Clarke sparks Spears to home-opening romp

Daniel Clarke has been away from football for a long time.

It has been three or four years since the 18-year-old St. Catharines resident suited as safety for the Niagara Spears bantam football team as life got in the way of a sport he loves.

“Do you want the sob story or a quick hit?” he said, following the Spears Varsity football team’s 47-8 victory over the visiting Kingston Junior Golden Gaels Saturday night at Kiwanis Field.

“In Grade 9, I was going though some crap. Our house burned down and my brother was really sick with cancer and football wasn’t in my heart any more,” he said. “Then my brother got better and my mom got sick and all kinds of things were going on.

“She is better now and I wanted to play football again because I miss it a lot.”

The 5-foot-11, 212-pound safety, who had two key first-half interceptions for the Spears Saturday, was persuaded to try football again after a visit in Florida with his father, Gary, last Christmas.

“He told me that I should be back in football if I miss it so much,” Clarke said. “I didn’t know if I would be able to compete with people again because I had been away from it for three or four years, but he told me to go and train.”

The former Sir Winston Churchill student did just that.

“I hit the gym, did running and all that nonsense and came to tryouts,” he said.

It wasn’t long before Clarke was feeling like he never left.

“It was right away,” he said. “It was just getting my stamina back and I was ready to go.”

Judging by the smile on his face Saturday, Clarke is loving football once again.

“I miss it so much and it is a good-ass time out here. It is as fun as hell,” he said.

Spears head coach Brian Duguay loves what Clarke brings to the Spears.

“He’s literally the best team player that you could ask for,” he said. “He’s very positive, he’s upbeat and he congratulates everybody and he keeps everybody in line. It’s like having a coach on the field.”

Clarke can’t say enough about his teammates.

“I love my boys to death,” he said. “I think we have one of the best defences and I love the vibe and the family that we are.

“I missed how everybody loves each other and everyone has each other’s back.”

Duguay feels Clarke has the game that university coaches will love.

“He has to get a couple of things in order, but you will be seeing him at the next level.”

Niagara improved to 2-1 in Ontario Provincial Football League play with the victory in its home opener.The Spears led 44-7 at the half and coasted to the victory as the clock ran straight time in the second half (as per league rules when a team is ahead by 35 points).

“It was a very nice game,” Duguay said. “We came out in the first half and played really well. We corrected a lot of problems that we had last week against Essex.”

One of the major problems versus Essex was an ability to convert long drives into touchdowns.

“Today, we did that,” Duguay said.

Niagara did it with a quarterback carousel that includes Ethan Reid, Devon Schiller-Cleveland, Ryan James and Gabriel DiSanto. It was Reid’s passing and Schiller-Cleveland’s running that helped the Spears bury the Junior Golden Gaels in the first half.

“Our quarterbacks are really good and they compliment each other,” Duguay said. “They don’t get down on each other and there is no main starter because anyone can start.”

STATS PACK

Spears 47 Junior Golden Gaels 8

BPSN Star of the Game: Niagara’s Daniel Clarke with two first-half interceptions.

For the Niagara Spears: Clarke, two interceptions; Riley Lyons, four solo tackles, two assisted tackles, fumble recovery and interception; Chase Bowden, five carries for 41 yards, including 24-yard and eight-yard TD runs; Winfield Organ, 22-yard TD catch from Ethan Reid; Rob Prior, punt block and 20-yard return for a TD; Darcy MacIsaac, 10-yard TD pass from Reid; Jerry Nyambiya, 10 carries for 63 yards, including a two-yard TD run and an accepted promposal after the game; Cole Mackinnon, 10-yard field goal and a single; two-point safety by defence; Reid, 8-10 passing for 93 yards; Devon Schiller-Cleveland, 4-4 passing for 44 yards and three carries for 69 yards; Zach Melnyk, three solo tackles and two assisted tackles; and, Jarod Tessier, three solo tackles and one assisted tackle.

For the Kingston Junior Golden Gaels: 71-yard TD pass to Luke Winsor from Robbie MacAdam.

Up next: The Spears host Burlington Saturday at 8 p.m. at Kiwanis Field.