COLLINGWOOD - The CCI Fighting Owls senior football team are once again GBSSA champions.

The Owls clinched their second straight championship with a 29-2 victory over the Barrie North Collegiate Vikings in front of 1,500 fans in Collingwood on Saturday.

The Owls will now face the Crestwood Mustangs from Peterborough on Friday at Esther Shiner Stadium in Toronto in the National Capital Bowl semi-finals. The winner will challenge for the championship at the Rogers Centre on Nov. 25.

The game was a defensive struggle in the first half, with the Vikings leading 1-0 after the opening quarter.

The home side got rolling when quarterback Jamie Cook hit Josh MacDuffie for a spectacular 33-yard pass, giving the Owls the ball at the one-yard line. Running back Josh Reason scored his first of four touchdowns on the day at 11 minutes of the second quarter.

The Owls - known for their high-powered offense - were stifled by the strong Vikings defense in the first half and were getting frustrated.

"When you're in such a tough game, tensions get high," said Reason, who was named MVP of the game for CCI. "It's not how you start, it's how you finish and today we finished as champions."

The Vikings were led offensively by running back Spencer McWhinnie and executed a 60-yard drive late in the second quarter but the drive was negated by a Brett Meesters interception with two minutes left.

Cook praised the defense for its effort.

"I think our defense won it for us," he said.

The defensive struggle continued in the third quarter with the Vikings scoring a single point to make the game 7-2.

The turning point of the game was when John Maecker recovered a Viking fumble giving the Owls the ball, deep in North territory.

Reason scored his second touchdown and CCI added a two-point conversion to increase their lead to 15-2.

CCI would add two more touchdowns to win the championship.

Reason said this championship was more special than last year's because they had a chance to play at home. He said it was not just the school supporting the team but the entire community.

"I think it has be a lot more special," he said.

Cook said the Vikings defense was good but felt the Owls weren't playing well in the first three quarters.

"I think we were frustrated with our execution," he said.

Cook said with so many players returning, it would have been a disappointment if they didn't win the championship.