Photo Credit: Captivate Images

St. Mary’s scores twice in the final two minutes before Tyler Diluzio delivers the game-winning field goal with 3.2 seconds remaining.

The final game of opening week in Sault Ste. Marie Junior and Senior Football delivered a thrilling finish Monday night, September 14, as the St. Mary’s Knights rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes to defeat the Korah Colts 26–23 under the lights at Superior Heights.

The junior football contest featured big plays, a back-and-forth battle, and a dramatic finish that saw the Knights score 11 unanswered points in the closing minutes to secure their first victory of the season.

Colts Strike First

Korah opened the scoring at 8:54 of the first quarter when Keigan Thomson broke free for a 20-yard touchdown run. Finnley Aho converted the extra point to give the Colts an early 7–0 lead.

The Knights answered just 13 seconds later.

At 8:41 of the opening quarter, St. Mary’s Zyler Dougherty caught the ball at the Knights’ own 19-yard line and turned the play into an explosive 86-yard major. Tyler Diluzio added the conversion, tying the game at 7–7.

Korah regained the lead in the second quarter. At 6:08, Grade 10 quarterback Davian Clarke connected with Kaelan Nelles on a 36-yard pass, setting up a 12-yard touchdown run that put the Colts ahead 13–7.

The Knights added a single point at 4:24 of the second quarter when Korah conceded a rouge, cutting the deficit to 13–8.

Then, with just 1:09 remaining in the opening half, Clarke struck again. The Colts quarterback fired a 23-yard pass to Bobby Real, who added another 22 yards on the run to complete the scoring play. Aho converted, sending Korah into halftime with a 20–8 advantage.

Knights Begin the Comeback

St. Mary’s chipped away at the Colts’ lead in the fourth quarter.

At 9:32, Knights quarterback Landon Chiarot broke through the Korah defensive line from the one-yard line for a touchdown. Diluzio added the conversion, bringing St. Mary’s within five points at 20–15.

Korah responded at 4:03 when Aho connected on a 20-yard field goal, extending the Colts’ lead to 23–15.

With time running down, the Knights needed a major comeback—and they delivered.

A Finish to Remember

With only 1:55 remaining on the scoreboard, St. Mary’s Carter Tait rushed for seven yards on an eight-yard carry touchdown, cutting the Korah lead to 23–21.

The Knights then faced a crucial two-point conversion attempt.

With no one open to throw to, Chiarot made the decision to keep the ball himself. The quarterback powered into the end zone, tying the game at 23–23 and completing the Knights’ dramatic fourth-quarter rally.

But St. Mary’s wasn’t finished.

With just 3.2 seconds remaining in the final game of Week One high school action, Diluzio stepped up and found the uprights on a seven-yard field goal, sending the Knights to a stunning 26–23 victory.

The win gives St. Mary’s a 1–0 record to begin the season, while Korah will look to rebound from the heartbreaking defeat.

Knights’ coach Tony Boniferro told Saultsports that “the first half didn’t go our way. We were sloppy in a lot of aspects. And none of it was the kids fault. I didn’t have them prepared enough. We made some adjustments at halftime and we were able to find a little more success. We have great leadership on our team and one of our goals is remain more positive this year. Football is an emotional game, and a point of focus for us this year was to stay positive, even when things don’t go our way. Our entire sideline was great all game and you could feel a sense of calm, no matter what was going on. It was impressive for week one. I’m proud of our team.”

“We talked about how not much went well for us in the first half, yet we were still in the game. We Talked about how would need all three phases of the team to step up and make plays. Offence, defense and special teams would need to make plays. And they did. We just tried to stay positive and keep them motivated.  Carter Tait and Will Bryson ran extremely hard in the final minutes to give us a shot at that field goal. But the real hero’s were our Offensive line. Those guys battled and didn’t give up. We challenged them on that last drive and they were up to the challenge. A ton of credit goes to Cooper Woods, Tyler Diluzio and Emmett Thompson. We had a grade nine holder and a kicker who was in his first game. They executed when it mattered and they deserve a ton of credit,” added Boniferro.

Coach Boniferro also said “all in all, it was a crazy game that could’ve gone either way. Korah is Korah for a reason. They’ll be better because of this and we need to remain sharp. It’s always a battle against Coach Booch and him and his staff do a great job. We won the first game of the season, but there’s a long way to go still. We are happy with yesterday, but acknowledge we have a lot of work to do as well.”

Next Up

Both teams return to Superior Heights later this week.

• St. Mary’s Knights (1–0) vs. Steelhawks — Thursday, September 17, at 4:45 p.m.

• Korah Colts vs. White Pines Wolverines — Friday, September 18, at 4:45 p.m.

After a dramatic opening-week victory, the Knights will look to carry their momentum into Thursday’s matchup, while the Colts will aim to bounce back against the Wolverines.