THUNDER BAY -- The football adage that defence wins championships can be overused.
However, on Saturday it was a fitting description of how the St. Ignatius Falcons captured an elusive high school senior football crown.
Falcons defender Dray Theriault put St. Ignatius ahead for good with a go-ahead fumble recovery touchdown late in the fourth quarter, leading the Falcons to a 21-14 triumph over the St. Patrick Saints in the final at Fort William Stadium.
“I was just waiting for that tackle to come right to me. When the ball fumbled I went right for it and it came to me,” Theriault said of his game-winning play.
“Defence is always key in the game. There is always defence. Defence is always in the back and offence always gets the glory but right now we’ve got the glory.”
The title is the first at the senior level for St. Ignatius since 1998 and only the second in the school’s history. Last year he Falcons found themselves entering the playoffs as one of the top teams, only to fall in a disappointing semifinal loss to the Churchill Trojans.
This year’s group was determined to not let that happen again.
“Coming into the semifinals we had that in the back of our minds,” said Grade 12 running back Jake Puskas.
“I think with our coaches and the preparation we pushed through it with a victory today.”
Even though the offence, specifically the ground attack, had been strong all season head coach Tyler Dennis knew the game would likely be decided on the other side of the ball.
“I knew it from the start. I told the guys, offensively you win games but defence will win championships and our guys stepped up and helped us win,” he said.
“We believed all along it was just a matter of making one play and that was big for us.”
That one play came in the fourth quarter with the Falcons trailing 14-11, their offence sputtering and after the Saints seemed to seize momentum.
St. Patrick safety Marc DeGagne had just killed a Falcons drive with his second interception of the game, picking off St. Ignatius quarterback Justin Migliazza at the goal line.
Two plays later a botched snap in the Saints backfield popped the ball up in the air, right into the arms of Theriault.
St. Patrick head coach Mike Marcon said that fumble was a backbreaking play.
“In big games you have to execute. We just came off a huge interception and we couldn’t execute when we needed to and we lost,” he said.
Coming in as the underdog with a 5-3 regular season record against the No. 1 seeded Falcons, St. Patrick drew first blood. After forcing a Falcons punt the Saints took the ball to the end zone with a 68-yard major by running back Trenton Woodbeck.
That lead stood until the early stages of the second quarter, when Kyle Hughes capped a St. Ignatius drive with a two-yard touchdown run.
The Falcons expanded the lead later, with kicker Ryan Grandell accounting for four points after making one of two field goal attempts.
Whatever Marcon told the Saints at the halftime break had a profound impact, as it only took one play from scrimmage for St. Patrick to regain the edge.
Quarterback Joey Ward took the snap, got past the first level of defenders and raced away for an 80-yard touchdown.
That held up until the critical fumble recovery.
Trailing by seven the Saints put together a drive in the final stages of the quarter looking to draw even. St. Patrick advanced the ball into the red zone, helped along the way with a 30-yard third down hookup between Ward and DeGagne for the Saints’ first completed pass of the afternoon.
Facing 11 yards between the line of scrimmage on first down and the end zone, the Falcons defence made their biggest stand of the game.
After a short loss on a Woodbeck run, Theriault did his part to make sure his scoring play held up as the difference. On second down he chased Ward down for a 15-yard sack.
Facing third down from the 30, Ward tried to find a receiver in the end zone but the pass fell incomplete.
The Falcons received the ball after the turnover on downs and ran out the clock.
The senior victory completes a sweep of the city high school football championships after St. Ignatius claimed the junior trophy last week with a 39-6 romp over the Saints.
The senior Falcons advance to the Northern Bowl, which will be played on Nov. 28 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.
