Sunny South News Photo by Garrett Simmons. SHOOT: Owen Senneker of the Titans drives to the hoop during Saturday night’s championship game at St. Mary’s High School against Taber Christian.

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

It was a championship weekend for the Coaldale Christian Titans, as the 1A boys basketball team proved it was the best team in the province.

At the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association provincial tournament in Taber, Coaldale ran the table en route to a dominating gold-medal performance, punctuated by an 83-54 win in the final over Taber Christian.

Coaldale’s three-headed monster of Owen Senneker, Dimitri Veendendaal and Darren Mackay was simply too much for the Lions, as the Titans started off hot and never looked back.

Coaldale Christian built a 22-12 lead after the first quarter and extended the advantage to 45-22 at the half.

It was 67-35 after three quarters, as the Titans poured it on, and Taber Christian could not find any answers.

In the end, Senneker finished with 29, Veenendaal had 23 and Mackay chipped in with 20. Sebastian Hoekstra had 13 for Taber, while Maddox Kooiker added 11.

Coaldale’s dominant run as the weekend’s No. 1 seed began with a 107-70 victory over No. 8 Father George Redmond.

Senneker had 27 points, Josiah Visser added 20 and Mackay, Veendendaal and Cody Van Raalte all had 15 each.

Coaldale then took out Worsley Central in the semifinals by a score of 95-67, as Veendendaal led the way with 35. Senneker had 26 and Mackay added 18.

On the girls side, Coaldale also took home the 1A provincial championship.

It was a much different kind of victory, as Coalhurst emerged with a 50-49 win in the final over the host Olds Koinonia team, which came in as the No. 1 seed.

Coalhurst, ranked No. 6, opened the event with a 72-24 win in the first round over Rosemary.

In the second round, Coalhurst beat Eckville Senior High, the No. 3 team, by a score of 66-61.

The semifinal featured a 60-55 win over No. 7 Coaldale Christian.

Coaldale Christian went on to take bronze with a win over No. 4 Bawlf.

Coaldale opened play with a 72-25 win over St. Mary and then defeated No. 2 Stirling by a score of 64-61.