Trojans take junior football championship

The Westgate Tigers had a simple task during Saturday afternoon’s junior high school football final – keep the ball out of Devyn Chenier’s hands.

It was a tall order, one the Tigers couldn’t quite manage on a blustery Fort William Stadium field.    

Chenier caught a 56-yard TD pass from QB Jared White four minutes into the second quarter, and ran back a 65-yard punt for another score, leading the Sir Winston Churchill Trojans to a 24-8 championship win.

It was the school’s first junior title since 2007.

“It was a hard battle, a great game for both teams and I’m just happy we won,” Chenier said.

The triumph made up for a 24-1 loss to Westgate on Sept. 30, which made it that much sweeter, said White, who tossed for 146 yards and two scores on the day.

“We lost to them last time, which is always tough. We just wanted to come out and have a good game,” he said. “We’ve improved lots over the year and worked hard, and we’re just happy to get the win.”

Both teams shared control of the ball in the scoreless first quarter, but the Trojans took over in the second and dominated the rest of the way.

Chenier’s first score was the result of a lengthy drive that saw the Trojans chip away yards a few at a time to move the sticks.

Then, out of the blue, White launched a deep pass down the sidelines to his speedy receiver, who blew past the Westgate defence and waltzed into the endzone for six.

“You can’t just say it’s on me,” a humble Chenier said. “It’s the blocking I got. They made the hole that got me down there.”

White saw it a little differently.

“He ran a great route. He’s really fast. He ran right past their player,” White said.

The Tigers just couldn’t seem to get anything going on offence. They went three-and-out after Chenier’s score, and on their next possession after a successful fake punt that netted them nine yards and a first down, they were unable to move it another 10 yards and turned the ball over on downs inside the Churchill red zone.

The Trojans made the most of the opportunity.

White hit WR Andrew Ktytor for a 27 gain to the Churchill 42, and then on a first-and-20 he connected with Fabian Schultz for 29. Three plays later he threw a screen to halfback Justin Fui, who scampered up the middle for a 35-yard score.

Westgate took over with two minutes to go in the half, but went three-and-out and kicked the ball to Chenier, who burst through for the 65-yard touchdown and an insurmountable 21-0 lead.

Tigers coach Patrick Smykalski said there was really no thought about kicking away from Chenier.

“I probably wouldn’t have changed it. It was a breakdown in the coverage and the kid had some good speed and that was it.”

Smykalski said the difference was the Churchill passing game. They were unable to defend.

“And they executed extremely well,” he said. “They’re well coached and their quarterback made some key throws when they needed to and their kids caught the ball. It was really that simple. We wouldn’t have changed any of our coverages. They just made some good plays.”

The Tigers got their lone score early in a rainy fourth when quarterback Dillan Tataryn hit Josh Whitehurst on a 33-yard play. Whitehurst, who made five receptions for 70 yards, also snagged the two-point conversion.