THUNDER BAY – Defence wins championships, but it never hurts to let the offence have a little fun too.
The Saint Patrick Fighting Saints scored a pair of defensive touchdowns early in Saturday’s junior high school football championship, giving the offence time to get warmed up and start rolling.
When all was said and done, the Saints marched their way to a 42-19 win over the Hammarskjold Vikings, snagging their first junior title in five years, since they won back-to-back crowns in 2018 and 2019.
Running back Allan Pawdomu, who hauled in a 49-yard touchdown reception from his twin brother Gordon Pawdomu, said the team might not have lost a game before the final, but coming up short would have left a pretty deep hole in what to then had been a perfect season.
“Of course it means a lot,” he said. “We put a lot of heart and energy into this season, and we won this game for Darius.”
Darius Fitzgerald, an infectious eight-year-old with Down Syndrome, suffers from a terminal illness known as NF2, was on the sideline after the game, high-fiving the players after their big win and joined them afterward for the team trophy shot.
“The game was hot from the start. The defence put up two touchdowns before the offence could score two. We had a great game. We just kept pushing the gas and ended up getting the win.”
Catching a touchdown pass from his twin brother made the game that much more special.
“That was probably my favourite moment of the entire season. There’s nothing more I could have asked for, my brother and I hooking up for a touchdown,” Pawdomu said.
Gordon Pawdomu, the team’s quarterback, wasn’t called on to do much in the game, throwing just seven times and completing just three passes.
The first was a 43-yard touchdown strike to Jason Taw with 2:41 to go in the second, giving the Saints a 14-0 lead.
The 15-year-old was thrilled to hoist the trophy, a first in his high school football career. But not the last, he hoped.
“We played hard all season. Winning the semifinal, we knew this game would be a good game for us. It means a lot to me because last time this junior team won a championship, my brother, Freedom Pawdomu, and my cousin, Manerplaw Winning were on the team.”
Neither team was able to do much with the ball in a scoreless opening quarter and it took a mistake by the Vikings offence for the first major of the day.
Hammarskjold running back Luke Rennie, who only managed 26 yards rushing on the day, fumbled the ball and it was scooped up by St. Patrick’s Tyler Poperechny, who raced up the Fort William Stadium turf for a 40-yard fumble recovery touchdown.
“I just saw the ball, so I decided to pick it up,” Posperechny said. “It was great playing by our defence.”
With a minute-and-a-half to go in the half, defensive back Andrew MacGillivray snagged a Kolt Crocker pass and raced untouched to the end zone, the Saints taking a 21-0 lead.
The Vikings did get one back before half, Carson Bresolin running one in from four yards out, set up by a 39-yard grab by Merrc Beauparlant that deposited the ball on the St. Patrick three.
The Pawdomu brothers made it 28-7, their touchdown coming with seven seconds left in the half.
Noah Khanlarian scored from one yard out to make it 35-7, but Rennie ran the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards for the major, cutting the lead to 35-13, with 2:22 left in the game. Khanlarian added an 11-yard touchdown run.
The Vikings rounded out the scoring, Crocker hitting Patryk Reid from the 11 on the final play of the game.
St. Patrick coach Matt Madge said it’s been a tough couple of years.
“So it feels great to get back and to capitalize with the season like we did. The guys worked hard and it’s kind of great to build that culture back up,” he said.
