NRHSAA football: Myer, Simcoe and GFESS winners
The Governor Simcoe Redcoats opened Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 2 senior football action Friday with a 29-0 road victory over the Westlane Spartans.
Simcoe head coach Jamie Brophy described the victory as unexpected.
“We are very young. We are 80 per cent Grade 9s and 10s and I think we only have two returning starters back on offence and two on defence,” he said.
The Redcoats’ goal for the season is just to gain experience and get better.
“We want to build as a team,” he said. “We have a lot of good Grade 9s and 10s that we didn’t know what to expect from them until we put them into a game. Some of them have football experience but a lot of them are very raw. We worked with them and hoped for the best.
“It was an exciting game.”
Leading the way for the Redcoats were: Carter Small with TD runs of four and three yards and a convert; Sam Wilson with a three-yard TD run; Sam Wilson with a pick six; Kian Finn and Amari Watson with two-point converts; and, Rahiem McLean with a fumble recovery.
MARAUDERS 56 COUGARS 0
The A.N. Myer Marauders senior football team began defence of its NRHSAA Tier 1 title Thursday night with a 56-0 victory over the visiting Centennial Cougars.
“The defence played well in all phases,” Myer head coach Dave Buchanan said. “We’re just trying to improve each week and get better at the little things.”
Leading the way for the Marauders were: Evan Goforth with two receiving majors and another one on the ground; Mitch Casucci with TD runs of 35 and 40 yards; Tyler Goforth with a quarterback sneak for a touchdown; Arden Martinez who caught a 10-yard TD pass from Tyler Goforth; and, Brady McEachern who snared a 35-yard TD pass from Nico Valvo.
The Marauders recovered two fumbles, one on defence and one on special teams.
GRYPHONS 20 BULLDOGS 14
The Greater Fort Erie Gryphons senior football team started its NRHSAA Tier 1 season Thursday night with a 20-14 overtime victory against the visiting Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs.
“Tonight was a great team effort for us. We really played well on offence, defence and special teams,” GFESS head coach Dave Sauer said. “Down one near the end of the game, our quarterback Colin Laroche really stepped up and got us in field goal position.”
Bo Train missed a late field goal but his single tied the game at 14-14 and sent it into overtime.
Starting the overtime from the 35-yard line, the Bulldogs were stopped on downs on their first possession and then the Gryphons won it on a 10-yard run from Bryson Donald.
“I am so proud of so many members of the team,” Sauer said. “Last year was really a tough year for us so it was a little extra special to get the win. We are a young group so we will build on this.”
The Gryphons’ touchdowns in regulation time were both scored by Steven Phillips on five-yard runs. Train converted one of the majors.
Churchill opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 50-yard run by Justin Savoie. After the Gryphons cut the lead to 7-6, the Bulldogs regained the advantage with a touchdown run by De’Ondre Forde.
“It was a good solid game by both teams with GFESS coming out with more effort in the end,” Churchill head coach Peter Perron said.
