Flyers give Spartans a scare, Cougars top Saints

It was a hot Friday afternoon on the Governor Simcoe field and the underdog Eden Flyers football team was giving the Westlane Spartans all they could handle.

Playing an interlocking schedule this season, the Tier 2 Flyers were full value for the 14-7 lead they had built on the Tier 1 Spartans early in the second half. But in a blink of an eye, Deshaun Morris gave his team a spark and changed momentum by answering the Eden major with an 80-yard kick return that tied the score. From that point on, Westlane added an another 21 points that made the final score 35-14 in a result that didn’t reflect the closeness of the game.

“We were down and the return restored our team’s confidence,” said the 16-year-old Morris.

Westlane head coach Jason Babony agreed with that assessment.

“We came out super flat in the first half and Deshaun kind of picked up the tempo for us,” he said. “Running that one back was huge and then he made a bunch of solo tackles.”

Morris had solo tackles on almost every one of Westlane’s kicks in the second half and helped the Spartans pin the Flyers deep.

“The first couple of punts, maybe you didn’t notice, but he was dragging his butt and we chewed into him and he woke up,” Babony said. “He came alive and he was the football player that he is supposed to be.”

Morris blamed his sluggish start on nerves.

“It was my first (senior) game and I was beating myself up. The coaches challenged me and I did amazing on special teams.”

Morris’ play belies his lack of football experience.

“My Grade 10 year was the very first time picking up a football. I didn’t even know the rules and I am still learning them,” he said.

Prior to joining the football team, he had focused on soccer.

“I wanted a sport that was more physical but still a gentleman’s game,” he said. “The junior coach told me to come out because I was fast and I thought I would try it out.”

It was anything but love at first tackle.

“It took awhile before I liked it. There’s a lot of commitment with a practice every single day but it has paid off.”

He has quickly learned to appreciate football.

“I love the teamwork, the coaches and the environment,” Morris said. “And the crowd just hypes you up. You make a tackle and the crowd is bumpin’.”

Eden head coach Jeff Webster agreed the return TD by Morris changed the complexion of the game.

“I would like to think that we had them on their heels a bit but all the power to them,” he said. “They made a play when they had to make a play and they deserved to win.”

Webster said his thought process going into his team’s first game in two years was simple.

“This was the first game of all first games that I have ever been in,” he said. “We made some special teams mistakes, some missed tackles and some missed assignments on offence. Otherwise it might have been a different outcome.”

He credited Westlane with the victory.

“They are a good team and they got stronger as the game went along. Down the road, we will see what happens.”

Webster liked a lot of what his team did.

“I like how once we got a little momentum everyone started to clue into how things we’re going and they realized we were capable of playing with a Tier 1 team,” he said. “There was no give up and guys weren’t hanging their heads. I was very happy with our penalty situation because usually the first game of the year there is an endless about of penalties and we did a really good job.

“I will see what I think when I look at the game tape but there were few mental mistakes and there were no real dumb penalties.”

Babony wasn’t surprised by Eden’s effort.

“Every time we head to Eden they give us a good game,” he said. “Regardless of the score, every time we face them they have an abundance of athletes. They are pretty good with tackling and they have a good rugby program so I knew that their D was going to be pretty good. They have smart, athletic kids filled across their roster.”

Babony liked how his team responded in the second half.

“My offensive line started crushing the line a little bit for my running back.”

He didn’t like his team’s rustiness and the penalties it took.

“We preached mistake-free football before the game and we were shooting ourselves in the foot. We still made mistakes in the second half but we played better.”

Cougars 43 Saints 8

The Centennial Cougars opened the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association senior football season with a 43-8 victory over the visiting St. Catharines Saints.

Contributing to the Centennial win were: Robbie Pereira with 68 yards receiving, a 108-yard TD run, a forced fumble and 12 tackles on defence; Ethan Robertson, 186 yards passing and a touchdown pass, and an eight-yard TD run; Cale Owen, 45 yards rushing on three carries; strong running by Sean Perry and Jon Hooker; great offensive and defensive line play from Noble Arterberry and Cameron Stapleton; excellent performances on defence and special teams by Presley Kalybaba, Chase Kish, Aiden McIntosh, Nathaniel Doucette and Ben Marcov, who caused a fumble in the end zone and recorded his first safety of the season.

Leading the way for Collegiate were: Dalton Heus, 10 carries for 47 yards and a TD; Skylar Thompson, 85 return yards and a two-point convert; Mathew Hendrix and Cam Scott, who played well on defence; and, rookie cornerback Jacob Gough, who had an interception in his first ever game.

“Centennial dominated the scoreboard but I was proud how our young guys played the entire game without quit,” Collegiate coach Nathan Greene said. “The reps they got today will benefit them for years to come.”

STATS PACK

Spartans 35 Flyers 14

BPSN Player of the Game: Westlane’s Deshaun Morris with an 80-yard kick return for a TD, a fumble recovery and five special teams tackles.

For the Westlane Spartans: Morris, TD; Mike Grimo, TD runs of 32, five and one yard TD run and a punt block; Jordan Nguyen, 20-yard TD run; Tom Woodruff, interception; Jake Dempsey and Morris, fumble recoveries; Caleb Simmons, sack.

For the Eden Flyers: Elijah Prosper, two-yard and seven-yard TD runs; Martin Oweka, interception.

Game stats: First downs: Spartans 12, Flyers 11. Net offence: Spartans 272, Flyers 204. Turnovers: Spartans 2, Flyers 4. Penalties: Spartans 15 for 130 yards, Flyers 4 for 40 yards.