The Huntsville High School senior boys’ basketball team travelled to Brantford to participate in the 2008 Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) playdowns hosted by Paris District High School.

The Hoyas entered the playdowns seeded 15th in the 16-game draw. This seeding made the Hoyas the underdog in both their games, but the opposition got more of a battle than they thought they would.

In their first round game the Hoyas were up against Central Commerce Collegiate Riders from Toronto. The Riders entered the playdowns as the fifth seed.

The Hoyas started strongly and held a three-point lead at the end of the first quarter and a two-point lead, 27-25, at the half. The two teams continued to battle and were tied at 38 going into the fourth quarter.

The Hoyas again took a slim lead, which the Riders finally overcame at 2:01 of the fourth quarter. Central Commerce then took a five-point lead, but the Hoyas battled back and had an opportunity with less than two seconds left to tie the game but were unable to do so.

Dylan Teakle led the Hoyas with 16 points, followed by Jacob Austin-Edsall with 13. Oliver Wolfe also had a strong game, scoring nine points, while Jarred Hoo spearheaded the offense from the point guard position and added eight.

Their first-round loss placed the Hoyas in a precarious position as their next opponents were the number two seed, the Windsor Catholic Central Comets.

The Hoyas’ starters had expended a great deal of energy in their narrow loss to Central Commerce and it showed at the start of the game against the Comets.

The Hoyas got off to a very slow start and trailed 18-7 in the first quarter. It looked like the Comets were going to run away with this one, but the Hoyas had other ideas.

The Hoyas cut the margin to eight, 29-21, at the end of the half with strong play from Hoo and Tyler Rae. Neither team gave an inch in the second half and although the Hoyas were able to cut the margin to six at one point, they were unable to overcome their slow start and dropped another close one, 67-59.

Hoo led the Hoyas with 17 points and strong court leadership, while Rae added 12 and Austin chipped in 10. Other scorers included Ben Murat with seven, Teakle with six and Wolfe with five. Other members of the team included Cooper Schnurr and Phil Stevenson.

This team will be substantially different next year as four players, Hoo, Teakle, Wolfe and Rae, have played their last game for Huntsville. Congratulations to all players for a strong season and an outstanding performance at OFSAA.