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It has been a good year for football around here with my old high school winning it's tier 2 championship and my favorite Burlington team Nelson is playing for the golden horseshoe championship on thursday.Last Saterday my son and I went to the Vanier cup and got to see Laurier University win a real heart stopper against a Sask.team that was suppose to dominate. But the team that were most proud of is the one in the story below,These guys are part of the same league that my son plays for,not bad for a bunch of kids that are awol from their hockey teams.


U.S. SUCCESS The Burlington peewee rep football Stampeders celebrated their latest championship victory last weekend in Florida. The undefeated squad won the United States National Youth Football Championship in Daytona Beach. The two victories gave the Stampeders a season-ending record of 13-0-1.





Peewee Stamps' dominance extends south of the border


Dec 4, 2005

The provincial peewee rep football champion Burlington Stampeders proved they can compete successfully south of the border.
The Lasswell Medical Stampeders won the United States National Youth Football Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla., last Saturday.

The Stampeders surprised the Delray Rocks of Miami 24-0 in the championship game, completing a season in which the Burlington squad won 13 games and tied another.

Burlington's opponents in the final belong to a youth football organization that regularly graduates players who often receive full scholarships to the University of Miami Hurricanes.

The Stampeders were warned about the speed of the Rocks by tournament organizers before the game, which was held at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium, home of the Bethune Cookman University Wildcats of the NCAA.

Well my favorite high school team managed to pull off an upset that nearly gave a whole pile of people heart failure,with their top receiver out with a broken wrist the small but smart defence stepped up and just refused to break.Nelson plays at the same complex that the Stampeders and my sons team play at,coach Bob Stacey is just amazing whatever they are paying him it ain't enough. Oh and this is the school and coach that won the metro bowl twice with Jesse Lumsden at running back,here is the story on the game.
Every few years Nelson coach Bob Stacey and his Nelson Lords travel down the QEW for a championship football game at the Rogers Centre.
And like the other two visits, the Nelson Lords came home with a championship trophy.

The Lords held on for a 14-9 victory over previously undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish of Welland to win the Golden Horseshoe Bowl. The two previous wins were for the Metro Bowl title .

"It's as good as the others, but the fact that my son (Zack) is with me is awesome," said Stacey. "It makes it more special."

It wasn't a vintage game for the younger Stacey, but he contributed his share of big plays to help the Lords stave off a hard-charging Irish team that seemed poised to eventually take the lead.

Only a series of turnovers, and some penalties, combined to stymie the Welland team's chances.

Of the Irish's six possessions in the first half, they ended in punt, punt, fumble, interception, interception and expiry of the clock.

The last series outcome may have hurt the most, when, with no time remaining, Notre Dame quarterback Zach White hit Steve Hughes, who took the ball 12 1/2 yards before being tackled. Unfortunately for the Irish, the end zone was 13 yards away, which allowed Nelson to retain its 14-0 lead at halftime.

Notre Dame continued to move the ball in the second half, scoring midway through the third quarter on an easy 13-yard TD run by Dave Kalmats, and threatened the remainder of the game.

Nelson opened the scoring on the last play of the first quarter when Zack Stacey ran the ball in from the one-yard line. Halfway through the second quarter, the Lords' only other TD came on a two-yard run by Jim Martyniuk, who showed some extra effort to score after initially being stopped.

The Lords went into a funk of their own after that, with the final eight possession ending in punt, punt, punt, interception, interception, safety (given up by Stacey late in the fourth), and a fumble, before running out the clock.

The Irish blew another glorious chance to score with six minutes remaining in the game when, at the Nelson two-yard-line, a Notre Dame fumble was recovered by Lords' Mike Spence.

With less than two minutes remaining, Lords' Dave McMurrough fumbled the ball away to the Irish, but teammates Will Porter and Peter Cranston combined to sack White on the next play. When White attempted to get the yards back, Lords' Russ Jirgins picked him off to finally vanquish Notre Dame.

McMurrough and Duncan McNeil had the other Nelson interceptions in the second quarter.

Irish quarterback White was 19 for 26 for 247 yards, with three interceptions, while Lords' Stacey was only 4 for 12 for 64 yards and two picks.

Wide receiver Hughes had a big day for the Irish, collecting 133 yards on eight catches.

"We missed Manny (Campbell, a receiver out with a broken wrist) and they took Russ (Jirgins) out of the game," said coach Stacey. "We needed that double threat. They wouldn't let us pitch the ball, either. But I like the way we gutted it out."

Notre Dame coach Tim Bisci said his team had its chances.

"We couldn't get it done in the red zone," he said. "We had a shot at (winning). We were a little bit awestruck at the beginning but we settled down."

Gabe Deneau, who earned special praise from Stacey along with linebacker Nic Diniz and McNeil for their defensive work, felt the effects of the opponents and the heat.

"We just needed to stay on top," he said. "They came close at the end."

Coach Stacey stressed the unique situation took its toll.

"People don't realize how hot it is in here. Players from both sides started cramping," he said. "And poor Dave (McMurrough) was just trying to get some extra yards (on his fumble). (Notre Dame) was punching the ball all day."

He praised the Welland team's effort. "They're as good as we've faced this year," he said. "They have a good run/pass combination."

Zack Stacey, meanwhile, summed up the feeling of the team after receiving the winners' trophy.

"We can relax, now," he said. "Finally, we're the best."

re is the story.

Great story - both on the peewee league and the high school game. Like college ball, high school ball is GREAT and can be many times more exciting than the pro stuff! And it sounds like defense really held up their end on that game.

Enjoyed it and thank you. I played Pop Warner (starting in 7th grade) and then high school football, always on defense (tackle and then gaurd/nosegaurd). Will never forget the rush when we won our division championship against Santa Rosa in Pop Warner league one year.....it went into overtime and they determined the winner by the most yards in 4 plays. We went 12, they went 8 in 3 plays, and the final play they tried running right up the middle, between myself and the other gaurd, a real ugly kid (looked like Frankenstein) named Stanley. Ol' Stanley and me were expecting it and stopped that guy harder than he'd ever been hit! LOL!!!

Dang sometimes I still remember the sweet coppery taste of blood in my mouth from the way the mouthpiece would get worn and hard over the season and your teeth would get jarred loose in their sockets after a few good "sticks"...makes you wanna butt heads even more, ARRRGGGHH!!! ...good times!