www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 27, 2013 · 18 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Oakville duo getting call to Canadian football hall A pair of Oakville residents will be part of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame's class of 2013. Former offensive linemen Dan Ferrone and Miles Gorrell are among this year's inductees, who were announced last week in Hamilton. Ferrone played 11 of his 12 seasons for the Toronto Argonauts, where he served as a team captain for 10 years and was a 10-time nominee as the club's most outstanding lineman. The T.A. Blakelock High School grad won two Grey Cup championships with Toronto (1983 and 1991), was a CFL all-star five times and was twice selected as the East Division's top lineman. Following his retirement in 1992, Ferrone served as president of the CFL Players Association from 19932000, worked as the Argos' offensive line coach in 2002 and later became Argos team president. In 2006, Ferrone was named an All-Time Argo and his number 69 was raised to the rafters at the Rogers Centre. He was inducted into the Oakville Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. "This is both a very exciting and a very proud moment for me, and I want to thank the selection committee for this honour," said Ferrone. "This nomination is for anyone who has contributed significantly to football in Canada, at all levels, which is why I feel so privileged to be named to the Hall of Fame. Every player hopes for this, and I've always been flattered at the suggestion that I could one day be considered for this kind of recognition." Gorrell ranks fourth all-time in CFL games played, suiting up for five different franchises in his 19-year career. The Edmonton native spent eight seasons with Hamilton, helping the Tiger-Cats upset the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1986 Grey Cup. He was twice named the East's top offensive lineman, made the Eastern all-star team on three occasions and was named a CFL all-star in 1989. Durability was one thing Gorrell was particularly known for. Over the final 11 years of his playing career, Gorrell missed just one game. Gorrell, who served as a scout with the Argonauts after he retired from playing, is now the colour commentator on CHML's broadcasts of McMaster Marauders university football games. Other members of the 2013 inductee class include former Eskimos great Brian Fyer, longtime CFL official Jake Ireland, ex-Argos lineman Don Loney (posthumously) and Tiger-Cats legend Earl Winfield. This year's Canadian Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in Edmonton. The date of the ceremony will be determined following the release of this season's CFL schedule. GARY YOKOYAMA / HAMILTON SPECTATOR BUSTING WITH PRIDE: Oakville residents Dan Ferrone (left) and Miles Gorrell check out their new digs last week at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, after it was announced that both men would be part of the Hall's 2013 induction class. HT basketball, volleyball teams off to OFSAA King's, St. Thomas Aquinas also sending teams to provincial tournaments By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF After earning their third straight trip to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships, the Holy Trinity Titans realize they have a chance to leave behind more than another banner for the gym. With its 74-46 victory over Ancaster's Bishop Tonnos in the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference semifinals Monday, Holy Trinity's senior boys' basketball team is uniquely positioned to lay a foundation for the next wave of Titans, which won both the Halton junior and midget titles this season. "You can see it," said Nolan Mackenzie, who had 23 points in Monday's win. "The younger guys look up to us and they might even be more talented and more athletic than this team." So while all but two players on the current roster are in Grade 12 -- Lucas Orlita and Evan O'Dell are the only Grade 11s -- the Titans may not necessarily have to take a step back following this season. Loyola had a sustained run in which it overcame the loss of talented players to win three straight Halton titles and back-to-back OFSAA silver medals, but the Hawks never had the lengthy run of success at the junior level that Trinity has enjoyed -- three straight, and four of the last five, junior titles. For the moment, though, the Titans are not concerning themselves with legacies or the future. They are focused on the here and now, with some consideration given to the past and the lessons learned from their previous two OFSAA appearances. Trinity will enter the provincial championships as a high seed, based on its results this season. Without public school participation this season, the recent provincial all-Catholic tournament -- where Trinity lost 49-46 to St. Michael's College at the buzzer in the final -- may serve as the best indicator of what to expect at OFSAA. While coming home with a medal might be the team's goal, it is nothing the Titans are taking for granted. They entered last year's tournament seeded third but were upset in the opening round and were eliminated two games later. "We can't come out soft, even if we're a high seed facing a low seed," said Trevon McNeil, who had a game-high 27 points Monday. "We have to take care of business." The Titans certainly did that Monday. Mackenzie put up seven points in a little over a minute and then found McNeil for an open three as Trinity roared out to a 10-2 lead. With Mackenzie having established himself as a threat on the outside and McNeil proving to be too much to handle inside (he twice finished off three-point plays after drawing fouls drivSee Medals, page 19