Bearcats' success means a long trip

Fall to Rebels 2-1

Bearcats' success means a long trip

EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer If the Acton senior Bearcats want to make their second consecutive appearance at the Ontario high school boys' volleyball championships, they're going to have to go a long way-- and get some fund-raising done-- to get there. This year's OFSAA AA tournament is slated for Nov. 24-25 in Dryden, which will require booking plane tickets to Winnipeg and then a three-hour bus ride east from there should the Bearcats claim another Halton Secondary School Athletic Association title. Bolstered by four returning players and a 5-1 regularseason record with two games to play, Acton's seniors would appear to be a favourite in the region's AA division. Norman Tosh, Kevin Deforest, Spencer Morrison and setter Brandon Nixon all play key roles for the team. And not that they're being cocky, but coach John Locke said the team has to start raising money now to be at least prepared for their northern Ontario excursion. It's going to cost the team over $8,500 ($625 per player) for the flight, bus ride and accommodation, so a sponsorship drive has begun. The 'Cats gave the perennial Halton AAAA powerhouse Georgetown Rebels another tough match on Tuesday, dropping a thriller by scores of 25-18, 23-25, 26-24 in a contest that could have gone either way. The 6-1 Rebels handed the Bearcats their first loss of the season, avenging a 2-0 match defeat to Acton on home court Oct. 5. "Georgetown brings the best out of us and they usually beat us, but we did catch them on an off-day earlier in the season," said Locke. "We've got a good team for double-A, but (the Rebels) had a little more than we did." The Rebels are also aiming at returning to the provincials and will only have to go northbound as far as Barrie Innisdale for the AAAA tourney in late November. The Halton senior boys' playoff matchups will likely be set by the middle of next week and Georgetown could still get a first-round bye, but veteran player Ricky Davids said the Rebels will have to play more consistently if they hope to return to OFSAA. "We had a junior setter (Matt Barker) come in and he's learning quickly, but once he gets more experience things are going to go a lot smoother," Davids said.

Ben Jolly (5) and Luke Vandinther of the Acton Bearcats got into a net exchange with the first-place Georgetown Rebels on Tuesday afternoon during their HSSAA junior boys' regular-season matchup. The 2-4 Bearcats pushed 6-0 Georgetown to a third-and-deciding game but lost 15-11. Photo by Eamonn Maher play the fourth seed from Burlington in the Volpe Division on Wednesday at the GDHS field beginning at 2 p.m. There's a chance that the Rebels could face the 4-1 Christ the King Jaguars in the Halton semi-finals. The Jags completed their regular season at home yesterday (Thursday) against Lester B. Pearson. (Eamonn Maher can be reached at emaher@independentfreepress.com)

Football

Georgetown's senior Rebels finished the HSSAA regular season with a rare perfect 6-0 record on Thursday and didn't even have to play a down because their opponent, Abbey Park, forfeited the game for disciplinary reasons. As the Richardson Division champs, the Rebels will