That proverbial window of opportunity popped open not once but twice for the St. Thomas More Knights last Friday.
To no one’s surprise, the squad leaped through it twice and emerged with a warm, fuzzy winning feeling.
The Knights upset the No. 2-ranked Terry Fox Ravens 28-21 at Burnaby Lake, converting two miscues in the fourth quarter and turning around a game that had its share of momentum shifts.
A Fox personal foul penalty in the fourth quarter that kept STM’s game-tying drive alive, and a blocked punt just minutes later, added up to an exciting come-from-behind win for the 4-1 Knights.
Instead of facing a third-and-10 at the Fox 20, the penalty put STM at first-and-goal on the 10-yard line, resulting in quarterback Dario Ciccone’s two-yard TD run with 8:14 to play to tie it. Then barely two minutes later another Fox miscue got them in good field position for the decisive score.
The Knights defence halted the visitors at their own 35, with lineman Daniel Auld blocking the ensuing punt and recovering it at Fox’s 15-yard line.
A couple of plays later Ciccone hit Rickey Parsons on a seven-yard game-winning pass with 5:23 remaining to hand Fox just its second loss of the regular season.
“I hate to say it but the scary thing is I think we can be better,” remarked STM head coach Steve De Lazzari. “There were some mistakes made here and there, but (Fox) is a heckuva football team, and we battled them for four quarters. We never quit, even when they came back and got that (third quarter) touchdown to take the lead.”
Yes, it was a see-saw battle that began on the opening kickoff and didn’t ease up until the contest’s final few seconds.
“We knew we had to step up to win this one. Our defence got us in position to win. We’re still without our best player (lineman Sam Steele), and when he comes back we feel we’ll be ready for anything,” said Ciccone, who finished the game 18 of 26 pass attempts for 297 yards, while scampering for 90 yards on nine runs and two majors.
The Ravens took an early lead when Cade Cote took the first play from scrimmage and ran 50 yards into the end zone.
The Knights, who entered the week as the No. 4-ranked AAA team in B.C., tied it 7-7 on their first possession, with Ciccone keeping it on a three-yard play. They would take their first lead after a strong defensive stand forced Fox to punt from their own 10-yard line, giving the hosts the ball with 42 yards to cover before halftime. Ciccone didn’t need all that time, hitting Parsons with a 20-yard pass with 2:55 on the clock.
The STM defence had one more big play before the halftime, blocking a 20-yard field goal attempt with time running down to keep it 14-7 for the Knights.
The Ravens responded in the second half with a forceful rally, first tying the game when Cote converted a four-and-one attempt on a 15-yard TD dash, then took the lead after Key’Shaun Dorsey intercepted a tipped Ciccone pass at Fox’s 40-yard line. The Ravens’ Liam Cumarasamy drove downtown on a 40-yard gain to set up Cote’s two-yard TD run with 1:24 to play in the third quarter.
“(STM)’s a good team, but we had too many errors, costly errors,” remarked Fox’s co-coach Martin McDonnell. “We came back (in the third quarter) but there was a bit of fatigue I think with some of our two-way players. It was a pretty good game, though.”
Parsons finished with 70 yards receiving on seven catches, including two majors. Michael Simone, who racked up 212 yards on nine catches, credited the STM pivot for his resilience and staying on note when an aggressive Ravens defence tried to rattle him.
“As you can tell, (Ciccone’s) the toughest kid out there. He took a bunch of big hits and stood in there, then got me the ball for the play,” said Simone.
Kicker Christian Commuzzi enjoyed a standout night, nailing all four convert kicks as well as executing a successful onside kick. Jack Wagner and Auld led the defence with seven tackles each, while Colin Dalla Vecchia picked up six. Kaishaun Carter added five of his own.
The Knights now head to Kamloops where they face the 1-4 Owls on Friday. They wrap up the regular season Nov. 2 against Mission, which will serve as a tune-up for the opening playoff test the following week.
The squad is hoping to have Steele, the 2017 defensive MVP, back in uniform within a week, having missed him the past month due to injury. His addition will be considered a major coupe for a team trending in the right direction.
“(Steele’s) such an important part of this team and he’s the engine that makes this team run. We’ve really missed him and he’s an impact player,” said De Lazzari.
