Marauders capture Metro Bowl
The A.N.Myer Marauders junior football team won the second Metro Bowl in school history Friday with a 25-22 victory over Huron Heights.
Leading the way for the Marauders were: Ezra Ivory with an 80-yard TD pass on the second play of the game to Luis Ignacio Corredor Reyes, Brett Wall with a 70-yard punt return for a TD; Gabe Diaz with a TD run; Sean Lawson with a field goal and rouge; Jack Buckland with a forced fumble and multiple tackles; and, a great effort by the defensive and offensive line, with a special shout out to Chase Wintel.
“They (Huron Heights) are a team that when you go against them, your interior line has to step up and really compete. It’s always going to be a physical, tough grind and we just took advantage of moments,” Myer head coach Dave Buchanan said. “We hit some big plays with our athleticism and Ezra Ivory put some balls in places that were really awesome and the kids made plays. We had a big play return and it was a game of grit and taking advantage of opportunities.”
He credited a number of factors that made the team successful.
“There was a lot of athleticism and skill on the team, a combination of grit in the right places and a massively dedicated coaching staff,” he said.
Buchanan wasn’t sure the Marauders could win a Metro Bowl until they actually did it.
“You never know what you are going to run into once you leave here. Each week, things were getting answered. Our league was competent and once we got out of there, we weren’t sure with the Catholic rep. We felt once we watched them that our skill level was still pretty strong,” he said. “We did see BCI (Brantford Collegiate Institute) in the jamboree and we felt we could compete very well with them. After that, I didn’t know what Nelson was going to be like and I didn’t know what Huron Heights would be like. As each week went through, we looked, prepped and did our best.”
As for a turning point in the season, Buchanan pointed to a pre-season jamboree.
“We got to see that we were pretty athletic and we had five or six guys that were faster than anybody else’s No. 1. At that point, we knew we had something and we just didn’t know what we would have interior-wise.”
The future is clearly bright for the Myer senior program that lost an OFSAA Bowl game this fall to Corpus Christi, the fourth-ranked team in Canada.
“I know our senior kids are looking forward to playing with them. We have a lot of question marks with regards to senior next year. We have no idea with the Grade 12 group because the core of them could be gone,” Buchanan said. “We could be looking at a rebuilding season but I think the rebuild will be pretty quick because of the talent level. We will just be young. If the (Grade 12) group stays and these kids come up to accent that group, then we be pretty formidable again.”
Members of the team are Ian Abraham, Masih Ahad, John Bailey, Marek Baranski, Nickolas Beauvais, Jack Buckland, Kasey Campbell, Luis Ignacio Corredor Reyes, Jason Corriveau, Gabriel Diaz, Lukas Friesen, Joshua Gilbert, Mah’Kyi Goguen, Hudson Grant, Ayman Hasan, Karter Heidebrecht, Archer Henry, Josiah Hinkson, Ezra Ivory, Georgi Karaminov, Brandon Keays, Benji Kolodziejczak, Athan Lacanilao, Caleb Laporte, Sean Lawson, Tyson Louis-Charles, Jackson Mills, Riley Minifie, Vansh Modi, Adam Monaghan, Gabe Murray, James Neville, Logan Orr, Declan Payette, Alexander Ralston, Edmond Richie III, Logan Robinson, Teegan Sam, Karter Sheppard, Lemuel Sraku-Antwi, Aiden Stapleton, Cole Stayzer, Tyler Stewart, Owen Tellier, Brett Wall, Chase Wincott, Chase Wintle and Adam Youssef Suliman.
Members of Buchanan’s coaching staff were Bobby Ford and Vito Gicante, defensive coordinators; Kyle Stephenson, offensive coordinator; Warren Robinson and Bryce Ivanchuck, offensive line; Chris Pellisaro and Kevin Huntley, defensive line; Vince Angelini, defensive assistant and special teams, Ben Maglicic, defensive assistant; Rob Peel, quarterbacks; Cliff Ivory, assistant coach; Dave Lupish, assistant head coach; and, Ashley Pelissaro and Ellie Smith, hydration team.
