Eagles fly past Flyers
Thorold Golden Eagles quarterback Yvan Canlas was on his way back to the bench after completing a 40-yard touchdown run when one of his teammates blurted out what everyone else was thinking.
“Is there anything you can’t do,” his teammate shouted in awe.
It was that kind of day for the 18-year-old, Grade 12B student.
Canlas threw for four touchdowns, ran for another, and also added an interception on defence for good measure, as the visiting Golden Eagles defeated the Eden Flyers 32-8 Thursday afternoon.
The Eagles now advance to the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 2 senior football semifinal playoffs next Thursday versus Centennial. The Governor Simcoe Redcoats and Grimsby Eagles meet in the other semifinal.
“It feels so great,” Canlas said. “I’m in 12B so this could have been my last game. I told everybody I was going to ball it today and it just happened.”
Canlas took to the air, completing 11 of his 17 passes as the Eagles didn’t mess with success.
“It’s by design,” Canlas said. “That’s what my coach stressed to me. I’ve been throwing a lot every single game and I’m getting used to it.”
Canlas didn’t appear to be feeling any ill effects after being so heavily involved on both sides of the ball.
“I could go for another game,” he chuckled. “It was nice, though.”
Canlas is in his second season as quarterback after switching from slot and receiver.
“Yvan has put it right where it needs to be every single time,” Thorold coach Duane Kemp said. “We’re lucky to have him.”
Kemp marvelled at Canlas’ stamina.
“He’s loving it. He’s in his 12B year and he just turned 18. It’s like having another coach on the floor and something he enjoys,” Kemp said. “He enjoys that we’ve given him a little bit of ownership to make calls at the line and make adjustments when needed.
“He’s a pleasure to have. He’s a quiet and likeable kid and to see him have success like this, is awesome.”
Kemp felt the aerial attack offered the Eagles their best chance for success.
“It’s something we’ve had to kind of adjust to,” he said. “We like to run the ball, especially as you get later into the year and it gets colder, but we’ve got a new O line this year. We lost 10 guys from our offence from last year so we’ve kind of had to adapt.
“We’ve done what we’ve needed to do.”
The Eagles also cleaned up their game after a messy effort versus the Flyers in their last matchup.
“It was nice. We finally executed the way we needed to. We cut down on the penalties. The last time we played Eden we made a lot of silly mistakes and didn’t play the way we needed to play to win and they capitalized so full credit to them,” Kemp said.
Kemp felt the effort was a good way to head into the playoffs.
“I’m proud of the way our guys battled. We got everybody in, some of the Grade 9 stepped up at the end and played really, really well for us,” Kemp said. “We’re proud of everybody today. They all played hard and executed well.
“We did played well, but at the same time, I know Eden was playing with a bit of a heavy heart today so I’m sure their minds were elsewhere a little bit which I’m sure helped us out a little bit, but we knew it was going to be a battle. They obviously never quit.”
The Flyers dressed just 19 players. A moment of silence was held before the game for Eden student Mikey Labonte, who passed away from cancer at age of 16 earlier this week.
The Flyers managed to break the shutout in the final seconds of play when lineman Nick Howarth barrelled in from the one-metre line following about a half-dozen carries. It was the first touchdown of his career
“I didn’t think it would happen, to be honest,” Howarth said. “It’s kind of surreal right now.”
STATS PACK
Golden Eagles 32 Flyers 8
Johnny Rocco’s/Mick and Angelo’s/Cracker Jacks Player of the Game: Thorold’s Yvan Canlas with four touchdowns passes, one touchdown run, and an interception.
For the Thorold Golden Eagles: Canlas touchdown run; Matthew York 2 touchdown receptions; Callum McNamara touchdown reception, 2 converts; Daniel Swayze touchdown reception; Caleb Turner interception.
For the Eden Flyers: Nick Howarth one-yard touchdown run; Sam Miele 2 point convert to Averin Paul; Dawson Abrahams interception.
Through the air: Canlas 11-for-17 with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception; Eden’s Sam Miele 3-for-11 with 2 interceptions.
Up next: The Golden Eagles travel to Centennial Thursday for a semifinal playoff showdown with the Cougars.
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