June 24 Niagara Spears report: Varsity wins; JV gives London battle
The stakes were high when the Niagara Varsity Spears football team hosted the first-place London Junior Mustangs last Saturday night at Kiwanis Field in St. Catharines.
“This game is huge for us as we need to win our next two games to secure a playoff spot,” Spears head coach Brian Duguay said, prior to the game. “London is last year’s champion, who will bring a tough game. We just have to match their toughness and add our own.”
The Spears did just that, improving to 4-3 in Ontario Provincial Football League action with a tough 25-21 victory over the Junior Mustangs (5-2).
“I am really proud of the players as they never gave up and fought hard for this victory,” Duguay said. “There are some areas that need to cleaned up as we attempted five field goals and only made one.
“Our blocking on the line needs to be better and we need to be proficient in our snap, pin and kick sequence.”
Niagara’s defence was key in the victory sparked by fourth-quarter interceptions by Daniel Clarke and Curtis Neilson.
“Those two picks came at key points in the game to keep the Mustangs off the field and the last one was to take two knees for the win,” Duguay said.
The entire league takes this weekend off and Niagara will close out its regular season by hosting the Hamilton Tiger Cats (4-2) Saturday, July 6 at 8 p.m. at Kiwanis Field.
“We are fighting for a playoff spot and we need to duplicate or come out better, as I believe we have another gear to offer,” he said.
Top performers for Niagara were: Josh Lisi, 40- and seven-yard TD receptions from Ryan James; John Serrano, five-yard TD catch from James; James, 18-for-26 passing for 250 yards; Chase Bowden, 11 carries for 66 yards; Cole Mackinnon, 22-yard field goal and single point on missed field goal; Zack Melnyk, three solo tackles, seven assisted tackles and two sacks; Zack Ayotte, two solo tackles, two assisted tackles and a sack; Daniel Clarke, interception and two solo tackles; Curtis Neilson, interception; and, Colin Howe, one solo tackle and two assisted tackles.
JUNIOR MUSTANGS 43 JV SPEARS 21
The Niagara Spears Junior Varsity football team saw its OPFL record fall to 3-4 despite a valiant effort versus the London Junior Mustangs.
Niagara fell 43-21 to visiting London Saturday afternoon.
“We are starting to put things together on offence and went into the half tied with the top team in the league; the top program in the league in my opinion,” Spears head coach Bill Crawford said.
Niagara hung tough until early in the fourth quarter versus London.
“A couple miscues by us on offence left the defence in some tough spots against a very well-coached offence,” Crawford said.
Niagara’s attack was led by: Drake Somerville, 15-for-25 passing for 158 yards, including TD passes to Dayshawn Johnson and Mateo Canakis; and, Tal Ibrahim, 15 carries for 100 yards and a rushing major.
“On defence, we went with a lot of second- and third-stringers,” Crawford said. “They have worked so hard this season and it was time they got to see the field.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me they played very well and had numerous stops throughout the game against the No. 1 of offence in the league.”
Crawford likes where his team is heading.
“We are a very young team and the jobs Daniel Pepe, Nick Woehl, Devin Stuart and Christian Cates are doing on offence and Nathan Greene, Glen Neilson, Doug Fusic and Trevor Tessier on defence are the reason the young men on this team are developing and starting to look like they can reach the goals they set for the season.”
Niagara hosts Hamilton (4-1-1) Saturday, July 6 at 4 p.m. at Kiwanis Field in St. Catharines.
BANTAM SPEARS
The injury-plagued Niagara Bantam Spears football team (0-6) didn’t play this past weekend and will resume action Saturday, July 6 at Kiwanis Field at noon when it hosts Hamilton (1-5).
Niagara will conclude its season the following weekend in Vaughan.
“We had some changes and some struggles but things are positive now and moving in the right direction,” head coach Simon Gichard said. “The kids are enjoying themselves at practice and buying into the program.”
Gichard is hoping for a strong finish to the campaign.
