‘Momentum’ wasn’t on Saint Paul’s side in Golden Horseshoe Bowl

Blocks on offence, hits on defence and crisp execution of their game plan weren’t the only things missing when the Saint Paul Patriots played Mississauga Lorne Park in the Golden Horseshoe Bowl Tuesday in Ottawa.

Also absent from the Niagara Falls high school’s end of the sidelines at TD Place were any big plays that shift the momentum in favour of the team trailing on the scoreboard.

Unlike the Niagara Bowl regional championship, where the underdog Saint Paul scored 24 unanswered points after trailing the A.N. Marauders by three touchdowns, there were no plays by the Patriots of the gamechanging variety when they lined up against the Peel Region champions.

Not only did Lorne Park Spartans make it all the way into the end zone on a long drive to start

the game, punt returns of 60 yards in the second quarter and 70 yards in the third for touchdowns only served to tilt the field more in Lorne Park’s favour.

“Two of three touchdowns came on punt returns, that surprised our team,” Patriots head coach Rick Oreskovich said after a disappointing 21-3 loss. “I don’t think momentum turned in our favour at any time in the game.”

He suggested the importance of momentum can’t be overstated.

“Momentum is critical for the mental part of the game,” the veteran coach added. “It’s more important than people think.”

A loss that ended the season for Saint Paul’s senior team dropping its record to 8-3, including 4-1 in the playoffs, was a combination of Lorne Park playing well and a less-than-peak performance from Patriots.

“Lorne Park is very solid, aggressive, well-coached, competitive, athletic,” Oreskovich said. “Overall, we did not play our best game, and we had to to beat that team.

“I don’t think we had our best game.”

Saint Paul, which upset the defending regional champion Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the road to take the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association championship, had trouble executing its game plan on both sides of the ball against Lorne Park.

“We weren’t making blocks as well as we should have, we weren’t maintaining blocks to give our back room to run,” the veteran coach said.

Saint Paul knew what to expect before taking the field in the first of four high school bowl games at the home of the Grey Cup finalist Ottawa Redblacks. Lorne Park beat the Patriots in exhibition action at the start of the season.

“We knew what we were up against, we knew they were a good team,” Oreskovich said.

Quarterback Devon Schiller-Cleveland, eight completions in 19 attempts for 80 passing yards; Carlos Calderon Barahora, five carries for 28 yards; Matthew Paul, two receptions for 42 yards; led Saint Paul on offence.

William Schmahl had an interception, and Zachary Lundy, Marley McCray, 5.5 and five tackles, respectively, for the Patriots defence.

Bernd.Franke@niagaradailies.com 905-225-1624 | @TribSportsDesk