Burlington's Nelson Lords are going back to the HSSAA senior football championship for the 12th year in a row after a convincing semifinal win over the Georgetown 87s at Nelson Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 5. The final is set for the following Thursday, Nov. 12.

The team shared the result in a post on Instagram. The HSSAA is the athletic association that runs high school sports for Halton schools, and its senior division is the top level of the high school game.

This was a matchup Nelson fans know well. The Lords and the 87s met in each of the past three championship games, and they normally would have faced off again in the final. A mid-season upset by Abbey Park shuffled the playoff seeding and moved the rematch up a round.

Nelson went in as the favourite. The Lords were the No. 1 seed after locking up first place with a 41-7 win at Hayden in week 5, while Georgetown came in fourth. Nelson had also beaten the 87s 37-21 in week 2 of the regular season.

The Lords had some professional help getting ready. The day before the game, a Calgary Stampeders special teams standout came to practice to work with the players, along with a Nelson alumnus who played alongside him at Laurier.

It was a double-header at Nelson Stadium. The junior Lords, also seeded first, hosted the fourth-seeded Iroquois Ridge Wolfpack in the HSSAA junior semifinal at 3:45 p.m., right after the senior game.

The senior Lords play for the championship on Thursday, Nov. 12.