Raiders dominate Trojans on gridiron

The Oak Park Raiders had their way on Friday evening.

A dominant three-phase performance saw the Raiders rattle off 37 unanswered points and leave with a 46-7 victory over the Vincent Massey Trojans in the Winnipeg High School Football League AAAA tier 1 varsity semifinal at Princess Auto Stadium.

Oak Park will play in the ANAVETS Bowl for the second year in a row and try to capture its first championship since 2014.

“It’s a whole new team this year,” said head coach Chris Ollson. “We kind of lost our identity with (running back) Onan Furst and all those guys graduating last year. You could tell in the beginning it wasn’t Oak Park football, but talking to our guys a couple of weeks ago, you could tell it clicked.

“Usually these seasons are long, and by the end, you’re kind of like, ‘Let’s see how much juice you got left,’ and these guys, they’re answering every single bell. The last three weeks has been our best football, and it’s clicked, and we’re back to playing Oak Park football.”

The Raiders will again face the two-time defending champion Dakota Lancers in the title game, at Princess Auto Stadium on Nov. 6. The Lancers defeated the St. Paul’s Crusaders 8-3 in the second semifinal contest.

Oak Park quarterback Brayden Kohanski tossed for three touchdowns and do-it-all receiver Tavin Parani hauled in two of them, while Finn Bramwell added an 11-yard rushing touchdown.

Kohanski was the backup when the Raiders reached the championship game a year ago.

“It means a lot. Being the backup, it means something. But to be the guy, getting the team there, it means a lot more,” he said.

“We’ve got all different types of people here. Don’t know what makes us work, but something about it, man, it’s special.”

After a tight first quarter, the Raiders pulled away and never looked back.

Amyas Furst returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to give Oak Park an immediate advantage.

“That was a point of emphasis,” said Ollson. “Our offence is good, defence is good, but our special teams, I think, is the best in the league. Rylan Patching-Bowen is the best kicker, I think, in the league. We can hit 45-yard field goals with him, and then coming out with our two returners, Tavin and Amyas, those guys are scary dudes, and we have horses. That’s just momentum right there, and you just build off that.”

Patching-Bowen went three-for-three on field goals, connecting from 11, 21 and 20 yards.

The Trojans’ lone touchdown came on a 10-yard connection from Alex Britton to Trey Naherney that shrunk the score to 9-7 in the opening frame.

The Raiders did the most damage in the final minute of the first half. Parani hauled in his first touchdown, a 75-yard catch and run, to grow the cushion. On the ensuing drive, Kohanski connected with Travis Irving on a 22-yard major to give Oak Park a 29-7 lead at the break.

“It was kind of an on-the-ball scenario, so it was a quick play. We (called) Florida, so I got that corner route,” said Parani, whose second score was from 15 yards out. “I knew it was coming, ran my route, gave him a move, and I saw that ball in the air, and I was like, ‘I know this is mine,’ and I had to get going. Absolutely amazing moment.”

The Raiders intercepted Britton four times on the night — all in the second half. Parani came up with the first, while Jack Redl and Donte Sims recorded the next two. The final pick came on the Trojans’ final possession, as Britton’s pass was deflected at the line and reeled in by lineman Trigger Linklater, who rumbled for five yards before being brought down. The sideline erupted in celebration for the big man.

“So much is put in, and you can only thank the coaches for all of that,” said Parani. “Having the right guys on there and having the right game plan and scheme, it’s all a process, and that’s something I got to hand to the coaches. And again, we got guys, and when everyone comes together, we make it happen.”

The late contest between Dakota and St. Paul’s was a competitive, low-scoring affair that saw both teams combine for three field goals and a safety.

Lancers kicker Brady Templeton connected on a pair of field goals, including a 22-yarder late in the fourth quarter that was ultimately enough insurance.

The Lancers advance to the ANAVETS bowl for the third year in a row, in search of the first three-peat in the top division since the Crusaders accomplished the feat 2011-2013.

“The nice thing is both our JV and varsity programs are so tight, and we’ve all been there now, we’ve all been experienced through the emotions and all that stuff,” said Ollson. “We’ve been able to play Dakota and St. Paul’s in the regular season — we kind of know what to expect to a certain degree. So, anybody can win that game, no matter who it is out of Dakota and St Paul’s and us. It’ll be fun next week.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam