Saints Remain Unbeaten with Win over Hamilton

Hamilton, ON – The undefeated St. Clair Saints Football team secured the #1 playoff seed after defeating the Hamilton Hurricanes Saturday night at Tim Hortons Field by a score of 23-13.

The Saints offense once again dominated the ground game, as the rushing attack wasted no time putting points on the board.  Running Back Jonathan Cartier (Chatham, ON) took a handoff for a 39-yard touchdown run to open the scoring, giving the Saints an early 7-0 lead. Cartier led the Saints in rushing for the second straight week as he compiled 137 yards on 21 carries. The running game continued to breakdown the Hurricanes defense throughout the first quarter, eventually leading to another Andrew Brush (Kitchener, ON) rushing touchdown giving the Saints a 14-0 lead. This is Brush's team leading sixth rushing touchdown of the year. The defense was not going to be left out of the fun.  With a minute left in the quarter, they forced Hamilton into a safety extending the lead to 16-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was a slow one for both teams as the game saw a lull in the offense with the defense taking over. The Saints defense was led by Shaye Wynter (Brampton, ON) who registered 4 solo tackles, 4 assisted tackles and an interception. Wynter and the defense was helped by fellow Defensive Backs Billy Patterson Jr. (Windsor, ON) and Ryan Najim (Leamington, ON) who both had 5 solo tackles and a couple of pass deflections. Nearing the end of the second quarter, the Saints lead was extended to 23-0 off a Kian Voakes (Essex, ON) 10-yard rushing touchdown.

The second half saw no scoring from the Saints high-powered offense, as the script flipped in favour of the Hurricanes defense. The Saints did not register a second half first down after picking up 17 in the first half. The Saints defense held strong throughout the third quarter as Hamilton tried their luck in the passing game, throwing the ball 40 times and saw 4 St. Clair interceptions. Both Nate Norton (Windsor, ON) and Kenley Williams (Bramtpon, ON) got their team leading third interception of the season, while Linebacker Nick Brajkovic (Windsor, ON) picked up his first of the year. The Saints took a 23-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Saints defense was two minutes away from posting another shutout before the Hurricanes spoiled the fun and added two late touchdowns. The Saints left Tim Hortons Field with a 23-13 victory and clinching a home playoff game for the second time in two years.

St. Clair Saints Football will finish the regular season at Acumen Stadium in a game against the winless GTA Grizzlies on Sunday, October 2^nd.  Kickoff is set for 2:00pm.

EVENT:         St. Clair Saints @ Hamilton Hurricanes

DATE/TIME:  Sat, Sept. 24^th (7:00pm)

LOCATION:   Tim Hortons Field (Hamilton)

RESULT:       St. Clair (7-0) defeated Hamilton (3-4) by a score of 23-13.