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durhamregion.com THE CANADIAN STATESMAN ♦ August 9,2006 ♦ Page B7 Warriors' window of opportunity shrinking Junior A lacrosse team endures another disappointing end to a promising season BY SHAWN CAYLEY Staff Writer WHITBY -- Another year, another heartbreaking end for the Whitby Warriors. Warriors. And this year, it really hurts. After compiling a 19-3 record during the regular season, rolling through the first round of the playoffs in five games and drawing the Peterborough Lakers in the second round, all the stars seemed to be aligning for the Warriors in their Minto Cup quest. All they needed were four more wins and they were on their way to the national championship at the end of the month. However, the Lakers will be boarding that bus instead after the Warriors seemingly seemingly forgot how to score in a Game 5 6-3 loss, marking a disappointing end to a season which began with so much promise. Jeff McComb "It's extremely frustrating," said Warriors Warriors coach Jeff McComb, of being so close to the Minto Cup, only to come up short. "Really, it is hard to come up with answers right now. I guess the bottom bottom line is, we just couldn't put the ball in the net." After potting 50 goals in their five game first-round series, the Warriors' well dried up, as the club tallied only 28 in five against the Lakers. After falling to Peterborough a year ago in seven games, the Warriors had redemption on their minds. But something something just didn't click. The transition game that was so successful successful from Game 1 of the season, was absent. The standup goaltending and tough defence remained, but the league's third highest offence imploded. Against the Lakers, they were beaten by a bigger, stronger team that played their game near flawlessly until the end. The Lakers will now tackle the Six Nations Arrows in the Ontario Lacrosse Association Jr. A league final, with both teams earning Minto Cup berths, Six Nations as the host club. Lost in the disappointment however, is the fact the window isn't.quite closed on this team's future. McComb hopes to return next season with the rest of his coaching staff and take one last run at a championship. "We only lose two guys from this year, but it's something like 14 in the year after," said McComb of the state of the roster. "I feel tied to these kids, many of them I have been with since they were 15. They are like a family and have done a lot for me. I feel like I owe it to them to come back and fulfil the promise I made them of winning a Minto Cup. "We've got one more year to do it," he added. Shane Sargent and Colin Baker are the only two unable to return next season, but McComb says a bright future lies ahead for both. "They both have a chance to play in the NLL at some point, and have a very good chance to be drafted this year, said McComb, who serves as an assistant with the NLL's Portland LumberJax in the winter. "They definitely have a future." soar to first playoff win Oshawa football team gets revenge on Maddogs BY BRIAN MCNAIR Staff Editor NORTH YORK - Now that the 1 Oshawa Hawkeyes have the monkey off their back, there's no telling how high they can climb. Ian Bunting, the team's general manager, manager, hopes it's all the way to Red Deer, Alberta, site of this year's senior national football championships. By finally beating the Toronto Maddogs, Maddogs, 19-2 in North York on Saturday, the senior Hawkeyes have won their first-ever.Norlhern Football Conference playoff game, booking a semifinal trip to Sault Ste. Marie in the process. The Hawkeyes were upset, by the Maddogs in the quarterfinals in each of the past two seasons and lost again to their rivals in the regular season this year. But it was a different story this time out as Oshawa broke open a 2-2 half time score with touchdowns in each of the final two quarters. "We went out there and the guys were ready to play," says Bunting, contrasting contrasting the victory to their previous encounter encounter with the Maddogs. "The guys were really excited .after this game. They know what it means. We're getting closer." In order to continue on, the Hawk- eyes (6-2) will need to win again in Sault Ste. Marie, where they handed the Steelers (7-1) their lone defeat this season, season, 29-28 on some last-second heroics. . The Steelers advanced to the semifinals with a 30-6 win over the Toronto Raiders Raiders Saturday. "They're the first-place team and we have to respect that," says Bunting, adding adding his team will be more prepared for Saturday's 7 p.m. game. "We're going up there with almost a full roster this time. I think our defence will be a lot stronger." The defence was plenty strong enough on Saturday, as the Maddogs only managed managed to score points from a pair of second-quarter punts. The offence took a little longer to get going, but quarterback Chris Foster finally hit Dave Beaulieu for a 45-yard touchdown strike in the third quarter, giving Oshawa the only points it would need. Rick Moore crashed through two Toronto defenders for a five-yard touchdown touchdown run ; in the fourth quarter and kicker Rob Horstman added the final three points on a field goal with about four minutes remaining. The Milton Marauders (6-2) and Oakville Longhorns (4-4) are playing in the other semifinal Saturday afternoon. The championship game is slated for Aug. 19. 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