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J Sports ■ ®[)C Ctllîtlbuin ê>tfltcëntnn ♦ May 31, 2006 ♦ durhamregion.com Shawn Cayley Talbot, Keeping right at home Believe it: Green Gaels lose to Huntsville Even the alumni are in disbelief BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor For Andre Talbot and Jeff Keeping, Sunday Sunday was more than just another off-site practice for tlie Toronto Argonauts. The Canadian Football League club, which spends most of its practice time in Mississauga, made a pitstop in Oshawa to give local fans a little taste of some Argonauts football firsthand. Save, for the freshly signed Ricky Williams, Williams, they were all there. . Damon Allen, Robert Baker, John Avery, Michael Fletcher and R. Jay Soward among others. And let's not for : get the always enthusiastic head coach, Mike 'Pinball' Clemons. ■However, maybe aside from the community-oriented community-oriented Clemons, those guys, in all likélihood, viewed Sunday as just another'day at the office. At other locations, locations, most days, those would be the names that received a majority of the fanfare. Not so this time. With the Argos hitting the gridiron at Oshawa's Civic Fields, the memories began to flow for a couple of former \ Durham Region high school stars. Talbot, Talbot, an outstanding quarterback during his time at Paul Dwyer Catholic High School, and Keeping, a former team captain captain and MVP at Uxbridge Secondary School, were back where it all began. Standing in the middle of the field after practice, Talbot pointed out how thrilled lie was to be back in Oshàvva in front of the hometown fans. He then recalled one of his most favorite memories of his high school days at the Civic. . : "I was telling some of the guys F have a picture of myself, right here at cen- trefield, of me throwing a pass when I played quarterback in those days," remembers Talbot. "It's classic." Keeping, who hails from Uxbridge, remembered making the short trip to Oshawa plenty of times for various events during his younger days. Not that being a 23-year-old makes him old or anything, but you get the point. "I remember coming here for track and field meets during my elementary school . days," says Keeping, going way back in the memory bank. "Then obviously there were lots of great memories from high school and football." The only regret Keeping had on Sunday Sunday was not being able to compete on the field due to an MCL sprain he suffered on only the third day of camp. Talbot, on the other hand, relished the opportunity to perform once again on his old stomping grounds. > One common thought the duo shared on Sunday though, was the hope of helping helping the Argos recapture their Grey Cup glory from two-seasons ago. "We're all focused on having a great' season and getting the Grey Cup back," says Talbot Keeping adds: "Well, coming in as a team, definitely the goal is always to get to the Grey Cup then win if, not just get there." Overcoming injuries, Talbot won a championship in 2004, while Keeping, who is rchabbing another knee injury, is hoping to do the same in 2006. Shawn Cayley's column appears ■every third Wednesday. E-mail: scayley@diirhamregion.com , Ron Pietroniro/Metroland Durham Region Media Group i OSHAWA -- Rhea DeBraasem (left) from St. Stephen's collides with Solita Hoogendam from Durham Christian during second half action of the girls' LOSSA Senior AA finals at the G.L Roberts field on Monday. Backed by two goals from Tara Watchorn and another from Kristina Ellul, St. Stephen's won the game 3-2, earning a berth at the OFSAA championships from June 5-7 in Peterborough. Hoogendam scored for Durham Christian, as did Jessica Broersma. • Bowmanville resident lands ; / football scholarship . in Pennsylvania BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor CLARINGTON - Persistence paid off in landing Rory Johnson. Open to any and all post-secondary post-secondary offers, the Bowmanville resident has committed the next four years to Clarion University in Pennsylvania, where he will pull on the sweater of the Golden Eagles football team. "They really recruited me hard," says Johnson of the reason behind committing committing to the football program at the Division II school, despite entertaining other offers from schools in the United States as well as Canada. "Schools are only allowed to call once a week, and they did that every week. They also treated me real well when I was down there." The partial scholarship has been a natural progression for Johnson. It's soniething he envisioned when he began playing as a member of the Clar- ington Tigercats, as well as spending some time with' the resurrected program program at Bowmanville High School. He A.J. Groen / Metroland Durham Region Media Group Rory Johnson is off to Pennsylva- nii where he will play football on a partial scholarship at Clarion University. first caught the eyes of Team Ontario scouts, who invited him to represent the province two years in a row at an all-star gala in Montreal. In his second year with the team he was named an MVP. His success against some of the best players his age in this part of the country country led the 18-yearrold to a football camp hosted by Ohio State University. It was while at thé camp he garnered the attention of scouts with Clarion. After exchanging letters, sending a highlight reel and visiting the school, Johnson was sold on the program. In preparation of the reporting date on Aug. 6, the 6-foot, 205-pounder is spending five to six days a week preparing preparing for the season with a stringent weight program that also includes car- dio and nutrition. Once camp opens, Johnson will be auditioning "for linebacker, linebacker, with an outside chance of seeing seeing some playing time at fullback as •well for the school that posted a 3.-7 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Athletic Conference last season. "They are going to test me in'training camp and see how much playing time I get," says Johnson of trying to crack the roster as a freshman. "If they have a lot of players coming back, maybe they will redshirt me and save a year of eligibility. If they want me to take a year to get bigger, stronger and faster, then that's OK. But if they feel I'm See DREAM, page B3 _ BOWMANVILLE - Neil Atkinson isn't a vindictive person, but he readily readily admits that he wished he had just a little of it in him. If so, he would have marched into the dressing room of his Clarington Green Gaels following Saturday's 10-1 deba- ' cle in Huntsville against the Hawks, slammed the door to get everyone's attention, and then with all eyes fixated on him, announced T told you so.' Just last week, as the Jr. B lacrosse club was about to embark on a soft part of the schedule with four games against teams with a losing record, the general manager said, in print, that his team needed to keep in mind that anyone can beat anyone on any given night. Apparently his insight was more than, just a cliché. Unable to score through the, first half of Saturday's game, the Green Gaels suffered their most lopsided loss this season, and perhaps, one of the most . embarrassing for the franchise. While Huntsville is,improving and gaining respect', teams like the Green Gaels just don't, ever, lose to teams like Huntsville. I "It was just one of those things where we got off to a bad start," said Atkinson Atkinson of the setback. "They are not a bad club, we were in their barn, and we were just lifeless." The setback wasn't lost on a member of the alumni, who called Atkinson Monday. "The call was initially on other business, business, but it didn't take long for the conversation to turn to the game. He asked me if he heard the score right." Even former members of the organization organization were in disbelief. On the upside, the sting of the loss didn't linger for long, as the Green Gaels came back with a 12-5 decision the following day over the visiting Gloucester Griffins. "It was a nice show by our guys, and our defence probably had half our goals," noted Atkinson. Part of the problem the Green Gaels have been facing the past couple of weeks, at the risk of being portrayed as excuses, is that the roster hasn't had any, continuity due to injuries, suspensions suspensions and high school proms. With those distractions out of the way, the roster is back at full capacity. "Barring injuries, we need to keep the core guys focussed and on the floor. We need them, to start working together so they know where the person person is on the floor and have the confidence confidence in them that they can complete the play." The next couple of outings will be a stiffer test than the previous four, including last night's visit to Toronto to face the Saints (after our deadline). Thursday the Green Gaels host the 10-1 Barrie Tornado at 8 p.m., and the following night they are in Oakville to face the 10-1 Buzz. "Barrie is going to be a good test," said Atkinson. "I'm convinced that not only can we play with them, but we can beat them." Beginning Thursday, the Green Gaels have just nine of their 20-game schedule schedule remaining. Book a date at Sunday's Alfie Shrubb Run Bill Swan's Road Rage book based on annual run BY BRAD KELLY Sports Editor CLARINGTON - Bill Swan knows a thing or two about running and being a kid, so it was a natural marriage to join the two for a series of books that reflect his passion for writing and the area which lie lives. The Courtice author is set to launch his seventh book,' this one Road Rage, a fictional read based on the Aille Shrubb 8km Fun Run that is set to go on Sunday in Clarington. If the timelines lit, Swan will he available at Sunday's run to launch his latest latest book and sign copies lor those interested, "It's ideal because of the historical content," says Swan, a Bill Swan Courtice resident, of his latest book in a series that is designed for kids between the ages of 8-13. "It's the same characters and is a sequel to Mud Happens, but there are some complications the kids face, some of which are fictional." Swan hatched the idea of basing a book on the Shrubb Run after competing in the event three years ago, The run fell in line with the local appeal of his books, using identifiable landmarks from the area, For instance, in one of the books, kids run at the Civic track, and in another, play soccer soccer at Vaso Fields at Durham College. His own passion for running began back in the early-SOs as a masters athlete with the Oshawa Legion, competing in 1500 and 3000 metre runs. Over a period of time, the former journalism professor at Durham College lengthened the distances to include marathons, participating in high profile runs in Boston, Toronto and Detroit. Some of the characters used in his first' book, Off Track, are loosely based on runners he met along the way. in Road Rage, the kids on the cover are wearing the actual Alfred Shrubb T-shirts distributed distributed to participants at last year's run. As for being on the starting line of this year's run, Swan admits he "isn't as fast as I used to be" and will opt out. Instead, he intends to have copies of his book available for sale. Sunday's Shrubb Run begins at Green and Taunton Roads, across from the Darlington Darlington Spoils Centre and M.J. Hobbs Senior Public School, Walkers will leave the start line at 9 a.m„ with runners to follow shortly after at 9:20 p.m. All finishers finishers will receive a replica of the 104 year old medal that Shrubb won when he broke the record for the three-mile run on grass in Chelmsford, England on July 19, 1902. Registrations will be accepted online at alfieshrubb.ea, or on race day from 7-8 p.m. at M.J. Hobbs. T V