Fighting Irish roll over Patriots
Dylan Correia helped set the tone early for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Thursday.
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student picked off an errant pass deep in enemy territory and ran it in for a touchdown as the Irish blanked the Saint Paul Patriots 44-0 in a Niagara Catholic Athletic Association senior boys football playoff semifinal at Notre Dame.
“I thought I was going to drop it, to be honest,” Correia smiled. “I was bobbling it but I got it in. It’s my second of the year and I’m happy with it.”
Correia’s major came in the first quarter as Notre Dame jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead. The Irish then poured it on with three more majors to lead 30-0 at the half.
“It feels good going into the half with a big lead but in the second half we still had to play how well we played in the first half,” Correia said.
Correia enjoys being part of a stingy defence for the Irish.
“I’m happy. Our defence has been locked in since Day 1 not letting a lot of people score on us,” he said.
He also gave props to the offence.
“It’s a team thing. Our offence and defence, together we work as a well-oiled machine. It’s just fun.”
Notre Dame head coach Tim Bisci appreciates what Correia brings to the field each week.
“He’s real athletic, real tough,” Bisci said. “Last week and the week before he’s been playing tough into the field against teams that run the ball very well. I told him the ball is going to find you and to be ready today.”
Bisci said the Irish still have room to improve despite the lopsided win.
“I’m good with it, the fact we’re resilient, but we’re still making some mistakes,” he said. “We had a pick for a touchdown, we get the ball right back and had a good stand defensively, and then we have two big runs and get them both called back. Next thing you know it’s first and 30.
“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot and not taking the momentum we should have.”
The Irish now host the Saint Michael Mustangs Thursday, Nov. 9 for the NCAA championship. Both teams will earn a spot in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association semifinals Nov. 15.
“I think we’re ready for every team,” Correia said. “We obviously can get better on a lot of things but, as of now, I think we’re feeling really good and the results show it.”
Bisci conveyed to his charges things will only get tougher from here on out.
“Teams are going to get better. We’re in November, every team you play is better than the last one and every game is bigger than the last one,” he said. “You can’t make those mental mistakes and be stupid doing those things. It’s going to cost you sooner or later.”
Saint Paul coach and Notre Dame graduate Rick Oreskovich tipped his cap to the Irish for a dominant performance.
“We sort of expected that coming in,” Oreskovich said. “We knew we weren’t going to be able to be prepared to play a team of that calibre. They’ve got a team where if you’re not at your best, you’re not going to be able to compete or last very long. They have size, they have speed, they have skill, they have aggression.
“It would have been a miracle for us to come away with a victory.”
The Pats finished their season with a 2-4 record.
“I give our players credit,” Oreskovich said. “We battled to the best of our ability. We were physically out-manned strength wise in a lot of cases.
“It was a decent year. We have to build on this for the future and try and understand when we’re playing against teams like this, we’re going to have to bring our A game.”
STATS PACK
Fighting Irish 44 Patriots 0
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Notre Dame’s Justin Savoie with four touchdowns.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Savoie four touchdowns; Dylan Correia touchdown, interception; Jordan Huggins touchdown; Brodie Bevacqua five converts, single; Conceded safety.
Saint Paul Patriots: No scoring.
Up next: The Fighting Irish host the Saint Michael Mustangs Thursday, Nov. 9 for the NCAA championship. Both teams will earn a spot in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association semifinals Nov. 15, also at ND. The SOSSA final will be the following week at Notre Dame.
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