Timon
beat St. Joe’s 27-10 Thursday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium to punch their
ticket to next week’s final.
“We
were in this position last year, and we got beat pretty handily by a good St.
Francis team,” Timon head coach Charlie Comerford said after the game. “Our
guys made a commitment, and 12 months later they’re reaping the benefits of
that commitment.”
Timon
used a big first half and a strong defensive performance to secure the victory.
They fell behind early after St. Joe’s senior running back Ilo Noble scored a
61-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. From there, the Tigers’
defense turned it on, and Timon finished the first quarter up 21-7.
The
big play of the game came early in the first quarter. With the game tied 7-7,
Timon’s Adam DiMillo intercepted St. Joe's quarterback Dennis Gilbert on a
third down pass, and returned it close to 40 yards for a Tiger touchdown.
“We
held him out of defense all year because of some injury trouble, but getting
him at safety is a huge bonus to our team, and helps our team speed a lot,” a
beaming Comerford said after the game.
Timon
was able to push their lead to 24-7 by halftime, and they held St. Joe’s to
just three points in the second half.
“They
came back in the second half against us in the first game,” said DiMillo. “We
knew we had to bring the same intensity as we came out with.”
DiMillo
finished the game with 82 yards on 15 carries to go along with his interception
for a touchdown.
Quarterback Ryan Dougherty went 8-14 for 137 yards, including four big
conversions on third down.
Senior fullback Jackson Brown added two touchdowns for the
Tigers, and played physical defense all game.
“That
first play kind of stunned us a bit, then we realized we were in for a game,”
he said. “After that we re-grouped, everyone started stepping up, and we played
well.”
The
win not only gives Timon a chance at their first outright league title since
1994, but it also marks the first time in school history that the Tigers have
beat St. Joe’s twice in one season. Before this year, Timon hadn’t defeated the
Marauders since 2002.
“It
feels great,” said Brown outside the Timon locker room. “We haven’t beat them
in a decade. This year, we beat them twice. They’re a very good team, we had to
play our best game in order to beat them. It just feels amazing right now.”
Noble
had 87 yards and a touchdown on 6 carries in his last football game as a
Marauder. Rod Payne once again led the defense, totaling 9 tackles and a sack
in the losing effort. St. Joe’s finishes their season 8-3.
Timon
awaits the winner of the second Monsignor Martin semi-final game between
Canisius and St. Francis. They will meet the winner next Saturday in the
championship game at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
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