July 15 Niagara Spears report: Bantams fall to Vaughan
The Niagara Bantam Spears football team lost to the Vaughan Rebels last weekend. Photo by Scotty Wood Photography.
The Niagara Bantam Spears football team fell to 0-8 in Ontario Provincial Football League action last weekend following a 49-16 loss to the Vaughan Rebels at St. Andrews College.
Niagara trailed 22-16 at the beginning of the third quarter.
“The flu has been going through the team this week and when you have a small roster it’s hard to absorb that challenge,” Spears head coach Simon Gichard said. “We ran out of gas in the third quarter and the game slipped away from us.”
Despite the loss, Gichard saw positives during the game.
“Our offence, time of possession and play calling continues to improve and being able to make adjustments really helps us move the ball,” he said.
Heading into Saturday’s playoff game against the London Junior Mustangs (7-1) at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London, Gichard wants his squad to improve its consistency.
“Our defence and specials (special teams) were too inconsistent today,” he said. “We can’t sit back and hope some else is going to make the play. We all need to rally to the ball.”
The underdog Spears will take a never-say-die attitude into the playoff game against favoured London.
“The boys and coaches that remained with this team have heart. You can’t coach that,” Gichard said. “Just because life gets difficult, doesn’t mean you back away from a challenge, it just means you work harder.
“The lessons the players are learning this season are going to help them on and off the field for years to come.”
Against Vaughan, Niagara’s offence was led by a strong performance from quarterback Jackson Stewart, who went 6-for-13 for 81 yards, tossed two TD passes and two two-point converts passes and rushed for 78 yards.
“Don’t be fooled by his quiet nature,” Gichard said. “Jackson is a fierce competitor and an even better teammate.”
Jack Wilson and Nick Longo each had a receiving touchdown and a two-point conversion reception to round out the Spears scoring.
Leading the Spears defence were: Colten Kizlyk, four solo tackles and a batted ball; Cole Hann, two solo tackles and three assisted tackles; and, Sean Perry, four solo tackles and two assisted tackles.
“Today Sean had what I call a parking lot hit,” Gichard said. “That’s a hit that if you were in the parking lot you would have heard it.”
