Irish land star transfer; BT tops Saint Francis
Christmas came early for Tim Bisci and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish senior football team.
It was late in the summer when the head football coach heard from Justin Savoie’s father that he was moving to Welland and he was wondering if his son was eligible to play with the Irish.
“I told him he had to follow the OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) transfers and he did it. He moved to Welland and I was ‘This is pretty good.’ ”
Pretty good was an understatement judging by Savoie’s play Friday in the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association home opener against the visiting Holy Cross Raiders.
Savoie rushed for 86 yards on 11 carries and scored three majors.
“He stepped in and without being arrogant he took over a leadership role. He gets guys going and he speaks his mind when he has to and it has been great,” Bisci said. “He doesn’t do stupid things, he wants to win so desperately and you see that when he plays and when he talks to guys.”
Savoie is like a coach on the field and you can hear him yelling instructions to his teammates.
“He takes control and he understands stuff. He is a smart football player and he has a good football mind.”
Bisci feels Savoie has a lot of upside given his abilities.
“He is an unstoppable player.”
The 17-year-old admits it wasn’t easy to transfer to Notre Dame from Sir Winston Churchill.
“It was a tough decision but two of my best friends, Brady (Pupek) and Quinn (Johnston), went to Western so I was already losing them. And another one of my friends went to the London Beefeaters team,” the 12B student said.
It has been a smooth transition for him at Notre Dame.
“I love it. I felt so welcome when I got here and the coaches love me. I have some close friends on this team now and ever since I got here it has been great.”
The 5-foot-6, 205-pounder describes the Notre Dame football culture as amazing.
“I can’t even put it into words.”
One thing about Notre Dame football really caught him by surprise.
“We do a lot more conditioning here.”
Savoie is hoping to having a big year with the Irish and open the eyes of some OUA (Ontario University Athletics) scouts. He has yet to garner interest from any university.
“Maybe they think I am not fast enough or I am too short but it doesn’t really bother me. If I don’t make it in football, I will go into the business world and make some money.”
Savoie has made a habit of proving doubters wrong throughout his football career.
“I have had a lot of coaches who haven’t played me and some coaches who have played me and tell me I’m really good. I’ve been good but some coaches just didn’t play me.”
Bisci has assured Savoie that if there is interest they will find it for him. If he was an OUA scout, he would have a lot of interest in his newest star.
“Why would you not? He is a big, strong kid and he is only 17. You get him in the weight room and teach him how to run as a sprinter-type guy and his ceiling is high. I think he is a good player and someone has to take a look at him.”
Savoie is excited to see what the Irish can do this season.
“We are not perfect yet and we have a lot to work on but we have a whole season.”
Holy Cross head coach Gerry DiSanto didn’t like the score but was happy with how his squad hung tough with the Irish and didn’t get Thirty-fived (clock running straight time when one team ahead by 35) until the fourth quarter.
“It is just a war of attrition. They had more numbers and were able to sub in and we have a lot of two-way players. That is the only thing that happened.”
He likes the team he has assembled this season.
“I think we are going to be competitive and just gets better. This was just a learning experience.”
STATS PACK
Fighting Irish 52 Raiders 6
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Notre Dame’s Justin Savoie with 11 carries for 86 yards, including TD runs of two, five and nine yards.
For the Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Savoie, three TDs; Jordan Huggins, 85-yard punt return for a major by Jordan Huggins; 21-yard TD pass from Ben Tsanoff to Brodie Bevaqua; two-point convert on pass from Huggins to Patrick Scully; 32-yard fumble return for TD by Nolan Hemauer; 47-yard TD run by Everett Hemauer; two defensive safeties; and, Cole Stewart, sack.
For the Holy Cross Raiders: 85-yard kick return major by Joseph Martinelli; sack by Sean McGowan.
Game stats: First downs: ND 10, HC 4. Net offence: ND 282, HC 31. Turnovers: ND 0, HC 3. Penalties: ND 10 for , HC 2 for 20 yards.
THUNDER 24 PHOENIX 15
The visiting Blessed Trinity Thunder opened NCAA play Thursday with a 24-15 victory over the Saint Francis Phoenix.
The Thunder received two touchdowns from Jayden Gurzi-MacDonald and single majors were scored by Aidan Sartor and Johnny Breen. Mikhael Pegg had an interception late in the fourth and Ryan Broome recovered an on-side kick.
For Saint Francis: Gavin Paxton had a pick 6 and a convert; Trent Dobson had a five-yard TD reception from Cameron Mepham; Aidan Johnson had two receptions for 45 yards; Sadiekie Hayden had 50 yards rushing; and, sacks were recorded by Max Cataldo and Ethan Rail.
“Being a new program and after just two weeks of practice with a new group of older players that played with Holy Cross last season joining the players from the junior varsity team last season, I feel that we performed well, especially in the second half,” Phoenix head coach Mark Johnson said. “Penalties, mistakes and miscues hampered our offence and left our defence on the field for extended periods of time. I was impressed with our players that have not played football before, particularly the 12 and 12B players and with our line play on both sides of the ball despite some size differences and inexperience.”
Johnson is excited about the season.
“With some work on execution, discipline and refining our offensive system I feel we can compete at the varsity level going forward and with many Grade 10 and 11 starters, we can be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years.”
