By: D'Arcy Murphy
Photo Credit: Fadi Jameel
The Corpus Christi Longhorns were no match for Holy Trinity (ranked 14th in the nation following their undefeated regular season) in Friday’s semi-final at HT. The Titans’ victory booked them a spot in the Halton finals at McMaster Stadium on Thursday, November 13th at noon.
The finals will be a rematch of the Pink Game where HT faced Assumption on October 24th. Trinity was victorious in that game, coming back to win 29-28 after trailing by 20 points at half-time. For more on that game, check out Noah Polesky's article here:
http://thehttitantimes.blogspot.ca/2014/10/titans-mount-huge-comeback-to-beat.html
On Friday, a great opening quarter from the Titans included a 60+ yard touchdown for Matt Creelman after a pass from quarterback Nathan Rourke. Later in the quarter, Entinosa Eguavoen was on the receiving end of another 60 yard play from the Titans’ QB. Jason Uleryk-Carvalho ran the ball in on the next play for the six points just before the end of the quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, with the lead still at 14-0, Reggie Hyacinthe sacked the Longhorns quarterback to inject even more life into the boys in black and gold. On the next possession, Rourke connected with receiver Will Ellis twice, with the second play resulting in the third score for the Titans offence on the afternoon. When Corpus Christi got the ball back, they were determined to keep their footing in the game. A 50 yard pass brought the Longhorns into the red zone. They made no mistake and a short pass led to an easy touchdown two plays later. The ensuing kickoff was returned 40 yards by Creelman, putting HT in good field position until Corpus intercepted an off-target pass on the next series. After a 25 yard pass completion, the quarterback from Burlington was sacked by Denver Kotack. An interception on Corpus’ third down by Lex Jeffrey helped Holy Trinity take a 21-7 lead into halftime.
Jeffrey picked off another pass - this time on his own goal line, early in the third quarter and turned it around to give HT the ball on their own 20 yard line. Both teams then turned the ball over on downs. Holy Trinity’s defence was highlighted once again by a shared sack from Nathan Haye and Kotak.
The fourth quarter was marked with a sense of urgency from the Corpus Christi offence and some nervousness on Holy Trinity’s part. After Rourke was sacked for what seemed like the first time ever, the Longhorns shortened the field with a solid punt return and two quick 15 yard passes to get in the red zone. With the ball sitting on the 10 yard line with 5:31 left to play, a smart play to an open receiver resulted in a touchdown to make it 21-14 for the Titans. Later in the quarter, the Trinity defence stood tall once again, holding Corpus at their own goal line, leading to a touchback, making the score 23-14 with 2:40 left to play. On HT’s next possession, Rourke’s running game took over, earning three first downs and whittling the clock down to 40 seconds. The game concluded 23-14.
Following the game, Nathan Rourke praised the defensive game, saying, “We told them for our game plan that we needed them to step up, and they did. It makes our job on offence a lot easier.” Lex Jeffrey, who had two interceptions in the game, added the age old quote, “Defence wins championships.”
The boys have a busy week in preparation for their date in the finals with rival Assumption on Thursday. Coach Moscato reinforced that they will get ready “the same as always; scout our opponent, devise a game plan, hopefully go out next week and execute it.” Tevin Doyley then added, “We’re going to have to go out there and work hard, stay away from injuries.”
The Junior Titans wrapped up their season on Friday afternoon after falling 21-0 to the Nelson Lords in their semi-final. Many of the boys will look forward to joining the Senior team next year as Trinity hopes to return to the Halton finals.
Stay tuned for buyout details and for more on Trinity’s championship bid.
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