There’s no question that health begets confidence – just ask the St. Thomas More Knights.
The senior varsity football team turned the page on a bad string of both and racked up a win over the Mission Roadrunners to open the B.C. high school football 3-A eastern conference schedule.
By getting a few more healthy bodies in the lineup en route to knocking off the Roadrunners 18-6 last Friday, the Burnaby squad garnered a better sense of where they are and where they could be.
“There’s definitely more confidence,” STM head coach Steve DeLazzari said. “When you have the bodies back healthy, and the key bodies who we were missing, that can be a big factor in building confidence.”
The Knights, who forfeited the Sept. 13 exhibition tilt with Vancouver College after one half when a short bench and the loss of a handful more players during the opening 24 minutes created a hazardous situation, were not quick out of the gate against Mission.
The Roadrunners grabbed a 6-0 lead on their second possession of the day, scoring on a 47-yard passing play between quarterback Josh Bucholz and Saxon Kerahan.
But STM did respond promptly to even the score on quarterback Anthony DeLazzari's 40-yard touchdown pass to Jack Wagner. In the second half Zack Kebede scored on a short yardage run, and Nick Osho added a 30-yard TD scamper to lock it up.
Anthony DeLazzari finished the day connecting on five of his 10 pass attempts for 95 yards, with Wagner catching a pair for 50 yards, while Rickey Parsons pulled down two catches for 40 yards.
Seeing his quarterback – who’s also his son – play well and put up some good results was an encouraging sign that things are heading in the right direction.
“(Anthony) is slowly making the adjustment from junior varsity to senior ball,” said the senior DeLazzari. “It’s a pretty steep learning curve, but he’s picking things up.”
Osho, who missed the last game due to injury, finished with 150 yards on 17 carries, while Wagner had a strong game on both sides of the ball, corralling a team-high eight tackles. Parsons contributed six tackles of his own.
The team also benefited from having lineman Keishaun Carter back in burgundy.
“(Carter) had an outstanding game, getting in on four or five tackles and two quarterback sacks,” added coach DeLazzari.
The Knights venture to Coquitlam to play Terry Fox on Friday.
