A Homecoming to remember for the Knights
There’s no more exciting way to open your season than at your own school for your homecoming game. The St. Thomas More Knights added extra buzz in their building, full of 800-plus screaming fans, by scheduling their bitter rivals, the Notre Dame Jugglers. As if all of that wasn’t enough to have the Knights campus rocking, both teams gave that crowd their money’s worth as the game came down to the wire and needed overtime before the Knights prevailed 30-29.
The Knights started the game with a bang on the opening drive. As the Jugglers were matriculating the ball downfield, they encountered a 4th and short. Notre Dame kept their offence on the field and attempted to pick up the first down by pounding the ball off tackle to the left side of their offensive line.
The Knights’ linebacking core anticipated the Jugglers’ play call perfectly, scraped over the top of Notre Dame’s O-line and stonewalled their ball carrier for a massive stop.
As the Knights’ bench erupted, their vaunted triple option offensive attack took the field. They did what they do best and kept the ball on the ground, chewing up yards and the clock, before they capped off a long drive when quarterback Isaiah Smith connected with Milano Peloso in the corner of the endzone for the opening score.
The teams would go back and forth the rest of the half, with the Juggers answering Peloso’s score before responding to Isaiah Smith’s second passing touchdown when he connected with Liam Golding for a 30-yard major. Notre Dame would connect on a late field goal to go into the half with the lead 16-13.
Down by a field goal, STM started quarter number three with possession of the ball. Ken Marasigan dropped back to pass and found Liam Golding on an out route, who tight-roped down the sidelines for his second score this time from 60 yards out.
After Notre Dame answered that touchdown on a pick-six, STM tied things up at 23 heading into the fourth quarter. The final frame of regulation saw both teams play stifling defence, holding one another scoreless. Deadlocked at 23 at the end of regulation, the game was headed to overtime.
Notre Dame got possession of the ball first and scored on their first play from scrimmage. As the Jugglers looked to extend their lead to seven, their PAT was blocked by the Knights. With the ball back in STM’s hands, all they needed was a touchdown and an extra point to send their home crowd into a frenzy with a walk off win.
The Knights’ rushing attack got to work as they pounded the ball and got one step closer to victory when Kayden Chan crossed the goal line from 8 yards out. With an iconic homecoming victory within their grasp, Knights kicker Mateo Plecko took the field.
With the whole crowd on their feet and ready to explode, the Knights’ field goal team lined up. The snap was pure, and the hold was placed perfectly. Plecko took his two steps towards the ball and made contact with his right foot. The Knights’ home crowd exploded as the kick was straight down the middle of the uprights. 30-29 STM in a homecoming win that Knights players, coaches and fans won’t soon forget.
“It was an exciting game, a good rivalry and a great event,” said Knights head coach Jared Power post-game.
Key players for the Knights were:
Kayden Chan 99yds rushing and a Touchdown in OT.
Liam Golding – 2 catches 90yds 2tds, 4 tackles and 2 knockdowns
Milano Peloso – 1 catch 11yds, 1 td, 5 tackles on Defence.
Quarterback Caleb Parrotta was lights out for the Jugglers. Throwing multiple touchdowns both while evading the rush and in structure in the pocket.
Both teams will move forward and start preparing for their week two matchups next week.
A tale of two halves: Hyacks’ overcome slow start in road victory
The New Westminster Hyacks and the G.W. Graham Grizzlies took to the field in front of a packed house at Exhibition Field in Chilliwack Friday night. The Hyacks played spoiler in front of the Grizzlies crowd, pulling away late for a 35-14 victory.
This game was much closer than the scoreline indicated. The Hyacks led just 7-0 at Halftime as the Grizzlies’ defence held strong. As good as GW Graham’s defensive unit played, Hyacks’ offensive coordinator Darnell Sikorski said his group left too much on the table.
“We had some first-game mistakes offensively. We started the game pretty slow, had some simple mistakes and far too many penalties. We had some big plays, but a lot of missed opportunities offensively in the first half,” Sikorski said.
With the offence struggling to find its footing early, the Hyacks’ defence was challenged with containing their opponents’ explosive playmakers. Led by strong play from linebackers Mateo McDonell, Michael Small and defensive backs Nigel Derasp and Lucas Coelho, the Hyacks answered the bell and kept their opponents scoreless until early in the third quarter.
“The defence played well and executed Coach Oatway’s game plan. They had a couple of big stops and were able to make up for the offence’s slow start in the first half,” said Hyacks head coach Andrew McKechnie.
The Grizzlies opened the half with possession and adjusted their game plan. Quarterback Lincoln Boyd found his playmakers, picking apart the Hyacks’ defence and leading his team downfield effortlessly for the tying score.
The Hyacks’ offence needed to get going in a hurry. With time being of the essence, Gavin Rai threw a strike to Mateo McDonell for a 43-yard score and the Hyacks were back in the lead.
With Boyd and the Grizzlies back with the ball, Hyacks defensive coordinator Chad Oatway changed up his team’s coverage schemes. A couple plays later Lucas Coelho jumped a route and intercepted a Boyd pass and just like that, the Hyacks had the ball back in their hands.
Looking to extend their lead, the Hyacks leaned on their star fullback, who had opened the score for the Hyacks on a 70-yard run in the first quarter.
“Kah’ri Johnson carried the load tonight. He’s an explosive athlete who runs aggressively,” said Sikorski.
“There were a few times he was able to pop free for 30+ yard gains, but what was more impressive was how physical he was between the tackles. He ran through tons of tackles tonight and set the tone for the team,” Sikorski stated.
Johnson showed incredible vision to go along with his power and speed, patiently following his blocks then exploding into the open field, finishing the day with 209 yards and 4 scores on 14 carries.
Johnson may have carried the load, but the Hyacks’ offensive line and halfback Nikolas Panesar did their part too as the team’s offence continued to roll, putting up 28 points in the second half to put away the Grizzlies 35-14.
“We spoke to the kids at halftime about playing with more confidence and settling into the game; fortunately, we were able to do that. We played much better in the second half except for the penalties,” said Sikorski.
The team may have found its confidence Friday night, but there’s still a ways to go in the discipline department. Those penalties Sikorski speaks of are something the Hyacks coaching staff knows they have to clean up as soon as possible.
“We did have emotional challenges and saw more flags than we would have preferred. Cleaning this piece of our game up will need to be a big focus over the next week,” said head coach Andrew McKechnie.
That aside, McKechnie was encouraged by his team’s physical and mental toughness between the whistles. The Hyacks will get back to work on Monday and start preparing for their home opener against Langley this Friday.
As for the Grizzlies, they’ll look to build on strong showings from Boyd, their physical offensive line and Receivers Ridley Mastin and Cody Hagel as the team heads to Vancouver next Friday for a battle against the Notre Dame Jugglers.