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(Posted
2:30 p.m., Nov. 7)
St. Peter Knights down east end rival Tigers, win 'unofficial'
gridiron championship
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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 The
St, Peter Lmights' Zekeim Ogilvie tries to
get away from St. Matts Tigers defender Devon
Guy during Wednesday's big game. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The
St. Peter Knights and the St. Matthew Tigers finally got
to meet on the turf for the first time since last year's
city championship on Wednesday, and the Knights would finally
get to avenge what was an embarrassing defeat.
The
Knights and the Tigers went into Wednesday's showdown
with identical 5-0 records. Only one of them would emerge
with their unbeaten record intact.
The
game pitted two young quaterbacks against each, who just
three months ago hooked up for a last second touchdown
to win the provincial junior varsity championship for
the Cumberland Panthers.
Knights
quarterback Ryan Licandro threw that memorable pass and
Tigers pivot Xavier Gervais caight it.
On
Wednesday the two former teammates were now foes. The
game itself was the regular season finale for both teams
with nothing on the line except for first place in the
fnal stadnings and bragging rights for the winners.
The
Tigers had already declared themselves eligible to represent
the National Capital regon in the OFSAA Metro Bowl. The
Knights declined the opportunity as did the other nine
teams in the league.
What
that means is the Tigers will advance to the Metro Bowl
without having to go through a playoff. The other 10 teams,
including the Knights, will vie for the NCSSAA Tier 1
championship.
So
without any playoff implications involved, the two best
high school teams in the city lined up against each other
on Wednesday in a rematch of last year's city championship
game which the Tigers won 42-0.
Suitably
motivated, the Knights managed to jump out to a an early
7-0 first quarter lead on a 45-yard touchdown run by Zak
Karim.
The
Knights' defence forced the TIgers to concede a safety
early in the second quarter to extend their advantage
to 9-0.
A
Josh Baka interception off an errant Gervais pass later
in the second quarter would set up a 27-yard field goal
by Sasha Jarbouh, and by the end of the first half the
Knights enjoyed a 12-0 lead.
In
an effort to get their offence in gear, the Tigers dug
into their bag of tricks to start the second half and
pulled out a 50-yard halfback option play from A.K. Ismail
to Chaz Alain that took the ball down to the Knights'
20-yard line.
Two
plays later, Gervais was forced to leave the game after
being taken down in the backfield while attempting to
get rid of the ball. He suffered a head and neck injury
on the play and would remain on the sideline for the remainder
of the game.
With
their starting quarterback out of action, the Tigers to
turned to their running backs, and Chaz Alain in particular,
who took on three St. Peter tacklers and literaly carried
them across the goal line for the St. Matt's first and
only touchdown of the contest.
The
rest of the game boiled down to a defence affair as the
two opposing defences took turns holding their adversaries
at bay.
The
clock soon became the Tigers worst enemy. With Gervais
out of the game, the offence had to depend on the runing
game and the Knights knew it, as they zeroed in on Alain
and Enoc Enyeka in the backfield.
The
game remained close until the final minute when the Knights
capitalized on a 90-yard effort by Karim to score their
second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run by Licandro.
Having
won the "unofficial" city championship, the
Knights can now focus on the official Tier 1 playoffs,
which begin on Tuesday. The Tigers, in the meantime, have
three weeks to prepare for the defence of the Metro Bowl
which they won last year 28-7 against Michael Power/St. Joseph's Trojans.
Tigers
head coach Jean Guillaume says, the layoff is a good thing
because it will allow them to get healthy and properly
prepare for their opponent, provincial powerhouse Huron
Heights.
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capped
off a long drive with a one yard run by Licandro on a
quarterback-keeper.
The
Panther tykes kicked the day off with a 46-20 win over
the Cornwall Wildcats behind an MVP performance by quarterback
and placekicker Shilo Mukendy who scored 40 of his team's
points, including six touchdowns.
As
strong as the Panthers' running game was, it was there
defence that made the difference in limiting the Wildcats
to 20 points despite the heroics of their own feature
running back, Ben Jackman, who scored all three of his
team's touchdowns on runs of 55, 37 and 56 yards. (It
should be noted that the tykes play on an 80-yard field.)
After
the game, tykes head coach Eric Anderson praised the Wildcats
for giving the Panthers a run for their money
"We
didn't get anything easy. We had to fight for our yards.
It was the five- and six-yard plays by our fullback, our
tailback and our slotback that made the difference on
offence. And on defence we gave up a couple of big plays,
but other than that we shut them down,� Anderson explained.
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The
Cumberland Panthers tyke team pose for a team
picture after winning the NCAFA A-Cup champuonship
on Sunday, Fred Sherwin/Photo
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Following
the tyke trophy presentation it was the mosquito team's
turn to take the field against the Kanata Knights.
Both
teams got to the final the hard way, pulling off upsets
in the semi-finals. The Knights downed the Orleans Bengals
34-30 and the Panthers beat the previously undefeated
Cornwall Wildcats.
Cumberland's
defence set the tone early on in the championship game
nearly intercepting a pass, sacking the Knights quarterback
and blocking a punt on three consecutive plays to set
up a three-yard touchdown run by Marvyn Larozar.
Larozar
would score again later on the first quarter on a 22-yard
effort to give his team a 12-0 lead.
The
Panthers continued to dominate the play in the second
stanza, putting together a 12-play drive that burned nearly
10 minutes off the clock before stalling on the Knights
18-yard line.
Kanata
was able to get off three plays including their first
first down of the game with 1:27 remaining in the opening
half.
The
Panthers would increase their lead in the second half
thanks to Laraozar's third touchdown of the game. The
speedy running back took the ball five yards out from
the end zone and simply ran through the hole created by
big offensive lineman Daniel Sungani who got a great deal
of MVP consideration for the job he did in clearing the
way for both Laraozar and his fellow running mates Hunter
Kelly and Owen Shields.
Kelly
scored on a 42-yard run in the third quarter to put his
team up 25-0, and Shields capped the game with a five-yard
run midway through the fourth stanza to extend the Panthers'
lead to 39-6. In
between, Larozar scored his fourth major of the game.
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Members
of the Cumberland Panthers moaquito team pose
with he championship trophy after beating
the Kanata Knights in Sunday's A-Cup final.
Fred Sherwin/Photo
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
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Commons Corner
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Queen's Park Corner
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THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents an all ages production of Treasure Island in the Richcraft Theatre at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Showtimes Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets $20 for adults. Students and youth 25 and under $10. To purchase visit 
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TAPROOM 260 presents The Underground live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
CLASSIC PIANO RECITAL – Orléans pianist Emily Hou will be performing works by Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Liszt at Kanata United Church as part os the Beaverbrook Community Concert Series. The recital will start promptly at 3 p.m. Kanata United Church is located at 33 Leacock Dr. in Kanata. For more information visit 
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. Trivia Night from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call (613) 834-9005 to reserve your spot. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near the Innes Road McDonalds.
