#tdssaa

Some of the strongest high school swimmers live in midtown, and this week's mini-meet at Monarch Park Collegiate was a doozy. 

The full results are here: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/HighSchool/Sports/Swimming.aspx

With a dominating 4–0 second period, the Leaside Lancers thrashed the Northern Red Knights 5–1 in TDSSAA senior boys' hockey on Dec. 12. 

The Lancers played solid hockey, winning the puck battles and taking advantage of Northern's turnovers. Lancer forward Hamish Miller scored four points — two goals and two assists. His first goal was a powerplay goal, a one-timer past Northern goalie Oliver Jacobs.

On Dec. 5, the Parkdale Panthers held home court at Parkdale Collegiate, beating the Forest Hill Falcons 56–40 in Tier-2 senior boys' basketball.

With a dominating 23–11 second quarter, the Panthers cruised to victory, relying on a speedy backcourt to outpace and outwork the Falcon defense and a swarming full court defense to force turnovers and score easy baskets.

Rigdor Dorje, the Panthers starting guard, was glad with the team performance. Speaking to him postgame, Dorje thought the team rebounded well from a 64–45 Dec. 3 loss to the Humberside Huskies.

"On Tuesday we were a little shaky, we didn't really know what we were doing, but today we came out and seemed a lot more at home," said Dorje, who scored 12 points.

The Falcons, who stumble after winning their season opener Dec. 3 — a 48–44 win against the Harbord Tigers — looked panicked in the Parkdale Collegiate gym. For the game, they tried to rush up the court, taking lopsided shots. 

Mahan Shiuhi, who scored nine points for the game, recognized the team's anxiety, that they were trying to match the Panthers' uptempo style, to their peril.

"We didn't run our style [of play], which is a low-tempo, controlled, organized system," Shuihi said.

He hopes that the team can regroup and play better next time.

"I know it's the second game of the season, but we have to capitalize [on games] right away," Shiuhi added. "We only have ten games, [but] we have to work on defenses like this, because this is how most teams will play, pressure you. And you have to know how to break the press."

Saints knock out Red Knights, advance to finals

In the city semifinals Nov. 14 at Birchmount Stadium, the Richview Saints kept the Red Knights off the scoreboard in the second half, running to a 35-14 win.

The Saints win clinches a berth in the TDSSAA championships Nov. 21, where they will face the Central Tech Blues. The Red Knights finish their season with a 5–1 regular season record, and a playoff win against the East York Goliaths Nov. 8.

Earlier that afternoon on the same field, in the other semifinal, the Blues ousted the Leaside Lancers, 47–0.

Richview, who trailed 14-13 against Northern at halftime, used their power running game to control the game tempo in the second half. Halfback Donald Shaw sliced up the Red Knight front seven, scoring three touchdowns on the game. 

The 5-foot-10 player, ecstatic to come from behind for the win, thought the game turned the corner after the halftime huddle.

"We realized, hey, they're hitting our brothers, that's our family," said Shaw, in a reflective mood. "As we were on the line, receivers stepped up, and we just pounded the ball.

"We turned on something that I haven't seen in a while, we've been seeing it throughout the season, on and off, but this game, when we really needed it, we came on and dominated."

Saints receiver Adam Sharanewych and running back Patrick James scored passing touchdowns for Richview. 

The Red Knights had their shining moments. Their defense forced numerous three-and-outs, with solid run defense. 

They were offensively in tune. Red Knights halfback Isaah Ashem-Hibbert opened the scoring in the first quarter, with a 14-yard touchdown run.  Also, late in the second quarter, Northern quarterback Shareef Johnson kept a broken play alive, reversing field and scoring a 60-yard touchdown run. The score put them ahead at halftime. 

"A lot of people are sad right now, but when we were out there, we tried our best," said Johnson, after the game. "I'm satisfied with our effort , I hoped that the score would have been better, but it's the best we could do."

Saints knock out Red Knights, advance to finals

In the city semifinals Nov. 14 at Birchmount Stadium, the Richview Saints kept the Red Knights off the scoreboard in the second half, running to a 35-14 win.

The Saints win clinches a berth in the TDSSAA finals Nov. 21, where they will face the Central Tech Blues. Earlier that afternoon on the same field, in the other semifinal, the Blues ousted the Leaside Lancers, 47–0.

Richview, who trailed 14-13 against Northern at halftime, used their power running game to control the game tempo in the second half. Halfback Donald Shaw sliced up the Red Knight front seven, scoring three touchdowns on the game. 

The 5-foot-10 player, ecstatic to come from behind for the win, thought the game turned the corner after the halftime huddle.

"We realized, hey, they're hitting our brothers, that's our family," said Shaw, in a reflective mood. "As we were on the line, receivers stepped up, and we just pounded the ball.

"We turned on something that I haven't seen in a while, we've been seeing it throughout the season, on and off, but this game, when we really needed it, we came on and dominated."

Saints receiver Adam Sharanewych and running back Patrick James scored the other touchdowns for Richview. 

The Red Knights had their shining moments. Their defense forced numerous three-and-outs, with solid run defense. 

They were offensively in tune. Red Knights halfback Isaah Ashem-Hibbert opened the scoring in the first quarter, with a 14-yard touchdown run.  Also, late in the second quarter, Northern quarterback Shareef Johnson kept a broken play alive, reversing field and scoring a 60-yard touchdown run. The score put them ahead at halftime. 

"A lot of people are sad right now, but when we were out there, we tried our best," said Johnson, after the game. "I'm satisfied with our effort , I hoped that the score would have been better, but it's the best we could do."

The Northern Red Knights are on a roll, beating the North Toronto Norsewomen 64–30 on Nov. 12 to capture the city championship, in the AAAA-class.

Northern moves on to the OFSAA girls' AAAA basketball championships, which take place Nov. 21 in Windsor, ON. This win follows their clinch of the South Region title, over the Oakwood Barons Nov. 5. North Toronto will play an OFSAA-qualifying match Nov. 14, their opponent to be named.

The contest, at Ryerson University’s Kerr Hall, saw a matchup of equal size and strength. But, Northern played incredible full court defense from the tipoff, stealing passes leading to fastbreak baskets in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, to counter a 5–0 run by the Norsewomen to begin the frame, the Red Knights went on a 12–0 run. Their passing was crisp and accurate, and they were missing few shots. After that run, the Knights never looked back, getting key baskets from their guards, Nicole Karkavitsas and Laura Kinoshita, and their centre Emma Fraser.

Northern’s starting power forward, Julia Chandler, who drained six three-pointers on the afternoon, thought it was the team’s best basketball game of the season.

“It’s all coming together, it’s perfect heading into OFSAA,” said Chandler, with a smile on her face. “Half the team has always lost the city championships and we always have to win. I think we just, mindset wise, came together.”

North Toronto, who saw solid guard play from senior Chloe Hall and consistent defensive pressure, had a hard time deciphering Northern’s strategy with Chandler, a 6-foot-2 forward who had the ability to post inside and go outside for the 3-point basket.

“We weren’t sure whether to press up on [Chandler] or go down low because when she went down low, she’d pass it right back out for another person to shoot the ball,” said the blonde-haired Hall.

It was that passing, that Hall acknowledged, killed North Toronto on the afternoon.

But, they have to regroup for their qualifier game quickly. Hall thought the team played well, in some aspects.

“It took us a while to get into the game,” she said, “but once we were in the game, we were passing it a lot better. Passing and cutting is one of our weak points, but it’s ends up being a strong point in the second half.”

The Leaside Lancers scored five unanswered goals to thrash the North Toronto Norsewomen in girls' soccer April 29.