WHITBY FIREE PRESS, WENESDAY. OCTOß1ER 29, 1986, PAGE 13 SPORTS WEEK Junior Hawks in LOSSA playoffs .1est, Tailback Ken Downey is tackled by a Bowmanville player as he attem- pts to move the ball upfield. The Henry junior team won the game 28-15 and advanced to the LOSSA play-offs. Free Press Staff Photo Nieuwendyk looks With last Friday's 28- 15 win over Bowman- ville, the Henry Street High School junior foot- ball team has earned a trip to the LOSSA playoffs, a feat which has made head coach Dan McCloskey a happy man. At the beginning of the football season, Mc- Closkey had no retur- ning starters and had deemed this year a rebuilding season. "Our goal was just to be competitive and not get blown away in any games," said Mc- Closkey. But the team was not only competitive in the nine-team - league, finishing the season with a 4-3 record, but McCloskey noted that in their three losses the team was "not blown away". The junior team opens the playoffs when they host Bowmanville this Friday. But McCloskey notes, however, that the Bowmanville team will be much stronger than they were in their 28-15 loss to the Hawks. And if the Hawks get by Bowmanville and advance the semi-finals, McCloskey said it would be a bonus. "I expect us to be competitive in the playoffs," said Mc- Closkey. The reason behind McCloskey's optimism is the team's perfor- mance during regular season play. The Hawks went 3-0 in their first three games then feil to 0-à ii their nextthree. "Losing three in a row, the guys really lost their confidence," he said. "That's why Friday's win was so im- portant." The game was impor- tant to both the offense and the defence, noted the coach. In the team's three losses, the offense scored a total of 12 poin- ts. And according to McCloskey, the defence came around during the Bowmanville game. "We've hit rock bot- tom so I think now we're beginning topeak." Players deserving special mention for their performance in last Friday's game are quarterback, Reg Grant, who despite only throwing the ball six times, threw for more than 150 yards and two touchdowns. One of them a pass and run play of 108 yards. On the receiving end of that touchdown pass was wide receiver Greg Ferron. Ferron also scored a touchdown on a 50-yard pass and run. Special mention also goes to fullback Josh Foster. Foster scored the Hawks' other two touchdowns. The. junior team will host Bowmanville at Henry Street on Friday, Oct. 31 beginning at 2 p.m. for a big year By TRAVIS LINDGREN Whitby's Joe Nieuwendyk is on the road to success in the world of hockey. Nieuwendyk is entering his third season at Cornell Univer- sity in New York State on Nov. 14. Last season Nieuwendyk led his team with 54 seasonal points to the Eastern Colleges Athletic crown and then on to the national championship playoffs. The Cor- nell team won the ECAC but came up just short to lose in the quarter-finals of the national championships. As a result of Nieuwendyk's skills in the playoffs he received honors such as the ECAC first team all-star, ail-American all- star, and he is a candidate for the Hobey Baker award, as most valuable player in U.S. college hockey, and it will be awarded at the end of the season. Nieuwendyk has also played for the Canadian national junior team. At the former junior world championships in Hamilton, Ont. he received a first star honor in the game against Sweden. "I think Joe got a lot of ex- perience playing with the junior team," said Gord Nieuwendyk, Joe's father. After Nieuwendyk finishes this season at Cornell University he has the option of going to play with the Calgary Flames or to play with the Canadian Olympic team. "The Flames tell me they have a spot on the team for me but I'm not too sure," said Nieuwendyk. "I don't want to end up on Calgary's farm team. That's why I'm sort of considering playing Olympic hockey instead." Nieuwendyk is studying business at Cornell and he finishes this year. He is soon at the point where he must make his decision on where to play. Nieuwendyk started his career in Whitby where he played minor hockey and later moved on to play some minor hockey in Pickering. John Skolnick is assisted off the field by team went on to beat Bowmanville 28-15. They coaches of the Henry St. junior team after will now host Bowmanville ai lHenry St. this being injured. Skolnick wasn't hurt seriously Friday at 2 p.m. in the first round of LOSSA and was able to return to action. The Henry play-offs. Free Press Staff Photo . .