They may be the underdog, but the West Ferris Trojans have plenty of experience to tap into as they head into the NOSSA senior football final Saturday against Korah Collegiate from Sault Ste Marie.

Trojans Head Coach Mark Robertson says they’ve gained valuable experience from a couple of tight NDA playoff games and then their NOSSA semi-final victory over Sudbury last weekend.

“We were in some nerve-wracking situations, faced a lot of adversity in those games and I think that bodes well for us, just in terms of the experience of going through those things, and not come unraveled and play through the pressure,” he says.

After a one point victory in the NDA semifinals over Franco Cite, then a two point win over St Joseph-Scollard Hall in the NDA final, the Trojans won 14-0 over Sudbury’s Lively in the NOSSA semi-final.

As for their opponents on Saturday, Robertson says one thing is clear about the Soo and football.

“Anytime a team comes out of the Soo, they’re the favourite,” he says. “We’ve had some success, we’ve had some absolutely fantastic moments, we still do not believe we’ve played to our potential and we haven’t played a full 48 minutes yet, so we’re definitely going to have to do that on Saturday.”

Robertson says they’re cognizant of the fact they play four down football in the Soo.

“Korah, like some of the other teams, run the ball very well, very efficiently, they have excellent timing, a number of players that can hurt you running the football, so we’re definitely going to have to limit that,” he says.

But that’s not the only threat.

“It would be foolish to think they can’t throw the ball, so at the same time you’re focusing on stopping the run, they could be throwing the ball on any given play, as well,” Robertson adds.

Game time is 1:30 pm Saturday at the Omischl Complex.

The winner advances to take on a northwestern school at the OFSAA Northern Bowl in Hamilton on November 29th.

(Photo by Vicki Tyler)

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