The Holy Trinity Academy Knights went into one of the hotbeds of high school football on the weekend and although they didn’t get sizzled, they felt the heat of the Comets.
The Knights were beaten 16-13 by the Comets in Raymond on Sept. 21 dropping Holy Trinity Academy’s (HTA) record to 2-2 on the season.
“Raymond is a storied team in Alberta, and I have never had any of my teams there before so it was exciting,” said Knights head coach Matt Hassett said. “The guys weren’t too nervous. I told the guys if they are going to play Raymond they better be ready to play. We definitely had our opportunities.”
The Knights took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter when HTA running back Ryder Stone took it into the end zone on a seven-yard run. Stone set up the touchdown when he took a lateral from quarterback Hayden Oberg in Knights’ territory and scampered 80 yards before being brought down on the Comets’ seven-yard line.
“I broke a couple of tackles and I was able to take it to the outside,” Stone said of his 80-yard run. “On the next play, I took in when I went up the middle.”
The Comets cut the lead to 6-2 when the Knights conceded a two-point safety. The Comets would take a 9-6 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Comets scored on a long-drive capped off by an eight-yard run by Justin Maynes in the second quarter.
Hassett told his charges at half-time not to panic.
“I told them, ‘Hey we are in this — you can play with them,’” Hassett said. “There’s always that worry they will be overwhelmed when they play Raymond or a Tier I school, but we played well.”
The Comets have won three of the last four Tier I provincial championships (schools with enrolments of more than 1,250 students), despite the fact Raymond’s enrolment is only 215 students.
The Knights’ spirit got a huge boost when the Comets’ kicked off to start the second half. Stone took it to the house to give the Knights a 13-9 lead.
“I had some good blocks and took it up the middle,” Stone said. “Then I broke a few tackles and broke to the outside and took off.”
They held on to the lead until the fourth quarter. The Comets would take the lead for good when Raymond slotback Tate Prince scored on a 25-yard catch-and-run touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
The Knights had their chances to steal a win, however, they were stymied late in the game when Stone was stopped inside the Cobras’ 10-yard line on downs.
They also missed a 27-yard-field goal in the fourth quarter.
Holy Trinity would have a goal line stand of its own in the fourth quarter to keep them in the game.
In the final minute, the Knights were able to get the ball to the Comets’ 35 yard-line as a result of Stone taking a pitch from Oberg and then passing to Caleb Selders. However, the Comets picked off a pass on the next play and then ran out the clock.
Comets head coach Darryl Salmon said he was impressed with the Knights.
“What did HTA do well — they gave the ball to Ryder,” Salmon said with a laugh. “I had never seen him before. He is very elusive fast. They centre their offence around him and they should.”
Salmon added the Knights also have a solid defence. Raymond punts on third down about as often as Haley’s Comet makes an appearance.
“We must have had six or seven turnovers with picks and loss-of-downs,” he said.
The Knights are currently fifth in the Tier II rankings (schools with enrolments between 750 and 1,249 students). They have possibly a bigger game than Raymond this week when they host their cross-town rivals the Foothills Falcons Friday at 7 p.m. at Knights Field in Okotoks.
