Small’s big plays spark Redcoats
Carter Small is anything but on the football field.
The Grade 11 Governor Simcoe player was up to his usual tricks Thursday making big play after big play to lead the visiting Redcoats to a 44-7 victory over the Stamford Hornets in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 2 play.
Small had an 85-yard TD catch, a 38-yard TD run, a 55-yard reception and an interception in the victory.
“He is amazing on both sides of the ball and he is always ready. And not only is he a phenomenal player but he is so coachable and such a great leader,” Simcoe head coach Jamie Brophy said.
He plays receiver and safety for the Redcoats.
“He does both so well and I love having him back there to read the play because he has such a great football sense but also you saw today that he makes those huge plays when you might be second and long,” Brophy said.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder has ramped up his big play quotient in recent games.
“I started really slow at the start of the season and I didn’t really have any big plays but once I started really getting back into it, I started hitting big play after big play,” the 16-year-old said.
He credited the turnaround to a change in mentality.
“I just locked into it and felt more into a groove with the plays. Last year we had a different play caller for offence who was a little different from this year. We had our coach back from Grade 9 and I had to learn all his plays again.”
He feels his game has evolved from last season.
“I wanted to get stronger because I found my big plays weren’t getting as big as they could be because I was getting taken down so quick. I have gotten stronger and I feel that that has made a big difference in my game.”
To build muscle, he was in the weight room three or four times a week.
“I was in there grinding it out.”
Another summer of travel football with the Niagara Spears junior varsity squad also helped.
“That season really got me to improve.”
He is excited to see what the Redcoats can do this season.
“This is a team that could go all the way. We have lots of 12Bs and a couple of kids who were in Grade 9 and are now in Grade 10 and they are playing very, very good.”
Governor Simcoe improved to 4-0 with the victory and remained in the driver’s seat to clinch home-field advantage for the duration of the playoffs.
“The boys played really well. They came out firing right away,” Brophy said. “We have a lot of leaders and as the season has gone on, they have blossomed. It has been fantastic.”
The Redcoats would love to continue to roll and claim home-field advantage.
“Having it makes a huge difference and we take the ‘Our House’ thing seriously.”
Brophy likes where his team is at.
“We are figuring out that we have a lot more depth which is great because we have so many young players. We have figured out spots for them and they are the next man up. Having the opportunity to play a lot of kids today was fantastic for our squad.”
The Hornets fell to 1-3 with a loss in a game that showed them where they are in their development and what they need to work on.
“They are a very good team and we are still learning a lot,” Stamford head coach Brad Martin said. “We are making a lot of mistakes that are characteristic of a young team.”
He likes how his squad is trending.
“They are a great group of kids. We’re playing better in spots and we are seeing young players understand the game a little better. They are having some success and the amount of mistakes are going down. It’s a tough game to learn and there’s not a lot of forgiveness in football.”
STATS PACK
Redcoats 44 Hornets 7
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Simcoe’s Carter Small with an interception, an 85-yard TD catch from Noah Budgell, a 38-yard TD run and a 55-yard reception.
For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Small, two TDs; six-yard TD run by Budgell; 15-yard TD run by Cole Harpwood; two-yard TD run by Sam Wilson; 55-yard pick 6 by Gibson Howes; fumble recovery by Noah Scriver; and, interception by Cameron Coleman.
For the Stamford Hornets: 85-yard kick return TD by Malcolm Veroche; fumble recovery by Sam Lunansky; sack by Alex Carew; and interception by Nick Hunter.
Game stats: First downs: GS 12, Stamford 4. Net offence: GS 295, Stamford 61. Turnovers: GS 3, Stamford 5. Penalties: GS 4 for 45 yards, Stamford 6 for 40 yards.
WOLFPACK 20 SPARTANS 0
The visiting West Niagara Wolfpack (1-4) put a disappointing NRHSAA Tier 1 regular season out of its misery Thursday with a 20-0 victory over the Westlane Spartans (0-5).
Contributing to the win for the Wolfpack, which lost their first three games by a combined seven points, were: Ryden Lapcevich with 45- and 11-yard TD catches from Xavier Zatylny; Ty Keller with a 27-yard TD catch from Zatylny; Kylen-Azem Simmons with two interceptions; Hudson Frlan with a sack; and, Sean Northcott with a fumble recovery.
“We emptied the bench and got everybody in and it was nice to end on a win,” West Niagara head coach Zack Silverthorne said.
He agreed that it was a frustrating campaign.
“We are down to Tier 2 and we could easily be 2-3 or 3-2. One-point loss in overtime, one-point loss in double overtime and we couldn’t get the ball against Fort Erie and we lost by five. We played really well against Myer but we didn’t score.”
It is clearly a program that needs to learn how to win at the Tier 1 level.
“And that was our message at the end. Even though we won, they didn’t know how to win and we lacked killer instinct. We lack how to act when you win and we had some of that stuff on the bench,” Silverthorne said. “I think we are really struggling with some of that stuff, some of the me stuff and you get what you get out of players. It is not like we have a practice roster.”
West Niagara will now face the Tier 2 fourth-place finisher in Tier 2 quarter-final action Nov. 10.
“We are looking at it that it is not going to be easy because we’re not explosive. We grind it out and we better show up.”
The Wolfpack will also have to deal with a three-week break.
“It is going to be tough for attendance and buy-in and it will get colder. It is going to be hard to corral the kittens as we say,” Silverthorne said.
Gavin Bailey had an interception for Westlane in the loss.
Westlane head coach Dean Mazzone expressed disappointment in the outcome of Thursday’s game.
“The guys played hard but it’s frustrating.”
Westlane will now face the Tier 2 third-place finisher in Tier 2 quarter-final action Nov. 10 and it’s probably where the Spartans belong. The team moved up to Tier 1 ball this season on the basis of the personnel it thought would be returning and projections didn’t match reality.
“It is what it is,” Mazzone said. “It (the layoff) will be a struggle but we will be fine. We will keep practising and give the guys a day off here and there. We have to keep on plugging.”
