Redcoats grind way to Tier 2 championship berth
When the calendar turns to November and the weather gets sloppy and cold, every football team needs a go-to running back to grind out tough yards and hang on to the football.
For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats, that player is Sam Wilson, who rushed for three touchdowns in the rain Friday to power unbeaten Simcoe to a 32-6 victory over the visiting Westlane Spartans in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 2 semifinal play.
“Sam is amazing. He is one of the only seniors we have on this team and he has been part of the program forever,” Simcoe head coach Jamie Brophy said. “The main part is that you can give him the ball and he is going to grind and get those yards. He will not give up and he has a heart like a lion.”
The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder loves pounding the ball up the middle against defences.
“It seems a bit psychotic for me to say but I love getting hit. There’s a fire in me every time I have the ball in my hands and I just want to run and get a touchdown,” the 18-year-old said. “That is all I care about.”
Running the ball in wet conditions requires a different mindset.
“I have to keep it tight in my hands especially because it can get a little slippery when you are coming up against a guy. I just love this weather because I know I am going to be fed the ball a lot,” Wilson said. “On a sunny day, I know we are going to mix it up.”
The Simcoe coaching staff made sure to let him know before the game started that he would have a big role in the outcome of the game.
“I told them that it was great. I want the ball.”
If next week the rain turns into snow he will be ready.
“That will be even better. I want the ball no matter what the weather.”
The Redcoats led 16-0 just past the halfway point of the first quarter and then seemed to stall for a good chunk of the game before closing things out with 16 points in the final quarter.
“They were a couple more turnovers that we could have grabbed and we took far too many penalties which ended up stalling a lot of drives,” Brophy said. “Then we regrouped in the second half and played pretty much errorless. We didn’t take those penalties which made life so much easier.”
Wilson felt his team was too “yappy” in the first half.
“We were talking back to the refs and then we had a good talk with the coaches at the half and we made sure to come out in the second half with our heads up and always thinking that the scoreboard is 0-0 no matter how much we are up.”
As has been the case all season, Simcoe’s defence dominated and caused six turnovers.
“They have been fantastic. With our starters, we gave up six points earlier in the year and then six points today,” Brophy said. “We haven’t given up any other points. The kids rally around each other and they rally hard to the ball. We have got a lot of good playmakers and they are super aggressive. It makes life a lot easier as a defensive coordinator when you have these kids who are working hard every single play.”
He likes how his team is trending heading into next week’s championship game against West Niagara.
“I’m excited for such a young team to have this opportunity and to have it at home is huge. West Niagara is a really good football team but we are looking forward to a good game.”
Wilson feels the team’s heart is what has taken it to the championship game.
“Everybody has that heart in them no matter what age they are.”
Take away the slow start and a few late scores when the game had already been decided and Thursday’s game was closer than the final score indicated.
“We made a lot of mental errors out there that didn’t help and getting behind early also didn’t help,” Westlane head coach Dean Mazzone said.
And then there was that pesky rain.
“The weather did not help a team that had to try and get back into the game. Although both teams had to play in the same weather, that really, really hurt us when you have to overcome a deficit like that,” he said. “They played hard, they made very few errors, they were efficient and I think they will give West Niagara a battle.”
Westlane went winless in Tier 1 regular season play and then advanced to the Tier 2 semifinals with a victory over the Eden Flyers.
“We battled but we have lots of work to do to get to the next level,” Mazzone said. “But that is a challenge that we always look forward to.”
He is not sure whether the Spartans will play in Tier 1 again next year or drop down to Tier 2 with more like-sized schools.
“We don’t know how the schedule or the teams are going to line up. Like I said before, Division 1 and a half would be perfect.”
STATS PACK
Redcoats 32 Spartans 6
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Simcoe’s Sam Wilson with three rushing majors.
For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: TD runs of 17, two and six yards by Wilson; four-yard TD run by Carter Small; two two-point safeties conceded by Westlane; fumble recoveries by Nathan Vandermeer and Mike Eller; interception by Marshall Sumbler; and, sacks by Joseph Moore and Aidan DiDomenico.
For the Westlane Spartans: 39-yard TD pass from Logan Kapitanchuk to Anshu Patel; interception by Cameron Parlee; sack by Jack Slade; and, fumble recovery by Jason Crumblehulme.
Game stats: First downs: Simcoe 12, Spartans 5. Net offensive yards: Simcoe 202, Spartans 150. Turnovers: Simcoe 5, Spartans 6. Penalties: Simcoe 8 for 80 yards, Spartans 11 for 100 yards..
Up next: Governor Simcoe will host the Tier 2 championship against West Niagara next Thursday (Nov. 23) at 5:30 p.m.
