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Just short of a year to the day, the Korah Colts and North Bay’s Algonquin Barons met in the Northern Ontario Secondary School Athletics (NOSSA) senior football final.
In similar fashion, the Colts booked a spot in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) bowl series with a convincing win over the North Bay school.
After scoring three times in the opening quarter, the Colts cruised to a 49-6 win on Saturday afternoon at Superior Heights.
In what was a bit of a mirror image of last year’s final, Colts coach Tom Annett spoke of how crucial Korah’s defence and run game were in the win.
“The defence played excellent. We held them to very few yards offensively,” Annett said. “Our players did a great job. Also, our defensive coordinators and position coaches came in with a great gameplan this week.”
“Offensively, it’s like a broken record, our O-line was phenomenal,” Annett added. Our O-line was excellent opening up holes and our backs ran hard too. We distributed the ball really well and a lot of guys got carries.”
Annett said the gameplan didn’t change entering the game from what brought the Colts success.
“You want to ride the horse that got you here,” Annett said. “
Annett said the strong opening quarter set a tone for the Colts.
“There’s a feeling out period seeing how they’re lining up defensively. We usually start with our base stuff and see how that’s working and go from there,” Annett said. “The base stuff was working, so we kept hammering them with that. “
Both teams were affected by the flu leading up to Saturday’s game.
Annett said it began affecting the Colts on the ride home from their NOSSA semi-final win last weekend in Sudbury and the team had a number of players for Korah’s junior team practice with the seniors.
The Barons were also hit hard by the bug heading into the game.
“We were in tough going in,” Algonquin coach Ryan Desbiens said in an interview with BayToday, adding that the team practiced with as few as 15 players early in the week,
Desbiens added that the team travelled to the Sault with 29 players before two got sick on the trip. That, in addition to injuries, made life difficult for the North Bay champions.
“I’m proud of the effort though,” Desbiens said. “The boys played hard all the way through.”
Korah opened the scoring early as Kaylob Thibodeau punched the ball in on a short run, followed immediately by a Ty Koski convert to make it 7-0.
Thibodeau followed that up with another short run for a major with a convert by Koski making it 14-0 Korah.
After Algonquin turned the ball over on downs late in the quarter, Ronan Provenzano ran the ball in from 25 yards out. With the convert by Koski, the Colts took a 21-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Provenzano ran the ball in from 18 yards out for his second major of the game. The convert by Koski made it 28-0 Korah in the opening minute of the second quarter.
Midway through the quarter, Cole Barbeau ran the ball in from four yards out. The convert by Koski on the play made it 35-0.
The Colts made it 42-0 after a touchdown run by Dante Scaglione from six yards out and a convert by Koski.
Late in the third quarter, Jonah Pavoni ran the ball in from six yards out. With the convert by Kevin Li, the Colts took a 49-0 lead.
Algonquin got on the board late in the fourth quarter as quarterback Simone Dube ran the ball in. The Barons missed a two-point convert as time expired,
The Colts will face the Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association (CWOSSA) champion on Nov. 30 in the Northern Bowl, which is set to be played at Alumni Stadium on the campus of the University of Guelph.
The CWOSSA champion will be decided on Nov. 22.