Week two of the Sault Ste. Marie High School Junior Football season opened Thursday, September 17th, with the St. Mary’s Knights taking to the field against the Superior Heights Steelhawks. The Knights came out strong offensively and built an early lead before securing a 35-7 victory over the Steelhawks.
St. Mary’s opened the scoring at the 6:27 mark of the first quarter when quarterback Landon Chiarot rushed eight yards into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. Tyler Diluzio added the extra point to give the Knights an early 7-0 advantage.
The Knights continued to find success on offense late in the opening quarter. With just 58.8 seconds remaining on the clock, Chiarot connected with Zyler Dougherty on a 20-yard pass, with Dougherty taking the ball 12 yards for another St. Mary’s major. Diluzio added the conversion, extending the Knights’ lead to 14-0 heading into the second quarter.
St. Mary’s added another touchdown at the 10:17 mark of the second quarter. Chiarot found Cohen Kellar on a 36-yard pass, with Kellar taking the ball the rest of the way for a 36-yard touchdown to put the Knights ahead 21-0. Diluzio once again converted the extra point.
The Knights continued their offensive attack before halftime, with Chiarot and Dougherty connecting for their second touchdown of the night. Chiarot aired out a 34-yard pass to Dougherty, who then broke free for a 30-yard touchdown run. Aleks Majic added the extra point, giving St. Mary’s a 28-0 lead.
Neither team found the end zone during the third quarter, but the Knights added to their advantage in the fourth.
With 5:05 remaining in the game, Nathan Sweeney carried the ball 12 yards into the Superior Heights end zone for St. Mary’s fifth touchdown of the night. Majic added the extra point to make it a 35-0 game.
The Steelhawks continued to battle and finally broke through with just 58 seconds remaining. Noah Lesyshen carried the ball 12 yards for a Superior Heights touchdown, putting the Steelhawks on the scoreboard. Ben Campbell added the extra point to make the final score St. Mary’s 35, Superior Heights 7.
The victory gives the Knights momentum heading into week three of the high school football season, while the Steelhawks will look to bounce back in their next contest.
Knights coach Tony Boniferro told Saultsports that “coming off a short week, we just wanted to execute the best we could. Charoit played the best game of his high school career tonight. And our wide receivers all made plays. We were able to run the ball when we needed to. Our O line played great today and when your O line plays great, they make coaches look good. I think our pass defense was incredible tonight. Our secondary did a great job and Coach Hayes put together a great game plan.”
Deegan Desjardin and Kaylob Girardin were unbelievable tonight getting pressure and keeping Wooten contained. Wooten is an unreal athlete and football player. We knew he’d be tough to contain. But those guys did a great job. We weren’t great tonight. The game was much closer than the score suggests. Heights has a great team and they have outstanding coaches. They are only going to get better. That means we need to get better in all three phases. We have great leadership and our guys know they have a long way to go. We are far from a finished product, and the team knows that” added Boniferro.
Week Three Matchups
The St. Mary’s Knights will return to action on Thursday, September 24th, when they take on the White Pine Wolverines. The Superior Heights Steelhawks will face the Korah Colts on Friday, September 25th.
Both junior football contests are scheduled for a 4:45 p.m. kickoff.
Watch the action live on SaultSports TV as we continue bringing you local high school football coverage throughout the 2026 season.
