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34 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 27, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Longhorns gore Panthers, back to .500 in NFC By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Buzz, Bulldogs to square off For the second consecutive year, the Oakville Buzz and Halton Hills Bulldogs will clash in the opening round of the Ontario Lacrosse Association junior B playoffs. The Buzz, which closed out the regular season last night with a home game against the Barrie Tornado (a game that began after our press deadline), was already guaranteed a fourthplace seeding in the Eastern Conference standings. Oakville had an opportunity to tie the Mimico Mountaineers atop the South East Division with a win last night, but Mimico would win the tie-breaker because of its 2-1 edge in the teams' head-to-head series. The Buzz/Bulldogs series will likely begin Friday at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. See Friday's edition of The Oakville Beaver for more details. There was little drama or suspense Saturday at Bronte Athletic Field, but the Oakville Longhorns weren't complaining. Having dropped their past two games by a combined total of 12 points, the Longhorns rolled to a 49-1 rout of the Quinte-Limestone Panthers and squared their Northern Football Conference record at 2-2. Mike Long, Chad Kennedy, Will Mayhew and Vaughan Swart caught touchdown passes from Oakville starting quarterback Tom Denison, while Swart and back-up pivot Mike Hyatt connected for a TD in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns' defence also contributed to the scoring barrage. Jason Sayer returned an interception for a touchdown, and Kirby Ginn scored after receiving a lateral from linebacker Wayne Sliwinski, who had intercepted a pass and returned it to the 25-yard-line. "That play bordered on camaraderie and bordered on us not having to dial 911 for Wayne," Oakville head coach Barry Emo laughed. "If Wayne was in better shape and not as old, he would have probably scored." Emo said the one-sided win over the winless Panthers -- Quinte-Limestone avoided the goose egg with a single late in the first half -- provided an opportunity for the Longhorns to try some things they hadn't had the luxury to attempt during their more competitive contests. All 47 players that dressed for the Longhorns saw game action. The victory will make for a lighter mood at Longhorns practice this week, Emo agreed, but the coach will be sure to caution his squad not to take its next opponent too lightly. The 0-3 Milton Marauders, the former team of Emo as well as more than 20 current Longhorns, will visit Bronte Athletic Field this Saturday for a 7 p.m. start. "Our team spirits may be higher, but our approach to practice will be like we are playing the national champions," said Emo. "They'll be coming after us large, and I don't want to lose sight of the fact that, even if Milton is 0-3, we're 2-2 and haven't exactly been world-beaters." DEREK WOOLLAM / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER DOG DAYS: Ryan Abu-Ali of the Oakville Buzz (left) is shadowed by a Halton Hills Bulldogs opponent Sunday at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. The Buzz defeated Halton Hills 8-6 in overtime and will face the Bulldogs in the first round of the Ontario Lacrosse Association junior B playoffs. Cann `a workhorse', Avalanche scout says Continued from page 32 Mason, Gagner and John Tavares on the team). "I feel really proud to be a part of it," he said. "We'll be coming back right when training camp is starting so it's a good time to increase my status with Columbus." Cann, who has played for the Peterborough Petes the last two seasons, was the third goalie selected in the draft as Colorado took him 49th overall. Despite the presence of former NHL MVP Jose Theodore, goaltending is not considered a strength in Colorado and the Avalanche has only four goalies under contract. "We didn't see anybody better than him," chief scout Ted Hampson told the Denver Post. "He's a workhorsetype of goaltender. He's played on national teams and played well. Generally, he's been a goalie you can count on every night." Meanwhile, the Oilers were thrilled Gagner was still available when they picked sixth overall. "He's the guy we targeted, who we thought would still be there at six, so we were happy to see him there," Oilers' vice president of hockey operations Kevin Prendergast said from South Carolina Tuesday. "He's got skill and he's very competitive." Despite being a high pick, Gagner is not expected to crack the Oilers' lineup next season. "He may need another year of jun- ior. He's a guy we would want playing on our first or second line, and another year of junior isn't going to hurt him," Prendergast said. "But it's up to him when he comes to training camp. Crazier things have happened." By going sixth overall, the Gagners became one of the highest drafted father-son duos in pro sports. Sam's dad, Dave Gagner, was drafted 12th overall in 1983 by the New York Rangers. Another father-son duo with reason to celebrate was Rick and Justin Vaive. Justin, who played in the U.S. Development Program, was taken 92nd overall by Anaheim. Rick was drafted fifth overall in 1979 by the Vancouver Canucks. Ten local youths advance to Knights of Columbus soccer districts Five boys and five girls from Oakville will advance to the district level of the Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge after winning their local competitions last weekend. Cedric Sobotta, Marisa Cordiano, Mohamed Walid Djebli, Kayley Marner, Ryan Cookish, Ashley Van Kralingen, Daniel Calado, Claire Segeren, Alexander Cenedese and Lilia Serpa have qualified to represent Oakville at the district championships, which will be held Sept. 8 at RIM Park in Kitchener-Waterloo. The Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge, sponsored locally by Knights of Columbus Marian Council 3881 and held at Sheridan Hills Park, is a similar format to the Knights of Columbus annual free throw competition. Participants are given 15 penalty kicks from 12 yards away, with kicks in the centre of the goal earning five points, shots to the bottom corners earning 10 points and shots to the top corners of the goal earning 20 points. Segeren, 13, posted the highest overall score, netting 130 points. Cookish, 12, was the top male, finishing with 115 points. The competition was open to all youngsters age 10-14, with boys' and girls' champions determined at each of the five age levels. If an age division champion cannot compete at districts, the second-place finisher advances. Knights of Columbus, celebrating its 125th anniversary, is an international Catholic family fraternal service organization with 1.7 million members and more than 13,500 local councils. Last year, Knights donated 60 million volunteer hours and $130 million to charitable and benevolent causes, sponsoring projects to benefit their Church, communities, councils, families and youth. Following are the top three finishers in each age division, listed with their school affiliation. Some age categories did not have a second- or third-place finisher. 10-year-old boys: 1. Cedric Sobotta, Pope John Paul II; 2. Michael Cookish, Captain R. Wilson; 3. Devon Base · 10-year-old girls: 1. Marisa Cordiano, St. Marguerite D'Youville; 2. Silvia Serpa, St. James; 3. Avril McAmmond, Ecole Patricia Picknell · 11-year-old boys: 1. Mohamed Walid Djebli, Ecole Patricia Picknell; 2. Nick Labrosse, St. Luke; 3. Jason Provost, St. Luke · 11-year-old girls: 1. Kayley Marner, St. Marguerite D'Youville; 2. Mikaela Lowe, Mother Teresa; 2. Lindsay James, St. Luke; 3. Sylvia Michalski, St. James · 12-year-old boys: 1. Ryan Cookish, Captain R. Wilson; 2. Rodrigo Mercado, Mother Teresa; 3. Justin Cardoso, St. James · 12-year-old girls: 1. Ashley Van Kralingen, Ecole Patricia Picknell; 2. Amanda Niyonkuru, Ecole Patricia Picknell · 13year-old boys: 1. Daniel Calado, Oakville Trafalgar; 2. Julio Sousa, St. James · 13-year-old girls: 1. Claire Segeren, St. Marguerite D'Youville; 2. Marie Gutgesell, St. Vincent · 14-year-old boys: 1. Alexander Cenedese, Mother Teresa; 2. Alex Kuntz, St. Thomas Aquinas · 14-year-old girls: 1. Lilia Serpa, St. James ASHLEA WESSEL / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER KICK CHALLENGE CHAMP: Pope John Paul II student Cedric Sobotta won the 10-year-old boys' division at last weekend's Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge, held at Sheridan Hills Park. Above, Sobotta (right) follows his shot while Kael Bosland (left) and Michael Cookish watch on.