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Standing one yard away from the end zone on Friday night, Bishop James Mahoney Saints rookie running back Ashton Houmphanh knew what was on the line.
One yard away from celebrating with a trophy at SMF Field, but also one yard away from the Saints season ending in heartbreaking fashion.
“I was very nervous, but I knew I just had to drop my feet and get in,” Houmphanh said.
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A plunge across the goal line on a two-point conversion with 27.6 seconds left sealed a wild 22-21 comeback victory for the Saints over the Aden Bowman Bears in the Saskatoon 5A high school football championship game.
It’s the third city title in a row for Bishop James Mahoney, with head coach Brett Czarnota proud of the resiliency of his team late.
“The guys are definitely feeling very good, very high,” Czarnota. “You got to give hats off to Aden Bowman. They’re a heck of a team, they had a heck of a season and it was a great challenge tonight.”
The Saints took a 14-13 lead into halftime after Houmphanh punched in a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first half, but Aden Bowman answered early in the third quarter with a Ben Blackburn six-yard score off a handoff to take a 20-14 lead.
After a missed field goal gave the Bears a seven-point lead, Aden Bowman made their biggest defensive play of the night, denying the Saints on a third-and-goal stop with 7:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Bears nearly sealed the game with 1:15 left on the clock with a long run by Jude Drisner to secure a first down, that was until the arm of defensive back Ashton Kolman knocked the ball loose for the Saints.
“I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, my senior season is over,’” said Saints Grade 12 quarterback Alex Hill. “Then Ashton Kohlman came in and punched the ball out. All of a sudden, I just get this new life.”
Bishop James Mahoney hopped on the fumble to get one last drive to keep their season alive, with Czarnota preaching patience to his group on the sidelines.
“We were fortunate to get that punch-out fumble,” Czarnota said. “After that, we just had to stay calm, execute the plays and go from there.”
According to Hill, a brief moment before he ran out onto the field helped calm his nerves and move the football into scoring range for Houmphanh.
“My coach said to me, ‘This is where great players are made, Alex,’” Hill said. “I stepped on the field, made a few throws. My running back punched it in for his third touchdown.”
With less than 30 seconds left on the clock, Houmphanh took the handoff from Hill and scampered in for a 10-yard touchdown to pull the Saints to within a single point.
“We just knew we had to drive the field, stay calm and then just go punch it in,” Houmphanh said.
It’s another 5A Saskatoon title for the Bishop James Mahoney Saints, as they engineer a wild last-minute comeback to beat Aden Bowman tonight 22-21. Final drive capped with two-point conversion on the goal line from Ashton Houmphanh for the win. @CKOMNews @CJMENews https://t.co/lKqmvtWIEa
— Scott Roblin (@ScottRoblin) October 31, 2026
Kicker Liam Wilson covered the extra point to tie the game, but a penalty on the Bears for making contact with the Saints centre meant a decision had to be made.
Either apply the penalty on the kickoff in a 21-21 game, or go for a two-point conversion from the one-yard line to potentially take the lead.
Czarnota said he believed in his group to get the conversion, despite the risk of their season hanging in the balance trailing by one point.
“I don’t know if confident is the proper term,” Czarnota said.
“Just faith in the guys, in the (offensive) line. We had our running back Ashton Houmphanh take the snap and we believed they could get that yard.”
The Saints have advanced to the provincial 5A semifinal, where they’ll face the winner of Prince Albert’s Carlton Comprehensive Crusaders and North Battleford Comprehensive Vikings, who will square off in their league final on Saturday.
Hill said they’ll celebrate their city championship, but it’s back to work with a Saskatchewan banner on their minds.
“We’re going to keep working hard next week at practice,” Hill said.
“We’re also going to be partying a little bit, not too crazy though. You still got maybe two weeks left of football, one guaranteed. We’re very thankful for this opportunity and we will make sure it won’t go to waste.”
Next Friday, the St. Joseph Guardians and Holy Cross Crusaders will battle in the Saskatoon 6A high school football championship at 6:30 p.m. at SMF Field.
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