Photo submitted.
The Saugeen District Senior School (SDSS) Royals continued their winning ways with a come-from-behind win against the Owen Sound District Secondary School (OSDSS) Wolves by a score of 31-20 in Owen Sound October 4.
In an October 8 Royals submission to Saugeen Shores Hub, Owen Sound has always played tough, and this week was no exception. The Royals knew they needed to set the tone early and they did, with a long pass by Nick Scott and great catch by Lewis Hendry to push the ball deep into the Wolves' territory. Flynn Colwell-Castles followed it up with a catch of his own and a run into the end zone for the early lead. Lucas Ramallo kicked the conversion.
In the second quarter, it was a battle of defenses before OSDSS broke through for a touchdown. The Royals took the lead back late in the quarter when Ramallo kicked a field goal to make it 10-7 at the half.
For most of the third quarter, the teams continued to push towards the goal, but never got through until Colwell-Castles made an amazing grab followed by a long run for his second touchdown of the game. A conversion kick by Ramallo put the Royals in the lead with a score of 17-14 going into the final quarter.
The Wolves were not ready to concede, adding a touchdown early in the opening minutes of the fourth but weren’t able to kick the conversion as Brady Moulton blocked the extra point. The Royals needed to come back as they were down 20-17 with under three minutes to play in the game.
The turning point came when Ethan MacKinnon recovered his own punt which put the Royals deep into the Wolves' end. After pushing down the field, Scott scored from the one yard line to regain the lead. Ramallo kicked the conversion for a 24-20 lead.
OSDSS needed a touchdown for the win but fumbled the ball and Brady Moulton picked it up to regain possession and take away any chances for the Wolves. The Royals continued to drive hard toward the goal posts with Mike Alison running in for a touchdown. Ramallo kicked his fourth conversion of the game to increase the lead to 31-20.
The Wolves had one more chance to put points on the board but Des Imeson recovered a fumble to end the game. “I am impressed with these young men every week," said SDSS Head Coach Joey Wentworth after the game. "They battled back from some big mistakes and played through some adversity for the first time and came out on top. They fought hard and they deserved to win the game, they showed a lot of heart.”
With respect to the defense, Wentworth added, “Credit goes to the coaching staff, including Defensive Coordinator Ian Clarke who does a great job calling the game and the guys execute and make big plays when they need to.”
Wentworth credits great strides in offensive play so far this season to the Royals Offensive Coordinator Curtis McCulloch for managing the game really well and putting Scott and the offense in a position to execute the play.
"They never quit on me and that’s all I can ever ask for and that’s why we have been successful," added Wentworth. "These guys are fun to watch, that’s for sure.”
The Royals are back home October 10, set to face the Grey Highlands Lions at 3 p.m. at SDSS.
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