Bryon Labadie's hat trick led the Ursuline Lancers to a 3-1 win over the Tilbury Titans yesterday in the Kent high school junior boys soccer league at Ursuline. Labadie and Tilbury's Riley Heath scored for a 1-1 halftime tie, then Labadie netted two more goals in the second half. The Lancers (1-0-1) are tied for first with the Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks. The Titans fell to 0-2-0.

The score was much closer than the last time the Ursuline Lancers and McGregor Panthers played, but the result was the same. The Lancers won 13-6 on Saturday in a rematch of last year's Kent senior football final. Joe Romano scored on a four-yard run for the Lancers' only touchdown in the second game of the Red Feather doubleheader at the Chatham-Kent Community Athletic Complex. It was the first meeting between the teams since Ursuline's 36-0 championship win. Tyler Drury kicked a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter as the Blenheim Bobcats rallied to beat the Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks 10-8 in the opening game of the doubleheader. Ursuline is alone in first place with a 2-0 record. McGregor, Blenheim and Wallaceburg are 1-1, while Chatham-Kent is 0-2. Lancers 13, Panthers 6 Jeremy Gorzelak kicked a 34yard field goal, a rouge and the extra point after Romano's TD as the Lancers led 11-6 at halftime. Eric Hoffman made a tackle for a safety in the third quarter. "Our defence did a great job handling their inside power," 

Lancers head coach Randy Rybansky said. "Offensively, we were able to get it done with a couple of starters on the shelf. This was a solid win in a good matchup." Lancers quarterback Bryce Cumming ran eight times for 140 yards. Brad Bettencourt led Ursuline's defence with nine tackles. Hoffman, Jordan Roy and Jordan Deneau each made eight and Romano had an interception. The Panthers did not submit their statistics. Bobcats 10, Golden Hawks 8 Josh Shuian's six-yard touchdown run in the first quarter put the Bobcats ahead 7-0. Drury kicked the extra point. The Golden Hawks answered with Brock Henderson's 13-yard TD run. Eric Standaert kicked the convert. Tim Doermer's 57-yard punt for a rouge with one second left in the first half gave the Golden Hawks an 8-7 lead. Bobcats quarterback Ryan Vanderzwan was 12-of-20 for 167 yards passing. He also ran six times for a team-high 43 yards. Wendel Heyink caught six passes for 82 yards. Zack Shuian caught two for 51 yards and gained 30 yards on eight carries. Henderson led the Golden Hawks with 70 yards on 10 carries and Graham Smyth ran six times for 32 yards. Dan Vandecaveye was 6-of-14 for 50 yards. Henderson and Chris Moore each made three catches. Drury had five tackles and an interception for Blenheim and Vanderzwan clinched the win with an interception on the game's final play. Matt Price made seven tackles, Dylan Bonner had six and Josh Shuian four. Brenden Thompson made seven tackles and blocked a punt for Chatham-Kent, Brandon Cowell had five tackles and deflected three passes, and Adam Veldboom had four tackles and a sack.

The Ursuline Lancers picked off passes on the Blenheim Bobcats' first two drives and won 21-8 yesterday in the Kent senior football league. Justin Manion returned the first interception for an 82-yard touchdown in the season-opening win at Ursuline College. Bobcats head coach Brian Pugh said. "The Pines played well, but we stuck our nose in there." Zack Shuian scored the Bobcats' touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a six-yard run. The Lancers led 15-2 at halftime after the touchdowns by Manion and Howard. Jeremy Gorzelak also kicked a 30-yard field goal. Cumming scored in the fourth quarter. He was 5-of-10 passing for 48 yards and also ran five times for 100 yards. Bobcats quarterback Ryan Vanderzwan completed 16 of 25 passes for 186 yards. Wendel Heyink had seven catches for 74 yards and Bowdie Gardiner made five catches for 61 yards. Blenheim's Andrew Furlan ran for 32 yards and Josh Shuian added 29. Brad Bettencourt led the Lancers with nine tackles, Jordan Roy made eight and Gorzelak had seven. Manion had two interceptions. Zack Shuian made eight tackles, knocked down two passes and blocked an extra point for the Bobcats. Matt Price and Josh Shuian each made five tackles and Tyler Clarke had four.

The Ursuline Lancers will seek their third straight championship and fourth in five years when the Kent senior football season begins today. They're shown celebrating last year's 36-0 championship win over the McGregor Panthers. 

McGregor head coach James Clarke doesn't want to hear the Panthers labelled pre-season favourites. As far as he's concerned, the Ursuline Lancers are still the team to beat in the Kent senior football league. The Lancers have won two straight titles and three in four years. " They're always going to have that bull's-eye on their back when they're the defending champion for a few years," Clarke said. The Lancers are eager to try for another championship. "The kids are really up for the challenge," head coach Randy Rybansky said. "They know it's going to be tough. I think it's going to be a close league." If any team is going to topple the Lancers, opposing coaches predict the Panthers have the best shot. They return five allstars from last year's Kent runners-up. The Wallaceburg Tartans and Chatham-Kent Golden Hawks, meanwhile, are loaded with players from the past two Kent junior champions. The always-tough Blenheim Bobcats were Kent senior finalists in 2006 and '07. "It could be a five-horse race for the first time in awhile," Blenheim head coach Brian Pugh said. "I don't see any weak links," agreed Wallaceburg head coach Rob MacLachlan. 

The season begins today when the Panthers travel to Wallaceburg. Following is a brief look at each team. Ursuline Lancers 2008 season: First place with 6-0-0 record; beat McGregor 36-0 in Kent final; lost to Sarnia Northern 25-2 in SWOSSAA 'AAA-AAAA' semifinal. Outlook: The Lancers lost several players from last year's team, including seven all-stars. The roster is also down to 40 players, the smallest it's been in several years. None of that worries head coach Randy Rybansky. "We lost a lot of key people, no doubt about it," he said. "It's going to take some time to get back to where (we were). But every year's a new year. That's the challenge." Bryce Cumming, an all-star slotback last year, is the new quarterback. He replaces Max Allin, a two-time Kent offensive MVP. "He's a great athlete and a quick study, so we're hoping it pans out," Rybansky said. "... He's looking forward to the challenge, though, and that's what I love about him. He loves to compete." Wide receiver Josh Woodman, running back Joey Romano and fullback Zach Mahoney are other key offensive players. Middle linebacker Brad Bettencourt and all-star lineman Eric Hoffman lead the defence. The Lancers' secondary and kicking game are also strong, Rybansky said. " We're fairly balanced and that's the main thing," he said. McGregor Panthers 2008 season: Second place with 4-1-1 record; lost to Ursuline 36-0 in Kent final; lost to Sarnia St. Clair 40-6 in SWOSSAA 'A-AA' semifinal. Outlook: Head coach James Clarke admits the Panthers were pleasantly surprised to be Kent finalists last season. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but they reached the championship for the first time since winning the 2004 title. " This year our goal is to get back to the final and see what happens," Clarke said. They have the experience to contend again, especially on defence. " We were fairly young last year, so we're returning quite a few players," Clarke said. "We've got a good mix of veterans and rookies coming up from the junior team." The defence is led by linebackers Larry Vandenberghe and Brandon Pratt and linemen Eric Buxton and Len Verrall. Pratt and Verrall were all-stars last season. "We think our defence is going to be our strength this year," Clarke said. All-star quarterback Jeremiah Hamilton, a second-year starter, guides an offence that features running back Chris Verrall, wide receivers Cody St. Pierre and Curtis LaBute and offensive lineman Brian Armstrong. LaBute and Armstrong were also all-stars.