NRHSAA senior football: Eden, Westlane, Grimsby win
Next Thursday will be a wild and crazy day in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association senior football play as the regular season comes to an end.
All final positions in the league from first to 10th-place are riding on the outcomes of the games and it would take 400 sports reporters or three or four people with normal intelligence to figure out all the possible tiebreakers that could come into play.
The schedule includes: Sir Winston Churchill (3-1) at Westlane (3-1) at 3 p.m.; Collegiate (0-4) at Thorold (0-4) at 3 p.m.; Eden (3-1) at Simcoe (2-2) at 3 p.m.; Grimsby (3-1) at Myer (4-0) at 7 p.m.; and, Centennial (2-2) is at Greater Fort Erie (0-4) at 7 p.m.
The NRHSAA tie breakers in descending order are: head to head records between tied teams; record against teams higher in the standings; record against teams lower in the standings; points given up in the first half and if more than two teams are tied then cumulative first-half points head to head to head etc. among the tied teams; points given up in the first half against teams higher in the standings; points given up in the first half against teams lower in the standings; and, last but not least, a coin flip.
The top four teams in the league will meet in the Tier 1 finals. The fifth- and sixth-place teams will get bye into the Tier 2 semifinals and teams six through 10 will meet in the Tier 2 quarter-finals.
Below are results from this past Thursday’s games:
Flyers 23 Cougars 20
Sam Miele, Elijah Prosper and Ogo Ogunkeye scored touchdowns to power the Eden Flyers to a 23-20 victory over the Centennial Cougars.
Also for the Flyers: Braeden Van Slageran kicked three singles and converted two of the touchdowns; and, Nigel Hurd and Charlie Edwards had strong games on defence.
“As a team, we played with six starters out with injuries and had a rough week of practice trying to get guys ready to play new positions,” Eden coach Jeff Webster said. “Fortunately the kids responded to the adversity and really played tough when they had too. Centennial played really well in the second half and totally outplayed us. Number 96 (Noble Arterberry) was outstanding for Centennial. He totally controlled the game. “
Centennial was down 22-0 at the half but rallied with Robbie Pereira scoring three touchdowns.
Also playing well for Centennial were: Jon Hooker with a two-point convert and 83 rushing yards; and, the defence and special teams were solid led by some big returns from Nico D’Amelio.
Spartans 44 Golden Eagles 0
Mike Grimo scored on TD runs of 30, five and two yards to power the Westlane Spartans to a 44-0 win over the Thorold Golden Eagles.
Also for Westlane: Owen Buckaway had a seven-yard TD run; Aydan Maxim score on an 18-yard run; Deshaun Morris caught a 12-yard TD pass; and, Theo Pegado booted six converts.
Playing good games for Thorold were Aiden Clarke, Lucas Friesen, Mark Suntz, Parker Lowes, and Ben Bear.
“Progress is slow and steady. Westlane showed us what intensity and effort looks like,” Thorold coach Duane Kemp said. “For us, it is understanding that every play requires 100 per cent effort and you can’t take plays off. More purposeful, intense practice will help us get better for this year and upcoming years and that is our goal.”
Kemp feels his team is getting stronger mentally and its want to win is growing daily.
“We are hoping for a competitive game next week for Collegiate.”
Eagles 21 Gryphons 0
Tyler Soppett returned an interception 28 yards for a major to spark the Grimsby Eagles to a 21-0 victory over the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons.
It was Soppett’s fourth straight game with a pick.
“Our O and D lines played very well It was a gritty tough match,” Grimsby coach Zack Silverthorne said. “We had a nice balance of run and pass.”
Also for Grimsby: Ryden Lapcevich had a 10-yard TD run; Xavier Zatylny had a one-yard TD run; Ty Kellar was 3-3 on convertss. Connor Foster blocked a punt and had a fumble recovery; and, Even Reece and Kylen Azem-Simmons recorded fumble recoveries.
The Gryphons’ tough luck season continued.
“We are really struggling with our lineup. Injuries this year are really hurting us. We were down 10 starters yesterday from the start of the season,” GFESS head coach Dave Sauer said. “Grimsby played real tough and it was a one-score game into the fourth quarter.”
The schedule was not the Gryphons’ friend this week.
“The Friday-Monday-Thursday games really hurt us physically,” he said. “By the fourth quarter, the team’s bodies were done. Monday we will regroup and get back to it.”
Greater Fort Erie’s game last Friday was stopped in the second quarter because of bad weather and resumed Monday night.
