THUNDER BAY – In a game overflowing with big plays, Jason Taw made the biggest of them all.
The St. Patrick Fighting Saints running back stormed down the Fort William Stadium turf for a 70-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the first, then with four minutes to go in the opening half, he took a lateral pass from quarterback Gordon Pawdomu and raced the length of the field for a 72-yard touchdown reception.
But it was a rough-and-tumble three-yard run that proved to be the difference.
The Saints, who entered play with a perfect 3-0-0 record, turned to fullback Noah Khanlarian, midway through the third quarter.
The burly back rumbled up the middle for the score, giving the Saints a 24-17 lead. They’d hold on to down the Vikings 24-20, handing Hammarskjold (2-1-1) their first loss of the season.
More importantly, St. Patrick clinched top spot in the junior standings, with a 4-0-0 record, and will take on the winner of Monday’s 4/5 play-in in next Thursday’s semifinal.
““It means a lot to us because we were both undefeated teams. It was a tough game for us, but we ended up taking it,” Taw said.
“Those two plays, the first one, the run, to open it up, felt really good. The second one, to get the second touchdown and take the lead, felt really good too.”
Saints coach Matt Madge said it was back-and-forth contest that could have gone either way.
“I don’t think there was much of a difference, as seen in the final score,” he said. “They were undefeated coming in, we were undefeated coming in and it was kind of as we expected, coming right down to the wire, to the last play there almost. It was a great game.”
For the first half, it was a case of anything St. Patrick could do, the Vikings had an answer.
Case in point, Taw’s first touchdown.
Luke Rennie got the call on back-to-back plays, the first going for six yards, the second for 58 and a score, tying the game 7-7 midway through the first.
The Saints marched down the field, but a red zone sack stalled their drive and they settled for a 28-yard Ethan Dewar field goal, going up 10-7.
The Vikings took over on their own 35, but after reaching the St. Patrick 20, were driven back five yards to the 25, leaving Henry Thornburg to boot a 32-yard field goal, tying the game 10-10, four-and-a-half minutes into the third.
Taw scored again, but after the Saints went three-and-out on their next possession, the Vikings took over on the St. Patrick 48 and eight plays later, quarterback Colt Crocker connected with Thornburg for an 11-yard touchdown, evening the score 17-17 with 11 seconds to go in the first half.
They’d go ahead for good at 6:54 of the third.
Then the St. Patrick defence stepped up. Kai Cameron picked off Crocker and then forced a three-and-out on Hammarskjold’s next possession. Thorburg kicked another 32-yard field goal with 4:36 to go in the fourth and Khanlarian intercepted Crocker to halt a Vikings drive near midfield.
Dewar’s 11-yard field goal attempt was blocked, but Hammarskjold was pinned deep in its own zone and Crocker threw three straight incompletions in the final minute to put the game out of reach.
