Karma for Guertin and a win for the Knights

The CM Knights played the role of dragon-slayer on Saturday night as they handed Bishop Guertin their first loss in 20 games.

Last season, the Knights traveled up to Nashua, New Hampshire and were one of the many teams that Bishop Guertin beat on their mammoth win streak. In that game, Guertin scored high. They were going for first downs on 4th & 1 situations at midfield.

I know from talking to the CM players this week that they were so hungry for this win that they weren't going to the leave that field without one. That's something that senior captain John Gorman alluded to in his postgame comments: "The talk about this game began immediately after last week's game. We knew we were a good team but we knew this would be the test to show how good we are. In the locker room before the game, it was probably the most focused I've ever seen a CM football team."

The Knights jumped out in front when AJ Doyle hit John Gorman for a 10 yard pass that Gorman turned into a 50+ yard touchdown. There was a bad snap on the extra point so the Knights only came away with six points.

Bishop Guertin took back the lead with a touchdown and the Knights faced a one point deficit. A big kickoff return from Armani Reeves gave them good field position. Armani would get in the end zone before the end of the half on a pass from Doyle. The Knights went for two but it was unsuccessful. They retook the lead, 12-7, and never looked back.

CM came into the second half as hungry and energized as they started the game. You could tell they knew the win was in their sights. Armani Reeves once again got on the scoreboard when he returned a punt for a touchdown and ran over some Guertin players in the process.

Just when it seemed that the Knights were going to run away with it, Bishop Guertin got back into the game on a touchdown run to make the score 19-14.

With the fourth quarter starting and with the ball deep in their own territory, the Knights showed tremendous poise in marching the ball up the field. A pass to Armani Reeves on third down really gave the offense life, and in my opinion that may have been the biggest play of the game. Had they not completed that pass, Guertin would have got the ball back with decent field position and a chance to retake the lead.

Later in the drive, Doyle connected with Nolan Powers for a massive gain and put the Knights in striking range. Doyle came through again when he found Reeves near the sideline for a touchdown to give them an insurmountable 26-14 lead.

The Knights' defense, which had been great all night, forced a turnover on downs. When they got the ball back, running back William Earl broke free for a 42 yard run and that put the game away.

The defense was fantastic, holding a team that was averaging 32 points per game to just 14.

When the final horn sounded, the red sideline was going insane. As they gathered at center field to shake hands, quarterback Doyle was yelling so loud that you could hear him from the crowd.

As one of the very few CM supporters who were at the game in New Hampshire last season, it brings me a ton of joy to see the Knights take this team out.

After the game, I asked Armani Reeves to try and explain the emotion. His answer was short and sweet: "It was crazy, we had a hell of a game. I am so proud of my team."

Next week, the Knights will play against Longmeadow whom they beat on the road last season. CM clearly had a lot of energy going into this game, it's going to be important that they maintain that energy rather than letting it drop off.

Mike Slonina '11