Carlton's #10 Rylan Morrison had four touchdowns against St. Mary in the eleventh annual Canadian Tire Classic. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW staff)
Seeing double

Carlton goes back-to-back at eleventh annual Canadian Tire Classic

Sep 22, 2023 | 10:21 PM

The Carlton Crusaders recaptured the Canadian Tire Classic title in its eleventh annual game, downing their Prince Albert rival St. Mary Marauders 51-14 at Max Clunie Field.

This is Carlton’s second year in a row that they won the rivalry game as they defeated St. Mary by an identical 51-14 score last season.

Although things ended in favour of the Cru, St. Mary were the ones who broke the ice early on.

On the Marauders first drive of the game, a reverse play in the backfield fooled the Carlton defense and created a massive hole for Griffon Johns to run through, taking it 65 yards to the house to put St. Mary up 7-0.

However, it didn’t take long for the Crusaders to come right back with an answer of their own. On the very next drive, Rylan Morrison got Carlton on the board via a short run into the endzone to bring the game back to even. A few minutes later, Crusader Rocky Urschel sacked St. Mary Quarterback Liam Martin which forced a fumble. Jackson Hufnagel was there for Carlton, scooping the ball and taking it back 51 yards to add six to their lead.

On the final play of the quarter, Smith-Windsor connected with Zane Litzenberger for a 41-yard gain to set up Morrison’s second touchdown of the frame, a seven-yard run to make it 20-7 going into the second.

Carlton’s Head Coach Lindsay Strachan shared his thoughts on the adversity his team faced early on in the first quarter.

“We gave up an early TD to which I was really impressed,” he said. “We mentally came back, offense got on the field [and] put a good a long drive together to answer right back. That really set the tone from there on out.”

Carlton kept that first quarter momentum going into the second with a Scott Adams touchdown and a Gage Prodaehl field goal to add another ten points to the lead.

St. Mary had an answer though with two minutes to go in the half thanks to a massive run. Cameron Neudorf scored on a 75-yard run to make it a 30-14 ballgame. However, from there on out it was all Red and Gold.

Morrison scored yet again before the clock hit zero to add another seven points on the board. Carlton added two more touchdowns in the second half, with Jordan Stene finding the endzone in the third while Morrison ran the ball in for his fourth TD of the game to give Carlton their second Canadian Tire Classic title in back-to-back seasons.

Carlton takes a team photo following their second consecutive win at the Canadian Tire Classic. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

St. Mary Head Coach Curtis Hundeby shared what he saw in the game and was not pleased with his team’s performance following the loss.

“They played tougher than us, they played more physical on offense, they played tougher on defense – they wanted it more,” he said. “We had some injuries, but injuries can’t be the excuse that you put your hat on. If our guys were all healthy, I don’t think we’d beat them because they just wanted it more than we did.”

Both schools are back in action next week with Carlton set to play in a mid-season exhibition game. The contest could be a potential provincial preview when they host the Bishop James Mahoney (BJM) Saints from Saskatoon on Thursday night at 6:30.

“We’re excited,” Strachan said. “They’ve had a great program at BJM for many years now so we’re going to get a quality game from them and we’re excited to see what we can do.”

For St. Mary, they are off to North Battleford to face off against the North Battleford Comprehensive Vikings. Coach Hundeby said there needs to be changes before they make the trip on Thursday.

“We have to learn to play tougher football,” he said. “And four quarters of tough football, not the odd play. We have to toughen up. That’s the biggest thing and until we can figure that out, we’re going to struggle.”

With the loss, St. Mary falls to 0-1 on the season while Carlton stays undefeated and improves to 2-0.

logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

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