www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, September 25, 2015 | 26 Star QB gone, but HT still dangerous Defending Tier 1 champs made big plays in Week 1 victory by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff If there were any questions as to how the Holy Trinity Titans would respond after losing one of the best high school players in the country, they didn't take long to answer them. Led by Nathan Rourke, ranked as the fourth-best recruit in the country by CanadaFootballChat.com, the Titans piled up 422 points during last season's 10-0 Halton senior Tier 1 championship campaign. But with Holy Trinity's dynamic quarterback choosing to finish his high school career with the Alabama state champions, Edgewood Academy, a Titan offence that produced eight 40-plusyard touchdowns in its final three playoff games last season was bound to take a hit. Or so it seemed until Will Ellis ran untouched for a 70-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in last Friday's seasonopener against Notre Dame. So while what the Titans lost has attracted most of the attention, the players returning to Trinity also deserve their share of the spotlight. Of the 18 touchdowns scored by Trinity in those final three playoff games, 15 came from players who are back in Titan black. And though the final tally in the openingweek 13-9 win was well below last season's average, Trinity again demonstrated its ability to make big plays. Ellis scored the Titans' second TD on a 27yard pass from Nick Skura on second and one with under five minutes to play. And the Titans could have easily added to their point total if not for costly penalties. Trinity's Eric Creelman was the victim twice. He had an 85-yard punt-return TD called back in the first half and then saw a 75-yard run wiped out. "We need a bit of work," Ellis said. "You can see our strengths, we just have to work together more and we'll have our chances." Trinity coach Joe Moscato has no concerns that his team will be able to correct the mistakes it made in the opener. With practices starting later this season due to the uncertainty surrounding extra-curriculars, Moscato said it's not surprising to see teams needing longer to adjust. "It's tougher on offence," he said. "There are a lot of moving parts that need to be coordinated. On defence, if you've played the position, you know where to be and you have the keys to read plays." And the Titans' ability to read plays last Friday was impressive. Trinity's secondary caught more Notre Dame passes than Irish receivers, finishing with five interceptions, including a pair by Cullen Beaumont. Jeffrey Lex also picked off a pass and his fumble recovery set up Trinity's second touchdown. Damian Lee and Jason Uleryk-Carvalho also had interceptions. The Titan defence yielded only a field goal, with Notre Dame's lone touchdown coming on a 60-yard fumble recovery. "When our defence is on top of its game, it's the best D in the league," said Ellis, who also plays cornerback. "Our defence does get overshadowed," Moscato added. "We've got a good group of returning players and we're pleased with our defensive performance." While replacing Rourke is no easy task, the Titans have lessened the burden by sharing the quarterback duties between Skura and Dominic Florentino. "We're committed to playing both," Moscato said. They combined to complete 10 of 18 passes for 131 yards last Friday while getting good support from a running game featuring Uleryk-Carvalho, Creelman and Tarik Price. Trinity will get a good test on both sides of the ball today (Friday) as it hosts Corpus Christi, which shut out Christ the King 35-0 in the opening week. Kickoff at Trinity is slated for 4 p.m. Reduce Reuse Recycle Oakville 46-year-old Jordan Rosenberg used a standup paddleboard last Friday to cross Lake Ontario from Niagara-on-theLake to Toronto. The 51-kilometre trip took eight hours and 15 minutes to complete. Rosenberg used the crossing as a fundraiser for a one-mile track meet he hopes to host in Oakville next fall. | photo submitted Disease motivated man to get in top shape continued from p.25 "Everyone thought I was down for the count, but didn't speak of it," said Rosenberg, admitting he considered abandoning the attempt. But 15 minutes later, he'd got his second wind. In order to keep his mind off the pain he was experiencing, Rosenberg would count his strokes up to 1,000, then rest for five minutes. A couple of hours later, he was halfway across the lake, his energy had returned and he was determined to make it. At 4:04 p.m. Friday, he touched shore in Toronto. To Rosenberg's knowledge, he is the oldest person to ever standup paddleboard across Lake Ontario. Fitness eliminated Crohn's attacks Though he was active in his youth, Rosenberg's athletic exploits took off when he was battling Crohn's disease in his mid-20s. Frustrated by the constant abdominal pain and other effects of the inflammatory bowel disease, and by the fact that no medication seemed to relieve it, Rosenberg decided to get in the best shape of his life. He reduced sources of stress in his life, eliminated caffeine and alcohol from his diet and began "exercising like a madman." Within three years, he had suffered his last Crohn's attack. Coincidentally, it was his experience with Crohn's that might have best prepared Rosenberg for his Lake Ontario crossing. "I learned from Crohn's that I can probably endure more pain than most people," Rosenberg said. "Anything that has to do with pain, like paddleboarding for eight hours, I can endure more because I've had the history of `practising' with the Crohn's attacks." Rosenberg, who first took up paddleboarding this summer in order to stay fit after a leg injury prevented him from running, had additional motivation to complete Friday's crossing. One of his other dreams is to host a one-mile track meet in Oakville next September, and he used the crossing as a funding mechanism for the event, with a goal of $5,000. As of Tuesday, he'd raised slightly more than half of that total. "I'm still hoping (to reach that goal). A lot of people were waiting to see if I did it before they would contribute," said Rosenberg, adding the meet will be open to amateur runners of all ages and that he hopes to make it an annual event. "I'm also hoping to get sponsors to help decrease the cost. There are roughly the same costs every year, with the rental of the track, officials and timing equipment." 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