The St. Thomas More Knights scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and then hung on for a 40-27 victory over West Vancouver in a wild B.C. AAA high school football matchup.
The win gave the Knights the Eastern conference title and a bye into the first week of playoffs.
It also gave STM time to heal a few wounds, not the least of which was three consecutive successful short kickoff recoveries by West Van that all but one eventually led to touchdowns in a crazy third quarter at Burnaby Lake Sports Complex-West.
"It was definitely a momentum killer. It wasn't a good second half for us," remarked STM head coach Bernie Kully.
Fortunately for the Knights, they had done enough in the first half, scoring five times, including four in a one-sided second quarter of play.
Jalen Jana, who racked up more than 160 yards on the ground and 200 all-purpose yards, opened the scoring on a three-yard run to finish off a 13-play drive on the team's second possession.
West Van quickly answered on a 55-yard run up the middle from James Oswald.
But the second quarter was all STM.
Giovanni Trasolini, who had a strong outing with six catches for 111 yards and two scores, opened the second quarter with a brilliant 43-yard catch and run.
Malcolm Lee recovered a Johnny Franklin fumble on the ensuing West Van possession and Jana quickly turned it into a score, racing 41 yards into the West Van end zone on the very next play.
Lee caught a 35-yard strike from quarterback Chase Malcolm on STM's third possession of the quarter.
Trasolini caught his second TD of the quarter on a 10-yard pass from Malcolm with just seconds left in the half.
"Our defence held us really well," said STM lineman Dante Vigini, who made seven tackles, a fumble recovery and two quarterback sacks on defence.
"We did what we could. . What happens, happens. But the
end is a reflection of your effort, right?"
STM lineman Nico Repole was also dominant with six tackles and three sacks.
With a bye week into the playoffs, STM has time to work on putting a complete game together before having to face the winner of Notre Dame and Kelowna in the second round of AAA playoffs.
"We have to keep healthy and build on our skills for the playoffs," said Vigini, who was named the Eastern Conference MVP defensive player.
STM also put three others on the all-defensive team and another four on offence.
Lineman Simon Diersch, linebacker Elliott Nelson and Jana at defensive back were also named to the east squad.
Malcolm was selected quarterback of the all-east team, while Nico Repole was chosen on the offensive line and teammates Lee and Trasolini as receivers.
