ONT (Niagara): Thunder shutout Irish for first win of season

 

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The Blessed Trinity Thunder captured their first win of the season Wednesday in style with a 24-0 shutout over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Thunder’s offense got rolling late in the second quarter when an Irish punt attempt was blocked at their own 20 yard line, handing the ball over to Noah Lane and the Blessed Trinity offense with just 20 seconds left in the quarter. Following a handoff from Lane, Levar Lashington-Francis would push into the end zone with just 9 seconds remaining to put the Thunder up by 7 heading into halftime.

Moving into the 4th, Lashington-Francis would score his second touchdown of the day with a dive into the Fighting Irish end zone.

The Thunder would add to their lead mid-way through the 4th with a 20 yard field goal by kicker Matt Lane. Blessed Trinity was not done there as on the ensuing drive, Austin Whetton would return an Irish punt for a 45 yard score. This was all the Thunder would need for their first win of the season, improving to 1-3 and 1-1 at home.

Defensively the Thunder played an impressive game, denying the Irish any chance of reaching the end zone. For Defensive coordinator Mark Antonelli, it was a collaborative effort. “Looking at the film, it was very evident that our halfbacks were very diligent in disrupting the seams, throwing off the timing of their quarterback.  Couple that with the relentlessness of our front-four, it was a big contributing factor to the overall success on D.”

This marks the second highest scoring game for the Thunder this season, with two touchdowns and a field goal coming offensively plus the punt return. “Everything just clicked.”, said quarterback Noah Lane. “The offensive line was the key to our success. We made some adjustments which gave our offence what we needed to make plays.”

LeVar Lashington-Francis had an impressive game for the Thunder with two touchdowns. “I followed my blocks, trusted my lineman, and cut it up when I saw holes. My line did most of the work, I am really nothing special. All I do is hit the holes that they give me.”

“Our team put together 48 minutes of solid football on all sides of the ball.” Says Head Coach Joe Pagnotta.

The team now heads into Week 5 against Lakeshore, whom the Thunder have previously lost to. “It’s an extremely tight division where anyone can win in any given game.  Confidence is exactly what we need going into an opponent like Lakeshore.  Should be a good one.”