SCHOOL NOTEBOOK: FOOTBALL SHOWDOWN

Before the playoffs begin in the senior division of the Sault high school football league, the Korah Colts and the White Pines Wolverines have some business to tend to. Korah Colts and White Pines, who both finished the regular season with 2-3 records, will clash Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Rocky DiPietro Field in a tiebreaker to determine the fourth-and-final playoff spot. The winner gets the fourth playoff spot and will meet the first-place St. Mary's Knights in one semi-final Saturday at 1 p.m. at DiPietro Field. St. Mary's finished atop the standings with a 5-0 record. Korah forced the tiebreaker by beating White Pines last week and Wednesday's game is expected to be a match up of the Colts' defence and the Wolverines' high-octane offence. Both teams are well coached, with Scott Gray manning the sidelines for Korah and Barry Rushon doing the same for White Pines. Korah has a history of strong regular season finishes and playoff upsets, back to the days when Paul Caldbick was coaching the team. That late-season Korah magic continued a year ago when the fourth-place Colts upset first-place St. Mary's in the first round of the playoffs. White Pines, meanwhile is a young team; the core of last year's junior championship squad. Lack of bodies has been a problem for White Pines, as has giving up points. But the Wolverines feature two explosive weapons in running back Danny Swystun and wide receiver Noah Rushon, a pair of league MVP candidates. Meanwhile, the Sir James Dunn Eagles and the Bawating Braves will meet in semi-final play Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Both teams finished the regular season with 3-2 records. Then, it's the Saturday afternoon showdown between St. Mary's and the winner of tonight's Korah-White Pines encounter. Semi-final winners will meet in the city finals on Fri. Oct. 25. The winner of that game will represent the Sault at the NOSSA play downs, here on Sat. Nov. 2. HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL The St. Basil Saints and the St. Mary's Knights ended week three of the senior girls high school basketball schedule with identical 5-0 records. The two teams meet tonight at 6 p.m. at St. Basil. Meanwhile, the White Pines Wolverines took a 3-3 record into play this week followed by the Sir James Dunn Eagles at 2-3 and the Bawating Braves, Korah Colts and Mount St. Joseph Royals, all at 1-4. Tonight's other games have Korah at Sir James Dunn and Mount St. Joseph at Bawating. White Pines has the bye.

COLLEGE HOOPS The men's basketball team at Sault College is ranked no. 1 with Fanshawe College in a pre-season poll conducted by coaches in the West Region of Ontario Colleges Athletic Union. Completing the rankings in the seven-team West Region are St. Clair, Niagara, Lambton, Redeemer and Algoma University. The Cougars of Sault College are coming off a successful 9-3 OCAA regular season in 2001-02, when they made it to the league championship tournament. The Thunderbirds of Algoma, meanwhile, are readying for their second season in the 0CAA after going 0-12 in their maiden campaign. Meanwhile, the women's b-ball team at Sault College is in Barrie this weekend for the Georgian Invitational. The Lady Cougars are a first-year entry in the OCAA.