GAME SUMMARY
Barrie, Ont. — SCAA Final
SUMMARY
First Quarter
BC — TD Higgins 22 pass from Kim (Rivas convert)
BC — TD Marshall 37 pass from Rivas (Rivas convert) 0:00
Second Quarter
BC — safety Ryan concedes
Third Quarter
BC — single Rivas
Fourth Quarter
BC — TD Pellegrino 1 run (Rivas convert) 8:25
MR — TD B. Phoenix 28 pass from Ryan (Two-point convert unsuccessful) 4:23
BC — FG Rivas 20 2:16
MR — TD Z. Bailey 70 run (Stewart rush for two-point convert) 1:35
BC — TD Marshall 77 kickoff return (Rivas convert) 1:20
Attendance — Not recorded.
Individual
Rushing: Bear Creek — Pellegrino 16-135, 1 TD; Bradbury 3-22; Marshall 2-5; Rivas 5-3; Burke 1-3; Maple Ridge — Z. Bailey 14-148, 1 TD; Stewart 9-39; Murugananthan 6-21; Ryan 2-12; Booker 1-1; Clarke 2-0.
Receiving: Bear Creek — Marshall 2-51, 1 TD, Bradbury 2-28; Higgins 1-22, 1 TD; DeVries 1-20; Rivas 2-10; Maple Ridge — P. Bailey 1-28, 1 TD; Stewart 2-22; Stables 1-5.
Passing: Bear Creek — Kim 6-14, 75 yards, 1 TD, 0 ints; Rivas 2-2, 48 yards, 1 TD, 0 ints. Maple Ridge — Ryan 4-8, 55 yards, 1 TD, 0 ints.
Bear Creek's defence stifled Maple Ridge on Thursday, while the offence relied on a strong performance from Gianluca Pellegrino in a 34-14 win in the SCAA title game at J.C. Massie Field.
It's the school's first SCAA title since back-to-back titles ending in 2023, and fifth for head coach Keith Jackson since becoming head coach.
"It's a matter of sticking to our fundamentals, building the program right from grade nine," Jackson said to Barrie360 postgame. "We've grown their skills, we've developed them, and they put in the hard work... This is a full-time job for them — besides their school and academics."
Both teams allowed the fewest points, by far, in the SCAA this season, with Bear Creek leading the league at 51. It also gave Maple Ridge its only loss of the regular season on Oct. 1 en route to finishing 6-0.
The defending champion Ravens didn't run an offensive play in the red zone, only getting past the Kodiaks' 40-yard line in the fourth quarter. That's despite having 107 yards of total offence over the first three frames.
Meanwhile, Pellegrino was a workhorse back, especially in the fourth quarter. Along with a touchdown, 60 of his 135 rushing yards came in the fourth.
"Two years ago... we lost to Ridge [in the SCAA final], the Kodiaks running back recalled to Barrie360 postgame. "We were not losing this game."
Bear Creek got the first score of the game when quarterback Brayson Kim found Aidan Higgins over the middle for a 22-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
It was Kim's only touchdown pass of the day as the team heavily relied on the ground game offensively. He accumulated 75 passing yards on 14 attempts.
The other Kodiak touchdown pass came two drives later on a fake punt. Rodrigo Rivas threw up a deep ball for Riley Marshall, who fought off a defender to make the grab and walk into the endzone. Marshall finished with a game-high 51 receiving yards.
The second quarter saw Maple Ridge pinned deep into their own territory for much of the frame, culminating in a safety.
Maple Ridge's second-half comeback attempt began in ballsy fashion, with the Ravens executing a successful onside kick recovery to begin the half. However, they struggled to gain significant yardage beyond that and punted, leading to a Bear Creek rouge.
Entering the fourth quarter up 17-0 and with possession after a lost fumble by Ravens back Brenden Clarke, the Kodiaks added on with a one-yard touchdown run by Pellegrino.
"We've been working with Gianluca all year long (on) what we call running north and south," Jackson said about Pellegrino. "He's following his blocks, he's believing in his blockers, and then as soon as he finds that seam, he's just got an amazing acceleration."
The defending champs finally found some offensive success four minutes later, stringing together a penalty-aided, 10-play drive into a 28-yard touchdown pass from Blake Ryan to Phoenix Bailey.
Ryan connected on just four passes for 55 yards. He also added 12 rushing yards.
Minutes later, after a Kodiaks field goal, Zion Bailey got the crowd roaring with a 70-yard touchdown run to bring the Ravens' deficit to 13.
However, Marshall stomped on any hopes Maple Ridge had at a miracle with a 77-yard return touchdown on the ensuing kickoff.
Bear Creek will face St. Joan of Arc CSASC in Wednesday's GBSSA triple-A championship game.
"JOA is always gonna watch the film and know what we run, but it doesn't matter," Pellegrino said. "Ridge does the same thing (and) that couldn't stop us. I don't think JOA is going to stop us either."
