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Wednesday, April 11, 2007 · Page 17 Jon Cooney Bonded and insured 24 Hour Service Unionized #625 207 Erie St. E., Suite 103 Windsor, ON N9A 3X2 Windsor's Only Final Clean Company Phone: (519) 973-8471 Fax: (519) 973-8436 Raiders optimistic about upcoming season BY JAY FAWLER SPECIAL TO THE FREE PRESS ESSEX MEN'S HOCKEY SR. DIVISION CHAMPS ­ The Sharks beat the Flyers 3-0 in the championship game of the ssex Men's Hockey Sr. Division finals. Pictured above, in no particular order are: Paul Scott, Bill Jones, Rick Delaire, Ron Lane, Dan Newman, Rick Gorchinsky, Jeff Garrod, Rob Vid Amour, Dan Sauve, Linc Haynes, Terry Sovran, Lonnie Boose. Absent: Ken Beaulieu and Joel Stafford. In the consolation game, the Legion beat the Rabbits 3-0. The Villanova Wildcats, a team that dominated the Detroit Catholic Baseball League division last year, has returned to WECSSAA. With the likely absence of all-star pitcher and short stop Chris Warren until the Essex 73's season is over, the Essex Red Raider Boys' Baseball team might be in for disaster, right? Wrong. The team is still optimistic about their upcoming season and should be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. "We have a strong team that is really determined this year," said senior centrefielder Kyle Williamson. "We're going to play game by game to get ourselves to where we want to be." The Raiders look to improve on their 8-2 record of last year. This may be easier said than done with the addition of Villanova likely to halt the uprising of the Raiders. That being said, there are many upsides to the boys' season. On offence, the Raiders will rely heavily on senior outfielder Josh Brohman who is already being recognized for his power in only his second year of high school ball. The defensive side is anchored by a strong pitching rotation consisting of seniors Chris Warren, Kyle Kokovai and Tyler Campbell. SEE RAIDERS, PAGE 19