The St. Joan of Arc Angels and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Crusaders posted convincing wins on Friday to stay perfect in the South division of the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association.
Quarterback Nate Hobbs threw two touchdown passes and scored two himself, as the Angels used a strong second half to cruise past the Lorne Park Spartans 37-10.
In a night game, the Crusaders raced to a huge lead against the St. Marcellinus Spirit and banked on Tyrell Rogers’ dynamic play at both ends of the field to coast to a 37-7 victory and tie the Angels atop the division with a 2-0 record.
The Angels travelled to Lorne Park fully aware that the Spartans are a team that, like them, could challenge for the Ropssaa championship.
It certainly had that feel early in the game, when the Spartans held on to a 14-10 lead at halftime.
Then Hobbs, who had already run for two TDs by the break, took it to another level in the second half.
His first TD pass was to Zeph Fraser-Blackett, who caught the ball with his feet barely inbounds, to extend the Angels’ lead to 21-10. Hobbs put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter with another pinpoint throw for a score by Kyle Sparks.
“[Hobbs] is our leader. He’s definitely a player that other teams have to worry about,” Joan of Arc coach Tom Pianta said.
After keeping it close in the first half, the Spartans struggled to get anything going in their season-opener at home. It was a particularly tough night for Lorne Park quarterback Tom Peak, who threw a number of interceptions in the fourth quarter that sealed the Spartans’ fate.
“The defense gave us a lot of momentum,” Hobbs said. “They come up with big stops, and we just kind of fed off it and kept going from there.”
In a Friday Night Lights game, Mount Carmel had little trouble posting its second straight rout on the road. Thanks in large part this time to a fiery start by one tireless 6-4 utility player.
Rogers’ fumble recovery for a touchdown that put the Crusaders on the board and his second-quarter score off a long pass by quarterback Kaine Summerfield helped his squad build a 30-0 lead at halftime. Mount Carmel never looked back, and in the end coach Pat McCallion’s team made some history.
“It’s the first time our program has been able to beat Marcellinus. They’re a well-coached team, they’re a team with a lot of pride. It’s tough to beat them in their own house so we’re ecstatic about the win,” McCallion said.
Rogers said he wanted to take advantage of every chance that comes his way. One literally landed in his hands in the first quarter, and that play set the tone for the rest of the game.
“When I saw the ball, it looked like I read the bounce properly. Even when I reached down, I didn’t have to put down two hands. It hit me in one hand perfectly so I already had a grip,” Rogers said. “Then when I saw the sideline I was like, ‘I can’t let nobody catch me.'”
St. Marcellinus coach Vinnie Saliba acknowledged that the Spirit’s turnover that led to a Rogers TD rattled his boys a bit.
“I think we’re kind of stunned in the first quarter,” Saliba said. “When you’re facing a very good opponent, you gotta come out of the gates stronger than that.”
In the lone South division game on Thursday, Meadowvale stunned St. Joseph in a 33-1 rout. The Falcons, who were 0-11 in the two previous seasons, lost their home opener to rival Mount Carmel last week but emphatically got back on the winning track with a confidence-boosting road win.
Meadowvale and St. Marcellinus are tied for third spot in the South with a 1-1 record, while St. Joseph fell to 0-2.
In the Central division, St. Augustine and St. Edmund Campion got their seasons off to a rousing start with wins on Thursday.
St. Augustine downed Philip Pocock 21-7, while St. Edmund routed Father Goetz 43-0.
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