THUNDER BAY – The last time the Hammarskjold Vikings won a senior high school football title, most of the players were finding their way through kindergarten classes.
They'll have a chance to end their 13-year drought next Saturday, after hanging on to down the upstart St. Patrick Saints 19-9 on Friday night, in the first of two Superior Secondary Schools Athletic Association semifinals at Fort William Stadium.
Dylan Halls rushed for 139 and a touchdown for the Vikings, who raced out to a 19-0 lead, only to have the Saints chip away, eventually cutting the lead to 10 by game's end.
“They definitely gave us a good game there,” said Halls, who took it to the house from eight yards out, completing an eight-play, 48-yard drive with four minutes to go in the second to complete the Vikings scoring for the night.
“Maybe we underestimated them a little bit, but we knew it was going to be a fight. We saw their game with (St.) Ignatius and they had them pinned until halftime. We knew it was going to be a dogfight and definitely our o-line played a huge factor in the first half.”
They were front-and-centre on the Vikings first drive. Halls ran the ball four times for 74 yards, taking the ball to the St. Patrick 10. Lukas Hortis took it from there, running it in from the Saints three for a 6-0 Hammarskjold lead.
They doubled it on the final play of the first, quarterback Peter Burgess diving in from the two, the drive keyed by Adam Kukko's 70-yard scamper that dropped the ball on the St. Pat's five.
The Saints, who finished 1-4 in the regular season, mounted a charge late in the second, running back Kiran Mackenzie doing most of the heavy lifting, though Iene Auger connected with Brett Lovis for a 25-yard passing play, buoyed by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness call that set St. Patrick up at the Hammarskjold four.
Mackenzie finished it off with a four-yard touchdown run that made it 19-6. The Saints had another opportunity to add to their total late in the quarter, driving to the Hammarskjold 26, but Konner Prevost was wide on a 36-yard-field goal attempt.
Earlier in the possession St. Patrick had a 43-yard touchdown pass from Auger to Prevost called back by a 15-yard penalty, a play that could have cut the gap to six before halftime.
The Saints adjusted to the Vikings run game to start the third, pinned them deep in their own zone and forced a safety, climbing to withing 11 with three minutes to go in the quarter.
Then, on their first possession of the second half St. Patrick marched all the way to the Hammarskjold one, but Auger was sacked by Garrison Morand and then Mackenzie was stuffed at the goal line, after catching a short pass up the middle, the Saints turning the ball over on downs.
“You know what, it was a rough call. I thought I was in, but I'm not going to argue with the refs. I think we should have had it, personally, but I'm going to go and complain,” Mackenzie said. “It was a good game all around. Honestly, everybody brought it today.”
The Saints intercepted Burgess late in the fourth, but couldn't get the offence going and the drive stalled at their own 46, with less than a minute to play.
“I've got to giver credit to that team over at St. Pat's. They made great adjustments and stiffened up their run defence and it forced us to change our game plan completely,” said Vikings coach Mike Judge.
“We shelved the run game for a bit in the late third and fourth and brought out the short passing game. It's nice to have a good quarterback in our back pocket.”
Hammarskjold has been to four finals since winning in 2008, losing in 2010, 2012, 2017 and 2018.
