STM loses heartbreaker at B.C. finals

STM loses a heartbreaker at the B.C. finals
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published Nov. 20, 2002

There was heartbreak at B.C. Place Stadium on Friday night when the St. Thomas More Knights were knocked out of the B.C. high school AAA football playoffs.
Despite taking a commanding 20-7 halftime lead over their arch- rival W.J. Mouat Hawks, the Knights were unable to capitalize on their breaks and then fell victim to a questionable late penalty call that ended their hopes of going all the way.
"I'm still not sure what happened," disappointed coach K.C. Steele said Monday morning after his team lost a 21-20 squeaker. "They (Mouat) had a few fortunate breaks and they were able to capitalize on our miscues."
As predicted, the contest lived up to its billings as the unofficial B.C. high school championship. STM went into the game ranked No. 3 in the province, while Mouat was ranked No. 1.
And the outcome was in dispute right down to the final play, when STM missed a last second field goal.
But the real clincher probably came in the third quarter when the Knights marched the ball down to the Mouat eight-yard line, but were unable to score. Invigorated by the defensive line heroics, Mouat turned the ball around and marched right back into the contest.
"It was very disappointing, especially after the way these guys played. They didn't deserve to lose. We played a sound game, unfortunately, it wasn't up to the kids on the field," Steele said. "Unfortunately, certain referees want to make their presence known in front of the crowd."
As expected, the Knights were led by star running back Calvin McCarty, who finishes the year with the most impressive rushing record in the province.
With this weekend's total included, McCarty ran for an astonishing 1,659 yards in just seven games. That's more than 300 yards better than his nearest competitor.
McCarty racked up 215 yards in the first half of Friday's game, but was effectively shut down in the second half. He finished the contest with 307 yards total. Steele said McCarty is still his choice for the B.C. High School Football Player of the Year honour.
Defensively, STM's Taylor Brooks finished the year with 79 tackles and the third-best defensive record in the province. Teammates Mike Newman had 51 tackles and Jacques DesLaurier had 50 to earn the eighth- and ninth-best records this season.
Steele said the late penalty scuttled what would otherwise have been a winning strategy.
"We were running the ball successfully. That was the game plan: keep control of the ball and work the clock. If they hadn't got that late two-point conversion, we would have got the ball back and been able to kill the clock.
"Oh well, the one thing you can't factor in is always the one that bites you."