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(Posted
8 a.m., Sept. 25)
St.
Peter, St. Matts kick off HS football season with impressive
wins
By Mike Beasley
The Orleans Star
It
was quite a kick-off to the high school football season
for the St. Peter Knights and the St. Matthew Tigers.
Unfortunately, the same can't be said for their opposition
in the National Capital Secondary Schools Athletic Association
(NCSSAA). In
their season opening games last Friday, the Knights crushed
the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Lancers 42-6, while the Tigers
cruised to a 46-0 romp over the Glebe Gryphons. Of
note, the Tigers-Gryphons match-up was stopped in the
fourth quarter with lightning strikes in the area and
a tornado warning issued for Eastern Ontario. In
other opening week action, the Colonel By Cougars beat
the Philomen Wright Falcons 32-12, the Ashbury Colts beat
the Immaculata Saints 36-7 and the Franco-Cit� Falcons
downed the St. Mark Lions 36-7. The
Knights' offensive power was on display against the Lancers
as St. Peter quarterback Ryan Licandro torched the Sir
Wilfrid secondary for three touchdown passes. On
the ground, Fabrice Mukendi scampered for a pair of rushing
majors and was a force carrying the rock all game. "I'm
happy to be heathy and playing football again,� Mukendi
said after spending a portion of the summer recovering
from an ankle injury suffered while playing for the Cumberland
Panthers Junior Varsity team. "I
anticipate that we'll have a good season in 2018. We (St.
Peter) have very good coaches, a solid group of talented
kids with one of the best QBs in the country. It should
be fun,� added Mukendi. Speaking
of Licandro, the Grade 12 senior quarterback likes what
he sees in this year's Knights team. We
have the potential and all the ingredients to do very
well,� said the strong armed athlete. "Our goal is to
win our association and qualify for OFSAA.� The
2018 OFSAA Football Bowls Series will be held at TD Place
in Ottawa from November 26-28, so the representative from
the NCSAA won't have far to travel. The
Knights traditional rivals at St. Matthew may have a say
in the matter as they looked very impressive in running
roughshod over the visitors from Glebe. There
seemed to be no stopping Lovely Tshibanda, the Tigers
all-purpose highlight reel who galloped his way past the
Gryphons defenders for three impressive running majors. "Despite
the lopsided score I have to give Glebe a shout-out for
playing hard and competing until the game was called,�
said Tshibanda. "I like our team and have to give my teammates,
specifically the offensive line a lot of credit for creating
holes to run through.� One
game does not make a season but it did give high school
football fans a glimpse of what to expect in the coming
weeks. The
two schools are tentatively scheduled to meet up in the
All Saints Bowl on Thursday, Oct.18 at 7 p.m. on the artificial
turf at Millennium Park. If
the field is not available at that time, the contest and
kick-off time may be moved to 3 p.m. at the St Peter.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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TRIVIA NIGHT every Tuesday night at the Royal Oak Pub Orléans from 7:30 p.m. Free to play and prize for the winning team! The Royal Oak is located at 1981 St. Joseph Blvd. near the corner of Jeanne d'Arc Blvd. For more information visit 
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