ONT (CISAA): CFC#23 Saints defeat rivals under Friday Night Lights

CFC TOP 50 St.Andrew’s College Saints (SAC) defeated the Upper Canada College Blues (UCC) 31-22 last night in front of a large crowd full of passionate UCC and SAC fans. The ‘Friday night lights’ atmosphere on UCC’s campus was nothing short of electric as both teams played with tremendous passion and emotion.

Offensively, the Saints stars were at their best last night. Quarterback & CFC TOP 100 Chris Merchant was accurate and poised throughout the night, spreading the ball amongst the entire receiving core, while also making several great plays with his feet as well. Merchant finished the night with over 250 yards passing and 3 total touchdowns (1 pass, 2 rush). He showed the entire arsenal of his exceptional talent by throwing the ball vertically down the field, while also throwing with precision and accuracy underneath to extend drives. Running back Jonathan Femi-Cole was once again outstanding as well. Femi-Cole rushed for over 150 yards and 1 touchdown against the vaunted UCC defence. His explosive speed and acceleration, vision, and power were on display throughout the night. He is quickly establishing himself as one of the most dominant football players in the country.

Star slot backs Zach Marcus ( CFC TOP 100) and Ryan Keays were tremendous throughout the game making plays all over the field. Not only were they both great on the offensive side of the ball, but the two made several outstanding plays on defence as well. Marcus finished the night with several pass breakups, while Keays made a great play to intercept UCC QB Liam Power in the fourth quarter. Showing their true toughness and resolve, both young men were also outstanding on special teams, providing consistent results in the return game and making multiple tackles on both the kickoff and punt teams. In addition to Marcus and Keays, burgeoning star receiver Daniel Cummings showed greats play-making ability, highlighted by a long touchdown reception up the seam of the defence in the third quarter. Last but certainly not least, demonstrating the depth of the receiving core’s contributions last night, Bryce Johnson made a crucial 20 yard reception in the 3rd quarter to extend a key drive which led to a Saints touchdown.

All of this was made possible by a great performance from the Saints offensive line. The big ‘war daddies’ up front played their hearts out last night. UCC showed a variety of exotic defensive fronts and pressure packages throughout the game, and the group of Cody McMillan, Adam Ashby, Jonathan Harvey, Riley Fischer and Duncan Robertson did an outstanding job handling the blitz while also creating running lanes for Femi-Cole. This group continues to work hard and become more dominant each week.

The Saints defence was once again led by linebacker Fraser Sopik. A relentless hitter with a nose for the football, Sopik played with reckless abandon last night. He was a play-making force all over the field. Fellow linebacker Callum Green also played a strong game, while ball-hawking corner Jordan Carter led the Saints secondary with several tackles and pass breakups. The defensive line was also bolstered last night by the return of defensive end Ed Essue. Essue had missed the first three games of the season with a knee injury. Rookies Josh Carter, Liam Joiner, Ben Thompson, and Angelis Prattas continue to improve each week and all enjoyed strong performances last night. In the biggest game of the year thus far, the defence provided several big stops in key moments to get the ball back to the offence.

The victory improved the Saints to 4-0 overall with a 3-0 record in conference play. The Saints are now in sole possession of first place and control their own destiny in their quest to secure homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. It was also the Saints fifth straight victory against the arch-rival Blues. Following a bye over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Saints return to action in two weeks to face the TCS Bears in Port Hope.