HCC Hawks push provincial champs to the brink, but fall short

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

On paper, the winless Holy Cross Collegiate Hawks looked doomed when the defending Alberta 6 Man provincial champions rolled into town.
But the opposite occurred, as the Hawks were within 10 points late in the fourth, eventually falling 30-21 Oct. 12 to the St. Joseph’s Collegiate Crusaders.
“If there was ever a loss to feel good about, it was this game,” said Michael Annicchiarico, Hawks head coach. “They are the defending champs and beat us pretty handily last year. I was really pleased with the way we battled and I don’t think they were expecting a good fight from us.”
Annicchiarico was putting it lightly; the Crusaders crushed the Hawks 70-0 last October.
“They played really well today. We knew Jayden (Hendricks) was the star of their team so we tried to neutralize him the best we could,” said Steven Ples, Crusaders head coach. “Give them credit; they stopped our ground game and gave us a really tough contest.”
By now, Hendricks is a marked man, whether he is lined up in the backfield or stationed out wide.
The Crusaders were jamming the line, not wanting Hendricks to run wild and daring the Hawks to throw.
Hawks signal caller Tanner Hollingsworth took to the skies more than he has at any point this season.
With the Hawks trailing 16-0 in the second quarter, Hollingsworth connected with Chase Christian on a 57-yard catch and run, scoring the first touchdown in two weeks.
“Tanner looked great out there. I thought he threw the ball well,” said Annicchiarico. “We had too many easy drops tonight that could have resulted in touchdowns that really could have swung this game.”
With Hendricks under close scrutiny from the Crusaders defence, rookie Ryan Orford stepped up and carried the ball excellently as the backup tailback, and even snagged a couple passes from Hollingsworth to pick up first downs in the first half.
The Crusaders two-headed run game of Edgar Reyes and Loic Sona wore the Hawks down in the second half, putting the game out of reach until Hendricks picked up a pair of touchdowns in the fourth to get within nine.
Whether the Hawks lost by nine or 70, it still means the same thing in the win-loss column, with the loss column looking less than ideal at the moment.
With three games remaining, the pressure is — sort of — on the Hawks if they are to make the B side playoffs for the second straight year.
The league has yet to announce how many teams will reach the postseason this year.
Last year, the top four from each division reached the A side playoffs, with the fifth and sixth seeds playing on the B side. The bottom two teams did not qualify for postseason action.
Annicchiarico still hasn’t heard from the league if they will be using the same format as last year or if they will change it up and allow every team to participate in the playoffs.
Either way, a win wouldn’t hurt.
That’s what the Hawks will look to do Oct. 20 when they travel to Camrose to battle with the Our Lady of Mount Pleasant Catholic School Royals (2-0).
“We beat Camrose last year and we don’t expect them to be as strong as St. Joe’s was,” said Annicchiarico. “They are a middle of the pack team and it should be a tight game. We gotta get a win.”