Golden Eagles, Flyers record Tier 2 football victories

 

The movement of Tyler Broderick from starting quarterback to wide receiver, safety and kick returner is working out quite nicely for the Thorold Golden Eagles football team.

On Thursday, Broderick had a short TD run, an interception and some long kick returns to power the visiting Golden Eagles (5-0) to a 31-13 victory over the Governor Simcoe Redcoats (3-2) in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 2 senior football action.

“It allows him to be an athlete, which he is,” Thorold head coach Duane Kemp said. “He runs track for us, he’s fast, he has had a couple of kick returns for TDs and he almost had a couple more today.

“He’s a momentum changer who flips the field for us and he does it all.”

The Grade 12 student is also a team leader.

“He came back to 12B wanting this and he works his butt off,” Kemp said. “He’s the hardest-working guy in practice and the team has really responded to him and followed his lead.”

The 18-year-old is enjoying a shift from the quarterback’s position.

“It’s not as confined,” the 5-foot-10, 150-pounder said. “I get to go out there and use my speed and athleticism a little more.

“I’m not stuck in the pocket. Last year, we got kind of beat up with me playing quarterback and now that we got Yvan (Canlas) in there, we have started to win games which is really the best part.

“We are putting up wins.”

Broderick likes playing offence, defence and special teams equally.

“I take any opportunity I can to be on the field,” he said. “It’s my last ride and I want to make the most of it wherever I can.”

His touchdown Thursday gave him six on the season.

Simcoe head coach Jamie Brophy agreed the game versus Thorold was a good measuring stick to see how the Redcoats football program is progressing.

“They have a great team coming down from Division 1,” he said. “I thought we played a better game against them (compared to the first time), but they have a lot of size and their running back, No. 31 (Julian Race) ran the ball really well and when he gets to the second level, he is really tough to catch.”

Brophy liked a number of things his team did.

“Defensively, we controlled their motion a lot better and offensively we had some chances, but penalties and a couple of turnovers cost us.”

While pleased with the Thorold win, Kemp sees a number of areas the Golden Eagles need to get better at.

“It was our first game on turf and it was a matter of getting our spacing down and realizing how wide the field is, but we had a lot of silly penalties,” he said. “It was a game of moments — moments where we looked like an undefeated team and points where it looks like there’s a lot of work to do and on any given day, anyone can give us a good battle.”

STATS PACK

Golden Eagles 31 Redcoats 13

Johnny Rocco’s/Mick and Angelo’s Player of the Game: Thorold’s Tyler Broderick with a two-yard TD run, an interception and several long kick returns.

For the Thorold Golden Eagles: Broderick, TD and interception; Evan Ferguson, two-yard TD run; Carter Lagerstrom, nine-yard TD run; 47-yard TD pass from Yvan Canlas to Callum McNamara; Victor Garcia, 20-yard field goal; Caleb Turner, interception; Mike Boisvert, fumble recovery; Andrew Dailey forced fumble, recovered by Jacob Turner.

For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Remy Gavanac, 55-yard TD run; three-yard TD pass from Andrew Scott to Danny Lewis; Eric Wilson, fumble recovery.

FLYERS 21 SAINTS 6

Tied 0-0 at the half, the Eden Flyers (2-3) outscored the St. Catharines Collegiate Saints (0-5) by a 21-6 margin in the second half Thursday to record a win in NRHSAA Tier 2 senior football action.

“The kids from Collegiate played with a ton of heart. It was tied 0-0 at the half and they were only down 15-6 until the last play of the game,” Eden coach Jordan Smith said. “Their all-school varsity team was a significant challenge to our senior team.”

Smith wasn’t overly thrilled with his team’s performance.

“Turnovers and penalties got in our own way today and defensively we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities to cause turnovers on downs,” he said. “We are looking forward to our rematch with Simcoe next week.”

Contributing to the win for Eden were: Cole Parkin, six-yard TD run; Jason Daniel, interception return for a major; John Tolentino, three-yard TD catch from Blake Maude; Evan Langendoen, interception; Ben Meier, Parkin, Max Vahrmeyer and Stuart Huebert, fumble recoveries; Austin Belanger, sack; Charlie Edgar, two converts; and, strong games on offence by Will Bonner and on defence by Colton Leslie.

For the Saints: Jon Emmorey was 11-20 passing for 188 yards and a TD and five carries for 35 yards; Sheldon Brown had two catches for 18 yards and one run for 63 yards; Devon Jones had four receptions for 78 yards, including a TD; Ty Llewellyn had nine carries for 55 yards and two receptions for 24 yards; Ibrahim Al-Hatimi had a key catch for a 45-yard gain; Mike Huyhn blocked a punt; and, Joseph Waterman and Noah Penner had strong defensive performances.

“This was a win for CI Football in a every meaningful way,” Collegiate head coach Nathan Greene said. “Before the game, our starting QB and 12B senior Jon Emmorey announced that this would be his last football game as he taking on a full-time employment in Ajax.

“Then halfway through the second quarter, our team captain (Sheldon Brown) went to the hospital with likely a season-ending injury.”

The Saints responded well to the adversity.

“Earlier in the season, these sort of setbacks were not handled well by our team, however, today we turned these tough breaks into motivation to overcome and persevere,” Greene said. “This individual and team development is a huge success and the outcome of the game is truly secondary.

“The confidence, brotherhood and mutual respect for their football family is all that matters and I am immensely proud of how we came to understand this today.”