THUNDER BAY – In football, every inch and every second matters.
Aiden Palko made the most of both to help keep the St. Ignatius Falcons perfect season alive with a 14-7 win on Thursday afternoon.
The lanky running back heard his number called on the final play of a tightly fought game against the host St. Patrick Fighting Saints, the two teams tied 7-7 and no room for error.
The ball, hurdling the two-yard line, was achingly close to the end zone, but with only six seconds on the clock, another play was probably unlikely.
It was do or die time for the Falcons.
Palko, who managed just 28 yards on the afternoon against a surprisingly stingy Fighting Saints defence, took the hand-off and pummelled his way forward, the clock striking zero as he desperately nosed the ball to the goal line, reaching just far enough to see the goal-line official raise two hands in the air, signalling the game-winning touchdown.
“It was super hard. All game we were getting pushed back, but I knew we had to do that to win the game and keep our undefeated record,” Palko said.
“We had to do it to win.”
St. Ignatius coach Martin Furtado showed faith in his offence, choosing to go for the touchdown rather than attempting to boot the ball through the end zone for a one-point rouge, which also would have given the Falcons the win.
“That was the thought. The option was to kick it through the end zone. But with six seconds left we thought we might be able to get one play. We would have been able to do it again and kick the ball through.
“It was a defining moment for the game and also for the offence. They got an opportunity to really challenge themselves. It was a tough team we were playing today, but we were able to come out on top in the end.
The winning score was set up by a pair of lengthy runs by Falcons running back Alexandro Iossa, who scampered 23 yards to the 12 and another 10 to the two in the final minute of play.
Iossa also scored St. Ignatius's other touchdown late in the second quarter, power past a swarming Fighting Saints defence from one yard out, the opportunity put in place by a 57-yard Phoenix Chau run that landed the Falcons on the St. Patrick 22. Palko took it 17 more yards on the next play, a penalty marching it two-and-a-half yards closer.
“It was a close game, but I think we really deserved to win it. We were missing a lot of players today, so it meant a lot,” Iossa said.
The Falcons (4-0), like the Saints (0-4), were hit with illness this week, forcing a double digit cache of players to the sidelines.
For the first 20 minutes of the contest, it was a battle for field position, the punters on both sides getting the most work.
Trailing 7-0 in the third, the Saints finally got the offence going when they switched to the passing playbook, giving quarterback Boston Bortolin a chance to shine.
Bortolin hooked up with three different receivers on three straight plays, gobbling up 39 yards, then, with a pass interference call going their way, hooked up with Theo McMillan for a 12-yard catch, his fourth straight completion.
Quincy Kamenawatamin-Rigby pounded forward for seven yards to give the Saints a second-and-three from the seven and Bortolin dropped back on the next play and lobbed a perfect pass to McMillan to even the score with 2:10 to play in the quarter.
The Falcons had a chance to take the lead late in the fourth, but a 25-yard field goal was blocked, the game remaining tied 7-7 at the time.
Westgate downed Hammarkjold 49-12 at Fort William Stadium in the other junior game played Thursday.
