The St. Paul’s Crusaders put up a dominant performance to lock down a 22-0 win over the defending champion Vincent Massey Trojans and win the ANAVETS Bowl Saturday evening.
A St. Paul’s turnover on the opening play of the game would set the stage for a game wrought by tight defense on both sides.
After pulling ahead 2-0 on safety, the Crusaders closed out the second quarter with a 35-yard touchdown pass to receiver Zach Wynne, and St. Paul’s carried a 9-0 lead into halftime.
The team wasn’t finished however, marching down the field on the opening drive of the third quarter.
Quarterback Te Jessie faked a hand off before rushing just over 20 yards, coming down at the 1-yard line and setting up another Crusader touchdown mid way through the third quarter.
Facing a 15-point deficit, the Trojans were largely unable to mount a threatening offence for the remainder of the third, however the defensive end was able to apply pressure and put the brakes on two Crusader counter attacks.
With under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Vincent Massey was 1st & 10 from the 55-yard line, only to suffer back-to-back sacks and then a fumble, which they recovered.
After St. Paul’s forced a fourth down at the Trojan 17-yard line, Crusader QB Te Jessie rushed in one final touchdown and with the convert posted a 22-0 victory.
The win marks the third ANAVETS Bowl win for St. Paul’s in four years.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Miles Mac Buckeyes downed the Portage Trojans 28-6 for the Division 2 title, and in a much higher scoring game, the Fort Frances Muskies took the Division 3 championship match 65-49 over the Churchill Bulldogs.