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SportsOakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 31 The 2010-2011 high school sports season gets underway tomorrow (Friday) as the Holy Trinity Titans visit the Loyola Hawks in sen- ior boys' football action (a 3 p.m. start). Here's a brief look at the four team sports that will be contested this fall. Boys' football Trinity's senior program reached the Tier 1 championship game last year for the first time. Now, the Titans hope to take the last step and win a Halton title. Senior Tier 1 football is once again seen as a three-way race between Trinity, the Nelson Lords and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Trinity upset Nelson 18-16 in last year's semifinals before falling 40-19 to a powerful Irish squad. "Every year, we're progressing and getting better," said Trinity coach Joe Moscato. "This still will be a very difficult league." Making things tougher for the Titans are the departures of running back Jordan Catterall and quarterback Rob Birtles, both of whom graduated last year. Key returnees for the Titans include run- ning back Ashton Rochester and middle line- backer Te Nguyen, while Moscato is excited about Grade 11 defensive starters Christian Downey and Toluwa Fayemi. The Abbey Park Eagles, T.A. Blakelock Tigers, St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders and Loyola will also compete in Tier 1 this season as the league features two six-team divisions. At the end of the regular season, the top two teams in each division will play for the Tier 1 championship, while the other teams will battle it out for the Tier 2 crown. The Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils, Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers and White Oaks Wildcats will compete in the nine-team Tier 3 loop this season. Ridge was a finalist in senior Tier 3 last year, losing to the Corpus Christi Longhorns. Junior Tier 1 football will feature the same teams as senior Tier 1. Trinity is gunning for a third straight junior Tier 1 championship. Girls field hockey When it comes to field hockey, two years without an appearance in the Halton senior final is considered a drought at Oakville Trafalgar. The Red Devils look to return to the big game this season with a large core of returnees from last year's squad. OT went undefeated in the 2009 regular season, outscoring its opponents 47-0, but fell in the semifinals to Nelson in penalty flicks. Aquinas also had a strong senior team last year, scoring 50 goals and allowing one dur- ing the regular season before losing in the semis. The Raiders, however, have lost sever- al key players from last year to graduation. In junior, OT is the two-time defending champion. The Red Devils have edged Nelson 1-0 in the past two Halton finals. Boys' volleyball Even in a bit of a down year (going 9-4 in the regular season), Oakville Trafalgar still managed to win its fifth senior Tier 1 title in nine years last season, defeating the Christ the King Jaguars in the final. High school sports fall season kicks off tomorrow Holy Trinitys Christian Downey celebrates the Titans second straight Halton junior Tier 1 football championship last season. OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO See Irish page 32