By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)

Feature photo: Crusaders pivot Brody Lawson searches for an open man against Dakota.

A 23-point second quarter was all the visiting St. Paul’s Crusaders 1 needed on Wednesday night at Murray Field, as they blanked the Dakota Lancers in the opening game of the 2018 WHSFL varsity season. The game was a rematch from last year’s ANAVETS Bowl, which the Crusaders also won.

The first quarter was a defensive battle both ways, as each team struggled to move the ball past midfield. The Lancers had the best opportunity to open the scoring after blocking a punt deep in Crusaders territory, however an attempted field goal was botched, keeping the game scoreless heading into the second quarter.

The Crusaders would open the scoring early in the second quarter thanks to a strong mix of run and pass, featuring junior running back Tanner Frobisher and receivers Tristen Hutter and Cordell Francis. Fellow junior tailback Te Jessie would cap the drive off with a rushing touchdown.

The visitors would add to their lead shortly after, as senior kicker Vince DeRosa pinned the Lancers deep in their own end. Junior linebacker Nathan Carabatsakis would ensure that the home squad had to concede a safety, after stuffing the Dakota offence on back-to-back plays.

Mental mistakes continued to haunt the Lancers deep into the second quarter. First, a botched snap on a punt set St. Paul’s up with ideal field position. A costly pass interference penalty on the ensuing drive brought the Crusaders even closer paydirt, and the drive was capped off with a touchdown pass from senior pivot Brody Lawson to Hutter, who made a tremendous one-handed grab. Later on, sophomore Nic Pereira would intercept an Aidan Campbell pass, which led to a major from junior running back Te Jessie to cap the scoring.

Dakota kept on fighting in the second half — primarily utilizing the pass — but despite some key throws from Campbell and a few solid receptions from senior receivers Ethan Dannell and Josh Ford, they were unable to crack the scoreboard as the Crusaders halted a third down gamble and also got an interception from sophomore Trae Tomlinson.

“We mostly played deep zone, and I read off of that and got a pick,” Tomlinson said postgame. “I felt great today, I was ready to ball out.”

The Crusaders, whose strength was the passing game in the pre-season, flexed their muscles in that department again, as Lawson found multiple targets for big gains during the contest. They also utilized a strong 1-2 punch with Frobisher and Jessie in the backfield.

“[Dakota] pretty much just played a cover three and a cover one, so we just played to our routes that worked well against those,” Lawson said after the contest. Dakota also has a really good defensive line and I was really proud of the way our o-line played today, they definitely held their ground.”

Despite the loss, there were a few standouts for the Lancers, including junior linebacker Josh Ma who has been a stellar playmaker at the varsity level since his freshman year. He was all over the field on Wednesday once again, and was critical in keeping the Crusaders off the board in the second half.

“Coach [Jarvis] pretty much said keep going, push hard and to keep our heads in the game,” Ma said of the comments from his coach at halftime. “We just have to keep going, keep our heads in and practice harder moving forward.”

Week one of the 2018 varsity schedule continues tomorrow, with eight games on the docket. There are also five games being played on Friday.