Call it the tale of two injuries.
While there were obviously other storylines in play as the St. Charles College Cardinals and the Lo-Ellen Park Knights met Friday night at the James Jerome Sports Complex in the most compelling contest of the Week 1 SDSSAA varsity football schedule, the net impact of a pair of crucial injuries was at or near the top of the list.
Midway through the second quarter, the Knights would lose all-star defensive back Declan Eldridge to a suspected broken leg, the mishap delaying the contest for well over 30 minutes. With Lo-Ellen leading 9-7 at the time and St. Charles showing signs of gaining momentum, it was certainly fair to wonder just how long coach Kevin Ellsworth's troops would hold the Cards at bay without a key cog in their defensive alignment.
That setback would be neutralized, and then some, early in quarter three when St Charles' veteran quarterback Nathan Rivet further damaged an already tender ankle, right at the tail-end of a 21 yard scramble that would get his team out of danger, deep in their own territory, mired in a second and 15 situation.
With running backs Mbuyi N'Galamulume and Liam Cousineau, both healthy scratches and Rivet, who had shown signs of establishing something of a passing attack now out of commission, the Cardinals were unable to muster much in the way of offense.
The Knights feasted, pulling away for a 38-7 triumph, much of which came in the fourth quarter of play. Lo-Ellen signal caller Brodie Erwin connected with wideout William Maki for touchdown passes covering 27 and 33 yards, with remaining majors coming courtesy of Luca Nardi, Josh Giroux and Ryan MacKinnon.
Cam Puro made good on a pair of point after attempts, while Luca Nardi hit field goals from 19 and 32 yards out. Nathan Rivet accounted for the only Cardinals' score, weaving in to the end zone on a 13 yard run, with Aiden Rogogna kicking the convert.
In the season opener on Thursday, 2017 league Most Outstanding Player Nicholas Rideout scored three touchdowns as the Lively Hawks defeated the Confederation Chargers 35-6. Dayton Niemi and Eamon Dolphin also reached the end zone for the winners, with Daniel Perrault accounting for the only Confederation scoring.
In the one remaining game, the St Benedict Bears proved to be far too much for a Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes team that simply is almost completely devoid of players who have benefitted from a campaign of summer football, with St Ben's racking up a 45-0 shutout.
Sudbury Gladiators quarterback Adam Rocha looked the part against an overmatched CND defensive unit, connecting on passes of 43 yards (to Christopher Gosk), four yards (Cole Crowder) and eight yards (Brady Chisnell), and running in majors from both the five and the 26 yard lines.
Up 35-0 at the half, the Bears added a 37 yard field goal from Giovanni Mastroianni (also six PATs), as well as a two yard run for Eric Elliott. The good news, for Notre-Dame coaches Matt Chartrand and Eric Breau, is the presence of a handful of building blocks for their program.
Seeing double duty at wideout and in the defensive secondary, Alain Dufresne hauled in three passes from newcomer Andrew Gauthier, with Eric Atoh and Tristan Lacroix also demonstrating the ability to compete.
The likes of Alex Rhéaume, Xavier Bruneau and Ethan Polley all showcased some of the fundamentals of solid defensive tackling technique, but they will need some help to keep their games against everyone but Confederation much closer than game one.
Though it was hard to get much of a read from a CND offense that sputtered more often than not, a Bears' defense that includes Chris Scherzinger, Elliott Robinson, Austin Mader and Brady Chisnell should be fun to watch against the much stiffer tests that await ahead.
The week two schedule is highlighted by a matchup of Lively and St Charles on Thursday afternoon, at the home of the Cardinals, while Lo-Ellen and St Benedict go toe to toe in the late contest on Friday at James Jerome.
