The d’Youville Panthers hosted the Notre Dame Knights in their first annual ‘Tackle the Cure’ game
The Panthers owned the first half by running the ball down the field and scored two touchdowns early in the game. Ā d’Youville went into halftime up 13-0.
The second half was a different story. Ā Unable to run the ball on the Panthers all first half, the Knights decided to go into an aerial attack for 2 quarters. Ā The decision paid off with Notre dame scoring 3 unanswered touchdowns.
When asked about the game, Panthers Coach J.P. Falacho said, “We knew Notre Dame was a very dangerous and well coached team. Ā They have great athletes, and we were outplayed in the second half. Ā Our team has played in many tight games, and we knew this would be a 48 minute battle.”
With the loss, d’Youville is now 5-1-1 in Peel’s north division, which leaves them in second place tied with St. Edmund Campion. In ROPSSAA, only 2 out of 8 teams make the playoffs from the north. Therefore, d’Youville and Campion are set to play a tie-breakerĀ on Tuesday. Falacho stated, “This is playoff football right now. Ā Campion is a really solid team, so we know it’s going to be a full out war. There are no second chances at this point and our players know that they all have a job to do for a full 48 minutes of football.” Ā The winner of this tie-breaker will face the Lorne Park SpartansĀ on FridayĀ in one of Peel’s semi-final games.
The last time the Panthers faced the Bears, they ended off in a 10-10 tie game. Ā Campion head coach Oliver Ocampo commented, “We are obviously excited that we will get an opportunity at post-season play. Ā This Tuesday’s game with dY will be an exciting one as both of us will be fighting for our playoff lives. Ā In our last meeting, we drew the Panthers to an overtime tie. Ā The game was extremely physical and the intensity was high from both squads. Ā Spectators and referees thought it was one of the best games they had seen in years. Ā I don’t expect it to be any different this week because of what’s at stake. Ā I expect the game to be a real battle.”
The other semi-final matchup will see the north top seed St. Roch, hosting the second seed in the south, Joan of Arc. Ā Both ROPSSAA semi-finals will be playedĀ on Friday at noon.
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