The Big Rock Conference semifinal was a couple of minutes late on Friday because the officials were looking for a pump to inflate the football prior to the kick-off between the Holy Trinity Academy Knights and the Rundle Cobras on the weekend.
Someone should have pumped some life in to the Knights as the Cobras ended Holy Trinity Academy’s (HTA) season with a 30-1 victory Friday in Calgary.
“We just weren’t doing our jobs tonight,” said Knights running back Ryder Stone. “Everyone, including myself, just wasn’t executing tonight. It’s a tough way to end my high school career.”
The Knights actually scored first when HTA’s Spencer Kiranas punted the ball in the Cobras’ end zone for a 1-0 lead after the first quarter. That one point was kind of like poking a snake with a stick — the Cobras jumped to attack.
The Cobras took a 7-1 lead when slotback Connor Rasch got behind the Knights’ secondary and took a perfect pass from quarterback Aaron Gruending for a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 8:30 left in the first half.
The Cobras took that lead into the dressing room. However, in the final minutes of the half there was some foreshadowing for what was to come for HTA. The Cobras had two touchdowns called back in the final minutes: once when Gruending was called for crossing the line of scrimmage before throwing a touchdown pass; and the other was a 41-yard run by Noah Muruve with just two seconds left called back for holding.
Muruve said the Cobras didn’t focus on the blown opportunities going into the locker room.
“We just treated it like it was 0-0,” said Muruve, who scored two touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards. “Regardless of what the score was, we just said let’s go out there and try to put the game away.”
Sandwiched between the Cobras’ missed opportunities in the first half, the Knights let a chance slither away.
With just less than a minute remaining in the first half, Stone exploded for a 70-yard run before being hauled down at the Cobras’ seven-yard line.
The run was called back due to holding. It would be the closest the Knights would get to the Cobras’ end zone.
“There were some key plays where we had some big plays and we shot ourselves in the foot,” said Knights coach Matt Hassett. “Then we got behind in the second half and we had to try some different things.”
The Cobras would score three touchdowns in third quarter to put the game away at 28-1. They Knights would concede a safety in the fourth quarter to make the final 30-1.
The Cobras were able to keep HTA’s all-everything running back Ryder Stone firmly in check. Stone was battling the stomach flu but the worst ailment was being clobbered by Cobras.
“Gang tackling is a big part of our process,” said Cobra defensive coordinator Josh Barry. “We made it a priority to send four or five guys at the ball.
“He (Stone) is a great runner and he isn’t about to go down with just one guy tackling. Our line did a great job of pushing their line back and allowing us to get to them.”
Hassett agreed the game was lost on the line.
“Rundle is the most physical team we have played all year,” Hassett said. “It is demoralizing when a team can ram the ball down your throat, we just couldn’t stop their run game. They dominated the line of scrimmage and gave him (Muruve) holes all day. We had to be more physical upfront and we just couldn’t do it.”
Hassett said he felt bad for Stone who hasn’t missed a practice or game in three years, and fought through a flip-flopping stomach in the final game of his career.
“I feel sorry for the three-year seniors like Sam (linebacker Sam Stange) and Nick (linebacker Nick Bonertz) and of course Ryder,” Hassett said.
He said it was a season to grow on.
“We were young and we knew that coming into this season,” Hassett said. “I thought Spencer Kiranas, who started today (at quarterback) played very well.”
