Big rushing day overshadowed by loss

Sean Tenhave’s stellar rushing performance was the first of its kind in a long time. Unfortunately a win did not accompany it.
Tenhave ran for 316 yards on 25 carries, including two touchdowns, in the Westgate Tigers’ 35-16 loss to the Hammarskjold Vikings in Thunder Bay high school junior football action at Fort William Stadium on Thursday.
Surprised to hear of his output after the game, Tenhave gave full credit to his offensive line.
“It feels pretty good. I just wanted to run hard every time,” he said. “I found the right holes. My offensive line played as good as they could.
“It’s disappointing (to lose), but we have to come out harder to work and get the win,” he added.
Tenhave’s numbers managed to overshadow Hammarskjold running back Owen Hynna, who racked up 122 yards with three touchdowns on the ground as well as a 92-yard kick-off return for another score as the Vikings evened their season record at 1-1.
“He’s been working hard for us this year. He’s a very gifted athlete. The boys are working very hard to help him out,” Hammarskjold head coach Matt Steele said of Hynna.
“It was great for our team to finally get a victory. We had a long lay-off — 29 days of practice before the season started. It’s nice to go out there and get a win.”
Hynna opened what turned out to be a first-half scoring showdown with Tenhave with an eight-yard scamper in the first quarter. The Vikings added a rouge before Hynna busted the line for 65 yards to push the lead to 15-0.
Tenhave got the Tigers (0-2) on the board with a strong one-play rush of 79 yards. The Vikings drove the field on the ensuing play and Hynna capped it off with a 17-yard touchdown run.
Tenhave posted another big run of 57 yards to score and put Westgate within six points of the lead. Hynna landed the backbreaker late in the second quarter with his big kick-off return and score.
Hammarskjold’s Kai Knutson punched the ball in from two yards out with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter and a 36-14 edge. The Vikings conceded a safety to the Tigers in the fourth quarter.
In Thursday’s other game, Bryson Aube scored a pair of touchdowns as the St. Patrick Saints defeated the Churchill Trojans 30-7. Bryce Borek and Mike Gentile also scored touchdowns for the Saints (2-1). Churchill's record falls to 1-2.
Undefeated St. Ignatius (2-0) received the bye and will play Hammarskjold next week.
Today, Hammarskjold meets St. Ignatius in a pair of middle-of-the-pack teams in the senior division, while St. Patrick (2-1) plays Westgate (1-2), and top-ranked Churchill (2-0-1) faces winless Superior Collegiate.
The Trojans’ senior boys volleyball team continued their dominance in the city high school league Thursday, defeating St. Ignatius 15-25, 25-23, 25-17 in a clash of the top two teams to remain perfect at 7-0.
Westgate moved into a second-place tie with St. Ignatius by taking two of three sets from Hammarskjold.
St. Ignatius swept Churchill 25-23, 25-20, 25-13 to also stay undefeated in the junior boys volleyball league.
In senior girls basketball action, the Vikings (6-0) rolled over Superior Collegiate 72-18, and Laura Houlton scored 20 points to lead Churchill over St. Patrick 69-29.