By Larry Moko
The two most dominant senior teams in Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic high school football over the past decade went head-to-head in a semifinal playoff game Friday.
The visiting St. Thomas More Knights arrived having captured five consecutive league titles from 2016-21.
Since then, however, the Bishop Tonnos have taken over that No. 1 ranking by winning the last three straight championships.
Both neighbouring schools on the west Mountain have also chalked up OFSAA bowl titles along the way.
This season, Tonnos kept its hopes for a fourth consecutive league crown alive with a 14-3 playoff victory over the Knights.
"They're a well-stacked team, so we knew it was going to be a dog fight," Titans running back and defensive back Joey Jaf-Taylor said.
With the win, Tonnos advances to the Nov. 7 final against the first-place Bishop Ryan Celtics.
Undefeated Bishop Ryan punched its ticket with a 29-14 win over the fourth-place St. John Henry Newman Cardinals.
On a day when strong winds made passing difficult for both quarterbacks, Jaf-Taylor rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. For More, Caleb Kowalchuk replied by gaining 92 yards along the ground on 19 attempts.
Tonnos opened the scoring in the second quarter. That's when Jaf-Taylor took a handoff, went wide and raced 22 yards into the end zone for the score.
More got on the scoreboard early in the third quarter by way of Adrian Klindzic-Dovial's 18-yard field goal. It remained a defensive struggle until Titans quarterback Hudson Taylor made a clever fake handoff and ran for a 15-yard insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Johnny Theodoropoulos converted both TDs.
"Playing into the wind we tried to control the ball on the ground," Titans coach Anthony Tassone said. "But if we had to go in the air, and we did a couple of times, we had complete confidence in Hudson being able to do that."
Tassone also pointed out that the BT offensive line is improving under the guidance of former Canadian Football League player Ryan Donnelly.
Defensively, a pair of timely interceptions in the fourth quarter by Adrian Tassone prevented More from mounting a comeback.
"We certainly had our chances, but we didn't capitalize," More coach Claudio Silvestri said. "They made the plays they needed and were deserving of the win."
More turned the ball over on downs three times, including once in the fourth quarter trailing by four points on a third-and-less-than-a-yard situation. On that play, Kowalchuk took the snap and was pushed out of bounds short of the first down by Sebastien Ortiz.
More's field position was also affected five times by unnecessary roughness penalties. Said Silvestri: "You can't have undisciplined penalties like that."
When the Titans did attempt to throw the ball, Joseph Cafagna gathered in four tosses for 79 yards and Tassone caught one for 27 yards.
The Knights defence got a standout performance from two-way lineman Sam Pratt who made several individual tackles for losses.
"Sam had one of his best games of the season," Silvestri said. "We're going to miss him."
During the regular season, Tonnos edged More, 8-4, en route to a second-place finish (5-1). The Knights ended up in third place with a record of 4-2.
Elsewhere, the Cathedral Gaels defeated the St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves, 20-13, in a Tier 2 semifinal. Cathedral will advance to play the fifth-place St. Mary Crusaders, who had an opening-round playoff bye.
Both the Tier 1 and Tier 2 finals will be held Nov. 7.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
More photos on HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page
