Two players named Joe led the St. Joseph's Jaguars to a 34-0 romp over the St. Theresa’s Thunder in Catholic School Athletics of Simcoe County (CSASC) senior football playoff action Friday afternoon at J.C. Massie Field on the campus of Georgian College.
It wasn’t just two ordinary Joes that had an extraordinary effect on the outcome: another named Cash hit paydirt for the Jaguars.
Tight end/slotback Joseph Chiuch scored the game’s first touchdown in the first quarter, a major that was converted by teammate Joseph Marandola. That convert was one of 10 points that came from Marandola’s foot. He also had an interception.
The St. Joan of Arc (JOA) Knights won earlier on Friday, downing Orillia’s Patrick Fogarty 30-0 to set up a St. Joe’s-JOA final slated for next Friday at the same venue under the lights, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
The teams split their two regular-season games. JOA's loss was the Knights' first regular-season CSASC setback in more than a decade.
Chiuch was a force on both sides of the ball for the Jaguars on Friday. In addition to being one of quarterback Liam Walton’s favourite targets, he also plays defensive end and constantly made a mess of the Thunder attack.
“He’s just a physical beast,” St. Joe’s head coach Erik Scott said of Chiuch. “He’s one of the strongest players I’ve ever coached.”
Chiuch, with considerable help from teammate Cash Marshall, was part of a Jaguars defensive line that dominated the point of attack, forcing several punts in dicey conditions and a few turnovers. Marshall’s recovery of a St. Theresa’s fumble in the end zone made the score 27-0 early in the fourth quarter and eliminated any faint hope the visitors from Midland were clinging to.
“Last time we played St. Theresa’s, they pushed us a around a little bit,” said Scott. “But (not today). Cash Marshall played a great game. We weren’t even sure if he was going to be able to play because he had been sick.”
In the end, the Jaguars scored two touchdowns and a field goal in each half to account for the final scoreline. Walton called his own number in the second quarter to score his team’s second TD, with Marandola tacking on a field goal before the half.
Another Marandola field goal followed in the second half to make it 20-0, before Marshall’s touchdown and another by Brodie Marshall as time ticked down, on both the game and St. Theresa’s season.
With the Simcoe County Athletic Association (SCAA) semifinals taking place Monday, with the Bear Creek Kodiaks hosting the Maple Ridge Ravens and Barrie North Vikings welcoming the Nantyr Shores Tritons, the Catholic final has now been determined.
Scott says that his team will need to play in control and try and get a lead. Scott’s team fell behind early when the teams first met this season and made many mistakes trying to catch-up. The opposite occurred in the rematch, which the Jaguars won 21-1 after losing 35-10 a couple weeks earlier.
“We want to be smart and be (in control),” Scott said of the match-up that features two 6-1 teams. “If we do fall behind, of course, we’ll try and get back in it but it’s always better to try and play with the lead against (JOA).”
The CSASC and SCAA winners will meet on Nov. 14 in the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) final.
Today’s game was the first played in frigid conditions more common with autumn football. For the most part, high school football this season in Simcoe County has been played in warm temperatures and often in beaming sunshine. It was not far above freezing on Friday and driving rain was the norm for much of both games as all four teams, but especially the visitors from Midland and Orillia struggled to get comfortable.
“It sort of made up for all the good weather this season,” said Scott.
It wasn’t all bad, however, especially for St. Joan of Arc and St. Joe’s.
Not long after the final whistle, Scott was loading gear into his vehicle and looked up to see a rainbow not far off in the distance.
With six teams still alive across both the CSASC and SCAA playoffs, it remains to be seen who will make off with the pot of gold in two weeks.
