The Sports Corner

An unlikely hero spurs Windsor comeback

Windsor 14 - Seaquam 13 - Nov. 20, 2009.

Seaquam had the game in the palm of their hands and it slipped away like grains of sand.

The Seahawks built a 13-0 lead over Windsor in a Double-A quarter-final on the legs of running back Buddy Hutchison. But 10 minutes away from the win a Seaquam fumble on the one-yard line gave Windsor a glimpse of hope and the Seahawks’ lead began to slip away.

Windsor’s quarterback, Zach McKnight, got the Dukes out of the shadow of their own end zone, throwing a 54-yard pass to Rhys Gilbert. McKnight continued to move the ball until the team got bottled up inside the Seaquam 10-yard line. On fourth and goal his pass was intercepted and returned 105 yards for the touchdown but a roughing the passer flag gave the Dukes the ball first and goal at the two.

Thomas Kramer punched it in from there, making the score 13-7 with six minutes remaining.

Windsor then shocked the Seahawks by kicking and recovering an onside kick. The Dukes converted on a crucial fourth and long and followed that up with a 13-yard touchdown run by an unlikely hero, Alex Takanishi, a grade 12 student who had never played football until this year.

“He was really excited to play, said Windsor head coach Jim Schuman of Takanishi. “Probably the first time he’s actually been in a playoff game.”

“He was just excited to play, wasn’t overwhelmed by the pressure or anything like that,” added Schuman. “The opportunity came and he made the most of it.”

Seaquam’s next possession put them on the brink of disaster, down 14-13 with time winding down, they turned the ball over on downs. But Windsor couldn’t take advantage of the great field position, Seaquam blocked the punt and returned it to the Windsor 28-yard line with 17 seconds left.

However, the Seahawks weren’t able to move the ball. With one second on the clock they set up to attempt a 42-yard field goal. An encroachment penalty on Windsor moved the ball up five yards.

The snap was good, the hold was good, but as the ball sailed wide left, the Windsor sideline erupted and the Seaquam players fell to the knees.

“I almost blew it,” said McKnight on the roller coaster ride of the second half. “It’s sort of emotional. I’m really proud of the guys.”

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Sands 21 - South Delta 0

In the second game of the night another favoured team was knocked off. The Sun Devils hadn’t played a game in a month because of their first-round bye and some forfeits during the regular season. Their offence couldn’t move the ball all night. The weather may have played a factor as it might have actually been raining cats and dogs. Can’t confirm that. Couldn’t see much of the field through the rain. 

Credit to Sands for toughing it out in terrible weather. They were by far the best team in this game.