The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

43| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,F ebruary 8,2018 theifp.ca 312 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com Saturday Feb 10th, 2018 Georgetown Raiders vs. Milton Icehawks Wednesday Feb 14th, 2018 Georgetown Raiders vs. Toronto Patriots Games are 7:30pm, Mold-Masters SportsPlex SPORTS Visit theifp.ca for more coverage Now that Michael Allain has reached one of his lifetime goals, the six-foot-four, 255-pound de- fensive lineman is focusing on another new challenge after re- cently signing his NCAA letter of intent to play football and study business at Robert Morris Uni- versity. Allain said on the weekend that he was relieved the difficult decision-making is over and can't wait to get in his first snaps for the Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Colo- nials this summer. "I'm really excited about the bright new energetic coaching staff they've brought in with a commitment to make changes for the better and to build a win- ning program," said the 18-year- old Allain, referring to the De- cember hiring of head coach Ber- nard Clark, a former NFL line- backer. "The slate is clean. We can't wait to get into training camp and start work on the new sea- son. With the new coaching staff and the recruiting class of '18, anything is possible." Allain spent his first three years of high school at George- town's Christ the King before en- rolling at the Lake Forest Acade- my near Chicago at age 16. But af- ter that school decided to change its program to the eight-man game last spring, Allain trans- ferred over to Mercyhurst Prep School in Erie, Pa., for his senior season and said the move paid off in spades. Mercyhurst went 10-1, losing by a late touchdown in the Dis- trict 10 final, with Allain starring on the school's 3-4 defensive front, earning him an honoura- ble mention for the Pennsylvania Class 3A All-State Team. He ended up with eight sacks, nine tackles for a loss, a blocked punt and 59 tackles. A highlight video on Hudl of Allain's senior year contains more than seven minutes of quarterbacks and running backs being tracked down and dropped to the turf by the lightning-quick No. 55, along with some plays fea- turing his impressive blocking as a moonlighting offensive line- man. "We had two running backs get over a thousand yards last year in an 11-game schedule, which is off the charts, and it was a privilege to help out the team in any way I could," he added. "As a defensive end, I would say 60 per cent of your game re- lies on mastering your technique in order to be a successful player. You're making sure you've got good feet, hands and hips and you're constantly working on your craft to improve. Strength plays a big part of it, for sure, but I've seen a few giant muscle dum- mies who are beasts in the weight room, squatting six plates at a time, but they're not going to get to the quarterback." Allain said he received several offers from U.S. schools over the past couple of months and his 3.3 grade point average was a key as- set during the recruiting process. He will major in finance at RMU. His roommate and best friend at Mercyhurst, linebacker Jesse Luketa of Ottawa, just signed with Penn State University. Allain is so eager to get a head start on his U.S. college career that he plans to find lodging on the RMU campus shortly after graduating from Mercyhurst, take a summer course and start working out well before the start of Colonials' training camp. "It's been my dream for a long time to play Division 1 football and to be able to play a five-hour drive from home, I can't think of a more ideal situation," said Al- lain, who also developed in the North Halton Crimson Tide sum- mer organization. "The business program there is really well respected and I'm looking forward to playing some great football. Coming into train- ing camp, I understand that I'm at the bottom of the pecking order and all I can do is keep working hard to show the coaches what I can do. Wherever they need me, whether that's on special teams or being a freshman on defence, I'm ready. Then after four years, hopefully I can come out of it with a great education and have an opportunity to keep playing football at the next level." Allain all in for Robert Morris University football Local native Michael Allain realized a dream of his recently by signing his Letter of Intent with NCAA Division One school Robert Morris University, located in Pittsburgh, Pa. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive end is coming off a standout year for a high school prep team in Erie, Pa. Robert Morris University photo EAMONN MAHER emaher@theifp.ca Winger Derek McVey earned first-star honours for the second straight game as the Georgetown Raiders skated past the host Mississauga Char- gers 5-1 Saturday night in an Ontario Junior Hockey League matchup in Port Credit. Eighteen-year-old Oak- ville resident McVey tal- lied twice, including the go-ahead marker early in the second period, to send the 33-11-1-2 Raiders to their fifth consecutive vic- tory and 11th win in their past 12 starts. Rookie goalie Nathan Torchia made 27 stops to improve his record to 8-2 on the season, while Bai- ley Molella, Matt McJan- net and affiliate player Dustin Hutton added sin- gle markers. Next up is a key clash Wednesday at the Alcott Arena as the West Divi- sion-leading Raiders take on the South Division front-runners, the 35-8-1-2 Toronto Patriots, starting at 7:30 p.m. Georgetown is four points behind Toronto in the chase for the OJHL's South/West Conference regular-season crown with seven games remain- ing. HOCKEY Georgetown Raiders continue to rack up wins