Big game Hunter
Hunter Ostromecki did it all for the Holy Cross Raiders Thursday.
The 16-year-old, Grade 10 student laid out a pair of Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs with thunderous bodychecks, then came through in the clutch on offence.
Ostromecki fired the winner in overtime as the Raiders edged the Bulldogs 5-4 to capture the Zone 4 high school A/AA field lacrosse championship.
The Raiders now advance to the Southern Ontario Secondary School Association (SOSSA) A/AA championships Thursday, May 23 in Hagersville.
“I was on my wrong side. I saw a rebound come out and I pounced on it,” Ostromecki said. “I wasn’t going to let anyone else take it. I had to bury that one.”
Ostromecki admitted it felt good to contribute in such a key game.
“I felt amazing. I came out with a big hit in the first and then finished it off in overtime,” he said. “I had butterflies the whole game. Anything could have went down or happened there.”
Ostromecki said the Raiders knew they would be in tough versus the Bulldogs.
“We knew they were crushing teams in the public division so we had to come out with our best game of the year and we played good,” said Ostromecki, who plays junior B box lacrosse for the Niagara-on-the-Lake Thunderhawks. “We started off a little slow but finished well.”
The Raiders fell behind 3-1, then battled back to tie the game 3-3. Each team scored a goal late in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
“We’ve been spotting teams two goals all year. We start notoriously slow but we have seniors who are tough and they grind and just don’t give up,” Holy Cross coach Dave Walker said.
Walker looked like was crawling out of his skin in the final few, anxious moments.
“When I played sports, I wanted to be the guy on the field doing things. As soon as you become a coach you’re almost helpless. You can only call a play and hope they do what you ask them to and then you’re helpless.”
Walker admitted he and co-coach Corey Quinn weren’t quite sure what they had this season.
“We thought last year was going to be our last hurrah and we would be starting the rebuild this year,” Walker said. “We knew we would be good defensively and trying to find out how to score. We have four Grade 12 poles who are really good and we found a way to scrap out games.
“It’s a little bit of a surprise but not totally unexpected knowing the kids we have.”
The Raiders now have another chance to advance to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships. Since 1995, the Raiders have made it to the provincials every year except one and have earned 17 medals.
Sir Winston coach Adam Arkell would have loved to see his squad cap off a strong season with a trip to SOSSA.
“The season was incredible. We had an undefeated regular season and won the public school playoffs and that’s great,” he said. “It is disappointing. We had a couple of things not go our way, but at the end of the day, a little more preparation can go a long way.
“It’s not for a lack of heart. These boys gave their all. They came out to practice a couple of times a week. They were willing to change up their roll and adapt to what we needed.”
STATS PACK
Raiders 5 Bulldogs 4 OT
Johnny Rocco’s/Mick and Angelo’s Player of the Game: Holy Cross’ Hunter Ostromecki with two big hits and the winning goal in overtime.
Holy Cross Raiders: Ostromecki; Curtis Labiuk 2; John MacIntyre; Carter Accursi.
Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Keaton Zavtiz; Colin Walters; Carter Geoffory; Liam Armstrong.
Up next: The Raiders advance to the SOSSA A/AA championships Thursday, May 23 in Hagersville.
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