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Gators head to finals vs. Lo-Ellen

There is little doubt that the SDSSAA girls flag football scene has moved forward in leaps and bounds over the years. Now, for instance, thanks to the Bishop Carter Gators and Lasalle Lancers, we know the overtime rules that apply.
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Ben Favot, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School translated into the "next step,” recently signing a CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) Letter of Intent to join the Ottawa Gee Geesprogram come September. File photo.
There is little doubt that the SDSSAA girls flag football scene has moved forward in leaps and bounds over the years.

Now, for instance, thanks to the Bishop Carter Gators and Lasalle Lancers, we know the overtime rules that apply.

In a finish that rivalled the last second drama of a game-winning field goal by Notre-Dame two nights earlier on the final play of the game, Bishop Carter advanced to the Division B finals with a 26-14 overtime win over Lasalle.

Trailing 14-7 with under three minutes to play, the Lancers forced the extra session when Brittany Lebel hauled in a short touchdown pass and Meaghan Ethier made good on the convert.

With the flag football teams having little or no experience in dealing with overtime, officials explained that each team would have the chance to mount a scoring drive, beginning at their opponent's 35-yard line.

The Gators elected to take the ball first, a decision which paid dividends when Alicia Beaudry turned the corner and sprinted 12 yards for the go-ahead score.

On to the Lancers, who marched for a first down, before Alyssa Menard stepped in front of a pass and covered the distance of the field for the "pick six", providing the 12-point margin of victory.

"I can't even explain it right now," said Grade 12 veteran Kaitlin Houben, one of a handful of BAC players who would see action both on offence as well as defence. "That's probably the proudest moment of my high-school career. So many Grade 9s on our team, and we pulled together like that. That's amazing."

Bishop Carter had opened up a 14-0 lead at the half, as Houben and Morgan Melnek accounted for the majors, with Beaudry adding a pair of point-after attempts.

But is was a different Lancers' crew that returned for the second half, cutting the deficit in half when Allison Montgomery scored from in tight, and Ethier right on the mark for the conversion.

The late touchdown by Lebel created a momentum shift over the final few minutes, one that had to be countered quickly by coach Edi Nelson and her Bishop Carter girls.

"Momentum was definitely on their side," acknowledged Houben. "We were saying that we needed to want it, we needed to be hungry, we needed to show it on the field. We have a lot of heart on this team."

The earlier game would see the Lo-Ellen Park Knights dispose of the Chelmsford Flyers by a final score of 38-14, as Isabelle Mercier showed the way with three TDs, while Haley Conroy added a pair.

Emma Short added the final major, while Conroy chipped in with a two-point conversion. Cally Vanier and Emily White countered with touchdowns for the Flyers, with Tamara Kirchner adding a two-point conversion of her own.

Lo-Ellen and Bishop Carter will meet at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at the James Jerome Complex, with the Division A tilt to follow at 6 p.m., as the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes attempt to deny the Marymount Regals their fourth consecutive SDSSAA flag football banner.

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