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The Vikings‘ Michelle Joslin tries to break the Bluevale press put on by Kaitlin Hooper, right And the kickâ€"off to the annual Spirit of Waterloo competition had some t was the matchup the IBluevale Knights were waiting for last Thursday at WCL Knights meet their Waterloo t was a seasonâ€"opening Iwin over the Ottawa Gee Gees that had the Wilfrid Launrier Golden Hawks believâ€" ing that this season would be different than the dismal 1â€"7 record they had a year ago Golden Hawks and Warriors get ready for the playofifs And they‘re hoping that another win over Ottawa to apen the playoffs at home this Saturday will lead to another fiveâ€"game winning streak for the Hawks that will take them And after beating Ottawa 30â€"20, the Hawks reeled off five straight wins before losing to Western in overtime. By Bos VRBANAc _ Chronicle Staff By Bos Varanac Chronicle Staff added relevancy as the last two unbeaten senior girls basketball teams faced each other in league play. The Vikings have domiâ€" nated the battle the last few years, including depriving the Knights of a shot at reaching the CWOSSA finals last year. Gary Jeffries all the way to a Vanier Cup title "That win was the key to the whole turnaround." said Hawks\ head coach Gary Jefâ€" fries, who is looking to start another streak this weekend But the Vikings had a few things left in their old trick bag, including junior callâ€"up Allison Stinson, a post player who helped the Jr. Vikings to And the Knights thought this was their year, after the Vikings lost four of their five starters to graduation. _‘ "We‘ve already beat them down there in their stadium, and there‘s no reason if we come out and play we can‘t continue this thing." The keys to the game will be how the Hawks‘ depleted secondary â€" matches up against one of two Gee Gees gunners at quarterback. (On the other side of the ball. porous Gee Gee run defence is going to have to find a way to stop Derek Medler, who finished the seaâ€" son with 1,420 yards rushing in Saturday‘s 62â€"7 win over the University of Toronto Blues Medler ended up breaking Kojo Aidoo‘s OUA rushing SPORTS Continued on page 27 A Vikings finally shake off the Knights‘ curse CHRONICLE | Those more grounded in «reality will instead suggest that it was the Vikings‘ strong ground game that finally s streaks go, it doesn‘t Azumpare to the record f futility that the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox share after those teams both lost again last week. But in high school terms the Bluevale Knights® 16â€"year dominance in the annual Batâ€" tle of Waterloo game, now dubbed the more politically correct Spirit of Waterloo game, was as close to a curse that the Waterloo Vikings have ever suffered through. In fact, that streak was older than some of the playâ€" ers involved in last Thursday‘s contest at University Stadjum. And while no one‘s quite sure how that losing streak started, it‘s over now after the Vikings dismounted the Knights 29â€"15. It wasn‘t a full moon, but perhaps it was the two moons of some streaking WCI fans who raced across the field that finally changed the forâ€" tune for the Vikings. record of 1,329 yards, but was surpassed by McMaster‘s Jesse Lumsden who rushed for 1,497 yards this season. If they do find a way to stop Medler, a reâ€"energized quarterback Ryan Pyear is ready to lead the Hawks‘ air attack. "We do have some nice balance now." said feffries. Down the street., the Waterloo â€" Warriors _ also clinched the final playoff spot despite a 57â€"10 loss to McMaster, being lifted? The Wartiors got in on the strength of their win over Guelph last Week, and the York Lions‘ 25â€"17 defeat of the (Gee (Gees on Saturday. So what led to the curse By Bos VrRANAC Chronicle Staff made the difference. Leading the way were fifthâ€" year running backs Jake Hisâ€" hon and Ryan Lynch. Hishon plunged in twice from short distances to put the Vikings up by two touchdowns after trailing 7â€"0 at the half, while Lynch‘s 100â€"yard plus rushing day, which included a 73â€"yard scamper in the fourth quarter, sealed the deal. Ryan Lynch, centre breaks off a big run against the Knights You would have thought they had won the WCSSAA championship after the game, Chris Triantafilon That‘s why Warriors head coach Chris Triantafilou said no one in his program thinks they backed into the playoffs. "The kids would have felt deprived if Guelph got in and a formula took then out of it." www.vwwaterloo.com CLICK HERE Yolkswagen New & Cortified Preâ€"owned Cors but both said they won someâ€" thing more important â€" backyard bragging rights. "The coaghes told us to come on three cylinders today, we came on eight," said Hishon about the Vikings‘ added horsepower. "We were down on ourâ€" selves at half, but the Oâ€"line picked us up and we came out all pistons firing," said Lynch. "That was a sweet win, we‘ll be celebrating this one for a while." said Triantafilou about a comâ€" plicated playoff tiebreaker that had Waterloo, Guelph and York vying for the last two playoff spots going into the last weekend. "Thankfully it played out the way it should." Not that Triantafilou is ready to give up the ship. His Wartiors played the Maraudâ€" ers tough last weekend, and took out the crowd in the game, before a turnover changed the momentum. "You have to have zeroes on the scoresheet," said Tri antafitou about the turnovers that cost his team. "It‘s a mat ter of the kids really having to play sound football." Volkswagen Waterioo