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Hall Wolfpack closes Senior Football regular  season with 31-0 win over Lorne Park Spartans

November 5, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By JIM STEWART

The Hall Wolfpack Senior Football team rebounded from a shocking last-minute 28-24 loss to the Suzuki Grizzlies last week with a resounding 31-0 victory over the Spartans at Lorne Park Secondary School on Thursday afternoon.

The emphatic win clinched first place for the Wolfpack. The defending ROPSSAA Tier 1 and Metro Bowl champs closed their regular season with a 5-1 record.

Hall Wolfpack head coach Jonathan Beresford provided the keys to victory over the Spartans:  

“We came out pushing the ball vertically. Ferlito completed a couple of deep touchdown passes to Kenny — one of them was for 65 yards.  After three plays on offence, we had two touchdowns. Everybody played, and everybody made an impact. It was about getting the younger guys into the game and limiting our mistakes. We executed and came out strong.”

The Wolfpack did, indeed, come out strong.

Quarterback Joseph Ferlito completed two touchdown passes to veteran wide receiver Owen Kenny, and Eric Rizzardo converted both majors to give Hall a 14-0 lead after two offensive possessions to start the game. Rizzardo hoofed a 35-yard field goal, and the Wolfpack led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter.

After another aerial attack by Ferlito’s offence moved the ball to Lorne Park’s five-yard line, running back Avery Benn rumbled into the end zone to give the Wolfpack a commanding 23-0 second-quarter lead.  The reliable Rizzardo kicked the point after and the defending champs increased the Spartans’ deficit to 24 points.

When Wolfpack wide receiver Kajon Hyman glided into the end zone, and Rizzardo kicked the convert as the second quarter drew to a close, the visitors took a 31-0 lead into half-time.

Coach Beresford substituted freely in the second half as a demonstration of authentic sportsmanship and praised Lorne Park’s perseverance in their final game of the season.

“They weren’t hanging their heads. They continued to play hard, and it was great to see a young team — in its first year of Tier 1 football — keep working in the second half,” he said. “The Spartans won the Tier 2 championship last year as an AA school, and they competed hard in their first year in Tier 1. They are well-coached, and they’ll become even more competitive next season. OFSAA is going to run an AA Football championship so that will be a great incentive for the smaller schools.”

Friday’s decisive win over Lorne Park set up a replay of last year’s ROPSSAA Tier 1 Football final. The Suzuki Grizzlies will visit Hall Wolfpack on Friday with an 11 a.m. kickoff.  

Coach Beresford described his admiration for the Grizzlies’ elite quarterback and middle linebacker, Damian Neptune. 

“He scored the winning touchdown against us last week — he dragged three of our players with him into the end zone in the last seconds of the game,” he said. “He is a load. He’s an excellent fifth-year player, and he’ll be playing college football as a linebacker. Damian is a challenge for our players and their ability to stop him is a preview of what it will take to do well at the next level of football. We’ll need to match up well against him, make their aggressive defence slow down in response to our offensive motion, and force them to react to all our looks on offence.”

Coach Beresford outlined the qualities of his 5-1 football team as Hall Wolfpack heads into its most important game of the season: 

“We can lean on our collective experience — it’s our fourth Tier 1 Final in a row so all the players have been connected to these kinds of games. We’ll need to execute in the big moments and play a clean game. We’ll also have to win the turnover battle, the big plays battle, and the ‘get fewer penalties’ battle.”

ROPSSAA Tier 1 Senior Football Final Standings

• Robert F. Hall CSS Wolfpack, 5-1, 166PF-63PA

• David Suzuki SS Grizzlies, 5-1, 153PF-97PA

• St. Roch CHS Ravens, 2-4, 106PF-126PA

• Lorne Park SS Spartans, 0-6, 19PF-158PA

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