Canisius Defeats Aquinas for the First Time in School History

 

            Canisius beat Aquinas 35-7 at Koessler Field Saturday, marking their first victory over Aquinas in school history.

            The win brought to an end the Crusader’s 21-game losing streak to the section V powerhouse from Rochester, which dated back to 1945.

            “Those guys have had our number for years and years and years, so this has been a long time coming,” said Canisius head coach Rich Robbins after the game. “The kids just said its our turn today.”

            With the win, Canisius moves to 6-0, and is home to Cardinal O’Hara next Saturday. 

            Aquinas drops to 4-2 with the loss.  Before this season, the last time they had lost two games in a row was in 2006. 

            The Little Irish came out strong on their opening drive, taking the lead on a Billy Lombardi 4-yard touchdown run.

            From there, it was all Canisius.  They scored 35 unanswered points en route to a decisive victory.

            “We really felt like if we tightened up and fixed some things that we could get them stopped,” said Robbins.

            Canisius’ junior quarterback Tyler Mascio was 10-12 for 209 yards and three touchdowns.  Senior Kyle Abernathy had a passing touchdown of his own, as well as a receiving touchdown and two interceptions on the day.

            Senior Denzel Benton was the star of the afternoon, catching five passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns, as well as an interception on defense.

            “We have to stay strong, we can’t rest,” said Benton after the game. “We have to stay at work, we have to come back next week and get it done again.”

            Canisius’ offensive line also stepped up to the plate today. Coming into the game, Aquinas’ defense had 22 sacks on the season.  Canisius surrendered only one sack this afternoon, bringing their season total to just three sacks allowed.