Colts gallop over Knights

Less than a week after taking a thumping from the St. Mary's Knights, the Korah Colts exacted their revenge in the playoffs.

Backed by solid defensive effort in the second half, the Colts defeated the Knights 14-7 in high school football senior division semi-final playoff action on Friday night at Rocky DiPietro Field.

The Colts will now meet the Sir James Dunn Eagles for the city championship next Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Rocky DiPietro Field.

The Eagles advanced to the final with a 42-15 win over the Bawating Braves on Thursday night.

The eventual city champion will host the Northern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (NOSSA) semi-final game against a Sudbury representative on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. The NOSSA semi-final winner will host the North Bay rep on Saturday, Nov. 13, for the NOSSA championship and a trip to the Central Bowl.

With the Knights' loss, a new champion will be crowned at all levels. The Knights, who had a 21-game win streak snapped this season, entered the season as two-time defending city, NOSSA and Central Bowl champions.

The Knights and Colts struggled through a defensive battle in the semi-final. The Colts managed to bust open a few big plays on offense and used their tough defense to hold the Knights offense at bay.

Mark DeVuono posted the Knights lone score with a 28 yard reception from quarterback Anthony Amadio to give his team a 7-0 lead after Justin Longo's convert 6:08 into the second quarter.

The Colts scored a single on a missed field goal attempt to send the game into the half with St. Mary's leading 7-1.

Korah struck early in the second half as Pat Koski broke open a 66 yard touchdown run 2:40 into the third quarter to put the Colts ahead 8-7 after Colin Edwards' convert.

Jourdan Morin capped the scoring for the Colts with 4:40 remaining on a 10 yard touchdown run. Korah lead 14-7 despite having their convert attempt blocked by the Knights' Max Fera.

Koski led all rushers with 158 yards on 12 carries while Morin added 113 yards on 18 carries.

Morin led the defense with nine tackles while Aaron Irwin and Alex Semeniuk added 4.5 each. Koski added 3.5 tackles and two sacks while Ryan Mallette recorded four tackles and a sack. Devon Kinnunen made two inceptions, including a big one to stop a St. Mary's drive in the fourth quarter, and recovered a fumble. B.J. Gagne also recorded a fumble.

For the Knights, who were held to 102 yards rushing, were paced offensively by DeVuono, who caught four passes for 59 yards. Amadio completed five of 16 passes for 85 yards. Dan Esson was the top rusher with 40 yards on seven carries.

Longo recorded 5.5 tackles defensively while Conan Sawko and Esson added five each. Giancarlo Perra made four tackles.