THUNDER BAY – Mitchell Papineau and Cole McVety know how to click on the football field.
Papineau, the Westgate Tigers quarterback, and McVety, a speedy receiver with a knack for shedding defenders, on Friday connected three times for touchdown, all over 30 yards, leading the undefeated senior Tigers to a 35-21 win over the St. Ignatius Falcons.
The first came with three minutes to go in the second, a 39-yard score that gave Westgate the lead for good, a 20-14 advantage at the time.
One possession later the duo hooked up for a 35-yard strike, then again on the two-point conversion, as Westgate extended its lead to 28-14.
The final major, a 31-yard catch-and-run, came with 41 seconds left in the Fort William Stadium contest, officially putting the game out of reach.
“It feels phenomenal to contribute to the team,” said McVety, who finished with five catches for 125 yards on the day.
Papineau, who started slow, with incompletions on his first five pass attempts, finished the game 8-for-16 for 241 yards and four touchdowns, the fourth a wide-open pass to Lance Basalyga in the Falcons end zone, the 18-yard score pulling the Tigers to within one, trailing 14-13 at the time.
Individual stats aside, the Tigers clinched top spot in the Superior Secondary Schools Athletic Association playoffs, with one week left on the regular-season schedule, improving to 5-0 while handing St. Ignatius its second loss in five outings.
“It feels awesome,” Papineau said. “It tells the other teams that we’re the team to beat.”
The game was pretty much what both sides expected, a tight match that either side could win. Westgate won the first matchup earlier this season, but needed 24 unanswered points to pull off a 24-17 triumph.
“We knew what to expect. Iggy was hungry. They’re obviously our greatest competition. We just stayed with it and pushed them to the end,” Papineau said.
It was the Falcons who struck first, thanks to some fierce running by Kai Mosley.
The St. Ignatius back rolled off a 40-yard run that landed the ball on the Westgate 26. They eventually pushed it to the one, where quarterback Lucas Dupuis rumbled up the middle on a second-and-goal play, giving the Falcons a 6-0 lead.
Westgate’s Denver Mina made Dupuis pay on St. Ignatius’ next possession, the pick-six good for 36 yards and a 7-6 Tigers lead.
Dupuis struck again on the opening drive of the second quarter, spinning his way into the end zone from 30 yards out, and to add insult to injury, kicker Daniel Voca blasted the kickoff through the end zone for a rouge, making up for a missed extra point on their first score.
Voca was unsuccessful on a 38-yard field goal try midway through the third, but the Falcons found new life late in the quarter, when Matteo Marino intercepted Papineau, giving St. Ignatius the ball near midfield.
Once again it was Dupuis, marching it in from three yards out, the major cutting the Tigers lead to 28021 with just over seven minutes to go in the fourth, the driving straddling the final two quarters.
McVety’s 12-yard field goal in the final minute of play was blocked, giving St. Ignatius the ball back deep in their own territory.
After picking up a first down, Dupuis was sacked by Westgate’s Louis Bouchard. Two incompletions later, the Tigers took over and McVety took it home.
