It was the biggest test of their season thus far.
Looking for their third consecutive city title, the Korah Colts junior football team used key plays at important points in the game to beat the Superior Heights Steelhawks 18-16 Saturday afternoon at Superior Heights.
It was a game that saw the Steelhawks keep things close and make life difficult for the defending champions.
“They (Superior Heights) executed a little better than us, especially in the third quarter,” said Korah Coach Jamie Antonello. “We knew what they were going to do but we got out of position on a few runs and they were able to sustain drives. We turned the ball over more than we wanted to.”
“I’m still really proud of our group,” Antonello said. “Our fourth quarter was huge. The defence came up. That’s really what sealed the deal for us.”
Up by four and with Superior Heights driving in the fourth quarter, Roderick Tymchuk would force a fumble that was recovered by Nathan Keranen.
Facing a fourth-and-three, Dean Breton would run the ball for the first down with just under two minutes to go, continuing the Steelhawks drive.
Looking at another fourth down situation and needing five yards, Gabe Barkley would be brought down short of the first down and the Colts would take over possession with 48 seconds to go, sealing the junior title.
Korah opened the scoring as Tytus Murdoch hit Elijah Plastino over the middle for a 38-yard touchdown pass just under three minutes into the contest. A convert by Nathan Lajunen made the score 7-0.
Barkley would get Superior Heights on the board in the final minute of the opening quarter with a 30-yard touchdown run. Gavin Smith kicked the convert to tie the game at seven.
On their first play following the Steelhawks major, Michael Nicoletta would run the ball in from 40 yards out. That, combined with a convert from Lajunen would give Korah a 14-7 lead.
Korah would increase the lead to 17-7 as Lajunen kicked a 33-yard field goal with just over four minutes to go in the second quarter.
Late in the third quarter, Barkley would run the ball for Superior Heights to the Korah five. Breton would proceed to run the ball in from one-yard out. A convert by Smith would make the score 17-14 in the final minute of the quarter.
Korah would pick up a single point early in the fourth quarter after Superior Heights couldn’t run a punt out of their own endzone, making the score 18-14 Colts.
The Colts would concede a safety as time ran out to cap off the scoring.
Nicoletta ran the ball 13 times for 103 yards for Korah and also had seven tackles and four assists defensively.
Defensively for Korah, Ryan Barnes also had seven tackles and four assists. Ryan Duncan added five tackles.
Barkley finished the day with 148 yards rushing on 13 carries for the Steelhawks and also had three tackles on the defensive side of the ball.
Breton also played both ways for Superior Heights, running the ball 20 times for 79 yards and adding five tackles, two assists and a sack defensively.
Defensively for Superior Heights, Scott Blanchard had seven tackles. Smith chipped in with five tackles and an assist.
With the win, Korah advances to the junior Northern Ontario Secondary School Athletics (NOSSA) final next Saturday locally. There, the Colts will face the winner of Sudbury’s junior final between St. Benedict and St. Charles. That game was scheduled for Saturday night in Sudbury.
The NOSSA junior final is set for Superior Heights with the time still to be determined.
The senior NOSSA semifinal is also set for next Saturday at Superior Heights. The game will be at Superior Heights and will see Korah face Sudbury’s Lively Hawks.
Kickoff time for the senior semifinal is still to be determined.
The winner of that game will host the NOSSA final on Nov. 10.