HS
Football
Knights
overwhelmed by northern invaders in OFSAA bowl game
By Fred Sherwin
The Orleans Star
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Conor
MacDonald hauls in a Ryan Licandro pass during
the OFSAA National Capital Bowl. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The
St. Peter Knights were hoping to end their season on high
note against the Korah Colts in the OFSAA National Capital
Bowl on Tuesday, but the Sault St. Marie team flipped
the script on the hometown boys, cruising to a convincing
45-12 win.
The
Knights got off to a strong start on a snow covered field
at TD Place. They managed to manufacture a 65-yard opening
drive that included two long passes from quarterback Ryan
Licandro to Jonathan Agette. Licandro then ran the ball
in from the one yard line to give his team an early 6-0
lead.
In
a foreshadowing of the type of night the Knights would
have, the Colts responded with an impressive scoring drive
of their own, moving the ball 68 yards on just six plays.
A successful extra point attempt would give the northern
invaders a 7-6 lead.
The
Colts struck again on their next possession, scoring their
second touchdown in just two plays to increase their lead
to 14-6.
The
Colts were knocking on the door again on their next possession
when Knights defensive back Justice Koradi intercepted
a pass on the 15-yard line to thwart the scoring threat.
Unfortunately, St. Pete's would give the ball back seven
plays later on the Colts' 45.
The
two teams then exchanged interceptions, before the Colts
were finally able to put a sustained drive together to
score their third converted touchdown of the half and
take a 21-6 lead heading into the break.
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St.
Peter Knights running back and kick returner
Jonathan Agette scampers for a decent gain
against the Korah Colts in the OFSAA National
Capital Bowl at TD Place last week. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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Any
hope of a Knights comeback were dashed when the Colts
opened the second half with a 67-yard scoring drive. They
ran eight straight running plays, including 25-yard touchdown
dash that improved their lead to 28-6.
A
27-yard field goal on Korah's next series would extend
the Colts advantage to 25 points.
The
Knights position went from bad to worse when the Colts
closed out the third quarter with another long drive that
had them knocking on the door yet again. Sticking to their
ground game, the Colts moved the ball 67 yards on nine
plays culminating with a seven yard TD run.
Trailing
38-6, the Knights had every reason to mail in the rest
of the game, but instead they rallied for a 66-yard scoring
drive that included a pair of long passes from Licandro
to Koradi that set up 15-yard touchdown run by the St.
Peter quarterback.
The
Colts closed out the scoring with another long touchdown
drive that in-cluded six straight running plays.
Despite
the fact that the Knights were obviously undersized and
undermanned against their opponents, head coach Jim Mick
didin't make any excuses in a post game interview. Instead,
he commended his players for playing a full four quarters.
"We
were outmanned today, but we got this far on heart,� said
Mick, "These kids have a lot of heart and they showed
it today.�
Despite
the loss the Knights can look back on an undefeated regular
season and their second city championship in as many years.
They can also look forward to next season when a talented
group of juniors will be making the move up to the senior
team and a shot at another city title.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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