Flying into OFSAA
The Eden Flyers are off to OFSAA and no one is more pumped about it than Zeke Smith.
The 18-year-old, Grade 12B student could hardly contain himself after the Flyers defeated the Waterdown Warriors 25-12, 26-24, 25-19 to capture the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AAA senior boys volleyball championship on their home court which qualifies them for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships in Kingston next Thursday.
“It’s absolutely awesome,” Smith said. “Honestly, this what the whole season has come up to. We’ve been building up for this. Everybody’s been working hard. Everybody’s been progressing really well.
“It’s great for the whole team to really come together and win this game.”
The Flyers topped the Blessed Trinity Thunder 25-15, 25-10, 25-17 in semifinals but had to work hard to defeat the Warriors, who advanced to the final with a four-set win over the Centennial Cougars in the other semifinal.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Smith said. “They are a good defensive team but we knew that if we played our game plan properly and if we played how we know to, we would come out victorious.”
Eden coach Jay Nickel made it clear to his team not to take the Warriors lightly.
“We can’t sleep on them because they’re a scrappy team, they don’t want it to hit the floor,” Nickel said. “They will hang in those games and if you’re not perfect, they’re going to come from behind, they’re just going to keep coming and let you make errors and stay in the game.”
Following the game, fans poured on to the court to take pictures of the Flyers in their final game at Eden this season.
“It was with confidence and a little bit of sadness because it’s our last game at home,” Smith said when asked what the feeling was heading into the contest.
The win was particularly meaningful for Smith who is a St. Catharines native but moved to Switzerland with his family, only to return home last year to finish up high school and earn a couple of more credits.
“I had a great amount of fun here. I mean, there was an option of going back home after a year here, but I had a great time and I made great friends,” he said. “This team is really close, so I really love it. I really wanted to come back.”
Nickel had high praise for Smith.
“He’s an outstanding lib (libero) and really talented in every single position,” Nickel said. “He’s outstanding as a leader on our team. The guys look to him and when he speaks, everyone listens. And he’s one of those guys that he brings everybody up with him.”
The Flyers, who went a perfect 8-0 in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association play this season, head into OFSAA with high hopes.
Last year, Eden’s run of 18 straight medals at the OFSAA championship came to an end with a quarter-final loss at the provincial championships.
“Ultimately we’d like to win our quarter-final. That gets us into the medal rounds and then we’re going to take it game by game,” Nickel said. “The top teams are separated by a good amount. Those top teams are really hard to crack and it’s very close so every error is a big gap.”
Members of the winning team were Smith, Hudson Brent, Cooper Cmcich, Vito Forte, Youssef Gharib, Landon House, Jesse Klassen, Jet Lewis, Kai Nickel, George Osowiec, Pierce Reimer, Reece Rekker, Josh Sanecki, Nicholas Tywoniuk and Mattheo Van Huizen.
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 6,400 other stories found on our website, please consider hitting the Support Us button on the right-hand side of our home page and making a PayPal contribution to our website. Your support would be much appreciated. If you are a business owner, please consider advertising on our site. Our rates are reasonable and we provide plenty of exposure for your business. Contact bpotrecz@outlook.com for more information.
