NCAA football roundup: Irish, Mustangs, Raiders win
Saint Paul defeated Notre Dame 22-12 Thursday in NCAA senior football action. Photos by WILLIAM VANDERLAND.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish senior football team improved to 4-0 in Niagara Catholic Athletic Association play Thursday with a 22-12 victory over the Saint Paul Patriots (3-1).
The game was a rematch of last year’s NCAA championship game won by Saint Paul.
“Saint Paul is a very good team, very well coached and it was good for us to play the way we did against a great team,” Notre Dame head coach Tim Bisci said. “We faced adversity and we were able to handle some tough moments.
“Last year, we panicked in those times.”
Contributing to the win for Notre Dame were: Jacob Succar with one-yard and 10-yard TD runs and a 30-yard TD catch from Hunter Cropper; Cole Smith with two converts; Jarod Tessier with a big run on a second and nine play; Cropper with a strong game passing the ball, including passes to Tessier and Zach Melnyk; Melnyk with two big runs; and, lineman Gerrid Holton with a strong game offensively and defensively with a sack.
“I was very happy that we moved the ball consistently,” Bisci said. “We had three drives of eight or more plays but what concerned me was that one of the drives had a TD called back on a bad penalty.”
Another drive stalled when the Irish fumbled inside Saint Paul’s 10-yard line.
“We have to be more disciplined and control our emotions if we want to continue to be successful,” Bisci said.
For Saint Paul, Jarrel Pappin had a TD on a two-yard run, a two-point convert on a pass from Devon Schiller-Cleveland and he also ran the ball well in the second half. Strong defensive games were by Marley Mcray, Kyle Narzanky and Rielly Sexton. They all recorded sacks and Sexton added a fumble recovery.
The Patriots lost three offensive linemen to injuries in the second half.
MUSTANGS 16 PHOENIX 12
The Saint Michael Mustangs senior football team (3-2) ran its NCAA winning streak to three games with a 16-12 victory over the St. Francis Phoenix (3-2).
“Our players continue to work hard to improve each week and are finding ways to win which is a sign of a good team,” Saint Michael head coach Brian Carter said. “We as coaches keep stressing the importance of doing the little things better moving forward heading towards the playoffs.
“Doing those little things right increase your chances of being successful and is a great life lesson.”
For Saint Michael: Jared Schleuter threw a 10-yard TD pass to Noah Wilson; Gabriel Hetherington had a two-yard TD run; Wilson had two converts and two singles on a kickoff and a punt; Evan Williamson and Simon Gonzalez each recovered fumbles; and strong tackling was contributed by Caleb Hetherington, Carson Gilbert and Matt Wedler
“Noah Wilson had an outstanding game receiving the ball, kicking and punting,” Carter said. “Definitely the player of the game for the Mustangs.”
For St. Francis, Favour Iranoula scored two touchdowns.
“An injury to Quentin Duemo created some difficulty for us,” St. Francis head coach Jim Whittard said. “Saint Michael was well prepared and patient and did well.”
RAIDERS 35 GATORS 21
Christian Bradley rushed the ball for five touchdowns to lead the Holy Cross Raiders (1-3) to a 35-21 victory over the Lakeshore Catholic Gators in NCAA football action Thursday.
Holy Cross quarterback connected on passes to Owen Toner and Riley Lyons to set up all the rushing majors.
