from St. Mary’s Warrior Quinton Mitchell. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

It was understandable if both the Woodstock CI Red Devils and Woodstock St. Mary’s Warriors were looking beyond the latter’s 48-28 TVRA South East junior boys’ basketball victory Jan. 14 at WCI’s DevilDome.

There definitely was a focus on the game at hand. However, as the end of the regular season loomed, both were also aware of their disparate post-season goals.

“We’re coming into our own,” said St. Mary’s coach Jonathan Circelli. “Starting to peak at the right time.”

The Warriors very much know who they are, operating with a simply defined if well-executed gameplan.

“It starts on defence and goes to offence,” said Warrior Joel Adeoye, summing up ‘a great game, a team game’ against WCI. “We started sloppy but we started to run and play defence and great things happened,” he added.

The Warriors closed out the regular TVRA South East campaign Feb. 6 with a comfortable 39-19 homecourt win over the Ingersoll DCI Blue Bombers. The win was the sixth of the St. Mary’s season against two losses, to the first-placed St. Thomas St. Joe’s Rams (8-0) and second-place Tillsonburg Gemini (7-1) respectively.

“There’s some really good teams,” said Adeoye, looking for his squad to step their collective game up further in what they hope will be an opportunity for post-season advancement and payback.

The Warriors open AA playoffs against the Blue Bombers in a Feb. 6 rematch in St. Mary’s. The Woodstock Huron Park Huskies put their solid 6-2 record on the line the same day at St. Thomas Parkside, also 6-2, at 5 p.m.

On Feb. 4 Woodstock College Avenue hosts Lord Dorchester in a preliminary AA play-in game tipping off at 3 p.m. The highest seed from the two AA play-in game winners travels to Tillsonburg on Feb. 6, the lower-seeded winner to St. Joe’s.

AA semi-finals are set for Tuesday, Feb. 11.

The Red Devils closed out their regular season with a 55-35 loss to the Rams, finishing with a 3-5 win-loss record. Woodstock CI will host the league’s other single A entry, the St. Thomas Arthur Voaden Vikings in a challenge match on Feb. 11 at WCI, with the winner advancing to the WOSSAA A draw.

In their regular season meeting, the Red Devils won 62-42 over the winless Vikings.

The Red Devils are still finding their feet to a degree says forward Oscar Berkeley, what they’re good at, what they need to improve on.

“I think we’re starting to find our shape, who we are as a team,” said guard Hunter Grass.

“I think we have the potential,” Berkeley agreed.

As a young, comparatively inexperienced team, WCI is sifting through different scenarios with each team said coach Chris Coyle, responding to the challenges they offer. He was impressed with the game speed and pressure the Warriors brought to the court during their game, an athletic, physically mature squad.

“All stuff we’re going to see at WOSSAA,” Coyle said, of an experience giving the coaching staff a focus for the next practice or two. “We haven’t seen that many teams that quick.”

The Red Devils had responded well through the first quarter Coyle credited, pleased with a solid half in which they trailed by 11 at the break, fanning hopes for a third-quarter comeback. The second half didn’t begin as well, turnovers leading to a 15-point deficit and a different scenario.

“We’re learning, we’re working, we’re getting better,” he summed up. “That’s the process.

“I see enough good things I think we’re going to get where we want to be, which is being in WOSSAA and being competitive there.”

TVRA South East Junior Boys Basketball

Thursday, January 16

St. Mary’s 39, Ingersoll 19

St. Joe’s 55, WCI 35

College Avenue 47, Aylmer East Elgin 42

Huron Park 48, St. Thomas Central Elgin 28

Tuesday, January 14

St. Mary’s 48, WCI 28

Huron Park 61, College Avenue 41

Ingersoll DCI 39, East Elgin 37

TVRA South East Senior Boys Basketball

Thursday, January 16

Woodstock CI 70, St. Joe’s 50

College Avenue 50, East Elgin 41

St. Mary’s 72, Ingersoll DCI 60

Tuesday, January 14

College Avenue 64, Huron Park 51

East Elgin 50, Ingersoll DCI 44

WCI defeats St. Mary’s

AA Playoffs

Preliminary Round

Tuesday, February 4

East Elgin at Huron Park, 3 p.m.

Ingersoll DCI at Central Elgin, 3 p.m.

AA Playoff Quarterfinals

Thursday, February 6

St. Mary’s at Lord Dorchester, 3 p.m.

Southeast #7 at College Avenue, 3 p.m.

AA Playoff Semi-Finals:

Tuesday, February 11

AA Championship Game:

Thursday, February 13