THUNDER BAY – A heavy dose of Tyler Robertson turned out to be just the remedy the St. Ignatius Falcons needed to return to the high school senior football championship circle for the first time in three years.
The burly back, who said he's mulling university offers, ran for 144 yards and the title game's only major, a two-yard plunge up the middle early in the third to lead the Falcons to a grind-it-out 10-7 win over the Hammarskold Vikings.
It was the first time in three match-ups this season that St. Ignatius got the better of their north-side rival.
And oh, did it feel good, said Robertson, who carried the ball for more than 300 yards in last week's semifinal win.
“I feel amazing. It feels really good to get the win,” Robertson said.
“I think the game definitely kept the audience on their feet the whole time.”
While Robertson piled up the yards by game's end, in the early going coach Jason Moore spread the ball around, in part to keep the Vikings from keying in on his star running back.
It's a team game, Robertson said, shrugging off the early play calls.
“It was working in the first quarter and whatever works, we're going to go with. It's fine with me.”
Moore said it was clear from their two losses to the Vikings in the regular season that they needed to establish a run game from the outset.
Both Robertston and Hammarskjold's Dylan Halls, who finished with 133 yards on the ground, were called upon to handle the ball for their respective teams, though both clubs did try to establish the pass game, with limited success.
Falcons quarterback Michael Danchuk struck first, connecting with Makeer Makeer for a 43-yard catch-and-run that landed St. Ignatius on the Hammarskjold 12. A holding penalty set them back 10 yards and they had to settle for a 29-yard Rob Hathazi field goal and a 3-0 lead they carried into the half.
Vikings quarterback Peter Burgess, after hitting his first two passes, was picked off by Falcons defender Joseph Colistro on his third pass of the night, then only made two of seven attempts before halftime.
The turning point in the game came on the Vikings first possession of the second half. Halls gained just six yards on two carries and punted, only to have it blocked and recovered by St. Ignatius's A.J. Tshilombo on the Hammarskjold 24.
Four carries later Robertson crossed the goal line, the Falcons taking a 10-0 lead at the 4:17 mark of the third.
It took the Vikings until just past two minutes in the fourth to finally break the Falcons goose egg. Taking over on the St. Ignatius 37, Halls promptly ran for 25 yards to the 12, then took it home with runs of five and seven yards to make it a three-point game.
The Falcons marched down the field on their next possession, but were stopped on the one, Robertson unable to plunge over the pile. The Vikings took over but were stopped at their own 30.
One more possession led nowhere and the Falcons were champions once again, their fifth title since 2014.
