THUNDER BAY – The Saint Patrick ground game is as good as it gets.
The senior Fighting Saints scored twice on the ground, with two different backs crossing the Hammarsjkold Vikings goal-line on Friday evening, the undefeated first-place team riding their running backs to a 32-7 win.
Kiran MacKenzie led the way for the Fighting Saints, rushing for 112 yards and a four-yard score, with Brett Lovis marching in from 22 yards out, both touchdowns coming in a first half that saw St. Patrick build a 21-0 lead.
Manerplaw Winning, coming off a four-score game a week earlier, had a five-yard touchdown reception and finished with 68 yards rushing, spending much of the second half on the sidelines as the St. Patrick squad spread out its bench.
“Honestly, we came here after last week, we worked hard. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but we had a plan for this. It was a good team effort. I think we had four different scorers. I think it was a good team game.”
The best part, MacKenzie said, is the Fighting Saints don’t have to rely on one player to get the job done. Winning may be the go-to guy, but MacKenzie, Jouni Kempenann and Lovis can all run with the ball effectively.
It keeps the opposition on their toes, with a dash of quarterback Iene Auger and his arm to keep the opposing D honest.
“That’s what we practice. We have a lot of guys and it’s just the next guy up around here,” MacKenzie said.
“We’re feeling confident, we’re feeling strong. We’re going to go into the playoffs good. We’re ready.”
Hammarskjold back Jacob Turek, filling in for lead back Dylan Halls, had a superb day for the Vikings (0-4), rushing for 132 yards, including 50 of 51 on a late first-half drive that set up the team’s only points of the day.
The Vikings took over the ball on the St. Patrick 53 and marched to the one-yard line, gaining the final 15 on a St. Patrick penalty. Turek gave way to quarterback Nolen Sloan at the goal line, Sloan taking it the final yard for the touchdown and the Vikings trailed 21-7.
Winning added an 18-yard field goal before the half and a rouge on a missed field goal midway through the third.
Kempannen wrapped up the scoring early in the fourth, intercepting Sloan and taking the ball 39 yards to the house.
“They had a strong running attack and we know we’re a young team. But we’ve seen improvements and we know that what counts is how we’re playing at the end of October, not the start of October, so we’re still proud of the guys and the improvements we’re seeing on both sides of the ball in terms of our line play,” said Hammarskjold coach Mike Judge.
St. Patrick improved to 4-0 with the win.
Westgate 9, St.Ignatius 0: Quarterback Andrew Romeo scored a two-yard rushing touchdown for the only major of the night as the Tigers evened their record at 2-2, jumping into a second place tie with the Falcons.
