Sports
September 12, 2007 08:54 PM
By: Mike Hayakawa
A Markham football tradition is no more.
The annual Markham Bowl games between the Markham District High Marauders and Brother Andre Catholic High Cardinals used to be played before as many as 2,000 spectators at Mount Joy field on the Friday evening of Thanksgiving weekend.
With the Marauders acting as the host for this year’s grudge matches, the school elected to move the games to its Church Street field Oct. 23 at 2 and 4 p.m.
The move had nothing to do with gaining home field advantage, even though Mount Joy field (the game’s locale since 2001) is Brother Andre’s home turf, said Mike Feasby, head of the Markham District High physical education department.
School administrators opted to move to a day game because MDHS doesn’t have a lit field or a gated entrance to control crowds.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find that in all of York Region. The closest facilities are at Oshawa Civic Stadium or Esther Shiner Stadium in Toronto,” Feasby said.
He admitted players are disappointed the game won’t be played at night.
He also sympathized with fans enjoyed an evening tradition since 1994, when the game was held at Centennial Park (but moved to Mount Joy after nearby residents complained).
“The bottom line is we need a lit field with a gated entrance that can hold at least 1,000 people,” Feasby said.
Brother Andre’s administration agreed with the decision, Cardinals senior coach Rick Maloney said.
But he voiced his disappointment, especially to having the game played during the day.
That change will hurt the game’s profile, he said, since many fans — students and alumni — can’t attend a day game because of studies or jobs.
“I understand where the administration from both schools are coming from. But I think it’s a real loss. To me, our game with Markham District High School this year is just a game.
“People (especially graduates now in university) who came home for Thanksgiving weekend knew there would be a game at Brother Andre on the Friday evening. It was a huge event for Markham and for high school football.”
Maloney suggested the tradition could be salvaged to a degree. With Brother Andre acting as host for next year’s games, he proposed the juniors play early in the afternoon and seniors at 6 p.m.
Since the Markham Bowl began, the Marauders have won nine of 12 matches.
The Cardinals, however, took the last two meetings.
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