When the clock's ticking down to those last few minutes before lunch, and you hear a mob approaching amidst the crash of symbols and the blare of trumpetry, it's hard for the mind not to fill in the understanding gaps with certain imagery.After all, there's going to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for it. Maybe a U.S. Marine Corps band has lost its GPS. Perhaps, it being a Catholic school, that it's just some saints, come marching in. Or maybe, just maybe, it's Don MacLeod's period 2 music class grabbing the inside lane to the cafeteria.
But today, it was none of that. It was, rather, a celebration of achievement, and an expression of pride and best wishes for a soccer team that went out and earned the right to represent this part of the province in an All-Ontario Championship.
As you know, our Senior Boys make the trip to London, Ontario today to participate in the OFSAA 'A' Championships, to be held Thursday and Friday. And that clamour coming down the hall was, in fact, Mr. MacLeod, leading a cohort of instrument-packing musicians and the student body of the school as they escorted the Senior Jaguars through the building en route to the gym, before packing the team aboard the bus for the great trek south.
Sirens blaring, the throng marched along, receiving the spontaneous and heart-felt applause of the classess they went by, their numbers growing larger with each doorway passed, and each hallway travelled.
A very impressive display of school spirit was what it was, and it bodes well for a school that appears to be sending more and more of its athletic teams to regional, and now provincial, championships.
The Jaguars begin the OFSAA tournament Thursday morning with an opening tilt against St. Domninic of Bracebridge at 9:00 AM. They then go up against the Acton Bearcats for a 1:00 PM encounter, before finishing up the qualifying round with a game against Norwich on Friday morning.
Fans can follow the status of the team by accessing the special portal on the SJCHS main page, or by following the link posted below.
And so, as has been said before, let the games begin.
