Unbeaten junior Saints clinch first place
Shut out Adam Scott Lions 27-0; playoffs begin next week
St. Peter Secondary School is not known as a football school but the junior Saints are trying to change that.
The Saints clinched first place and an undefeated 5-0-1 record in the Kawartha high school league with a 27-0 win over the Adam Scott Lions on Friday afternoon.
They’ll host the fourth place Thomas A. Stewart Griffins in semifinals on Tuesday. The Griffins (3-3) clinched the final playoff spot on Friday with a 14-7 win over the Haliburton Highlands Redhawks (2-4).
The second-place Holy Cross Hurricanes (4-1-1) will host Adam Scott (3-2-1) in the other semifinal. Holy Cross suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday 24-15 to the Crestwood Mustangs (2-4-0). The Hurricanes tied St. Peter earlier in the season.
“Football has not been high on the list for a lot of kids there (at St. Peter),” said Christian Vesnaver, the Saints’ non-teacher head coach.
“We’re AAA and have 1,300 plus kids and we struggled with numbers. That’s the culture we’re trying to change and this is doing it. Now kids are starting to take a second look at us.”
The Saints have some good athletes like Jamie Hubble, who ran for three touchdowns including a 55-yard break to found out the scoring, Carson Harvey, who also scored on short yardage, and Spencer Watchorn who set up the first major with a long sweep. He left the game in the second half with a knee injury. Gabe Schultz kicked a convert.
Harvey said clinching first place was a big accomplishment.
“This means everything,” Harvey said. “I’ve always wanted this to happen and be like the legends of a school. I’m really proud of the boys. They played great today.”
Harvey said a lot of their success stems from being a tight-knit group.
“We work together extremely well and are supportive of each other. We just play a good ball game.”
That’s what the coaches were trying to create, Vesnaver said.
“It’s a great bunch of kids,” he said. “They are willing to work together. They stick it out each day in practice. They are committed to the team. We’re trying to change the culture at the school in the program. We’ve brought in the team culture where together everyone achieves more. They’ve bought into it.”
Harvey says they’re excited for the playoffs.
“We’ve gone this far, we might as well go all the way,” he said.
“They’re a good team,” Lions head coach Ted Lacarte said, of St. Peter.
“They’ve got some good pieces. Their running back (Hubble) is a fantastic player. I said that to him when I shook his hands, ‘I’d love to have you on my team,’ I think our guys competed, I really do.
“We were moving the ball on them early very well and then it just kind of stopped. The field conditions really didn’t help us. We don’t have the size they do but we have speed. In field conditions like that it makes it hard to use your speed.”
The senior football schedule also wrapped up on Friday with TASSS completing a 6-0 season with a 42-21 win over Haliburton (1-5). TASSS will host fourth place Fenelon Falls Falcons (3-3) on Tuesday.
Third place Adam Scott (4-2) defeated St. Peter’s (0-6) 63-6 on Friday. They’ll visit second place Crestwood (5-1) on Tuesday. The Mustangs beat Holy Cross (2-4) 27-0 on Thursday.
Game times for Tuesday’s playoffs are to be finalized. The winners will play in the Kawartha finals on Nov. 10 at TASSS.