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Trojans edge Falcons, finish 6-0

James Basalyga scores twice, Braeden Prochnicki once to lead Churchill into the playoffs on a winning note.
Jordan Maki
St. Ignatius quarterback Jordan Maki (right) is hauled down in second-quarter action on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017 at Fort William Stadium. Teammate Dawson Desousa (21) is blocked by Churchill's Joey Wall (47), with fellow Trojans Kam Vanderwees and Nathan Heerema work to get into the play (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – The Churchill Trojans did not want to give the St. Ignatius Falcons any momentum heading into the senior high school football playoffs.

A near perfect second half on Thursday ensured they didn’t.

The Trojans held the three-time defending champion Falcons off the score sheet after the break, erasing a 14-6 St. Ignatius advantage to score a 21-14 triumph and finish with a perfect 6-0 record as the Superior Secondary Schools Athletic Association regular season came to a close at Fort William Stadium.

“All the boys stepped up today,” said defender Joey Wall, who tackled Anthony Valente a yard shy of a first down on the Falcons final offensive play of the night, stopping a potential game-tying drive on the Churchill 22.

“We worked hard every day in practice just for that. All the guys got in and we all executed well. We stopped them at the end there and that’s it. We won and we’re 6-0.”

Trailing by eight entering the third quarter, the Trojans struck quickly in the third, gambling on a 3rd-and-12 deep in St. Ignatius territory.

It paid off, James Basalyga able to snag a Dylan Ford dump-off before breaking a couple of tackles and bursting into the end zone. The scoring play came moments after the game resumed following a 25-minute break, necessitated by an injury to the Falcons Nick Bruni, who left on a stretcher with an upper body injury.

The two-point conversion attempt failed and Churchill trailed by two.

After a Falcons three-and-out the Trojans took over on their own 51 and Ford promptly hit Braeden Prochnicki on a swing pass.

The Churchill back made one move and streaked through a hole, charging 51 yards for the major, giving the Trojans their second lead of the night at 18-14.

“We just had to talk it out, talk about what we were doing wrong and what they were doing right,” Prochnicki said. “We just had to fix some errors and we did, and pulled ahead and got the victory.”

It was Basalyga’s second major of the night.

He opened the scoring three minutes into the contest, scoring on a 13-yard pass from Ford, again the two-point conversion attempt failing to connect.

The Falcons took over from there, Jordan Maki feathering a 13-yard pass into Dawson Desousa, Leonardo Pernia’s extra point pushing St. Ignatius (3-3) in front 7-6 early in the second quarter.

They’d add another touchdown before halftime, a steady diet of Nic Cull runs moving the ball into the end zone.

He’d score on a 14-yard run, diving over the goal line for the score.

The regular season title is nice, but it’s all in the past, said Basalyga.

“Nothing really matters what happened in the regular season. There’s a lot of work put in to get to the spot where we are not, but what we have ahead of us is way more important. We can’t lose another game. The hope is 8-0 at the end of the season,” Basalyga said.

Churchill's Dyk Taw added a 15-yard field goal to wrap up the scoring in the fourth.

The Falcons will take on Hammarskjold (4-2) in one senior semifinal, while the Trojans will play the winner of the four-five play-in game between Westgate (2-4) and St. Patrick (0-6). Westgate, citing injuries, forfeited its finale against Hammarskjold, scheduled to follow the Trojans-Vikings contest.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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