Cougars hold off Gryphons in exciting semifinal
There was no stopping Mahkai McPhee Wednesday.
The 18-year-old, Grade 12B student ran for two spectacular touchdowns to pace the Centennial Cougars to an 18-13 win over the Greater Fort Erie Secondary School Gryphons in a Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 1 senior boys football semifinal playoff game at GFESS.
The Cougars advance to the championship final versus the A.N. Myer Marauders next week.
McPhee broke off the first of his two long runs on Centennial’s first possession of the game, the followed it up with another in the second quarter.
“It felt amazing, just trusting my blocks and executing the plan we had going into this game,” McPhee said. “We had a lot of preparation and it just felt amazing to see all the hard work paying off.”
McPhee tipped his cap to his blockers.
“I believe a lot in my O-line. They put in a lot of hard work and dedication to blocking and I trust them with my life,” he said. “I knew I was going to get at least a couple of them (long runs) off today.”
McPhee’s day looked like it may come to a premature end when he limped off the field with an ankle injury in the second half.
“I knew it wasn’t that bad, but at the same time, I knew I had to come off just to make sure everything was OK. I’ve had a few ankle injuries here and there, but all in all, I’m 100 per cent good.”
Cougars coach Brad Barter’s eyes lit up when was asked about McPhee.
“Those two runs were like 180 yards,” Barter said. “He’s going to be sleeping all day tomorrow.
“A lot of our offence goes through Mahkai. He’s both a great player on the field and a gentleman off the field as well. He’s an all-around great person who was electric to watch today.”
Barter was thrilled to see his charges rewarded for a gutsy — albeit imperfect — effort.
“My heart’s not built for that,” Barter said. “There were times I was over the moon, times I was nervous, but at the end of the day I believed in the players that were out there working for us and they came through at the end.”
After trading touchdowns in the first quarter, McPhee gave the Cougars a 13-6 lead with his second major in the second quarter. The Gryphons took a 14-13 lead into the half after a touchdown from Joshua Cuizon and the extra point from Bo Train.
The Cougars then scored the final six points on the game in the fourth quarter on a pair of field goals from Rylan Butler, the second on a controversial call when Centennial was awarded the ball back following a missed attempt by Butler when an official inadvertently blew his whistle following the play, giving the Cougars a second chance.
The Gryphons still had an opportunity to pull out the win and even tried a flea flicker on third down on their last offensive possession that just failed in the end zone when the ball was knocked loose by a Centennial defender.
“I respect what they do and what they put into the program,” Fort Erie coach Dave Sauer said of his players. “They play tough and I love the kids. We came up short and I take some responsibility for that. We should have been a little more prepared and ready. We had our shots, we had our chances. We tried to pull everything out of the hat.
“It’s tough. Little mistakes in a game like this kill you. We made some errors that we can’t do to beat a team that good.”
Sauer lamented another season that saw the Gryphons fail to advance to the finals.
“Every year we get to this point, we’re first or second place and we just don’t do it.” He said. “We hit semis and it becomes tough.”
Barter can’t wait for next week.
“That’s where we wanted to be. Last year the season didn’t really go the way we wanted it to. This year everyone came back to play and we’ve been putting in the hours, putting in the work. Now the easy part’s over, we have a big test ahead of us,” he said.
McPhee feels the Cougars benefited from being an underdog.
“Last year everyone counted us out, this year everyone counted us out. They said they don’t have to worry about us, they are easy, but we came back and showed everyone. We dedicated ourselves in the summer and came out strong this year.
“I’m very proud of my team and hopefully we give Myer a run for their money.”
STATS PACK
Cougars 18 Gryphons 13
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Centennial running back Mahkai McPhee with two touchdowns.
Centennial Cougars: McPhee, two touchdowns; Ryan Butler, two field goals.
Greater Fort Erie Gryphons: Brayden Stoddard, touchdown; Joshua Cuizon, touchdown; Bo Train, convert.
Up next: The Cougars advance to play the defending champion A.N. Myer Marauders for the Tier 1 championship. Dates and times to be announced.
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