The projected top three all picked up victories on the opening day of SDSSAA Senior Football action, but there was no denying that the Confederation Chargers looked most impressive of all in doing so.

Runners-up one year ago, the Chargers bulldozed their way to a 42-0 lead at the half, closing things off with a 49-0 win over the St Charles College Cardinals.

Confederation recorded four rushing TDs, one through the air and returned two punts to the house in kicking off their schedule in style with Owen Blay leading the way with three majors (60 yd run; 57 yd run; 35 yard reception - pass from Tyson Vitali).

Remaining scores came courtesy of Evan Doyle (2 yard run), King David Igiehon (65 yard punt return), Tucker Lalonde (50 yard punt return) and Brodie Rideout (15 yard run), while Domadius Aziz went seven for seven in the convert department.

The four-time defending champion Lo-Ellen Park Knights also opened their season with a shutout win though a boatload of penalties kept their 28-0 triumph over the Lasalle Lancers far closer than it might have been with more disciplined play.

In just his second year with the team, defensive tackle Cavan Clarke continues to make his presence felt, his confidence increasing with each and every outing.

"I'm a big body, pretty strong and pretty fast for a lineman," said Clarke. "I think I can read the offensive plays before they happen, based on what I see when they are lining up."

To boot, the well-spoken young man also has the mentality of an interior defensive lineman, much to the joy of the Knights coaching staff.

"I like (to defend) running plays," said Clarke. "The runners often will see the end and then they turns towards me and I just smoke them. I do like passing plays though, also, because sometimes the quarterback might not see me when I come around."

As for what needs to be done in anticipation of what should be an excellent showdown with St Benedict next Friday night at 7:30 p.m., Clarke sees no reason to veer too far away from the formula that put his team in a position to become only the second school ever to capture the Copper Cliff Jewellers Trophy in five straight years (Sudbury Mining & Technical School - 1953 to 1957).

"We've just got to keep doing what we have been doing, both on and off the field," said Clarke. "We've kept stuff pretty similar the past few years at practices with our drills. Consistency is key."

The Knights opened the scoring midway through the first quarter as Noah Parsons (QB) and Quin Mazzuchin (WR) connected on what would be a staple play of the Lo-Ellen offense, this particular pass and run covering 21 yards to the end zone.

The score remained 7-0 until late in the half when linebacker Connor Mohahan scooped up a fumble and returned it 39 yards as Lo-Ellen doubled their advantage (14-0), with Luca Cucullo drilling a pair of PATs through the uprights.

Parsons would take to the air for the final two strikes as well, divided nicely with one per quarter as Noah Skrobot (40 yards) and Mishal Olanrewaju (66 yards) combined with Cucullo (two more converts) to close out the scoring.

Veteran Niki Sola snuffed out a Lasalle second half drive with an interception with the Lancers defense accounting for three turnovers of their own: interceptions by Dalton Wilcox and Dash Kamal and a fumble recovery by Peter Sorbian.

The remaining encounter would see the Lively Hawks keep things close with the St Benedict Bears into the second half, trailing 14-7 before the Bears started to roll, registering a 37-14 win.

The Bears spread their attack around nicely as Oliver Poupore (47 yard pass from Evan DeMarchi), Dylan Nelson (50 yard pass from DeMarchi), Evan DeMarchi (3 yard run) and Sam Julius (23 yard run) all reached the end zone.

Kicker Domingo Quintana chipped in with three converts and a pair of field goals (25 and 28 yards), with Sullivan Smith picking up a two point conversion and the Bears defense credited with a safety.

Lively running back Cameron MacIntosh hauled in a 5 yard pass from Ryder Villeneuve and also split the uprights with a pair of PATs, the second coming after wideout Alex Campbell and Villeneuve connected on a five yard pattern.

The two early games next Friday see Lively and St Charles battling at 3:00 p.m., while Lasalle is tasked with trying to contain Confederation at 5:15 p.m.