Niagara Spears’ offence sputters in loss to Hamilton
The Niagara Varsity Spears football team came out on the wrong end of 45-0 score in Ontario Summer Football League play following a Father’s Day road game against the Hamilton Junior Ti-Cats.
“I was really impressed how the defence has come out and played in the last two games,” Niagara head coach Brian Duguay said.
The same couldn’t be said for Niagara’s offence.
“Offensively we need to hold drives longer to help our defence out by keeping them off the field. When you only have 38 offensive plays, you can’t win.”
Duguay acknowledged his offence battled through some injuries but felt his team should have been more in tune with the next guy up mentality.
“As a team, I was embarrassed. We really looked sloppy on offence with players not running their proper depth on routes and not maintaining their blocks. There were too many spectators and not enough hunger. The Niagara area prides itself on the lunch box work ethic and we didn’t have this for this game.”
On one drive in particular, Niagara got down to Hamilton’s seven-yard line but didn’t have enough hunger to finish off the drive with a major.
“I just wish the players would start to believe in their talents,” Duguay said. “We seem to worry about the past instead of looking at the future. There’s going to be calls we don’t agree with but we need to put those behind us and refocus for the next play.”
Leading the way on offence for Niagara were: Elijah Pappin with 57 receiving yards; Ethan Krick with 30 yards receiving; and, Marshall McCray who was 9-18 passing for 105 yards and had 12 carries for 90 yards.
Sparking the Niagara defence were: Kylen Azem-Simmons with four solo tackles and three assist tackles; Justin Savoie with two solo tackles, three assist tackles and a sack; and, Braydon Snider with two solo tackles and two assist tackles.
Niagara is at Brantford Saturday before returning home to face the Essex Ravens July 2 at 8 p.m. at Kiwanis Field.
BANTAM SPEARS
The Niagara Spears Bantam football team fell 49-6 to the London Junior Mustangs in a hard fought contest.
“There was a marked difference in the Spears’ overall performance today as the Spears are starting to get healthy again,” Niagara head coach Austin Huh said. “The offence, defence and special teams all made a positive stride forward in today’s contest. The bantam Spears are eager to get back to work with the prospect of having a full roster the next time they hit the field.”
Scoring the lone major for Niagara on a run was Jacob Iannizzi.
The Spears are at Brampton Sunday.
JUNIOR VARSITY SPEARS
The Niagara Spears junior varsity football team was blanked 17-0 on the road by the Hamilton Junior Ti-Cats.
Niagara is on the road versus Brampton before returning home to host the Essex Ravens July 2 at 4 p.m. at Kiwanis Field.
