Champs Clipped

October 25, 2008
By KIRK PENTON, SUN MEDIA - Winnipeg Sun

Kelvin stuns Oak Park in quarter-final

There will be a new king in the Winnipeg High School Football League this fall.

Kelvin Clippers running back Braxton McIntosh ran for a 24-yard touchdown on a third-and-one option toss with 2:32 to go in a Potter Division quarter-final against the defending champion Oak Park Raiders at Canad Inns Stadium last night.
They proved to be the decisive points as the Clippers edged the Raiders 32-27.
"It doesn't really matter that it's them," McIntosh said. "I'm just glad we're moving on."

Now the No. 5 Clippers get to take on the undefeated and perennial powerhouse St. Paul's Crusaders in semifinal action next week. The No. 1 Crusaders crushed the No. 8 River East Kodiaks 51-8 in quarter-final action on Thursday.

The Crusaders edged the Clippers 34-25 in Week 2 action, but McIntosh is confident they can be taken down.

"We got a lot better," McIntosh said. "I'm sure they got a lot better, too. I still think we can pull it off."

Crusaders head coach Stacy Dainard is well aware of the challenge that Kelvin will present, especially from star quarterback Ben Allen.

"They're very athletic on offence, and obviously that starts with the quarterback," Dainard said. "He puts a lot of pressure on you. He's a run-pass threat every time he touches the ball. He gave us fits when we played him in week two."

The fourth-seeded Raiders, it should be noted, lost starting quarterback Nic Demski to a serious injury late in the second quarter last night, although they already trailed 18-6 at that point.

The Raiders stormed back in the fourth quarter, getting to within five at 25-20, before McIntosh took the ball and rumbled for the eventual game-winning score. He admitted running the option toss on third-and-one can be a little nerve-wracking.

"Oh yeah, because I have to back up and then go forward again," he said. "I was thinking one yard, but there was a hole, so I just followed the receivers blocking and it was wide open."

The victory avenged Kelvin's 16-0 loss to Oak Park last week in the regular-season finale for both squads.

"This week our offence decided they were going to play, and our defence said that they were going to shut them down, and we did," Clippers head coach Jon Romu said.

The sixth-seeded Grant Park Pirates upset the third-seeded Sisler Spartans 15-5 on Thursday. They will meet the winner of last night's late quarter-final between the No. 2 Churchill Bulldogs and No. 7 Miles Mac Buckeyes.