THUNDER BAY -- Heading into Saturday’s final, Nic Cull and his teammates on the St. Ignatius Falcons junior football team had never lost a high school game.
They ensured that won’t change this year.
Cull rushed for four touchdowns, paving the way for a dominating 39-6 victory over the St. Patrick Saints at Fort William Stadium to claim the city championship for the third straight season.
The winning streak for the Falcons predates any member of this season’s squad as their last junior loss was in the 2011 final.
“It’s a lot of pressure trying to keep three years in a row undefeated,” said the Grade 10 running back, who finished the contest with 160 yards on 15 carries.
“It’s something that will always mean a lot to me but it means a lot that the team helped me.”
It was the perfect way to cap off two big seasons for Cull, said Falcons head coach Michael Savioli.
“He was our horse this year. He made everything look easy,” Savioli said.
“He had a great season last year but this year it was his show on offence. He really was a dominant player this year in junior football.”
His ability to take over a game was on display early and often in the final.
St. Ignatius led 14-0 after the first 12 minutes with Cull finding pay dirt from 38 and 29 yards out. At the end of the first quarter he had 117 yards on eight runs.
He added a five-yard score in the second quarter to put the Falcons up by three touchdowns, putting the outcome of the game out of question.
Cull picked up his fourth of the game in the second half, cementing one of the most impressive championship performances
The Falcons had 395 offensive yards, averaging 11.5 yards per play. Running back Anthony Valente had 93 rushing yards while quarterback Jake Robertson had 53 on the ground, each on four carries.
“The offence was firing,” Savioli said.
“It’s tough for the defence. You take away one and there’s three or four other guys who can beat you.”
The Falcons control on the offensive side of the ball was matched by their play on defence. The Saints were able to move the ball throughout the game but still could not get through.
Coming into the final St. Ignatius had only surrendered 19 points in their six games, with six being the most allowed in any one match.
That held true once again.
“They bent at times but we had good athletes and they stuck to the game plan,” Savioli said. “I think we’re the best tackling team in the league.”
St. Patrick gained 283 yards of total offence, though 82 of those came on Liam Stewart’s touchdown run with a little more than three minutes remaining in the third.
The Falcons added a touchdown late as Robertson connected with Liam Puskas for a 68-yard catch-and-run score.
The St. Ignatius championship run is the longest in the junior division since the Churchill Trojans claimed five straight titles from 1983-1987.
