Watch above: Resurrected after 25 years, the St. Thomas Knights football team won their division’s championship final. Billy Shields has more on the Cinderella story.
POINTE-CLAIRE – When the St. Thomas Knights football team took the field in the championship game of their division, players and coaches were immediately concerned, as the Pionniers of Soulanges had beaten them twice already. Those fears appeared legitimate during the first quarter as, Soulanges shot out to a two-touchdown lead.
Incredibly, the Knights came back and won 56-28, capping off its first season in 25 years with a division championship. It is an unlikely, storybook ending, especially considering that its entire roster wasn’t even born when the school last fielded a team.
“We had many many big time football players come through here who went on to having CFL careers,” said coach Marc Faubert. “We had the opportunity to bring it back this season and it’s been a great ride so far.”
Faubert added that a provincial grant won in March was instrumental in the team’s return, but getting students on the same page wasn’t so easy.
“It was a mess at first, because nobody knew what they were doing,” said defensive back Dimitri Papanikolaou. “We had a lot of new people who had never played the sport before.”
Even opponents can relate to the problems St. Thomas faced bringing a team back.
“Overcoming years of not fielding a team is a challenge in and of itself,” said Benoit Drouin, the offensive coordinator of the opposing team.
- ‘Shock and disbelief’ after Manitoba school trustee’s Indigenous comments
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- Several baby products have been recalled by Health Canada. Here’s the list
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
“When you start out, you have to say, ‘okay, this is a kicking tee, and it’s used for field goals.’ And the kids say, ‘okay, what’s a field goal?'”
Yet as the team started playing, parents got behind it.
They caught some breaks along the way — the first playoff game the opponent forfeited because the team couldn’t field enough players due to injuries.
In its next game, St. Thomas beat then-undefeated Ecole Secondaire Henri-Bourassa 19-10. That win, put a team full of first-time players in the unlikely position of vying for a championship — one they eventually won.
“Just being kind of the underdog and the new guys, some kids hadn’t learned the rules,” said Lynn Vining, whose son plays wide receiver on the Knights. “So coming to the finals like this has been really amazing for them.”
Comments