Trojans rob plunder from Pirates

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This article was published 15/11/2021 (1572 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Vincent Massey Trojans found themselves in a familiar place Monday night — as champions of the Winnipeg High School Football League.

And it felt so good.

The Trojans added their third Division One title in six years by hammering out a 25-2 win over the Grant Park Pirates at Eastside Eagles Field. Head coach Kelsey McKay guided the squad to previous championships in 2016 and 2018.

“This one’s a little bit more special because we had such a great group of kids (and) we had a couple years of flag football (during the pandemic), summer workouts and our guys just stuck with and they stayed together as a group,” said McKay. “And we came back and we were strong. It just was a question of learning the basics in the situational part of football.”

Earlier, the Dakota Lancers claimed the city’s junior varsity title with a 55-24 win over Oak Park Raiders in the title game.

The Trojans were very good at the basics in Monday’s late game, combining a bruising running game powered by 5-8, 205-pound tailback Siju Bodunrin and a swarming defence to build a 25-0 halftime lead.

Bodunrin dominated the first half and capped off a pair of long drives with one- and four-yard touchdowns. He carried the ball 15 times for in excess of 100 yards before intermission.

“Why would you want the ball every play?” said McKay. “Why wouldn’t you want to be the guy? I mean, all year he’s been patient because we’ve been given the ball to (other tailbacks) but I said to him the other day, ‘This is playoff weather. This is this is tailback weather right here.’ “

The Trojans had command of the game heading into the second half and the lead was fortuitous with an upper-body injury to Bodunrin knocking him out of the game midway through the third quarter.

The result was sweet redemption for Massey players, who had an 11-7 regular-season defeat to Grant Park still fresh in their minds. It was their only loss in six games.

“It was amazing definitely because we lost them early in the year, right?” said Bodunrin. “So to be able to bounce back like this, it definitely, definitely feels great.”

Defensive back Caleb Thiessen added to Grant Park’s misery when he snatched quarterback Solomon Bond’s high throw and rambled for a 42-yard pick-six.

In the first quarter, the Pirates trailed 4-0 after conceding two safeties when they were caught deep in their own end and facing the prospect of punting into a brisk east wind.

It was a bitter defeat for the Pirates, who entered the game 5-0 but fell short of capturing the WHSFL first division title for the first time in the 62-year history of the school.

“Everything went wrong for us,” said Grant Park head coach Doug Kovacs. “I don’t know, maybe we were due (for a loss). We played great all year but Massey’s a good football team and they took advantage of everything we did wrong and that’s what good football teams do.”

Grant Park’s best chance to reach the end zone stalled on Vincent Massey’s one-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. On the subsequent possession, the Trojans surrendered Grant Park’s lone points on a safety.

“They’ve done way more than any other Grant Park High School team’s ever done here in the division one,” added Kovacs. “It’s gonna be a tough one for these guys to swallow and (the coaching staff) as well.”

LANCERS 55, RAIDERS 24

Tailback Augustine Nkundimana put his breakaway speed on display, scoring TDs on a 70-yard punt return and a 50-yard run while Jaggar Gillespie added another on a 40-yard run and John Boubard punched in a two-yard major as Dakota surged to a 28-0 lead at intermission.

Mikun Odunga, on a 54-yard catch and run, and Nkundimana again, on 65- and 63-yard runs, and Boubard, on a 17-yard gallop, also added second-half touchdowns for the Lancers.

“Augustine has been like that for us all year,” said Lancers first-year head coach Abbas Butt. “He’s just such an explosive player. I know as soon as he gets the ball we have a chance to score, no matter what the circumstances are.”

Mathew Gillespie got Oak Park on the scoreboard with the first drive of the second half, plowing over the goal-line from 12 yards out.

Raiders quarterback Ryan Wirtzfeld added a two-yard major later in third quarter and then threw 10 yards to Wilton Mullally and 51 yards to Mason Versace for a pair of late scores.

Dakota finished the season 6-0, something the players took great pride in.

“We represent discipline, we represent a program that really just has been through quite a bit — blood sweat and tears,” said Butt. “We’ve cried together, we’ve laughed together. This team, this group, it just means so much for all of these guys here.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14