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Bears and Trojans clash in another classic contest. PHOTO BY TOMMY WONG.
It was a perfect night for some football as the West Ferris Trojans took on the St Joesph Scollard Hall Bears in an NDA finals rematch.
On this night, the defending champion Trojans came back in the second half to secure a 15-10 win under the lights at the Steve Omischl Sports Complex Friday night.
This was a “windshield wiper” type game, where it was very back and forth and it had the potential to be an instant classic.
Both teams got off to a slow start, but were able to make plays on defence. The Bears defence had success getting pressure on the Trojans quarterback and their offence was able to draw first blood.
Mitchell Loxton, who has been compared to Zach Wilkinson of the Ottawa GeeGees scampered for a 25 yard punt return with the help of a thunderous block by Daxx Dwyer. Following the punt return, Kain Strom, the young quarterback for the Bears was able to scramble for another big gain. Loxton then forced his way into the end zone from the one yard line which gave them a 7-0 lead. The Trojans responded by driving down the field into enemy territory with the help of a face mask penalty. Riley Anderson then made it a 7-3 game with a 41 yard field goal.
The Bears struck again as Loxton was able to bounce to the outside and spun his way for a 30 yard gain into Trojans territory.
The drive only resulted in a field goal due to a fumble on a previous play.
With the Bears having the lead in a close game, what happened next surprised some people. With five minutes remaining until half time, the Bears were backed up in their end zone and had a tough decision to make. They chose to take a knee in their end zone (a safety) and surrender two points rather than punt from there and risk giving up great field position which could have lead to more points for the opposition.
Coming out from half the Trojans were trailing 10-5 and things appeared to be getting worse.
Kain Strom came out of the half looking like a gun slinger for the Bears. He was able to complete two long passes down field. But even after both deflating plays for the Trojans defence, they stepped up and show resiliency.
The Trojans sacked Kain and forced them to kick a field goal. The 3 point attempt was shanked just right and it gave West Ferris an opportunity to come back.
Matt Valiquette marched the Trojans down the field and was able to cap off the drive with the games only passing touchdown.
The Bears started at their own 40 and Kain was able to complete a 40 yard pass to Nick Peters the following play. Unfortunately, the offense stalled afterwards and another crucial field goal was missed. The Trojans capitalized on this mistake and were able to get a field goal of their own, making it 15-10 in the fourth.
With the time winding down, the odds of a Bears come back seemed unlikely. But with the help of a few penalties on the Trojans and maybe even some luck, the Bears almost did come back. With 3 minutes left, Kain bombed it down the field and Nick Peters was able to reel in a 45 yard catch. After the catch though, Peters tried to find his way to the sidelines but the Trojans defence came up strong and was able to force him to fumble the rock. The final scored was 15-10 for West Ferris, but even though there can be one winner, there were certainly not any losers on the field tonight because the game could have gone both ways.
Trojans Head Coach Mark Robertson was glad to see some second half adjustments pay off in the comeback win.
“We took three procedure penalties in the first half and that's just a lack of mental focus," said Robertson.
"I wanted to change that at half time and they responded with some character, so we're pleased with the results."
Despite the win, Robertson says he would like to see his team improve more on their mental toughness for the rest of the season.
“We really have to correct those problems. All the teams are only going to get better as the league goes on and it's going to be a tight league."
