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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Titans going `bowl'ing Football team playing in Kentucky school's home opener by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Sports 23 | Thursday, August 29, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" U.S. college football teams are set to begin their 2013-14 seasons with the goal of qualifying for a bowl game. Meanwhile, the Holy Trinity high school senior squad is already guaranteed of playing in one, and it kicks off this week. The Titans will make the 11-hour drive to Paintsville, Ky., to face the host Johnson Central Golden Eagles tomorrow (Friday) in the Big Sandy RECC Bowl, otherwise known as Johnson Central's first home game of the season. This marks the third time Trinity will play an exhibition game against an American squad before opening its own Halton regular season. Trinity visited Mogadore, Ohio, in 2008 and Wheeling, W. Va., the following year. "We're going because this is a good group of young guys and we wanted to raise some excitement for football in the school," said long-time Titans coach Joe Moscato, who has experience playing football south of the border as a former NCAA lineman with the Northern Illinois Huskies. "We did this a few years ago and some of our younger guys (currently) playing senior wanted to experience it." Johnson Central initially hoped to play Hamilton's St. Thomas More, but the Knights -- who visited Paintsville two years ago -- were unable to make the trip this season. Knights coaches suggested Johnson Central give the Titans a call instead. "We know some people at St. Thomas More, and they knew we were looking for a U.S. game," said Moscato, admitting he was seeking out opponents in either Ohio or West Virginia. Trinity has lost both its previous sojourns into the U.S. In 2008, the Titans trailed Mogadore 2014 late in the first half before falling 52-31. Following the game, Mogadore's athletic director sent a letter to the Oakville Beaver praising both the Titans' skill level and conduct. The following year, Wheeling Central defeated Trinity by more than 40 points. "As long as no one gets injured, we're good," Moscato said. "We just want to have a good experience with our team. And it's an exhibition game for us, so we're evaluating." Trinity `competitive' in tough Tier 1 loop The Trinity program has not been to the Halton Tier 1 final since losing back- to-back years to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2008 and 2009. Notre Dame went on to win the Golden Horseshoe Bowl regional title in both of those years. Trinity opened last season with a 24-14 win over the M.M. Robinson Rams and finished the regular season with a 5-1 record before falling 15-13 to Robinson in the playoff semifinals. The Rams defeated the unbeaten Corpus Christi Longhorns the following week in the Halton final and eventually reached the Golden Horseshoe Bowl final, where the Lakeshore Catholic Gators rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat Robinson 29-28 on a last-minute touchdown. Moscato believes Robinson's success indicates the Titans aren't that far away from contending for the Halton Tier 1 championship once again. "There's a lot of parity in the league. We're always going to be a team that is going to be competitive," he said, "and once you're in the playoffs, anything can happen." Grade 10 student takes over QB duties Trinity lost several key offensive players from last season -- including quarterback Michael Brooks and the entire receiving corps -- but is bolstered by the addition of Grade 10 pivot Nathan Rourke. Rourke is already touted by former Canadian Football League QB Larry Jusdanis, now an assistant coach with the Burlington Stampeders, as someone who "will easily be a starting quarterback in university." "He's very mature, he's an extraordinary talent, he's got a great football IQ and he's put on some size in the off-season and gotten bigger. He's someone to watch for," said Moscato, who acknowledges part of his job of coaching Rourke is to keep the youngster grounded. "We're trying to surround him with some good talent. We want to have a good run game to go along with a pretty good passing attack. I think we'll be more reliant on the run game at first and bring him along as he feels comfortable." Paintsville radio station WSIP-FM will broadcast tomorrow's Holy Trinity/Johnson Central game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. eastern. The call of the game will be preceded by a call-in show at 6 p.m. and a pre-game show at 7 p.m. WSIP-FM's coverage of the game can be heard online at bit.ly/nnIbg9. -- Jon Kuiperij can be followed on Twitter @Beaversports Zack Halycz (left) and Jordan Oresti utilize a blocker during Holy Trinity senior football practice Tuesday at the high school. The Titans will visit a Kentucky squad tomorrow in exhibition action. | photo by Nikki Wesley -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog Local golfers competing at senior nationals Two Oakville golfers are teeing it up this week at the Canadian men's senior championship in Sutton West, Ont. Larry Cooper fired a 2-over-par 73 in Tuesday's opening round at The Briars Golf Club to rank 22nd after Day 1, six shots behind defending champion Chip Lutz of Reading, Pa. Lars Melander was 48th, following a first-round score of 75. Both men teed off yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) in the second round. The tournament concludes tomorrow (Friday). The tournament winner will receive an exemption into this year's USGA Senior Amateur Championship.