By Jeff D'Andrea

Crusaders now 2-0, QB Thorpe speechless after win over PA rivals St. Mary

Sep 9, 2011 | 9:17 PM

If it wasn’t official before, it is now: the Carlton Crusaders football team is for real.
After snapping a 17 losing streak last week, the Crusaders followed it up with a 14-13 win over cross-town rivals, the St. Mary Marauders Friday at Prime Minister’s Park.

Overcome with emotion, exhaustion and excitement, Crusaders quarterback James Thorpe was speechless after the game.

“It’s… not surreal, it’s just beyond words. It’s just awesome,” said Thorpe as he received a mini-Gatorade shower from teammate Dylan Folmer. “You know last week, it was nice to get the win because it kinda broke the streak, but this is night and day better.
“You can’t really compare it at all, it’s so much better.”

The last time the Crusaders beat the Marauders was back on Sept. 11, 2008, a 19-10 victory. In the last three Prince Albert bowls, the games have been very close and decided by a field goal or less as the Marauders won last year’s game 13-11 and 17-14 back in 2009.

The game didn’t appear like it would be close this time around as the Marauders had a 13-0 lead with 10:27 left in the second quarter as fullback Travis Sjogren pounded a two-yard run up the middle for a major score. But that would be the last time they would score as the Crusaders dug in defensively.

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“No one quit. We didn’t get the start we wanted but just to see them respond and come out in the second, third and fourth quarter and really buckle down and pull it out was really outstanding,” said head coach Rylan Michalchuk. “We’ve had some really close games with them every year, it feels great to come out top and just really proud of how the guys played.”

Although his team had a two score lead after the first quarter, Marauders head coach Curt Hundeby said he had hoped for a bigger lead. There were a few opportunities the Marauders had to score, especially when they recovered a fumbled punt on the Crusaders’ 30 yard line, but only managed a field goal.

“We didn’t capitalize on their mistakes enough in the first half, they had a couple turnovers we needed put into points and we didn’t,” said Hundeby. “In the second half, we made far too many mistakes. They’re a team and have some really good athletes and we didn’t do enough to shut them down and we definitely didn’t do enough to move the ball.

“We wore down and got tired in the second half and they didn’t,” added Hundabee. “They kept at us and they wanted this win worse than we did. That was a tough thing defensively to watch.”

Thorpe started the comeback when he fired a bullet to receiver Aaron Jensen for a 37-yard touchdown pass with five minute left in the second quarter, but in the dying seconds of the quarter, Thorpe fielded a blocked field goal and took a malicious but clean lick from Marauders Lee Gignac and was forced to leave the game.

He came back in the second half and ran a quarterback draw for the first play of the second half and still had an impact on the game. Late in the third quarter, he scampered thirty yards down the field, which set up a Jordan Gabriel-Cannon six-yard touchdown rush with 3:28 left in the third. That turned out to be the game winning score as the neither team scored in the fourth.

Thorpe also sealed the game with a quarterback-keeper on third and one with 11 seconds left in the game.

“James had probably the best game he’s had for us since he’s been on our team,” said Michalchuk. “To play with that much guts and that much heart, it’s exciting. Those are the kind of guys you want on your team.
“(Friday), he got nicked up and he battled through it and showed some true leadership. I’m excited for him and for the rest of the guys as well.”

Michalchuk said he was very impressed with Gabriel-Cannon, who made key plays on offence, defence, even special teams. Gabriel-Cannon executed a fake punt to perfection to keep a drive alive late in the fourth quarter to keep the clock running, then pinned the Marauders on their own six with a coffin-corner punt.

The Crusaders will take on Tommy Douglas in Saskatoon at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, while the Marauders will stay home and take on North Battleford on Friday at Prime Minister’s Park. Game time is at 4 p.m..

jdandrea@panow.com