Scoreboard

Patriots Head to OFSAA

Senior Boy's Rugby Defeats Stamford 19-0
By Bonnie Chen

Last Wednesday, the Orchard Park senior boy's rugby team traveled to Niagara Falls to compete in their SOSSA game. The boy's played hard every minute to prove which school deserved to qualify for OFSAA. Matt Pettie gave the Patriots an early lead to the game, as Tyler Warden and Cody Wright added to the scoreboard as well. The final score of the game was 19-0, allowing the boy's to advance to next weeks games. Congratulations goes out to the entire team, as they are now the first Orchard Park boy's rugby team to compete in OFSAA.

 

Patriots Finish Second in Rugby City Finals

By Bonnie Chen

Orchard Park's senior boy's rugby team finished off their regular season this week with two competitive matches. After the win against Westdale, the Patriots anticipated the city championships, knowing they would be battling against an experienced Saltfleet team. During the game, Saltfleet took an early lead and managed to outrun the Orchard Park boy's, however, Matt Pettie managed to keep the game close. The newcomer scored two try's despite the difficult conditions, and the Patriots continued to fight for the city title. Zack Gray, Mat Kit, and Colin Cyr contributed immensely to the Patriots success, even though they weren't able to capture first place. The boy's have contiuned to demonstrate improvements and are commended for their consistent efforts and incentives to win. Though the regular season may be over, the Patriots will continue to compete at SOSSA, in the hopes of participating in the OFSAA games.

 

Orchard Park Boy's Rugby Advances to Finals

By Bonnie Chen

On May 19th, Orchard Park's senior boy's rugby team played their semi-final match at home. The Westdale Warriors couldn't hold the Patriots up in their end-zone, as Tyler Warden and Matt Pettie added the first two try's of the game. However, with the slow pace before half, Westdale was able to make a run against the Patriots. The boy's continued their hard plays to guarantee their spot in the city finals as Matt Pettie added again to the scoreboard, alongside Cody Wright. Pettie's conversions gave Orchard Park the extra points they needed, ending the score at 26-7. The boy's will now play their final game of the regular season at Saltfleet on Friday May 22nd during the city finals. 

 

Patriots in Provincial Red Hot Tournament

Orchard Park's Rugby Boy's Take Home Silver Medals
By Bonnie Chen

On Friday May 8th, the senior boy's rugby team entered the Provincial Red Hot tournament in the McMaster division. The 9:00am kick-off against Streetsville gave the Patriots a solid start to the day as they finished the game with a 14-0 win. Try's were scored by Mike McNally and Juston MacKay as Matt Pettie completed both conversions. The boy's then anticipated their second game of the day against Etobicoke CI. The Patriots continued to excel both offensively and defensively, making it difficult for their opponents to surpass. Orchard Park came out strong with three try's from Kody Taylor, and a try each from Jacob Kit, Mike McNally, Billy Juett and Mat Kit. Matt Pettie continued his precise conversions by adding five kicks to the scoreboard. The boy's dominated the Etobicoke team 45-0 and ended their day with a game against Huron Heights. They continued their hard plays and managed to defeat Huron Heights 19-0 with try's by Krste Asanovic, Mike McNally and Cody Wright. With three straight wins, the boy's guaranteed their advancement to the semi-finals of the Red Hot tournament.

 

On Sunday May 10th, the boy's travelled to St. Joan of Arc CHS in Vaughn to compete in the semi-finals. The early 8:30am kick-off against Stamford was not a problem for the boy's as they won 19-5. Try's were scored by Derek Bergstrand and Matt Pettie with 2. Newcomer Matt Pettie also received the MVP award for the game. The win against Stamford allowed the Patriots to play in the champoinship gmatch against Lorne Park. The Lorne Park team proved to be a tough match for the boy's as their opponents took an early lead in the game. However, Orchard Park's Mat Kit excelled with two interceptions, scoring try's both times. The boy's couldn't manage to defeat Lorne Park as the game ended at 24-12. The Patriots were able to take home silver medals from the Red Hot tournament, thus, placing them 8th in the province. They will continue their regular season against Saltfleet on Tuesday May 12th.

 

Orchard Park Rugby Dominates Waterdown 58-0

By Bonnie Chen

The senior boy's rugby team faced off on Tuesday for their first home game of the season. With tremendous teamwork, the boy's were able to control the game at their own pace during both halves. The boy's faught hard throughout the game and was able to capitalize on the Warrior's mistakes. Cody Wright added two try's to the scoreboard as Krste Asanovic, Mat Kit, Zack Gray, Jacob Kit, Matt Pettie, Kody Taylor, Ariya Phammavongsay and Colin Cyr all contributed as well. The boy's finished the game with a 58-0 victory with conversions by Pettie and Wright. The Patriots continue to improve in their season as they will compete in the Red Hot tournament at McMaster on Thursday.

Patriots Kick-off Rugby Season with a Win

Orchard Park Defeats Westdale 34-5
By Bonnie Chen

On Tuesday April 28th, the Patriots boy's rugby team travelled to Westdale for their season opener. Orchard Park took an early lead when Cody Wright scored the first try of the game, followed by a conversion by Matt Pettie. With an early lead in the first half, the Patriots managed to maintain their quick passes and hard rucks as they added five more try's by Krste Asanovic, Kody Taylor, Minwoo Kim, Jacob Kit and Mike McNally. The boy's finished strong winning 34-5 as their next game will be May 5th at home.

Orchard Park's captain, Colin Cyr, said: "I think it was a decent start to the season and a lot of guys had fun getting back into the swing of things again. We just have to build from this game and get better."

 

Patriots at H.W.I.A.C Badminton Tournament

By Bonnie Chen

On Wednesday April 8th, the Patriots travelled to Sherwood Secondary to face off in the Senior East Conference for badminton. Throughout the day, hard games were played during the double elimination process. Many of the players came close to qualifying, including: Obradovic and Dhillion for Men's singles, Kim and Tran for Men's doubles and McEneny and King for mixed doubles. However, Orchard Park's, Dang, took home third place for Ladies' Singles; the Tan sisters finished second in Ladies' Doubles and mixed doubles team, Chen and Danks finished second as well. These three draws will compete in city finals next Thursday at the S.O.S.S.A qualifying rounds.

   

Orchard Park Patriots are SOSSA Champions

By Bonnie Chen

The senior boy's basketball team has done it again. Last Thursday the boy's travelled to Niagara Falls to face off in their first SOSSA match. Facing the Niagara team, St. Paul, the Patriots started aggressively and maintained their strong plays throughout the game. Within the first quarter, the Patriots lead 22-11 and managed to keep St. Paul out of their end of the court. St. Paul struggled to surpass Orchard Park's defense as the offense continued to sink basket after basket. The Patriots held their opponents to only three points until half time, giving them the lead of 36-17. Each member of the team contributed, giving them a solid victory of 62-42, and earning them the ticket into the finals against host school, A.N Myer. 

 

As Friday's finals came around, the gymnasium filled once more with fans from both schools. The 7pm tip-off marked the face-off against A.N Myer for the SOSSA title. Myer's full court pressure and tight zone defense limited Orchard Park's chances. After the first quarter, the score remained close at 12-10 for the Patriots and remained close up until half-time. In the second half, A.N Myer brought the game back and forced turnovers against the Patriots. This made it difficult for Orchard Park to take shots, even with their strong rebounding skills. In the final quarter, the boy's tightened their defense holding Myer to only 7 points. The Patriots were able to score off the press break and they finished strong with 17 fourth quarter points to end the game with a 46-32 win.

This victory caps off the boy's tremendous season and gives them a trip to the OFSSA championships. This year, the best 16 schools in the province will compete in Ottawa for the OFSSA title as Orchard Park, and their fans, continue to wish the boy's luck.

O.P Patriots: HWDSB Basketball Champions

Orchard Park Defeats Parkside 67-60
By Bonnie Chen

This was it. The moment everyone was waiting for. The crowd lined up to enter the gymnasium to watch their teams compete in the 2009 Sr. Boy's Basketball Championship.

Taken place at Redeemer College, the Orchard Park Patriots and the Parkside Panthers travelled to Ancaster to prove who had the best team in the city. Both team's entered the gym with perfect regular season records and had numerous fans on their side. As half of the crowd chanted "P WHAT, P SIDE" and the other half, "O WHAT, O P", the tip-off at 8:30 most definitely silenced the audience, for a moment at least.

As Orchard Park took the ball into their possession, the fast-paced game everyone anticipated had already begun. Within the first quarter, the Patriots applied tremendous defense and held the Panthers to only 5 points. Entering the second quarter at a score of 18-5 for the Patriots, the team began to feel the pressure. The points jumped back and forth as the crowd supported their teams. Both of the teams continued to sink three-point shots as if they were that simple. The Panthers continued to prove why they were undefeated, taking the lead from the Patriots at half-time, 31-27.

After half-time, the Patriots re-entered the court with a different mindset. They continued to apply pressure but in return, the Panthers would do the same. During the third quarter, each member of the audience was on the edge of their seats, watching shot after shot by both teams. Orchard Park managed to tie up the Panthers in the middle of the third quarter and take a 2-point lead entering the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, both teams were called for numerous fouls but continued their back and forth scoring. With a safe full court pass, the audience praised Taylor Black's impressive dunk against the Panthers. The Patriots managed to take a lead within the last few minutes, giving them a close win of 67-60. The audience jumped off the bleachers to congratulate the well-deserved boy's on their victory, as well as Coach McDonald and Lambert. Special mention goes out to Carlin McLean, Satar Wahidi, Nikola Manojlovic, Taylor Black, Wasse Wahidi and Jag Ghottra. The senior Patriots will now head into the SOSSA finals next week.

   

   

Kicking off the Girl's Water Polo Season

By Bonnie Chen

The senior girl's water polo team anxiously anticipated their first season game at home last Thursday. Facing Saltfleet, the Patriots found themselves stronger offensively in comparison to their opponents. Orchard Park was given an early lead but in the third quarter, they found themselves struggling to defend Saltfleet's players. They managed to hold onto the win with goals by Michelle Leng, Lauren Blain and Brittany Ferris. This gives the girl's an excellent start to the season with their first victory at a score of 7-4.

The junior girl's also played their first season game at Brewster pool following the seniors. With an early goal for the Patriots, the girl's found themselves in a tough position against the more experienced Ancaster team. Although the player's applied tough pressure, it wasn't enough to keep in pace with their opponent's offensive line. The Patriots fell short 5-3 but continue to learn from their experience in the pool.