Tigers fall in championship game
Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Uxbridge Secondary School Tigers came up short last Thursday when they faced the Holy Trinity Titans in the LOSSA junior football championship game in Oshawa. It was the second time the Tigers had lost to the Titans.
Despite the loss, the Tigers, in only their second season after a 13-year absence, ended with a win-loss record of 5-3. Next year will see the start of senior football at USS to complement the junior squad. There is no word yet on whether head coach Jeff Keeping will steer both teams, but additional coaches will be needed to manage the two teams.
In the first quarter of the game, the Tigers offence fumbled the ball and the Titans recovered, which led to their first touchdown. A two-point conversion made the score 8-0. On the following kickoff, Holy Trinity recovered an onside kick and marched down to the Uxbridge one-yard line, but the Tigers defence held them out of the end zone.
In the second quarter, Trinity again marched down the field for a touchdown, but this time the two-point conversion failed. Trinity 14, Uxbridge 0. The rest of the quarter saw possession switch back and forth between the two teams, but there was no more scoring.
In the third quarter, the Titans scored another touchdown on a 32-yard run, which came with a two-point conversion. Titans 22, Tigers 0. That's where the score remained for the rest of the quarter.
Starting the fourth quarter, Uxbridge took over on their own 35-yard line and a 30-yard pass from quarterback Evan Coughlan to receiver Reggie Kerford put the ball on Trinity's 45. Another pass to Kerford carried the ball to the two-yard line, from where Leo Langhorst ran into the end zone for a converted touchdown. Trinity 22, Tigers 7. Trinity took over again and two offside penalties against the Tigers led to Trinity's fourth touchdown. As the quarter wound down, Trinity intercepted a Tigers pass but then fumbled and Uxbridge recovered. That led to Coughlan delivering a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jack Giles, but a missed conversion point made the score Trinity 29, Tigers 13. But Trinity wasn't finished yet, scoring a last touchdown for a final score of Trinity 36, Tigers 13.