High
School Football
Colonel
By comes up short in battle of the unbeatens
By Fred Sherwin
The Orleans Star
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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
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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-Cit� 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-Cit� 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-Cit� 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.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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