24 Sp Sports SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011 Run over: By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Assumption's ground attack overwhelms Holy Trinity in Halton junior Tier 1 football championship game HAMILTON -- Assumption Crusaders coach Domenic Camastro feels his junior football team's offensive line might be the best transportation in Halton. "We call them the five horsemen, the five-headed monster," Camastro said of Darius Ciraco, Justin Legere, J.D. Richardson, Michael Cleirbaut and Andre Murovega. "They're better than Burlington Transit." Camastro's commentary on Burlington's busing system aside, that unit certainly helped Assumption running backs Jordan Lyons and Terrance Giangregorio move up and down the field with ease in yesterday's (Wednesday's) Halton Tier 1 final. 1 2 3 4 F Holy Trinity Assumption 1 28 0 7 7 14 7 6 13 21 47 Lyons ran for three 296 yards and three touchdowns, Giangregorio scampered for another major and the Crusaders rode a stellar performance by their offensive line to a 47-28 victory over the Holy Trinity Titans at McMaster University. "It's all my blocking. All my runs are from my blocking," said Lyons, who was also quick to highlight the contributions of fullback Dylan Worth. "Everyone on that line. That's how I got all my yards and my touchdowns." Giangregorio agreed. "You have to hand it to them," the 15-year-old said. "They make the holes. Without them, we couldn't "Their line is good. Very do anything." good. Their running Assumption's game plan backs were not even -- wearing down the Trinity being touched for the defence with the run -- first five yards." worked to perfection. The Crusaders held only a 13-7 Holy Trinity junior football advantage at half time, but coach Joe Moscato, referring Assumption scored touchto Assumption's offensive line downs on its first five possessions of the second half to open up a 47-14 advantage. How dominant were the Crusaders in the second half? They needed only 15 plays from scrimmage to score those five majors. "Their line is good. Very good," Titans coach Joe Moscato said. "Their running backs were not even being touched for the first five yards." Still, the Titans -- who lost 39-7 to the Crusaders less than a month ago during the regular season -- managed to hang with Assumption for a while yesterday. Trinity trailed just 10-7 in the final minute of the first half after Titans quarterback Kymbal Mackenzie scored on a one-yard sneak on fourth and goal, and 26-14 entering the fourth quarter following a 10-yard touchdown reception by Andre Pinto. Trinity then appeared to recover an onside kick on the ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER FEELING THE RUSH: Assumption running back Jordan Lyons leaves Holy Trinity defenders Austen Garrido (75), Jordan Oresti (52) and Andrew Mullin (99) in his wake as he heads downfield during yesterday's Halton junior football Tier 1 final at McMaster University. Lyons ran for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns in Assumption's 47-28 win. first play of the fourth quarter, but the Titans were offside on the play. Assumption took over and scored on its next three possessions to blow the game open. "We didn't have anything to lose in this game. We would have had to execute at a high level to be in the game," Moscato said. "We made some mistakes, and we'll learn from it." The Crusaders, who finished the Halton season with a 9-0 mark, are Assumption's first Halton junior Tier 1 champion since 2005. That squad, coached by Ivan Yurgan, went on to win the provincial championship. Camastro believes this year's Crusaders club has that potential as well as it prepares for next week's Metro Bowl provincial playoffs. Assumption will host the Durham Region finalist Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., while the Titans will visit the Durham champions. "We put in our time last year, when we were basically 90 per cent Grade 9 kids. They've matured into a pretty outstanding offence," Camastro said. "We're the best-kept secret in Halton because no one believes in Assumption. We came beneath the radar, but I think we put ourselves on the map now." NOTES: Giangregorio kicked two field goals in the contest, including a 28-yarder on the final play of the first half. He was also good on five of six converts, the lone miss hitting the upright... Worth and Morgan Rose scored Assumption's other touchdowns, both on the ground... Trinity's other majors came in the fourth quarter, first on a 75-yard kickoff f return by Kadeem Philip and then on a six-yard run by Marcus Membrere. "I was happy we didn't give up," Moscato said... Mackenzie kicked four converts for the Titans and also completed 10 of 14 pass attempts for 172 yards... Trinity's Patrick Shea had three catches for 84 yards. -- Jon Kuiperij can be followed d on Twitter at @Beaversports