Knight time took hold under frigid Friday Night Lights for possibly the last time this season.
For the second straight week the Holy Trinity Academy Knights blanked the Strathmore Spartans on the frozen tundra, this time by a 27-0 score at home on Oct. 23 in what could be the final game of the year.
“For us seniors, we don’t know if this is our final game or not, for some of the guys not moving up to the next level this could have been the last time they play football,” said Knights Grade 12 lineman Hunter Kessel. “I know a lot of the seniors, we wanted to leave everything we had on the field and we had nothing else to prove, we played hard and well and we just gave it everything we had.
“We’re not certain of the future, but we wanted to show everyone what we can do.”
Grade 10 quarterback Brady Jenkins, the younger brother of former HTA quarterback Julian Jenkins, ran in two touchdowns. Jack Gutek returned a punt for six points and Luke Gutek added the first major on a powerful run.
“It was crazy, it felt almost surreal because I saw my brother go through it and everything,” said Brady on his first home start for the Knights. “But it was definitely a cool experience with having the fans out. A lot of people came out (considering) it’s freezing.”
Traction was at a premium at Knights field under the picturesque winter sky.
“With the snow on the ground you couldn’t really dig your feet in and cut or make any moves,” Kessel said. “There was a lot of sliding around and slow movement getting off the ball. On the O-line it was tough to block the guy across from you, they would bull-rush you and you try to dig your feet in and down, but end up just sliding back.”
It’s also a challenging prospect to dig in and move laterally to make open field tackles, leading to a few hits and misses.
“When I was in the backfield a couple times, the running back would have the ball and he would just throw a move and you try to mirror it and end up just sliding and miss the tackle,” Kessel said. “Of course, the other guys are slipping and sliding too so if you do hit them, they fall to the ground a little easier.”
The teams decided to end proceedings after three quarters with the Spartans running short of players.
“Given that the game was shortened we were on track to put up as many or more points as last week,” said Knights head coach Matt Hassett. “Brady has done really well the last few weeks. We’re kind of a matchup nightmare for other teams, we’ve got four guys that can all run and catch and they’re not all that small either.”
It’s an array of offensive weapons in the Knights arsenal the team’s young quarterback is not taking for granted.
“It’s fantastic, a lot of times on those deep balls you’ll see me almost kind of close my eyes and throw it as far as I can,” Brady said. “With guys that make plays 90 per cent of the time, it’s not really a 50-50 jump ball it’s more like 70-30, it’s a little bit unfair.
“I just have to go out and game manage.”
On the defensive side, Hassett said the team’s young defensive backs have made quick adjustments to the high school game — the likes of Carter Smith, Caleb Jones and Tyson Sopp — to go along with veterans Blake Craven and Jack Pawlick.
With two more weeks before the Knights could join another cohort and play another team, there’s no guarantees of any further game action for the team.
“That’s one of the tough things about this, we normally do these extra things that make the program special and the senior season special,” the coach added. “We’re hoping things open up in the spring so we can send them off the right way.”
For the senior class, those that helped the Knights to their first Tier II provincial championship in program history last winter, all of the uncertainty has made them appreciate the game that much more.
“For sure, I think we took it for granted. We thought last year that we would have a full senior season, no interruptions or anything,” Kessel said. “And you don’t realize it until you finally reach your last year in high school and then especially with COVID and everything and only getting those two scrimmages, a lot of us were wanting to go to practice more and we were sad that we don’t have more at this time.
“We’re hoping for more games because we don’t want this one to be our last.”
