THUNDER BAY – The Hammarskjold Vikings spent most of the fourth quarter pinned deep in their own zone, clinging to a seven-point lead.
Their opponent, the Westgate Tigers, were relentless in their attack, but couldn’t find the end zone for a second time thanks to the Vikings punishing defence, and Hammarskjold (3-0-1) held on to double them up 14-7 on Friday night, avoiding taking their first loss of the senior high school football season.
The game, played in blustery pre-winter conditions at Fort William Stadium, didn’t offer much in the way of offence, the two sides limited by the wind and rain that pelted the field and made passing the ball a challenge for most of the contest.
It took a quarter-and-a-half for either offence to put together a significant scoring drive.
And it was the Tigers (2-2-0) who struck first, after forcing the Vikings to a three-and-out, taking possession at the Hammarskjold 49 following a 20-yard punt.
Running back Hudson Gerry set the stage for the score, grinding out a 17-yard run that dropped the ball on the Hammarskjold five-yard-line. Two rushes later he found the end zone, from four yards out, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
The Vikings stalled out on their next possession, but a fumble by Westgate’s Eddy Dryhorub gave them the ball back on the Tigers 26, leading to quarterback Taylor Main’s one-yard keeper up the middle with 2.5 seconds left on the second-half clock, evening the score 7-7.
“I’ve got veteran guys in front of me, guys I trust with my life with one yard to go,” Main said. “I looked to our sideline and we called a timeout. I said I want to keep it up the middle, I know we’re going to get in. I felt lots of pressure coming in, but the guys got it done in the trenches.”
The Tigers took possession to start the third, but turned the ball over on downs, giving the Vikings the ball on the Westgate side of the field.
Owen Renn rushed twice for nine yards, setting up a third-and-one on the Westgate 43. The Vikings turned to Daniel Kapush, who got the one yard to move the sticks – and 41 more – landing the ball on the Tigers one.
Once again Hammarskjold turned to Main, who went up the middle for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown and the final scoring play of the evening.
Westgate’s best chances to even the contest came late in the third and early in the fourth.
It was Zach Pedlow who came up big on both plays, stuffing Dryhorub on the first scoring try and slamming Lance Basalyga short on the second.
The Vikings took over on their five-yard-line, but Kai Aldridge promptly fumbled the ball after catching a pass from Main, giving Westgate the ball back on the Hammarskjold 12.
The short field didn't prove advantageous.
Quarterback Mitchell Papineau threw three straight incompletions and the ball went back to the Vikings. They punted the ball back three plays later, the Tigers getting it at the Hammarskjold 20.
Papineau got the ball twice to Andrew Romeo, but on a third-and-one from the Hammarskjold nine, Dyrhorub was turned back.
Hammarskjold finally got the ball past midfield before punting it one last time. The Tigers, running out of time, managed to march the ball to the Vikings 27, but Papineau couldn’t connect with Cole McVety or Basalyga on his final two passing attempts.
"Defences certainly carried the day," said Hammarskjold coach Mike Judge. "What can I say about our defence? We spent the whole fourth quarter in our end and they just stood on their head. This one definitely goes to the D."
The St. Ignatius Falcons doubled up St. Patrick 18-9 in the other senior football game on Friday night. The game was played at the St. Ignatius field.
