It proved all too much.
The St. Thomas More Knights knew what was at stake and had a game plan to follow, but the New Westminster Hyacks got in the way.
Led by a stifling defence, the Hyacks ended STM’s season in a 27-13 decision Saturday at BC Place.
“We didn’t play our best game and couldn’t execute when we needed to,” said More coach Bernie Kully of the quarterfinal loss. “I think it came down to execution on offence, and the turnovers just killed us.”
New West racked up 370 yards to STM’s 175, and now advance to face the Vancouver College Fighting Irish in Saturday’s semifinal, 7:30 p.m. at BC Place.
Stringing a lengthy offensive drive together proved difficult against the primed New West defensive line. They held the Knights’ rushers to just 120 yards, with the longest carry just 20 yards. The Hyacks also forced one fumble and hauled down three Liam Feenan passes.
The STM quarterback was under constant pressure, completing just five of 21 pass attempts while having three throws picked off.
The STM defence did a solid job in the beginning, but without some sustained ball possession the turnovers and a lack of presence in New West’s zone made the chore difficult.
It was evident early, as the Knights managed little movement and the Hyacks put up the opening score 7:45 into the first quarter on David Penalver’s 22-yard run down the right side. Late in the quarter, More again couldn’t muster anything on their drive, leading to a possession change and a 45-yard dash by Grade 11 Trew Dancey.
The New West linebacker tandem of Jeff Lugtu and Marcel Wang combined for 12 tackles, with Lugtu tallying seven and a key interception seconds into the second quarter that led to Dancey’s second major of the day. Kevin Osea, meanwhile, intercepted a pair of STM passes.
In the third quarter and with a 20-0 lead, New West threatened again but were stopped on the one-yard line by a valiant Knights defence.
The Hyacks final score came on Gurvir Ghuman’s 40-yard dash to make it 27-0.
More put its points up on the board with five minutes left, first with Lucas Dalla-Vecchia crashing in from 20 yards, followed by Tyler Eckert’s blocked punt that he corralled and put into the end zone with 2:56 on the clock.
“I thought it was a decisive win, despite what the score looked like late,” said New West coach Farhan Lalji. “We’ve been a real offensive team the last few weeks, but our defence was fantastic tonight. (Our defence) gave them nothing.”
For Kully, a disappointing game won’t wipe out a season where the players rose to the challenge on most nights, finishing with a 6-3 overall record.
“It’s always tough to go out that way, especially for the Grade 12s,” he noted. “In the end our defence played well and had four stops in the red zone and that’s something we can be proud of.
“Offensively, we just couldn’t find a spark and couldn’t get to where we needed to be.”
