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Wolves take finals, CPU second

In the men's finals tournament at Shirley Macy, Halfmoon Bay (HMB) was the up-and-coming best team on paper going into the weekend, but then folded like paper, mostly due to injuries.

In the men's finals tournament at Shirley Macy, Halfmoon Bay (HMB) was the up-and-coming best team on paper going into the weekend, but then folded like paper, mostly due to injuries. Seeing striker Glenn Hafley coming out of church on crutches Sunday morning was a bad sign for the squad, and he was joined on the injury sideline by tough defender Sean 'No-Pain' Baines. Jesse Morantz put away HMB's two goals.

With game-winning goals from Kuna Sakarin and fan favourite Rod 'Rodnaldo' Kammerle, the Bananas again landed in the Beer Cup final. When asked why Pender held so dearly that duct-taped, hay-wired, aluminum-can abomination known as the Beer Cup, fullback and local historian Josh Young explained. "Pender's a fishing town. It was built on haywire, duct tape and beer cans." Sitas prevailed over the Bananas on goals from Rich Watson, and also got great tournament play from Rich Getzkow and Tony Duffy. In a qualifier, Duffy drifted in a top corner beauty, punched out by CPU keeper Jeff Maisonette. Duffy, a former golden gloves champ, was shocked to be punched out like that.

After wins against Pender and Sitas, on goals from Cory Crosby, Mike Husband and Chris Banbury, Ridgepoint faced CPU in a semi-final. CPU's Ken Campbell ripped a short-side snipe, followed by a header from Ted Chisholm. Eoin Ross almost put it within one, as he trotted out in his freshly-laundered whites, only to go sliding through the mud on a diving header that hit the post. After Wolves sent league leaders Chiefs packing, it was time for a replay of the 2012 CPU-Wolves final.

Even though its only an over-30s league, it seems that rolling a soccer ball in front of our Coastal menfolk has the same effect as tossing a beefsteak before a wolverine, transforming polite upstanding citizens into snarling maniacs. Both teams wanted it. Martin Blackwell was limping before he played four games straight, and afterwards needed help to his car, while Jeremy Hudson put his head into a goalpost while putting the Wolves clincher into the net, while also hitting the opener. Despite front line fancy footwork from Dixon, Hudson and Dan Muir - which Chiefs' John Jackson described as "dances like wolves" - Wolves' keeper Dana Dixon stole the show. Dixon managed a tournament record, four straight shutouts. In the fading minutes, Fumi Takahashi sent one final place kick over the wall and under the crossbar, only to have it volleyed over by Dixon, to keep his perfect record intact. Another final whistle, and another silver trophy for CPU and another erupting Band sideline as the Wolves won the tournament.

The most sportsmanlike player went to Pender principal Barry Krangle, who has offered a free juice box to any student who supplies him with a cut-out of this article. Afterwards, while complaining to bus driver Jose Martinez about defeats from the Chiefs and Wolves, Krangle said not to feel bad and that when he was a kid he also lost to Band teams, then starring Howie Joe.

So yes, in 2013, the Band teams won the league (barely) and the tournament, and apparently were good even back in 1968, but 2014 is another season, and teams from the Bruins in Langdale to the Bananas in Pender will be gunning for them, ready to pry that hardware from their fingers.

The league thanks Dave Marsh and Dean Totten for all their work.

See action shots from the Wolves vs CPU final game in our online galleries at www.coastreporter.net.