Colts run to senior football title

It’s been two years, but the Korah Colts senior football team found itself in a familiar position on Saturday evening.

The Colts earned a Northern Ontario Secondary School Association championship berth thanks to a 27-15 win over the Superior Heights Steelhawks at Superior Heights Saturday to win the city football crown.

Touchdowns in the second half by Ryan Barnes and Michael Nicoletta proved to be the difference in the contest.

With the Colts leading 13-8 in the third quarter, Barnes ran the ball in from 14 yards out with just under four minutes to go in the quarter and Nicoletta added a 33-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

“You talk about those situations a lot and it’s always a concern when you have success during the regular season,” Korah coach Tom Annett said of the Colts facing some adversity in the game when Superior Heights made it close. “I never saw an ounce of negativity on our sideline. That speaks to the leaders and captains on our team,”

The running game for the Colts saw the team run for over 400 yards in the win.

Nicoletta finished the day with 269 rushing yards on 20 carries while Barnes ran the ball for 103 yards on 11 carries.

“That’s a testament to our offensive line,” Annett said, “but also some excellent backs and our quarterback. They complement each other really well. One guy is a downhill runner and the other guys are so elusive.”

The Colts got on the board early thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by Nicoletta in the opening quarter.

Nicoletta opened the game with a 50-yard touchdown run on the Colts first possession in the opening minute of the contest and added a 100-yard major with just under seven minutes to go in the opening quarter to make the score 13-0 at the time.

The major by Barnes and Nicoletta’s third touchdown of the game were sandwiched between Superior Heights touchdowns from Gabe Barkley, on a five-yard run, and Dean Breton, on a one-yard run.

For the Steelhawks, coach Paul Orazietti said player numbers became a factor in the game.

“It’s hard to execute at a high level when everything is makeshift,” Orazietti said. “Guys have to play both ways. They get tired. They start to lose their focus. We need to have a bigger crew come in next year. We can play with anybody; we just need to have more bodies.”

Orazietti said the berth in the city final and playing in a close game “is a good next step for us.”

Defensively for Korah, Diego Scornaienchi had five tackles while Owen Trecartin had 5.5 and a sack.

Elijah Plastino added four tackles for the Colts.

Offensively for the Steelhawks, receiver Grant Rains caught eight passes for 119 yards in the game.

Barkley threw for 198 yards for Superior Heights, completing 15 of 33 passes.

Defensively for Superior Heights, Caden McLeod had 6.5 tackles Ryan Klooster had six tackles.

Next up for the Colts will be the NOSSA final on Nov. 13 against the North Bay champion.

The winner of that game will play in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Northern Bowl and host the game.