Notre Dame 22
Lakers 7
After not scoring a touchdown in the first half the Notre Dame Cougars’ offence exploded in the second half to beat the Sylvan Lake Lakers 22-7 on Thursday.
The biggest play of the game came in the closing minutes of the second quarter at Setters Place. Up 7-1 over the Cougars, the Lakers marched down the field all the way to the goal line.
However, the Cougars’ defence stood tall on the one-yard line for three straight downs to prevent the Lakers from taking a two-touchdown lead.
“That goal-line stand was huge,” said Cougars head coach Ian Rattan.
“That was the game. It was first and goal from the five with a minute left in the half. If they punch that in and we go down 14-1 in the half, who knows what happens.”
In the second half after plenty of back-and-forth defensive domination, the Cougars took their first lead of the game 8-7 in the dying seconds of the third quarter off a passing touchdown.
Notre Dame didn’t stop there scoring another touchdown in the fourth to go up 15-7. A late push by the Lakers was cut off after the Cougars defence intercepted a pass.
The Lakers turnover led to another Cougars score to seal the deal 22-7.
“That was one of the most complete games we’ve played all season,” Rattan added.
“The offence was a bit slow to start but we give big kudos to our defence… Huge props to the offence for picking it up in the second half and our offensive line got going. Our offensive line started opening up lanes for the running backs and our defence played great all night.”
With the win, the Cougars improve to 3-0 on the season and will take on the Lindsay Thurber Raiders next week.