There is so much history between the St. Thomas More Knights and Notre Dame Jugglers that a football game has all the markings of a reunion.
The two teams annually program an opening exhibition game but pre-season talk of a conference shuffle put that on hold this past summer. In the end, STM stayed in the Eastern Conference and rode that to an impressive, and for many, unexpected 7-0 romp.
The Jugglers, meanwhile, took some hits but entered the playoffs on a two-game winning streak.
Fittingly, the quarter-final of the B.C. Subway Bowl has them back on a collision course.
The No. 2-ranked Knights will play unranked Notre Dame on Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at B.C. Place, with the prize a berth to the semifinals.
“I actually like the matchup and feel we have two very similar teams, to be honest,” remarked STM coach Steve DeLazzari. “We’ve traditionally played a game against them every year. ... There’s the rivalry that exists between the two programs, and we are the only two independent schools still going (in AAA). We know they will come at us hard, they want to beat a ranked team.”
The Jugglers are coached by one of the deans of B.C. high school football, Denis Kelly, who piloted the team to a 4-3 record upon his return to Notre Dame after nearly 30 years at W.J. Mouat, a season at SFU, and last year as an assistant at STM. The Jugglers were finalists a year ago, losing to Terry Fox, and have enough returning vets to muster up some playoff memories as fuel for the fire.
“Notre Dame is a very well coached team. They find ways to sustain drives on offence. They are very aggressive on offensive line so we have to do an outstanding job countering that.”
The Jugglers prevailed in Week One of the playoffs, beating Kelowna 39-12. It’s the same opponent that STM topped 28-0, although that win came two months ago.
It will come down to defensive stands, and while the Knights limited its competition to just 34 points over seven regular season games, Notre Dame provides an attack that will press and stress its defence.
The healthy return of nose tackle and Eastern Conference defensive MVP Sam Steele, who missed the last game due to injury, will be a major plus.
The line will have its hands full in trying to stop running back Brice Pumares, who averaged 7.15 yards per carry and scored 10 majors.
“I think their running back (Pumares) is one of the better ones in the province. He’s quick and explosive, and he has the ability to find the holes and run through it,” noted DeLazzari. “They run the ball to set up the pass like we do, and we see (ND quarterback Will Clarke) as a dual threat on offence.”
DeLazzari believes with the return of rusher Joel Pielak and the steady hand of Grade 11 QB Dante Ciccone, STM can give the Jugglers some tough challenges as well.
“(Ciccone) has really grown in the role. He has a football intelligence, he reads the defence well and has learned to make the right throw. He doesn’t throw it when the opening isn’t there.”
The status of Tyler Eckert, who missed the final two games of the regular season due to an illness, was unknown, but DeLazzari emphasized how the team has prepared all season long and is built upon a 'team-first' motif.
“We look at it as a collective,” he said. "(Preparation) is the same as every week, every game. To succeed we need a collective effort and we’ve seen that this year.”
He says while being seeded No. 2 to start the playoffs is a recognition for past efforts, it doesn’t provide any advantage in a game against a well-prepared foe.
“I don’t think at the start of the year anyone had us on the radar, so (our success to date) just speaks to the process and the kids willingness to work hard, for all we’ve achieved,” he said.
