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32 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 4, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com PROVINCIAL POWER: The Oakville midget Hawks will make their third consecutive provincial championships appearance when they compete in the all-Ontario tournament next weekend in Kitchener. Midget Hawks heading back to lax provincials The Oakville midget Hawks hope the third time's the charm as they prepare to compete in this year's provincial lacrosse championships. This is the third consecutive season the team has qualified for the all-Ontario tournament. Two years ago, as bantams, the Hawks surprised several teams en route to a semifinal appearance. Last year, the collection of mostly first-year midgets finished fifth at the Ontario Summer Games. This season, the Hawks were one of the squads expected to vie for a provincial midget title. They started off the season slowly, however, including a loss to a `B' team in a Hamilton tournament that Oakville coach Ken Gillies believes was the season's turning point. "We had quite a heated discussion after the game and challenged the guys to turn things around," he said. "Since that game, we have been a much better team, and we are hoping to continue building on our strengths over the next couple of weeks." Oakville qualified for the provincials by going 4-1-1 at a qualifying tournament in Whitby, earning one of six spots at the all-Ontarios. Members of the team are Bryan Campbell, Elliott Cowburn, Eric Crepinsek, Jamie Elliott, Brad Gillies, Jake Jagodkin, Alex Kruse, Adam Ostermeier, Taylor Rivers, Mark Runciman, Thomas Sacerty, Nick Soubry, Reid Stevens, Daniel Tavares, Ryan Wallik, Jimmy Whelpdale and Sam White. John Elliott, Brian Kruse and Mike White also coach the squad. "As most of the team will be ending their minor lacrosse (days), this will be a final chance for a lot of these players to win a provincial gold in the top division," Gillies said. "With such close competition at the midget `A' level this year, qualifying for the finals has been a feat. However, medaling in the provincials would cap a great minor lacrosse run for these players." The midget provincials are scheduled for next weekend in Kitchener. Longhorns open NFC playoffs tonight at home The Oakville Longhorns will open the Northern Football Conference playoffs tonight with a home game against the North Bay Bulldogs. Oakville finished fourth in the NFC regular-standings with a record of 5-3. North Bay was right behind the Longhorns, posting a mark of 4-4. North Bay is the only one of the other nine NFC teams that Oakville did not face this season. Game time at Bronte Athletic Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. Other first-round matchups in the NFC playoffs include the TriCity Outlaws (7-1) against the T.O. Maddogs (2-6), the Oshawa Hawkeyes (7-1) against the Sarnia Imperials (3-5), and the Sault Ste. Marie Steelers (6-2) versus the T.O. Raiders (4-4).