Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
The St. Mary’s Knights delivered an impressive offensive performance on Friday, October 9, at Superior Heights, defeating the Superior Heights Steelhawks 42-7 in Sault Ste. Marie Junior High School Football action.
Knights quarterback Landon Chiarot led the way with four touchdown passes, connecting with Cohen Kellar, Zyler Dougherty, Bobby Real and Rylan Gillson as St. Mary’s built a commanding lead and maintained control throughout the contest.
St. Mary’s opened the scoring at 6:28 of the first quarter when Chiarot connected with Kellar on a 12-yard pass. Kellar then broke free for a 19-yard run into the end zone to give the Knights a 7-0 lead after Tyler Diluzio added the extra point.
With 60 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, Chiarot connected with Dougherty on a 50-yard pass before Dougherty continued downfield for another 40 yards and a touchdown. Diluzio converted the extra point, extending the Knights’ advantage to 14-0.
The Steelhawks responded in the second quarter as quarterback Brydan Wootton fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kymani Perrault-Dedier at 9:22. Ben Campbell added the extra point to cut the St. Mary’s lead to 14-7.
However, the Knights answered with another scoring drive. At 6:30 of the second quarter, Real broke through the Superior Heights defensive line from the six-yard line to find the end zone. Diluzio added the convert, increasing the Knights’ lead to 21-7.
St. Mary’s continued to apply pressure late in the half. With 22 seconds remaining, Russell Pine rushed for a five-yard touchdown, extending the Knights’ advantage to 27-7.
The Knights carried that momentum into the second half, with Chiarot and the St. Mary’s offence continuing to find the end zone.
Chiarot threw his third touchdown pass of the game on a 25-yard connection with Real, who added another touchdown with a one-yard run. Diluzio converted the extra point to give St. Mary’s a 35-7 lead.
The Knights added another major just as the third quarter came to a close. With no time remaining on the clock, Chiarot connected with Gillson on a 12-yard pass before Gillson rushed the remaining yard into the end zone. Diluzio added the convert, bringing the score to 42-7.
Chiarot’s four touchdown passes highlighted a productive night for the Knights’ offence, while the St. Mary’s defence limited the Steelhawks to a single touchdown.
Knights coach Tony Boniferro told Saultsports after their win that “we haven’t played a complete game yet this season. But this was as close as we’ve been to playing one. I was impressed by how we responded to all the adversity today. The penalties were a major factor in the game today. No question. There’s no excuse for it and we need to clean it up. The refs have a tough job and we just have to be better at controlling our emotions as a team.”
“Chariot bailed us out today. He has a great arm and our O line gave him a ton of time today. Heights is a very good team with some outstanding players and coaches. There was no panic with our group, which helped us overcome the adversity. Our main focus will be preparing for White Pines. White Pines always comes out hard. Lack of discipline always falls on the head coaches shoulders and that’s not the type of football I like. We will be better going forward. Also, I’d like to thank Sault Sports for all their coverage of high school football. You guys do an amazing job and we are extremely lucky to have you guys around. We all realize how lucky we are to have Sault Sports around. Thank you,” added Boniferro.
The Knights will return to junior high school football action on Friday, October 16, when they face the White Pines Wolverines in a 5:30 p.m. kickoff.
Meanwhile, the Superior Heights Steelhawks will look to bounce back when they take on the Korah Colts on Thursday, October 15, with kickoff scheduled for 4:45 p.m.
