THUNDER BAY -- The St. Ignatius Falcons drive for five is very much alive.
The junior boy’s football squad punched its ticket to next Saturday’s Superior Secondary Schools Athletic Association final, thumping the underdog Churchill Trojans 39-6 on Thursday at Fort William Stadium.
The four-time defending champions were led by star running back Alex Gingras, who rushed for a pair of first-half touchdowns and 101 yards on the evening.
It was the 30th straight win for the Falcons, who haven’t lost since the 2011 semifinal – and the final game in program history for the Trojans, whose school will close next June, its students transferring to Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute.
“Churchill came out strong. We weren’t expecting it. They’re a good team,” Gingras said. “I think now that their school is going to close they gave it their all and they left a mark.”
Still, a Falcons victory was never really in doubt.
St. Ignatius put points on the board in each of their first two possessions, was threatening near the Trojans goal line until a botched hand-off led to a turnover, then put the ball in the end zone on their fourth chance on offence.
It was Gingras who opened the scoring, dashing home from 45 yards out on the Falcons second play from scrimmage.
Leo Pernia hit a 26-yard field goal before the first quarter ended and the Falcons took a quick 10-0 lead.
Quarterback Jordan Maki kept the St. Ignatius offence rolling in the second quarter, hooking up with Travis Savard early in the period for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
After tackling Churchill quarterback Kam Vanderwees in the end zone for a safety, Gingras bounced off a couple of would-be tackles, scoring on a 31-yard run that up the lead to 26.
Jacob Anton rounded out the first-half scoring on a 32-yard sweep for a 32-0 lead.
Falcons coach Mike Savioli went to his reserves to start the third, resting his starters for the final, when they take on the Hammarskjold Vikings, who knocked off St. Patrick 31-7 in the other semifinal.
All he wanted was a chance for a fifth straight title.
Now he’s got it.
“You feel very fortunate to coach players that are very talented. They come in with a great deal of experience and then they carry themselves the right way,” Savioli said. “We feel very fortunate to be part of the winning streak.’
It wasn’t the clean win for which the Falcons were hoping.
They turned the ball over a couple of times and surrendered just their second touchdown of the season on the game’s final play – the Trojans last play ever – Kieran Lemelin scrambling 16 yards through traffic for the major.
Savioli had nothing but praise for the Churchill team.
“That’s a great program over there and we knew they would be vastly improved, and they were. This is the last game for the junior football (team), so we tip our hat to them.”
