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10 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,September 28, 2010 Rebels open new field with convincing wins By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer Not having to negotiate the ball through tall grass, sprinkler heads, pot holes and mud can make for a fast-paced game of field hockey and the Georgetown Rebels were enjoying their new home-field advantage on Thursday afternoon. The junior and senior Rebels played a doubleheader with Oakville's White Oaks on the nearly completed Field of Dreams artificial playing surface at Georgetown District High School and won both games fairly comfortably. It marked the first official Halton Secondary School Athletic Association games to take place at the $2.1-million facility, with the school's football teams set to make their home debuts next Wednesday (Oct. 6) against Burlington's Nelson Lords. Last Thursday, workers were assembling the grandstand seating as the field hockey matches progressed on the neatly marked, bright-green synthetic turf, although the scoreboard has yet to be installed. "It's like heaven, we can actually hit the ball cleanly now," said Kendra Samis, a second-year junior player. "It's a lot faster game and it should be a good year for us." The junior Rebels were the second game of the day and showed an abundance of energy in the first half, with some crisp passing and efficient stickwork leading to an early 2-0 lead, the match's final score. Caylee Brydie and Emma Samis were the goal scorers, while goalkeeper Meaghan Plestid had little work to do in earning the shutout. "All the teachers said, `Make us proud, you're going to go down in history,'" said Grade 10 student Jenna McKenzie, a central midfielder. "It feels good to win in the first game played on here." As well as providing a much-needed additional venue for minor sports organizations in Halton Hills, the Field of Dreams has turned out to be an ex- SPORTS & LEISURE cellent recruiting tool for the outdoor varsity sports at GDHS. About 40 Grade 9-10 girls-- almost double last year's total-- showed up for the opening day of tryouts a couple of weeks ago and head coach Mike Jolly said that attendance at the team's daily 7 a.m. 90-minute practices has been almost perfect. "That's how the game should be played," said Jolly, a community volunteer coach who played field hockey in his native England on the national under-21 team before a back injury ended his career. "It's sad when you have to play on a rugby pitch that had a game before it and the grass is too long. It degrades the game. But they've got a great surface now and they should be approaching the game like that every time. We need to work on a little better fitness, but that's just the first game." Georgetown's senior girls began the afternoon with a 6-0 trouncing of White Oaks on goals by Delaney McQueen (2), Kiki Izzard, Alex Rose, Nicole Arthurs and Maddy Bannock, with Ashley Penrice earning the shutout. VOLLEYBALL: CtK's senior boys began their season with an impressive effort at a tournament at Mentor College in Mississauga, going undefeated to take the championship. The Jaguars finished first in their preliminary round pool, then beat Burlington's Nelson in the semifinals and St. Thomas Aquinas in the final, both in straight sets. CtK's Joshua Kolenda was named tourney MVP, with Jacob Wintjes, Brandon Koppers, Martie Czernicki, Cameron Coady, Tyler Shippel, Brent Faria and Kyle Burns also contributing to the victory. BASKETBALL: GDHS's junior and senior girls tipped off their 2010 campaign with big wins at Burlington's Corpus Christi last week. The junior Rebels prevailed 40-26 on a dozen points by Demi Swann and 10 more from Stephanie Brown, while the seniors ran past the Longhorns by a 55-22 count. Georgetown District High School's Jenna McKenzie (right) duels with a White Oaks opponent for possession of the ball during their Halton high school junior girls' field lacrosse matchup Thursday at GDHS's new Field of Dreams facility. McKenzie had one of the Rebel goals in a 2-0 victory. Photo by Eamonn Maher Raiders rolling up point totals Scoring in bunches is becoming a habit for the Georgetown Raiders and two more opponents were throttled by second-period offensive outbursts over the weekend. A 5-1-0 start to the Ontario Jr. A Hockey League's regular season has the Raiders ranked second in goals for in the 31-team loop after a 9-2 victory in Collingwood Friday and an 8-2 romp over the Brampton Capitals Saturday at the Alcott Arena. In both contests, Georgetown broke open close games with strong middle stanzas, scoring five times in the last half of the middle stanza against the hapless Blackhawks and adding five more in less than five minutes on a Brampton side that was outshot 14-2 in the second period. "We're playing some good hockey and the only concern from the coaching staff is how we're coming out of the gate slowly," said Raiders' coach and general manager Greg Walters. "We'd like to get things going a little earlier instead of waiting for something to happen." Concord's Ralph Cuddemi notched a hat trick Friday and Justin Basso had a pair of goals, with singles added by Mike Sullivan, Weston Gaul, Duston Hebebrand and Tyler Shiplo. Hebebrand (3), Patrick Megannety (2), Basso, Travis Fulton and Josh Burnell supplied the scoring in the win over Brampton in front of close to 500 spectators. Walters bulked up his forward lines with the acquisition of 18-year-old forward Sebastian Klich of Mississauga last week from the Newmarket Hurricanes. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound winger had a pair of assists on the weekend. This week, the Raiders travel to Orangeville Friday to take on the 1-3-1 Flyers and will host the 1-5-1 Milton IceHawks Saturday at 7:30 p.m. DON'T MISS THE HONDA YEAR-END SALES EVENT LEASE CIVIC DX-A BI ACT NOW $ $ 256 2.4 @ ;DG)-BDCI=HDC6EEGDK:98G:9>I % WITH $ >C8AJ9:H;G:><=I;::H 0 DOWN $ Civic DX-A MT Sedan model FA1E2AE4X 17,499 >C8AJ9:H;G:><=I ;::H 2,500 CASH REBATE PURCHASE CIVIC DX-A 6JIDB6I>8IG6CHB>HH>DC 20,020 BHGE ¯ Civic DX-A AT Sedan model FA1F2AE4X OFFERS END SEPTEMBER 30 ! Some Conditions Apply. See Dealer for Details TH *Low interest rates available O.A.C. www.georgetownhonda.ca Serving Georgetown for over 30 years! 316 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1818 905-874-3021 HONDA