Junior Falcons cap 5th straight undefeated season

THUNDER BAY -- The St. Ignatius Falcons might be unstoppable.

The junior football squad put on yet another gridiron clinic on Thursday evening, scoring four first-quarter touchdowns en route to a 55-0 win over the Westgate Tigers to put a cap on a fifth straight undefeated regular season.

Anthony Gojsic scored from one and three yards out and Nick Bruni and Aaron Puskas each returned interceptions for scores to pace the four-time defending champion Falcons to their 29^th straight win at Fort William Stadium.

Quarterback Jordan Maki had a 53-yard scoring run and kicked a 30-yard field goal and Alex Gingras added a 42-yard rushing touchdown for St. Ignatius, who will take on the winner of the Churchill-Westgate quarterfinal on Nov. 3 in the Superior Secondary Schools Athletic Association semifinal.

Matt Hakala also scored from 36 yards in the fourth, as the Falcons spread out their roster and gave the reserves some valuable playing time.

The Falcons are right where they want to be, said Bruni.

“We’re coming in with the mentality that every team has a target on our back. So we work hard in practice every week expecting a win – and we got one and finished off a good regular season,” Bruni said.

“We’re all trying to be the classiest guys we can. We’re led by a good group of coaches when we’re up this big.”

The Tigers, who got 29 yards rushing from Brendan Hall, can take solace in the fact the Falcons have rolled over the entire league this season, outscoring their opposition 170-7 en route to a 4-0 record.

Coach Mike Savioli said the game was a chance to prep everyone with some game action.

“It was an opportunity for guys who maybe haven’t seen a lot of playing time to get in and for them to get some real game action. Hopefully this helps prepare us for the playoffs,” Savioli said.

“We have a week off next week. There’s a lot of preparation to come.”

They know they can get the job done and stretch the winning streak to 31 – grabbing a fifth straight title along the way – but aren’t taking anything for granted.

“It’s a very talented group. On offence, when you have balance and you can throw and pass, in junior football that puts you at a tremendous advantage. We also have team speed. The key for us is staying focused, getting better and challenging ourselves.”

Hammarskjold 15, St. Patrick 14: The Vikings (3-1) spotted the Saints a 14-0 lead, but squeaked out the win after Gavin Perkins connected with Ethan Porter on an eight-yard scoring strike with 1:48 to go in the fourth. Matt Sacino had a 50-yard TD run for the Saints (2-2), who also got a one-yard major from Payton Littleford. Caleb Perzan got the Vikings on the board late in the second, running one in from four yards out. Hammarskjold's Ryan Laukka led all rushers with 144 yards. The two teams will meet on Nov. 3 in the SSSAA semifinal