Dave Sauer vividly recalls the exact moment he decided to change course in his life and go from being a harried business student to a history major and future teacher....
Lirim Hajrullahu can thank his Canadian football heritage for helping the kicker land a spot on the practice roster of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. With Panthers kicker Joey Slye struggling...
Lakeshore Catholic football player Aidan Atkins is the prototypical diamond in the rough. “He is 6-foot-3, 194 pounds, a 90-plus student, a real good athlete and people just don’t know...
For the past 22 seasons, football ref Bill Szigeti has been a constant, officiating games in Niagara and across Ontario at the minor, high school, varsity, university and men’s levels....
A.N. Myer football coach Dave Buchanan would love to have seen what Sandro Pierini could have done on the football field this season. Since the end of his Grade 11...
There’s a lot of things Darren Cochrane misses about football during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 54-year-old football official yearns for the sound of a big hit on the field, the...
It’s safe to say no one in Niagara has seen more Niagara IceDogs and Notre Dame senior football home games than Tim Strong. The 62-year-old Port Colborne native, who moved...
For the past 20 years, Dave (Max) Maxwell has officiated upwards of 50 football games a year. “I love it, I just love it and I wish I would have...
Like several of his Notre Dame teammates, Jarod Tessier saw his 12B season of high school football terminated by the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was a tough one because I didn’t...
For Zack Silverthorne, his days at South Lincoln High School were amazing for himself and other athletic-minded students. “I don’t know what happened, but in the early 1990s, a whole...
Westlane head coach Jason Babony is a firm believer in the value of high school football. “As bad a rap that it gets, it can still be used as an...
Cole Weddell was a man on a mission. “Being a hard worker, he transitioned his body in the last 12 months because he decided he was going to try and...
A few days ago, Stamford/Westlane football coach Brad Martin was outside at Stamford enjoying a beautiful fall day. “I wasn’t missing football until I was sitting out back today and...
Brian Carter’s indoctrination into high school coaching began at an early age. “My dad, James, was a phys-ed teacher at NFCVI and I always remember sitting on the bench during...
“Whose house?” “Our house.” For the past decade, that question and refrain have started and ended all the school assemblies at Governor Simcoe Secondary School. The words were coined about...
Dave Thomson was looking forward to ending his 31-year coaching and teaching career at Holy Cross with a bang. “Our girls hockey team was probably one of the best teams...
Mario Villamizar returned to his football roots this week. The 25-year-old fullback with the CFL’s British Columbia Lions paid a visit to Holy Cross to present his alma mater with...
If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, Peter Perron would be in the midst of his 34th year of coaching high school football at Sir Winston Churchill. “At the end of...
Coaching high school football takes a toll on home life and family life but Blessed Trinity bench boss Sean Jones loves coaching. That love helps him overcome frustration when he...
Like his coaching peers, Thorold Secondary School’s Duane Kemp is a busy man once football season starts. The co-op teacher is on the field after school from 2:30 to 5:30...
Coaching football has always been in Rick Oreskovich’s blood. “As a young kid, I would organize neighbourhood games in the park because I simply loved the sport,” the 60-year-old Niagara...
No school will be able to convince St. Catharines Collegiate’s head football coach that the grass is greener elsewhere. “There’s a lot of different high schools that ask me all...
Tim Bisci couldn’t wait to get started on his 19th year as head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish senior football team. “I look forward to it every year,...
With six straight appearances in the Niagara championship game, the A.N. Myer Marauders senior football program is the gold standard for gridiron excellence in the Niagara Region High School Athletic...
It’s better late than never for the inaugural season of the Niagara Regional Minor Football Association’s new flag football program. The first season was supposed to run from mid-April until...
The Niagara Spears’ skills and drills camp at Kiwanis Field is a big hit with the local players taking part in the Monday and Wednesday sessions. “After the season was...
The Hamilton Hurricanes have been on the radar of Owen Jones for a long time. The recent signee with the Canadian Junior Football League squad first became interested in the...
Like many of his Niagara Spears teammates, Ty Bennett was disappointed when the Ontario Provincial Football League season was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. It would have been the 19-year-old...
Ethan Reid’s quarterbacking career will continue in London. The 12B student at St. Francis recently signed with the London Beefeaters, who compete in the Ontario Football Conference, a division of...
Colin Howe is devastated the Niagara Spears football season is delayed and may not happen because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is definitely tough,” the 19-year-old Fort Erie resident said....
