THUNDER BAY — One week after watching a double-digit fourth quarter lead evaporate in their regular season finale, the Westgate Tigers nearly found themselves in the same spot in the playoffs.
The second-seeded Tigers, having held a 21-point edge in the fourth quarter that the third-seeded St. Ignatius Falcons eventually whittled down to one score, held on for a 35-28 win in their senior high school football semifinal to punch their ticket to next week's championship game.
A week earlier, Westgate came up on the losing end of a 36-35 scoreline after the Falcons soared to a fourth-quarter rally. This time, the 35 points produced by the Tigers' high-powered offence were enough to hold on for the win.
"Our [offensive] line had some great blocks and even our receivers the blocking after the catch was phenomenal," said Tigers multi-purpose threat Andrew Romeo, who accounted for three touchdowns in the winning effort. "It was great all around."
The victory serves as a measure of revenge for the Tigers, who came out on the wrong end of a 71-27 scoreline against the Falcons in last year's semifinal showdown.
"We tend to build as the season goes. That's what we're known for," Westgate head coach Mike McNally said. "To get past that semifinal is the biggest hurdle."
After the Falcons opened the scoring with an eight-yard Angelo Marino touchdown rush, the Tigers offence took control in the rest of the first half, with Westgate quarterback Mitchell Papineau hitting receiver Lance Basalyga for a 13-yard major to pull even.
The Tigers took their first lead when they capitalized on a St. Ignatius special teams miscue, as an errant snap flew over the head of their punter, who was tackled inside their five yard line. Romeo capped the two-play drive with a rushing touchdown from two yards out. Papineau and Romeo then connected for a five-yard score in the second quarter.
The Westgate halftime lead could have been even larger than the 21-7 advantage they held but the Tigers had two other drives into the St. Ignatius red zone where they came up empty. One possession was halted when a third-down conversion attempt was unsuccessful and another was ended by a Papineau interception.
That offensive success came despite challenging cold and windy conditions, not completely out of the norm for an October night in Thunder Bay.
"We practice for these conditions. Our offensive coordinators did a great job in setting up the short passes, looking for the matchups that we wanted," McNally said. "That give [Papineau] the confidence to throw the ball because he knew even if it got hung up that the matchup was there. He had confidence in his receivers and that makes all the difference."
The Tigers seemed well on their way to a comfortable win, when Papineau found Romeo for a 16-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to extend the lead.
The Falcons started their comeback march in the fourth quarter, with Marino notching his second rushing touchdown of the contest, finding paydirt from 16 yards out.
The Tigers replied with seven points of their own, with running back Hudson Gerry finding the end zone from 17 yards to restore the three-touchdown lead with under six minutes remaining.
On the ensuing possession, the Falcons drove the length of the field, capped by a six-yard Quinton Dawd touchdown scamper just inside the three-minute warning. A subsequent onside kick gave the Falcons offence the ball back around midfield and led to Marino's third touchdown of the game, a 21-yard catch-and-run on a pass thrown by quarterback Lucas Dupuis with 68 seconds remaining.
The Falcons again attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by Westgate. The Tigers punted the ball away after two plays, giving the St. Ignatius offence a chance to make something happen.
With only a few seconds left, Dupuis had his pass intercepted by Tigers defender Ethan MacKay, snuffing out the comeback hopes and sealing the Westgate win.
"We talked to the boys this week that St. Ignatius has a lot of good athletes and there's no quit in that team," McNally said. "I think this league this year was probably as even a league we've had in a lot of years. Anybody really could win any week this year. That shows grit, shows character, and that's what we really want for our team."
Next up for the Tigers is a date on championship Saturday — Nov. 4 — against the top-seeded Hammarskjold Vikings, victors in their semifinal affair against the defending champion St. Patrick Saints. The Vikings won both meetings against Westgate this year, by a 21-7 score in Week 1 and then 14-7 in Week 4.
"Obviously they're a great team and good at running the ball," Papineau said. "Our offence, we're going to try to do the same thing we did [Friday] and just keep rolling."
