High School Football
Colonel By comes up short in battle of the unbeatens
By Fred Sherwin
The Orleans Star

St. Peter running back Josh Smith follows his lead blocker during the game between the Knights and the Immaculata Saints on Oct. 4. Fred Sherwin/Photo

After starting the season with back-to-back wins over the Philemon Wright Falcons and the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Lancers, the Colonel By Cougars were hoping to make it 3-for-3 when they faced the Franco-Cité Falcons on their home field October 4.

Unfortunately for the Cougars, the Falcons, who had also won their first two games, had other plans.

Brimming with confidence, Franco-Cité scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter, coupled with a pair of two point conversions and a field goal, to take an early 19-0 lead.

The Cougars managed to score pair of touchdowns in the second stanza, but a pair of missed two-point conversion attempts left them trailing by seven at the half.

The Falcons would extend their lead to 14 points after scoring a converted touchdown on their opening drive in the third quarter, but they failed to convert a golden opportunity when Colonel By turned the ball over on the kick-off.

After stalling on the Cougars’ 30-yard line on the ensuing drive, Franco-Cité attempted a 37-yard field goal that sailed just wide for a single point.

Colonel By would eventually score later in the third quarter on a short pass from quarterback Scott Fulton to Reggie Jean-Baptiste that was set up by two long runs by Fulton.

A third failed two-point conversion attempt left the Cougars trailing 27-18 which is how the game ended.

With the loss the Cougars drop into the middle of the pack in the highly competitive National Capital Secondary School Athletic Association (NCSSAA) standings, while the Falcons are tied at the top of the ladder with the Ashbury Colts who are also 3-0.

The St. Peter Knights and the St. Matthew Tigers are also undefeated but sit one game back with identical 2-0 records.

The Tigers had last week off, while the Knights faced the winless Immaculata Saints on Thursday with predictable results.

The defending city champs jumped out to a .21-0 first quarter lead on a pair of touchdown tosses from Ryan Licandro to Conor MacDonald and a quarterback keeper by Licandro.

The Saints managed to get on the board with a touchdown in the second quarter, but the Knights responded with a pair of running TDs by Jon “The Jet” Agette.

Up 34-7, St. Peter started the second half with a number of their substitutes. But even with the Knights “B” team on the field, the best the Saints could muster was a second touchdown in the third quarter to make the final score 34-14.

The Knights next game is against the St. Matthew Tigers on Oct. 18.

The National Capital Region is hosting the OFSAA Bowl Games this year. As the hosts, the NCSSAA gets two berths for the top two teams in the league. The Knights and the Tigers are both gunning for the top spot, but first they must get past the Colts and the Falcons, making this one of the most exciting high school football seasons in recent memory.

(Posted 2:30 p.m., Oct. 5)