No one expected them to be there. Except the ones who count.
DeWinton’s Taite Cattoni and the Calgary Chill have landed at the Holy Grail of Junior B Lacrosse after playing the underdog role to perfection at the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League provincials where they booked one of two spots to the Founders’ Cup.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment,” said Cattoni, Calgary’s leading scorer. “Our team really pushed for that since we were looked at provincials as the team that shouldn’t be there and that really motivated us.
“Knowing the whole year we were hosting provincials gave us a sense that we could play our best lacrosse at the end of the year and work towards that and look where we are.”
The Chill finished second in the RMLL’s South Division with a record of 16-4, behind the powerhouse Calgary Shamrocks who carried a ridiculous 19-1 mark into the post-season. In the battle of Calgary, the Shamrocks trumped the Chill in the Division finals en route to taking the league crown.
Days later and the Chill would get their shot at redemption and they didn’t miss as the provincials pitted the bitter foes in the opening tilt at Stu Peppard Arena.
The Chill would strike early and often for a 16-8 triumph to set the tone for the tourney.
“They’re very fast and the biggest thing was committing to moving the ball a lot quicker and getting off the floor,” Cattoni said. “Our defence really shut them down and played the body and stopped looking at sticks.”
Calgary followed it up with big victories over the Red Deer Rampage and Manitoba Blizzard to advance to the provincial gold medal game in a rematch with the Blizz.
With both teams already qualified for Founders and the Chill down a few bodies, the Manitoba squad come out with an 8-6 result to take the title.
“We still hadn’t played our best lacrosse and knowing that gave us a huge boost of confidence to go into provincials,” Cattoni added. “And to beat Red Deer and the Shamrocks – who thought they were miles better than us just because they won the North and South.”
Under the guidance of bench boss Jared McNicol, the Chill have now qualified for two national appearances in a row – having finished out of the medals at the 2015 event in the Stampede City.
Cattoni, 18, led the Chill with 38 goals and 89 points in just 17 regular season games and added a team high 11 markers during the post-season. He missed out on the 2015 Founders after spending most of the campaign at the Jr. A level with the Okotoks Raiders.
Calgary is grouped with fellow RMLL foes in the North Division’s Saskatchewan SWAT as well Ontario’s Clarington Green Gaels and against Team Nova Scotia made up of East Coast Junior Lacrosse League All-Stars.
“When the game is on the line, when it’s the biggest game of the year we really come to play and I think that’s why we’re going to be a very dangerous team in Founders,” Cattoni said. “We’re looking at those teams as our Shamrocks, where we need to come play our best game or we’re not going to win.”
The Chill opened tournament play on Aug. 16 against the SWAT.
Regardless of where the team finishes in Ontario, Cattoni will be staying east as he takes one step towards Division I field lacrosse.
The Rundle College student begins a two-year journey at Salisbury Prep School in Connecticut in preparation to attend Johns Hopkins University beginning in 2018.
It’s a path laid out by older brother Holden who after a stellar career with the Okotoks Jr. A Raiders began a stellar run as an elite student-athlete at the Division I school.
Holden is expected to be one of the first names selected in the National Lacrosse League Draft next month.
“I always wanted to go to Johns Hopkins when my brother committed,” Cattoni said. “The biggest thing was knowing the coaching staff and knowing what they would do for me and what a Johns Hopkins education does.
“That’s a school that’s very prestigious and it doesn’t hurt that their lacrosse team is a top-five program.”
