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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 8, 20 18 | 46464 When Kurtis Rourke em- barks on his college career next year, he'll be able to hit the ground running. Or passing. Pretty much whatever the Ohio Bobcats want from him. Long before Ohio offered him a scholarship, the Holy Trinity quarterback was already watching the Bobcats' offence closely. He attended several games and got a feel for the Ath- ens, Ohio campus. And if he ever has a question about the plays the Bobcats are running, he has a pretty good resource to fill him in. Nathan Rourke is in his sec- ond season as the Bobcats' start- ing quarterback after leading Ohio to a Bahamas Bowl victo- ry. Kurtis will have one season to play behind his brother be- fore Nathan graduates.fore Nathan graduates.f "It's a unique situation. It will be great to have him there, going to a new team and a new environment," Kurtis said, "knowing he'll be there to men- tor me and helping me under- stand the offence and just learn- ing the ways of college football." For now, last year's Halton Catholic Athletic Association most valuable player is back in familiar territory. He's re-familiar territory. He's re-f turned to Holy Trinity for a fifth year looking to end his career as a Titan the same way his broth- er did, with a league and OF- SAA Bowl title. So far, the Titans are right on course. With Rourke's two main targets, Kristian Millford and Bren Carey (both HCAA all- stars last season) returning, the Titan offence remains every bit as dangerous as it was last sea- son. Though the offensive line had just two returning starters, Matthew Lopes and Freddy Cutts, it has performed well. "I feel very safe stepping back," Rourke said. "They came out ready to go and they've been winning the battles out front." Trinity scored 244 points in its six regular season games, an average of 40.6 per game. That was 11 more per game than the next most productive offence, Corpus Christi. The Titans are far from a one-dimensional team, though. The defence has been equally dominant. Holy Trinity has al- lowed just 34 points this season, less than half as many as any other team. Anchoring that stingy unit are three returning lineback- ers, Millford, Raad Raad and all- star Justus Vasilakos-McRae. Though Raad suffered a season- ending injury, the Titans depth paid off with Zach Kosior step- ping in. "He probably could have started on most teams," said Ti- tans coach Joe Moscato. Perhaps the biggest improve- ment for Trinity has come in the special teams. "Our school is so good at soc- cer, but we've had trouble find- ing a kicker," Moscato said. "Sometimes we'd have to go for it on fourth down last year be- cause it was better to keep gam- bling." Seth Day has solved that problem, proving to be reliable not only kicking field goals, but also punting. That has not only added another scoring option for the Titans, but has helpedfor the Titans, but has helpedf Trinity secure better field posi- tion. The Titans' quarterback once sacrificed field position. In his Grade 10 year, Rourke moved to Alabama with his family in order to help showcase Nathan for U.S. colleges. When Nathanfor U.S. colleges. When Nathanf finally landed his scholarshipfinally landed his scholarshipf at Ohio, he said his family played an important role in helping him achieve his goal. "My parents spent more than a year apart. My brother rode the bench (in Alabama) when he could have been playing at home. And they did it for me," he said. "Maybe it is a little cra- zy, but it's a great demonstra- tion of how loved I am. Some day I hope to reciprocate." Though Kurtis said his play- ing time was limited in Ala- bama, he said he still learned a lot about the game. But he was happy to be back on the field at Trinity when he returned to Canada. And when Ohio started to look for a successor for their quarterback, Nathan had an op- portunity make good on his word by recommending a cer- tain quarterback from Oak- ville. "He paid me back," Kurtis said. "He helped me gain a little interest from Ohio." A recommendation will only get you so far, though. Division 1 colleges don't invest college scholarships in players unless they have the talent to contrib- ute. And right now, the reigning MVP is contributing those tal- ents to a well-rounded Trinity team that is ranked sixth in the province and 15th in the coun- try by CanadaFootballChat- .com. After coming up one win short of an OFSAA Bowl berth last year, the Titans are looking to take a step forward this sea- son. "We've got a great team," Rourke said. "We have a lot of re- turning players, a lot of promis- ing younger players. We're on a roll and we want to do better than last year. We want to make it to OFSAA." LED BY REIGNING MVP, TITANS HOPE TO TAKE NEXT STEP Holy Trinity quarterback Kurtis Rourke throws a pass during the Titans' 31-9 win over Corpus Christi. After a 6-0 regular season, Holy Trinity is looking to defend its Halton Catholic senior football title. Nikki Wesley/Metroland HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com COMMUNITY