The top-ranked Knights have scored a fourth consecutive game with 40 or more points.
The Holy Trinity Academy Knights are not slowing down their hot start to the season with 45-13 romp over a tough Catholic Central Cougars team last Friday, improving the No. 1 ranked 4A football squad in the province’s record to 4-0.
“It was some great competition,” said Knights linebacker Jaxon Hand, a Grade 11 student. “We ended up getting ahead, but (the Cougars) came here an put up a great game. They had a lot of really creative, interesting plays and a lot of trick plays that definitely got us caught off guard.
“We were adjusted and prepared very well, but they came out with new plays they hadn’t used all season.”
The Cougars looked poised to score on their opening drive only to have their field goal attempt swatted away by HTA linebacker Wyatt Koopman.
HTA didn’t look back from there with its ground game overpowering the visitors.
Seth Poelzer found the end zone three times in the first half on 67, 30 and 25 yard touchdown runs, Ben Gutek scored on a sweep play with Cayden McCullough putting the exclamation mark with a fifth touchdown before the half on a 50-yard scamper.
In the second half, Grade 10 quarterback Brenden Petersen rounded out the scoring with a 15-yard toss to Alex Horsman in the end zone in the late stages.
“They were blitzing the lights out and he hit the quick passes to beat the blitz and they did that all the way down the field,” said HTA head coach Matt Hassett. “That was good to see after that little debacle, I think we lost focus a little bit at the end of the third, beginning of the fourth quarter.
“It’s a lesson learned, just little things we’ve got to clean up.”
Ryan Chirzynski added a 26-yard field goal earlier in the contest while HTA also benefitted from forced turnovers via interceptions from Thomas Rowan and Ryan Maloney.
“It was important for us to do our jobs,” Hand said. “You can’t do other people’s job, you succeed when you do your job and when the whole team does their job, we win.”
Hand, a Grade 11 student, said the Knights’ team dynamic is what encourages him the most about this year’s squad.
“The team environment has been really good, we’re all really good friends, on and off the field,” Hand said. “It allows us to have really good chemistry.
“The reason I would say we’ve been successful consistently is we get our young guys in and we develop them throughout the years and that’s what makes us good.”
The attention shifts to Thursday night when the Battle of Okotoks kicks off at HTA.
The Knights welcome the Foothills Falcons at 7:30 p.m. for HTA’s annual blackout game.
“It’s always one of the biggest game on our schedule because of that crosstown rivalry and that’s what it should be,” Hassett said. “I think all of the kids in town look forward to it.”
The Knights have had the edge in the crosstown clash in recent years with last year’s 34-24 victory at Foothills one of the tightest games over the past decade.
“It was definitely chippy and really strong competition,” Hand said. “That’s the best Comp team we’ve seen in years and hope to see it again.”
