David Grossman filed the following report which was printed in the November 22nd edition of the Toronto Star:

It was hard to tell if it was a smile or a grin of disbelief that Clarke Pulford wore as he walked off the field last night at SkyDome.

It seemed, he said, as if it had taken forever.

But the head coach of the Northern Red Knights finally saw his team capture its first Metro high school football championship.

"This is the biggest victory ever for the players and will definitely have a traumatic effect, no doubt about that," Pulford said after Northern rallied late in the game to stage a 14-11 come- from-behind victory over the previously unbeaten Markham Marauders.

Northern 14, Markham 11

Organizers said the seventh annual championship, played indoors for the first time, attracted a crowd of 4,238 - the largest in recent history to see a provincial interscholastic gridiron game.

But it wasn't one that will go down as being the wide-open and exciting offensive display many had predicted. It started out as a yawner and quickly turned into a battle of two evenly matched defensive units.

Then came the dramatic ending with a little bit of controversy tossed in.

Northern's explosive offensive threat, Donnovan Green, who yesterday was hampered by muscle cramps and was covered like a carpet by Markham defenders - grabbed the heroics with a 73-yard touchdown run with only 2:20 left.

Quarterback David Begg tossed a sideline lateral to Cleon Morgan, who started to run, briefly hesitated, and then saw the dangerous Green break free. Morgan, also a pivot, lofted what turned out to be his final pass as a high school player. Green did the rest.

Both the Marauders and one of the linesmen interpreted the play as illegal. But referee Don Horslin, who had a better view of the play flagged by his linesman, overruled the penalty call. Markham complained, but to no avail.

"I had a perfect view and it was a double pass, an illegal play," said a disappointed Marauders coach Dick Thomson. "Two evenly matched titans and it comes down to a referee's decision. It's a horrible way to lose a game, especially when we had it. No complaints against Northern. They're a great team, but I'd sure like to see the game videos."

Markham strikes first

Markham, 11-0 before the game and using the Argos dressing room, opened the scoring with 3:16 left in the first quarter when QB Colin Roy put his head down and ran from the one-yard line. Hugo Kamenski added the convert. The touchdown was set up when Gord Cairns grabbed Roy's 38-yard pass, with a little assistance from Northern rover Craig Adams, who deflected the pass while going for the interception.

Sean Jones put Northern on the scoreboard just before halftime, breaking four tackles on a neat 38-yard TD run. Green booted the extra point to tie the game.

 

Scoring Summary
Northern 14	Markham 11
Donnovan Green TD, 2C Sean Jones TD	Colin Roy TD Hugo Kornenski FG, C, S