St. Peter rolls on past Sir Wil into high school football final

“Everyone played really well,” said quarterback Alex Skinner, who returned from his stint with a high school team in Florida earlier this fall and split time with Knights starter Ryan Begin. “There wasn’t really one thing we did wrong – we executed well, O-Line blocked well, defence shut them out and got a couple picks too.”

It didn’t take long for St. Peter to get all the points they’d need for the victory – less than two minutes after the opening kickoff.

A big return by Shane Dabros set up the Knights with great field position for their first possession, which they converted into a touchdown thanks to a long run on a reverse by Demetri Dalekos.

Later in the first quarter, Begin connected with Harrison Lowe on a long bomb for a second major score and a 14-0 lead.

Isaiah Harris then finished St. Peter’s third scoring drive with a three-yard sweep following a consistent Knights running attack all the way down the field.

Meanwhile, the St. Peter defence continued to come up with sack after sack on Sir Wil quarterback Dustin McMahon, allowing the offence to start drives with good field position.

A screen pass to Dalekos resulted in one more Knights score before halftime, taking a 28-0 lead into the break.

The Lancers held their own for most of the third quarter, moving the ball on offence and keeping St. Peter under control on defence with the help of a few dropped passes by Knights receivers.

But Begin, also the team’s kicker, managed to boot a field goal before the end of the third to open the gap further to 31-0.

The Knights rounded out the scoring with a deep strike from Skinner to Christian Eanga-Selenge in the fourth quarter, followed by a final Begin field goal, set up by a Mike Murray interception.

St. Peter coach Jim Mick gave his troops an overall positive review for their play in the win that allowed them to return to the city championship game, which they won last year before falling 36-7 in the OFSAA bowl qualifier game against Kingston’s Frontenac Secondary School. “(The Lancers) always play us tough, so we’re happy to get through,” said Mick, who was pleased with his Knights’ fairly crisp offence, although noted the defence can’t afford to take the same undisciplined penalties that it did in a closer game. “Sir Wil, they’re a good team, they’re well-coached, but they’re just lacking numbers. Unfortunately for them, we have the numbers and we can wear them down.”

It was an awfully tough task for the Lancers to take on St. Peter with a lineup of just 25 players, although they did have a pair of regular-season victories as well as a 26-0 playoff win over St. Matthew in the quarter-finals to hang their hat on. “We really came along,” Sir Wil runningback Harry Short noted. “I think it helped having fewer players just because you got more playing time. The less-experienced guys got to play both ways and learn the game of football and get better.”

Short, who earned his high school diploma this past spring, returned to Sir Wil this year to boost his grades in an attempt to play football at university next fall – with the University of Ottawa at the top of his list, and Acadia not far behind. “I’m trying my best and hopefully it works out,” said Short, who saluted St. Pete’s for its defence that brings big guys at them every way possible, and a great offence that can run and pass. “I’m proud of the boys. We played hard and didn’t give up – we just had a tough opponent.”

The Knights move on to face the St. Mark Lions – who beat Ashbury 16-15 in the semi-final and fell 24-7 to St. Peter in their only loss this season – at Minto Field behind the Nepean Sportsplex next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. “I’m looking forward to next week,” Mick said, noting the keys for his team will be honouring responsibilities on defence and establishing their run attack on offence. “These guys have a goal and this is one step closer to our goal.”

Look for more in next week's Orléans Star and follow the Knights' progress on EastOttawa.ca.

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