Bulldogs beat Cougars; Gryphons top Eagles
Eric Neilson scored on touchdown runs of 10 and 15 yards to lead the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs to a 20-7 victory over the Centennial Cougars in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association senior football play.
Also contributing offensively for the Bulldogs (2-0) were: Curtis Neilson, 20-yard TD reception; Henry Allen, convert and rouge on a kick-off; and, Hawkin Paleczny, 75-yard reception.
“Our defence played exceptionally and our offence had a great start and moved the ball well, but had several penalties in the second half that killed several very good scoring drives,” Churchill head coach Peter Perron said. “We were pleased with our efforts and will have to work hard with a short week coming up to prepare for AN Myer.”
Perron was impressed with the play of the Cougars (0-2).
“Kudos goes to Centennial in playing a good competitive game.”
Centennial’s major came on a five-yard TD pass from Kole Popat to Ethan Podetz. Defensively for the Cougars, strong individual performances were turned in by Garvin Leavens and Merrick Spencer.
“We had a strong second half winning that half 7-0, but struggled to stop the run in the first half and fell behind 20-0,” Centennial head coach Dom Nero said. “We had an encouraging second half with four turnovers (caused) and hopefully we can carry that over to next weeks home game against GFESS on Thursday night at 7 p.m.”
GRYPHONS 29 EAGLES 0
Junior quarterback Campbell Laroche, called up to senior because of an injury, tossed a pair of TD passes to power the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons (1-1) to a 28-0 victory over the Grimsby Eagles in NRHSAA Tier 1 football play.
“He really had a great game,” Greater Fort Erie head coach Dave Sauer said. “He was poised and made good decisions with the ball. It should really help the junior team this year.”
Recording touchdowns for the Gryphons were Colin Howe, Ethan Vannatter and Cliff Wittbeck.
“It was a good rebound game for us and we didn’t take any silly penalties,” he said. “Offence, defence and special teams all played well and we had the chance to get the full team into the game.”
The Gryphons scored on their first two possessions and didn’t allow a first down until the second quarter.
“It really makes life easier with good field position,” Sauer said. “The O-line was great opening up huge holes making the quarterback’s job easier on second down.”
Sauer liked what he saw from Grimsby.
“Grimsby fought hard in the game, but their injuries this week and last week really hurt them.”
The Eagles fell to 0-2 in their debut season in Tier 1 football.
“Us not having a junior team was glaring as we traveled to Fort Erie,” Grimsby head coach Zack Silverthorne said. “We have four juniors starting on offence and are already battling numerous injuries.”
Silverthorne was happy with his squad’s punting game and vast improvements made to its passing attack.
“Our boys are giving it their all, but we’re not deep enough at the skilled positions to truly compete,” he said. “The coaching staff for Fort Erie showed a lot of class rolling in its bench and emailing me about the status of a player who was ambulanced away.”
Silverthorne isn’t getting discouraged.
“As we learn more about our opponents, our preparation will improve,” he said. “Joining Tier 1 is a marathon, not a sprint.”
This week’s NRHSAA schedule includes: Westlane (1-1) at Grimsby (0-2) Wednesday at 2 p.m.; Governor Simcoe (1-1) at Eden (1-1) Thursday at 1 p.m.; Thorold (2-0) at St. Catharines Collegiate (0-2) Thursday at 3 p.m.; Sir Winston Churchill (2-0) at A.N. Myer (2-0) Thursday at 7 p.m.; and, Greater Fort Erie (1-1) at Centennial (0-2) Thursday at 7 p.m.
This week’s Niagara Catholic Athletic Association schedule includes: Blessed Trinity (1-1) at St. Francis (1-0) Wednesday at 3 p.m.; Notre Dame (2-0) at Saint Michael Wednesday (2-0) at 3 p.m.; and, Denis Morris (0-2) at Saint Paul (0-1) Thursday at 3 p.m.
