Crusaders dump Muskies

For almost two quarters, the Muskies varsity team was trading body shots with the league’s heavyweight champions.
Then the St. Paul’s Crusaders threw a combination that knocked the black-and-gold’s upset hopes cold.
Two touchdowns in the final 3:39 of the second quarter provided the kickstart for the first-place Crusaders (7-0), as they scored 35 unanswered points on their way to a 45-4 pounding of the last-place Muskies (0-7) here Friday afternoon to close the Winnipeg High School Football League regular season.
Fort Frances, who dropped their 18th-straight game, has only three days to figure out how to contain the Crusaders, as the two teams will meet again Thursday night at 8 p.m. in Winnipeg’s Canad Inns Stadium as part of the WHSFL quarterfinals.
The Muskies trailed only 2-1 against the Crusaders, after conceding a second-quarter safety following Craig McTavish’s punt single in the first.
The home side had the opportunity to be ahead if it wasn’t for their failure to convert on several drives deep into St. Paul’s territory throughout the first half, and it was that indiscretion that ultimately led to their downfall.
Chaanse Fennell, who entered the game leading the league in touchdowns (14) and rushing yards (1,044) ripped off a five-yard touchdown run to make it 9-1, and Kellen Blower added a 44-yard punt single before McTavish’s 27- yard field goal cut the lead to 10-4.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Fennell returned the ball to the Muskie 21. Two plays later, quarterback Mark Ralph found Antonio Hajzler alone in the end zone from 16 yards out to make it 17-4 with only 3.9 seconds remaining in the half.
If that wasn’t the backbreaker, Fennell fired the fatal bullet with 6:16 to play in the third quarter, as he took a handoff and ran over one Muskie defender before racing down the left sideline to a 90-yard major to make it 24-4.
The fourth quarter was all Crusaders, as St. Paul’s collected found the end zone three times.
Aaron Edmonds turned a screen pass from Ralph into a 30-yard touchdown, and Fennell added his third major of the day on a 54-yard run to increase the lead to 38-4.
Backup quarterback Jan vander Hooft capped the scoring, hitting Hajzler on a 24-yard touchdown pass where Hajzler caught the ball at the Muskie 10, sidestepped a tackle and scampered across the goal line.
The Crusaders will enter the post-season tops in the league in points scored (198) and fewest points allowed (55), while the Muskies rank at the bottom of the WHSFL in both categories (90 points scored, 225 allowed).
The black and gold were defeated 35-8 by the defending champion Oak Park Raiders in last year’s quarterfinal.