Marauders roll into Tier 1 final
The defending champion A.N. Myer Marauders senior football team took care of business Wednesday afternoon defeating the visiting Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs 49-0 in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 1 semifinal action.
Myer has now outscored its Niagara opposition 266-10 in six games this team while improving to 42-0 in NRHSAA play since the NRHSAA and the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association split into two associations in 2017. Prior to that, the Tre Ford led Marauders had won three straight Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ bowl games and Myer had not lost a league game since late in the 2014 season.
“It was a matter of next opponent, next person, next play and I thought we did a pretty good job of that,” Myer head coach Dave Buchanan said. “In previous weeks, we weren’t quite mentally ready but we were mentally ready today. We seemed to execute a little bit better and our guys’ focus was better. We had a good week of practice and that was good.”
Buchanan is happy with his team at this point in a season where it hasn’t faced any adversity in league play.
“Despite the fact that we haven’t been tested yet from a scoring perspective, I think that we are working towards it and guys are trying the best they can to get to a mental space where they are competing every down,” he said. “We did go to two jamborees at the beginning of the year and we faced five teams that were really tough. I think they are going to remember that kind of physicality.”
Leading the way for the Marauders Wednesday was starting quarterback Thomas Somerville, who threw for three first-half touchdowns before he was substituted out in the second half.
Buchanan used the word gritty to describe the first-year Grade 12 player.
“He has worked hard. It was a tough competition at camp between our quarterbacks and on any given day we could have Noah (Walters) throwing and we would be very good as well. But Thomas has stepped up,” he said. “He is focused on the playbook, he is executing the playbook and when it comes down to those moments when you need someone to step up he has always shown that kind of leadership in other sports too. That’s what we expect out of him.”
In Grade 10, the 16-year-old quarterbacked the Myer team to a NRHSAA crown and came within a blocked field goal by Notre Dame of moving on. He competed in numerous flag football tournaments to hone his quarterbacking skills after playing slot for Myer last season.
Playing slot has been a benefit in his quarterback’s role.
“It helped me 100 per cent. I got to see the defences and how much faster they move. Everything is a lot different and plays are a lot more organized.”
He admitted he was in catchup mode in training camp.
“Playing slot a whole year I lost my ability throw so I had to build that back up. I went outside all the time to throw with my friends and when training camp came around I was throwing every day. It came back and all was good.”
He was also helped out by his cousin Drake Somerville, a former starting QB at Myer.
“Before our first game, he was here encouraging me. He went to Waterloo and told me I was doing great and to keep doing what I was doing. He taught me in the winter to help me throw.”
The 5-foot-11, 160-pounder feels he has improved as the season has gone on.
“It has been learning the defences. It has become much easier.”
Somerville feels he has earned the reputation of being gritty.
“I will be injured and I will still want to play or I could go out of bounds but I like to take the hit instead.”
He doesn’t worry about getting injured for the sake of a few extra yards.
“I like playing football to hit people.”
The fourth-place Bulldogs held Myer scoreless on its first two possessions before the Marauders took control and built a 35-0 lead by halftime.
“We fought as best we could with what we had numbers-wise. We had a lot of injuries to key players but it was close at the beginning,” Churchill head coach Peter Perron said.
He described his team as a senior team but a younger squad.
“We have a lot of first-year seniors and we are building. We are looking at our juniors here (playing afterwards in the junior semifinal against Myer) and there is a lot of good talent down there that will be coming up next year. That will definitely help us,” Perron said. “I am proud of our guys today. They fought as hard as they could for what we had and no question they (Myer) are a great team. They have proven it all season and it will be interesting to see them in the finals next week. It will be a good game to watch.”
STATS PACK
Marauders 49 Bulldogs 0
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Myer QB Thomas Somerville with three TD passes.
For the A.N. Myer Marauders: 15-yard TD run by Aaron Falconer; 11-yard TD pass from Thomas Somerville to Evan Goforth; 23-yard TD pass from Somerville to Jared Cappa; 40-yard punt return TD by Evan Goforth; 11-yard TD pass Somerville to Deniz Duzgun; 25-yard TD pass Noah Walters to Travis Boland; 26-yard TD pass Noah Walters to Luca Valvo; sack by Holness D’Angelo; fumble recovery by Graham Walters; interception by Noah Walters; and, interception and fumble recovery by Dylan Devries.
For the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: sack by Aidan McKay.
Game stats: First downs: Myer 16, SWC 10. Net offence: Myer 341, SWC 152. Turnovers: Myer 0, SWC 8. Penalties: Myer 11 for 85 yards, SWC 7 for 50 yards.
