The junior varsity Knights took a huge weight off the collective shoulders of St. Thomas More Collegiate.
The Knights used their speed and skill to upset the defending two-time provincial high school football champion Mt. Douglas Rams 27-20 in the JV final at B.C. Place stadium on Saturday.
The win erased the recent memory of a one-sided defeat to the varsity team to Mt. Douglas in the semifinals and the first year's 41-16 loss to Lord Tweedsmuir in the Grade 8 final earlier in the day. It was also the first provincial football title of any kind for the school since 2007.
"It feels amazing," said JV MVP Chase Malcolm. "We're the only STM team to win, and our Grade 8 team lost. But we got lots of support from fans and family. ... It's revenge. We got back at them."
They sure did.
Jalen Jana scored the first of his three first-half touchdowns on the team's opening possession, taking a Malcolm pass 69 yards with his first touch of the ball.
Juvenile linebacker Nick Favaro then intercepted a Mt. Doug pass and Jana completed a six-play drive with an end run into the end zone from five yards out.
Jana also scored on a 43-yard run on just his third touch that brought the score to 21-6 in a wild opening quarter.
"We're really diverse in what we can do. Our coaches have done a great job allowing us to be creative," Jana said after the game.
That creativity was evident in the early going, when running back Jordan Mckenzie took the ball 56 yards on a fake passing play out of the Boise State University playbook to set up STM's second score.
Midway through the second quarter, Mt. Douglas capitalized on an STM interception and marched downfield to close the deficit to eight points.
In reply, the Knights mounted a 10-play drive, including a 25-yard catch-and-run by Jana and a 29-yard-run by Malcolm that eventually ran out of time at the nine-yard line.
On STM's first possession of the second half, Jana scored his third rushing touchdown and fourth TD of the game, finishing off an eight-play, 78-yard drive with a one-yard end run.
STM had a chance to put the game out of reach on its next drive, but a pass from Malcolm to a wide-open Rashaun Rivers went in and out of the hands of the speedy running back.
Mt. Douglas, without the services of running back Marcus Davis, mounted a scoring drive to shave the deficit to a converted touchdown, but a key fumble recovery by Rafal Posypanko and a late interception by Mckenzie sealed STM's fourth provincial JV title.
"It feels good," said STM coach Dave Ruzycki, who won his first-ever provincial title after five consecutive losses in a final as a head coach. "It feels good for the kids. To have them believe everything the coaches said and to use it in the end is inspiring for a coach. They deserve it. They worked so hard for the win."
The win not only showed the talent level of the JV squad, but also its resiliency and pluck when as many as half a dozen starters sidelined with cramps and other injuries, said Ruzycki.
"It shows the quality of their character. When you have five starters off, and you throw in five on the second team playing out of position in a provincial championship," he added.
Jana led the offence with 99 yards and three TDs on the ground and 74 yards and one score through the air.
Malcom completed five of 10 passes for 101 yards, while running for 51 yards. Mckenzie also rushed for 70 yards as STM piled up 286 yards on the ground and 387 yards in total.
The Rams garnerd just 240 total yards. Offensive MVP Ashton MacKinnon completed seven passes for 119 yards for Mt. Doug and rushed for 32 yards and one score.
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