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Heartbreaker

Joe Scharf may never get this close to a Brier again.
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Team Jacobs members Scott Seabrook, Brad Jacobs, Ryan Harnden and E.J.Harnden show elation after beat Team Scharf 7-6 on Sunday at Fort William Curling Club. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)
Joe Scharf may never get this close to a Brier again.

Up two points with the hammer coming home in Sunday afternoon’s Northern Ontario provincial men’s curling championship final at Fort William Curling Club, Scharf needed a draw to the full eight-foot, facing three Brad Jacobs stones in the back left side of the house.

A shot he’d made all week, Scharf came up heavy on this one, the stone didn’t curl and catch the backing provided by the Jacobs rocks and sailed through the house, a steal of three for the defending champions who are on their way to London, Ont. for next month’s national men’s curling championship.

It was a heartbreaking 7-6 loss for Team Scharf, a rink that includes lead Gary Champagne, second Rob Champagne and third Mike McCarville.

Scharf, who lost provincial finals in 2006 and 2008, was devastated at himself for missing the easy shot.

“I guess I should have taken maybe a little extra second in the hack to maybe calm my nerves down a little bit. It just came out a little hot and the rest is history,” said a dejected Scharf, following a week that saw him go 9-2 in round-robin play and beat Jacobs twice, including Saturday afternoon’s 1-2 Page Playoff.

“Actually I was thinking calm down and just take my time and just do what has to be done. We did beat them. In my eyes we beat them. But I don’t know, it’s just one shot and it just sealed the deal.”

It wasn’t the only time in the match Scharf had trouble with weight on a shot.

In the sixth end, after Jacobs came up heavy trying to draw to the four-foot, Scharf was left with an open draw for four. He gave it a little too much and slid out of the house, left to settle for three. It turns out the lost rock cost him.

But the ice wasn’t the issue, he said.

“No, it wasn’t. It’s been the same that it’s been all week. It’s all you can ask for,” he said. “It’s just the way it worked out.”

It’s also time to put it in his past, he said.

“It’s hard to think about next year right now, but obviously we know we can play and I guess the best thing to do here is to shake it off and come back strong next year.”

No one was questioning that either team could play on Sunday.

Jacobs, who finished 9-2 and in second place during the round robin at the 2010 Brier in Halifax, proved he belongs with the best.

But even he needs a little luck from time to time, said Jacobs, who beat Thunder Bay's Mike Assad 6-1 in the semifinal earlier on Sunday.

“We got one break all week and that was it,” Jacobs said.

Surprisingly he didn’t point to Scharf’s miss in 10 when asked what the turning point in the matinee affair was.

“The draw in six ... that went through the house, that was a big point. When we decided to hit and stick in seven for one and just stay in the game, those are two big shots,” he said.

He never game up, even facing long odds without the hammer in 10. He just played a textbook end and it worked out.

“There’s a certain strategy in curling. You throw two guards up and you’ve got to hope the other team misses, and try to get a couple of rocks in the four-foot. That was our strategy going into that end. And it ended up Joe had the shot to win, but there’s a lot of pressure on that shot,” said Jacobs, a Future Shop employee in Sault Ste. Marie.

Team Scharf took an early 1-0 lead in the second, then stole another in the third when Jacobs rolled his shooter out on a double takeout.

After blanking the fourth end, Jacobs rebounded with one in the fifth when Scharf positioned his rocks in such a way as to force a draw to the four-foot.

The sixth end was shaping up in favour of the Sault Ste. Marie squad, that includes lead Scott Seabrook, second Ryan Harnden and third E.J. Harnden.

But Scharf managed to turn it around, with a little help from his opponent, who just missed on a double, leaving the Thunder Bay skip laying two. He removed a yellow rock and lay three, then Jacobs came up heavy to set up the possible four.

It wasn’t to be.

Jacobs scored one in the seventh, which Scharf took right back in the eighth with a beautiful angle raise that removed a Jacobs stone all but locked on the button, giving him a 6-2 lead.

E.J. Harnden said he never would have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. The team erupted after Scharf’s miss became apparent, leaping into each other’s arms, the tears starting to flow freely.

“I am stunned, but I’m ecstatic and I think we’ll do great going into the Brier.”

 



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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