A chance to reset after a rare defeat was an opportunity the defending provincial champions weren’t going to miss.
The No. 3 ranked Holy Trinity Academy Knights bounced back with a 45-35 road victory over the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute (L.C.I.) Rams last Friday night to improve to 5-1 on the season.
“Sometimes adversity happens, and you’ve just got to deal with it, just like in life,” said Knights head coach Matt Hassett. “And the kids did a good job of refocusing and we told them this week that they had one of their best weeks of practice and they responded.”
Defensively, the Knights were missing starters at linebacker, but settled into the game with a couple of key contributors making their mark.
“They scored fairly quickly and then we made some adjustments, especially at the half and played much better after that,” the coach added. “I thought Jaxon Hand and Avery Laliberte stepped in and did a really good job having not had a lot of playing time before.”
Grade 12 receiver Chris Peloso made his season debut with the team after battling back from a non-football injury, giving HTA quarterback Declan Lyth and the HTA offence another dynamic weapon in the passing game.
“We played fairly well in the first half and just had too many penalties where we shot ourselves in the foot for the most part,” Hassett said. “Then in the second half, we played much better, especially in that third quarter.
“We moved the ball and didn’t make mistakes.”
The No. 8 ranked Foothills Falcons went toe-to-toe with the Tier II power Medicine Hat High Hawks and snared a comeback 21-21 tie on the road last Friday.
Foothills receiver Thanasi Antonopoulos corralled two touchdown receptions and 149 yards, including a 52-yard major in the fourth quarter to even the contest.
In addition to throwing two touchdowns and 272 yards, Falcons quarterback Emerson Liepert added 87 yards rushing.
Caleb Baker, a two-way defensive back and receiver, had the play of the game on defence with a pick-six interception return in the first half.
Foothills (3-1-1) is back on Falcons Field on Friday, Oct. 6 versus L.C.I. This week, the Knights will play a JV game at the Strathmore Spartans on Oct. 5.
