Football roundup: Patriots, Cougars, Flyers win
The Saint Paul Patriots senior football team improved to 2-3 in Niagara Catholic Athletic Association play with a 21-10 victory over the Saint Francis Phoenix (1-3).
“The Saint Paul senior football team was in a battle with a very formidable opponent in Saint Francis Phoenix on our home field Friday afternoon. The Patriots prevailed and won with a late touchdown,” Saint Paul head coach Rick Oreskovich
Leading the offence for the Patriots were: Adam McBride with 10 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown; Mike Schram with a seven-yard run; and, Matt Murray who completed a 25-yard pass to John Campbell for the final tally.
“The Saint Paul offensive line of Damien Decembrini, Massimo Piro, Jake Costibile, Ian Yoo and Mark Gimmi-Matthew were instrumental in opening the holes for the running attack,” Oreskovich said. “The Saint Paul defence held tough by limiting the Phoenix to 10 points. Mark Cruz has his second interception for the year while our linebacking crew of Marius Rahme, Dante De Benedetti and Marco Gruosso lead the team with tackles.”
The Patriots are in a bye week and will travel to the home of the first-place team in two weeks in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs.
For Saint Francis: TD reception by Trent Dobson from Cameron Mepham; field goal by Gavin Paxton; interception by Jimmy Harb; and, good rushing efforts by Elijah Jama and Sadiekie Hayden.
“I’m proud of the boys for persevering and playing the entire game at 100 per cent. Bottom line, execution and systems were not up to par and our offence struggled in to throw the ball in the rain,” Phoenix head coach Mark Johnson said. “I’m looking forward to finishing the season strong against DM and building on the successes this year to bring a competitive team to the field in 2024.”
COUGARS 45 BULLDOGS 21
The Centennial Cougars (3-2) clinched third place in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 1 play with a 45-21 victory over the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs (2-3).
Leading the way for the Bulldogs were: Mahkai McPhee with 130 yards rushing and two TDs; Nick Jokic with 200 yards passing, three TDs and 140 yards rushing; Ethan Krick with 50 yards receiving and two TDs; Dylan Dellamonache with 67 yards receiving and a TD; Arik Rae with 60 yards receiving, 15 yards rushing and a TD; Brad McHoul, Mason Saxton, Kyle Buchanan Presley Kalybaba, and Kolton Anger with strong defensive play; Sawyer Samms, Blake Breton, Owen Major, Braden Kingston, Luke Dawson and Adam Dawson with excellent line play; and, rookies Nathen Tinney and Marshall Frederick who combined for a late sack.
“I couldn’t be prouder of this team. We’re getting hot at the right time and everything is coming together. In 12 months, we’ve gone from being a six-point scoring team to being the No. 3 seed in the Tier 1 playoffs,” Centennial head coach Brad Barter said. “I have to give that respect to every single one of our players because this season, they came with a new attitude, a willingness to learn, listen and grow. And I’m pretty sure it’s evident, that attitude is working. After eight years coaching at Centennial, we’ve got the most talent, best attitude, and morale that has ever been on our sideline. And we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do with it.”
Barter credited his outside coaches for the season.
“Without those guys, there’s no way that we would be where we are now. They take time out of their busy schedules to volunteer to help us every day and I can’t thank them enough.”
The staff is made up of: former Centennial student Caleb Pelletier at offensive coordinator; former Centennial student Nico D’Amelio at special teams coordinator; former Centennial student Terrance Pattison at offensive line coach; Ray Ilnicki at defensive line coach/assistant defensive coordinator; and, former Centennial student Ben Marcov at positional coach.
Scoring for the Bulldogs were: Simon Marshall on a 20-yard run and a kick return; and, Corey Witter on a 55-yard run.
“They scored early on us and kept it going all game long. Their quarterback made plays all game through the air and on the ground. They’ve got some really good football players. Credit to them. They have done a great job over there,” Churchill offensive coordinator Donnie Marshall said. “I thought at times we moved the ball on offence but we shot ourselves in the foot too many times with penalties and turnovers. We’ve got some good Grade 11 athletes.”
Churchill will play at Myer Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Tier 1 semifinals while Centennial is at GFESS Wednesday at 5 p.m.
FLYERS 21 GOLDEN EAGLES 7
The Eden Flyers improved to 3-1 in NRHSAA Tier 2 action with a 21-7 victory over the Thorold Golden Eagles.
Leading the way for the Flyers were: Brody Payne with two TDs; Isaac Leader with 103 rushing yards and a major and, Wes Wiens who played a strong game.
For Thorold: Tyrese Gibson had a two-yard TD run; Kaleb Locatelli was 5-9 passing for 85 yards; Will Sargeant had 45 yards receiving; Carson deRoos had a punt for a single; Lucas Smith, Mark Toussaint, Sougui Abakar, Carson deRoos and Simon Holtam had strong games defensively; and, Kevin Maheswaranathan and Ryan Custers had good games on the O-line.
“Eden came out ready to play and scored two quick touchdowns on us. Being down 14-0 in the first quarter, we easily could have quit and hung our heads, but for the most part, we kept out composure and battled,” Thorold head coach Duane Kemp said. “Our defence really kept us in the game as we struggled to find our rhythm on offence. Although not the result we were hoping for, this could be the best thing to happen to us. After the game, our leaders called out the team for their attendance and accountability. If we can eliminate the mental mistakes, tweak and tighten some things up on O and D, and get players healthy for playoffs, I’m confident this group can compete with anyone in Tier 2.”
