Knights grab hold of second seed in senior high school football

In a battle for positioning in the standings, it was the St. Mary’s Knights who put themselves in the drivers seat heading into the final week of the senior high school football regular season.

The Knights improved to 3-2 through five weeks of play on Thursday thanks to a 40-8 victory over the Superior Heights Steelhawks at Superior Heights.

The two teams entered play on Thursday with identical 2-2 records, but it was the Knights who would take advantage of their opportunity.

St. Mary’s got on the board first as quarterback Matti Tucker hit Jack McPherson for a 24-yard touchdown just over two minutes into the opening quarter. The convert by Micah Cuglietta gave the Knights a 7-0 lead early on.

Superior Heights responded on their next possession as Dylan Wooton hit Daikaden Gauthier for an 85-yard touchdown pass to make the score 7-6.

The Steelhawks conceded a safety midway through the quarter to make it a 9-6 St. Mary’s lead.

The Knights added to the lead just over three minutes into the second quarter as Cuglietta hit a 26-yard field goal to make it a 12-6 game.

With just over three minutes to go in the half, Darion Pucci blocked a punt for the Knights and returned the ball 52 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead further. With the convert from Cuglietta, the Knights held a 19-6 lead.

Before Cuglietta hit 24-yard field goal in the final seconds of the half, Superior Heights conceded a safety as the Knights took a 24-6 lead into halftime.

St. Mary’s took a 32-6 lead in the third quarter as Wiingashk Shawana returned an interception eight yards for a touchdown and then Tucker ran the ball in for a two-point convert on the play. The ensuing kickoff went through the endzone to make the score 33-6.

The Knights capped off the scoring late as Tucker hit Cole Rivet for a nine-yard touchdown. Cuglietta then added the extra point to put the finishing touches on the victory.

Tucker completed 12 of 20 pass attempts for the Knights for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns along with an interception. Tucker also ran the ball 10 times for 63 yards for St. Mary’s.

McPherson had 75 yards receiving on eight catches while Jarrett Dewar added 81 yards on 14 carries on the ground.

In addition to Shawana’s interception for a touchdown, Marcus Spadafora and Liam Ouellett also had interceptions for St. Mary’s. Darion Pucci added 4.5 tackles for the Knights defensively.

Gauthier caught three passes for the Steelhawks for 118 yards while also contributing eight tackles defensively.

Max Eshkibok also had eight tackles for Superior Heights.

In Thursday’s junior game, St. Mary’s beat Superior Heights 31-14.

The Knights opened the scoring midway through the opening quarter as Chase Carney hit an 18-yard field goal to give St. Mary’s a 3-0 lead.

Just under a minute later, Wesley Tait returned a Superior Heights fumble 46 yards for a touchdown to extend the Knights lead. With a convert by Carney, the Knights led 10-0.

The Knights pulled further ahead 2:50 into the second quarter as Dylan Dewar ran the ball in from seven yards out. A convert by Carney on the play made the score 17-0.

Jahiem Perrault Dedier added a three-yard touchdown run just under eight minutes into the quarter for the Knights to make it a 24-0 game after the convert by Carney on the play.

The Knights took a 31-0 lead into the half as Mason Mazzuca intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards for another defensive touchdown for the Knights. Carney hit the convert on the play.

Midway through the third quarter, the Steelhawks got on the board as Gabe Beaton hit a 19-yard field goal to make the score 31-3.

The Knights conceded a safety 5:50 into the fourth quarter to make the score 31-5 before Evan Missere scored on an 85-yard touchdown run. The convert by Ben George capped off the scoring to make the final 32-14.

Perrault Dedier had 36 yards rushing on 10 carries offensively for St. Mary’s.

On the defensive side of the ball, Liam Wesselius, Bryan Sonoc, Kade Visconti, and Douglas Atkinson had three tackles each.

Missere had 96 yards rushing for the Steelhawks in the loss while also catching an 11-yard pass.

Defensively, Griffin Delparte and Marcus Gould had 5.5 tackles each for Superior Heights while Simon McLean amd Colton Devoe added. 4.5 each.