Dramatic win for Bulldogs; Myer blanks Westlane
The Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs and the visiting West Niagara Wolfpack senior football teams opened their Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 1 season in dramatic fashion Friday with the hosts escaping with a 17-16 overtime victory.
The two teams ended regulation play tied 10-10 and overtime rules saw each team start possessions from 35-yards out.
West Niagara went first and scored a touchdown but their extra point attempt bounced off the cross bar and stayed out.
Churchill responded by scoring on a 20-yard pass and then won it when kicker Ethan Velasquez pounded the ball through the uprights. Churchill took an offside penalty on a third and one play and the 20-yard scoring strike came on a third and six play.
“The overtime was fun and that is where the memories are made. That is high school football,” Churchill head coach Peter Perron said.
The biggest memory will belong to kicker Ethan Velasquez, who nailed the winning convert.
“I am shitting my pants when they got the flag. I really shat my pants because I thought we were going to lose but after that touchdown it all came down to me,” the 16-year-old said. “I just had to put it through. I just tried to be so hyped that I did not think about missing.”
He was mobbed by his teammates after the kick and they chanted ‘EV’ in the team’s huddle after the handshakes.
“It feels amazing,” he said, with a big smile. “I’m small so these guys are always joking around with me but it feel great to get my name chanted.”
Velasquez kicked for the Bulldogs two years ago and then missed last season because he went back to Colombia.
“He is a kid who works really hard, he has a great attitude and he is a good student in the classroom. You couldn’t ask for anything better,” Perron said.
He was happy with the win but not necessarily with Churchill’s performance.
“Did I like the way we started off no but it is a start. A win is a win is a win. I told them we were going to win by 30 or we are going to win by one and we won by one,” he said. “We came out pretty strong at the beginning. It was a confidence builder and maybe it took the wind out of their sails but I have to credit that team. They didn’t quit and that’s what I want my guys to do. You never quit.”
West Niagara coach Zack Silverthorne was not happy with the play of his team Friday.
“We beat ourselves. How many penalties did we have and all on extended drives. We shot ourselves in the foot and we had poor decisions by our best players,” he said. “We call a perfect thing and one of our captains takes a taunting penalty. What are you going to do. And another captain has to come off because he isn’t properly dressed. What are you going to do?”
Silverthorne was clearly upset after the game.
“It is very, very frustrating because too much time and effort is going into this for us to deal with those mistakes.”
He is perplexed with how to solve the problem.
“We have been addressing it for years and it is falling on deaf ears.”
STATS PACK
Bulldogs 17 Wolfpack 16 (OT)
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Churchill’s Ethan Velasquez with the game-winning convert and a 25-yard field goal.
For the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: five-yard TD run by Cory Witter; 20-yard TD pass from Dylon Flock to Simon Marshall; Velasquez, field goal; Khamel Reid, interception; Carson Sowery and Elijah Ferguson, sacks.
For the West Niagara Wolfpack: Alex Suntz, nine-yard TD run; thee-yard TD pass from Xavier Zatylny to Kieran McDonald; 17-yard field goal by Sharukh Khan; Sean Northcott, sack.
Game stats: First downs: WN 14, SWC 11. Net offence: WN 262, SWC 199. Turnovers: WN 1, SWC 1. Penalties: WN 13 for 95 yards, SWC 6 for 65 yards.
MARAUDERS 55 SPARTANS 0
The defending NRHSAA champion A.N. Myer Marauders opened play Thursday night with a 55-0 road victory over the Westlane Spartans.
Contributing to the win were: touchdowns by Evan Goforth, Mitch Casucci (2), Preston Murrell, Deniz Duzgun, Graham Walters, Travis Boland, Aaron Falconer; Luca Daddio who was perfect on extra points; interceptions by D’Angelo Holness and Dylan Devries; solid line play on offence and defence; strong defensive games by Holness and Murrell; and, strong returns by Goforth.
“There is not much to say about the game as you probably see with the score. The only positive is that the kids did not quit and played hard the entire game,” Westlane coach Dean Mazzone said.
