THUNDER BAY – The St. Patrick Saints have put an end to the St. Ignatius Falcons junior football dynasty.
Led by Manerplaw Winning, who rushed for 212 yards, highlighted by a 77-yard touchdown run, and Jordan Malench, who carried the ball 12 times for 51 yards and a major and caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Iene Auger, the Saints held off a Falcons team hunting for its seventh straight championship by a 21-14 count.
It was St. Patrick’s first junior title in 16 years.
What an accomplishment, Winning said, celebrating the win at Fort William Stadium with his teammates.
“St. Ignatius won six straight years in a row – since I was in Grade 3,” the Grade 9 student said. “Just to stop that streak is amazing. Winning with these guys means a lot too.”
It took the Saints offence two drives to get rolling, and just two plays to cap the 92 yard drive, Winning racing up field for a 15-yard gain, then cruising 77 yards for the touchdown, the lone score of a tightly contested opening half.
“I’ve just got to thank the (offensive) line, because they whole year they played amazing for us. It’s a treat to get to be able to play with these guys and a great feeling. I was happy to win,” Winning said.
“I thought it was just that we wanted it more. I’m just happy we broke the streak and we’re champions now.”
Fourteen-year-old Auger was thrilled to get a title at the high school level.
“I’ve played minor my whole life and won some of those. You don’t get too many opportunities like this, so it feels good,” said Auger, small by anyone’s quarterback standards, but able to get the job done on the two passes he attempted, both to Malench, for a combined 52 yards.
The scoring strike, which came four minutes into the third, doubled the St. Patrick lead to 14-0 and put the Falcons in a deep hole.
“I just rolled out, had a good block from the o-line, saw one of my running backs open in the flat and just threw it too him,” Auger said.
“I thought our defence played great today and kept us in the game.”
The defence finally cracked on the opening drive of the fourth quarter, Falcons running back Michael Sheare running it in from a yard out.
He’d finish with 144 yards on 20 carries, scoring later in the fourth on an eight-yard run to once again pull the Falcons within a touchdown.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, Winning set up Malench’s second major of the day, taking the ball 55 yards to the St. Ignatius two, where the Saints other primary back had easy access to the goal line.
It just wasn’t meant to be said Sheare, whose teammate Tyler Robertson also hit the century mark in rushing, running for 112 yards on 12 carries.
“They played good. They’re a good team with a good offence,” Sheare said. “Our defence put up a good fight though. It was a close game. It’s disappointing, but our first year (players) coming up here will give them a good fight next year.”
St. Patrick coach Dave Battistel, in his 20th season with the team, brought home his third championship.
“We told the kids before the game that (the Falcons) streak started in 2013 when they beat us. That was a little bit of motivation for us and we wanted to be the ones who stopped the streak,” Battistel said.
The Falcons had one last shot to tie the game on their final possession, and marched the ball 49 yards to their own 50 before trying a flea flicker with time winding down, Kalvin Biniaris’ pass tipped and then intercepted by Mitchell Harrison to put the contest out of reach.
