By Larry Moko
The St. Thomas More Knights were solid on defence. But the Bishop Tonnos Titans' defensive unit was even better.
In a tight, low-scoring contest, the visitors from Tonnos eked out an 8-4 victory over More in Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic senior high school football action Friday.
That outcome improved the record of the three-time defending champion Titans to 2-0 while More slipped to 2-1. Elsewhere, the Bishop Ryan Celtics moved into a first-place tie with a 49-0 win over the St. Mary Crusaders (1-2). The St. John Henry Newman Cardinals (2-1) also picked up a victory, 26-3, over the Cathedral Gaels (0-3), while the 0-2 St. John de Brebeuf Braves were idle.
The only points scored in the first half of the More-Tonnos contest came from the kickers.
Johnny Theodoropoulos of Tonnos got credit for a single on the opening kickoff. And for the Knights, Adrian Klindzic Dovial booted an 11-yard field goal and a punt single.
The go-ahead touchdown was scored on a four-yard run by Joey Jaf-Taylor with nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Theodoropoulos added the convert.
"Defence is our engine," More coach Claudio Silvestri said. "It held us in there again, allowing only eight points against a very skilled team. We're proud of what our defence did today."
More threatened to score in the final minute on a couple of completions by quarterback Marcus Perri. However, the drive ended when a long sideline pass was intercepted by defensive back Xavier Shields in BT territory.
It was the second pick by Tonnos -- defensive back Adrian Tassone had the other in the second quarter.
"It was anybody's game right to the end," More's coach said. "They made the plays. We didn't."
Silvestri pointed out that one dropped pass in particular proved costly to his team.
"We had a clear touchdown in and out of the hands of our receiver," he said. "You've got to make those plays. That would have been the go-ahead score. The opportunity was there. We're disappointed we weren't able to finish."
Tonnos hasn't lost a regular-season game in three years.
"It was a team effort," said Shields, a Grade 11 student. "We practised all week. We had certain strategies for STM. We showed aggression through the whole game even though we started off slow.
"We're looking good. Our offence moved the ball pretty well and our defence held them to only four points."
Describing his interception, Shields said: "We bracketed STM's No. 1 (Caleb Kowalchuk) and played a zone concept around him. I happened to be the high cover man and ended up with the pick."
According to the More coach, the Knights aren't one of the league's bigger teams in terms of height and weight.
"That's fine," he said. "We have other assets like speed and physicality."
Photos by Richard Andoga
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