USS Tigers hammer their way into semi-finals

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An almost impenetrable defence backed up by a strong offence led the Uxbridge Secondary School Tigers to a 51-6 victory last Thursday in their LOSSA quarter-final game against O'Neill Collegiate Red Hawks.

The game started with O'Neill attempting an onside kick with their opening kick-off, but the Tigers took possession of the ball and marched down the field for a touchdown by Reggie Kerford. Shortly after, Kerford ran in for his second touchdown, making the score 14-0.

As the first quarter wound down, Kerford took an O'Neill punt and ran for yet another touchdown.

The second quarter opened with quarterback Evan Coughlan throwing a touchdown pass to Everett Mank, bringing the score to 28-0. O'Neill took over but Leo Langhorst intercepted a pass and carried the ball into the end zone. However, the extra point was missed. Tigers 34: Red Hawks 0. With tie running low in the quarter, the Tigers sacked th O'Neill quarterback, then intercepted a pass, leading to Owen Reid running in for a TD.

In the third quarter, the Red Hawks' quarterback was sacked again and fumbled the ball. The Tigers then took the ball down the field for a field goal.

With Jack Giles taking over quarterback duties for the Tigers in the fourth quarter, Merrick McGuire carried the ball for a touchdown, making the score 51-0. Finally, O'Neill made it to the scoreboard with a pass-and-run TD, but the tam failed on an attempted two-point conversion.

Final score: Tigers 51 Red Hawks 6.

Kerford finished with 104 rushing yards, 32 receiving yards, a 70-yard punt return, and three touchdowns. On the defensive side, the Tigers registered five quarterback sacks with King Imbriglio getting two of them.

With the win, Uxbridge advances to the semi-finals , facing the defending champions, Paul Dwyer Catholic Secondary School today (Thursday) at 2 p.m. at Dwyer. The Tigers lost a squeaker to Dwyer last week, when they were edged 13-12.