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Pirates manhandle Marauders in high school football quarter-final
St. Paul's Crusaders' Salim Belrhazi (83) makes a difficult catch in front of Churchill Bulldogs' Lawi Milligita (4) during their high school football quarter-final game at St. Paul's High School Thursday. (TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
The Grant Park Pirates won their first-ever Winnipeg High School Football League championship title last season so you can’t blame them for wanting to hang onto it.
The Pirates, winners of the 2011 Free Press Bowl, beat the Maples Marauders 44-7 on Thursday in their Vidruk AA division quarter-final at Canad Inns Stadium.
"We want this title very much, we’ve put in the work in the off-season, our team’s been training so hard, we work hard every day in practice, we want it," said Grant Park running back Michael Ritchott who scored four touchdowns for his team. Joel North and quarterback Damian Surprenant scored the other two Grant Park majors.
"Our defence was a stone tonight! I don’t think they (Maples) got over 100 yards rushing on us. Our defence has been the core of our team, they continue to carry our team. It’s pretty exciting (to get to the semifinals) but there’s still a lot more to improve on our team."
Maples got their touchdown from Reid MacDonald on a five-yard catch late in the third quarter.
The St. Paul's AAA Crusaders, the defending Potter AAA division champion, took another step toward defending their title on Thursday night.
The Crusaders, who won the 2011 ANAVETS Bowl, beat the Churchill Bulldogs 39-6 at St. Paul's Field in quarter-final action.
Wet snow fell during the six playoff games which were played at three different fields. The other six quarter-finals in the three divisions will be played Friday.
"In this weather, we fared pretty well. We were able to run the ball and pass the ball with some efficiency," said Stacy Dainard, the St. Paul's AAA coach. "It was a step in the right direction but when you get to this point in a league as competitive as ours was this season, you can't look ahead, you have to focus on the task at hand."
St. Paul's quarterback Jamie Dzikowicz threw for three touchdowns to Morison Smith, Salim Belrhazi and Trysten Dyce while Blair Mattes rushed for one touchdown and Leon Cenerini scored a kickoff return touchdown. The Bulldogs's only major came from Lawi Milligita.
At Canad Inns Stadium in the Vidruk AA division quarter-finals, the River East Kodiaks defeated the St. Paul’s AA Crusaders 14-6.
In the Currie A division quarter-finals, the Beaver Brae Broncos from Kenora, Ont. upset the Elmwood Giants 9-6 at East Side Field while the Neelin Spartans from Brandon shut out the Daniel McIntyre Maroons 53-0 at Canad Inns Stadium.
In the other AA division contest, the Vincent Massey-Brandon Vikings defeated the Kildonan East Reivers 15-0 at East Side Field.
History
Updated on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 10:00 PM CDT: Updates with later action, retops story
10:09 PM: Adds Friday match-ups
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