NRHSAA football: Myer, GFESS, Churchill, Thorold and Simcoe victorious
The A.N. Myer Marauders senior football team finished the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 1 regular season at a perfect 5-0 with a hard-fought 31-3 victory over the West Niagara Wolfpack (2-3).
“They played us tough. We knew that they had a strong team and that they very easily could have been 4-0 going into our game,” Myer head coach Dave Buchanan said. “They have solid players at many positions and play with a lot of passion, specifically their running back who has been running well all year.”
He credited his defence for holding West Niagara to three points.
“After their starting WLB (weakside linebacker) went out after the first play of the game and then their MLB (middle linebacker) for the second half, Myer’s depth really showed,” Buchanan said. “The entire defence stepped up. A shout out to Eugene Park for a fantastic game on all sides of the ball.”
He was pleased with the play of his offensive line, especially after losing two halfbacks by halftime.
“Again, players had to step up and make up for the losses. This was a really good test for the Marauders and it goes to show the level of competition in the NHRSAA league is getting better all the time.”
Leading the offence for the Marauders were: Tyler Goforth with TD passes to Thomas Somerville (seven yards), Evan Goforth (10 yards) and D’Ante D’Amario (15 yards); Park with a 10-yard run; and, Aiden Hunt with a 30-yard field goal and four converts.
On defence, Connor McEachern came up with a huge interception in the third corner that gave Myer a big boost and Matt Newton and Ben Maglicic stepped up in the linebacking corps. Marauder special teams were outstanding with Johnny Colcuc leading the way .
For West Niagara: Tyler Foster had 25 carries for 135 yards; Xavier Zatylny was 7-12 passing with an interception; Connor Foster and Ryan Lapcevich had fumble recoveries; and, Murray Hildreth recorded a sack.
“The score is not an indicator of the game at all. It was 3-3 halfway through the third quarter when Myer capitalized on three big mistakes,” West Niagara head coach Zack Silverthorne said.
Those errors were: an interception which gave Myer the ball on West Niagara’s 20 and led to a TD; a bad punt followed by a no yards call that gave the Marauders possession inside the Wolfpack 20; and, a fumbled kickoff that gave Myer the ball on the West Niagara five-yard line.
“Twenty-one quick points sealed our fate,” Silverthorne said. “Playing well against an undefeated team gives our boys some confidence heading into the playoffs. We have to head back there so hopefully we can clean up our mistakes and put some points on the board. We’re better than our 2-3 record and everyone knows it. Unfortunately we’re 2-3 and we’ve put ourselves in this position. We’ll be ready for the playoffs.”
GRYPHONS 29 FLYERS 6
Two rushing majors and a two-point convert by Kaden Craft powered the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons senior football team (4-1) to a 29-6 victory over the Eden Flyers (0-5) in NRHSAA Tier 1 football action.
Bryson Donald and Stephen Phillips added rushing majors for GFESS and Bo Train added four converts and a rouge. On defence for the Gryphons, Xander Boake had a pick, and Garrett Sauer and Chad Phillips recorded fumble recoveries.
“The wet, messy field really made it hard to do much on the day. We gave up the kickoff return to start the game and then the defence shut things down,” GFESS head coach Dave Sauer said. “We had to rely upon our ground game and grind the game out. We are looking forward to hosting a playoff game considering the struggles we had last year. This team is improving every week and the semifinal game vs. Churchill should be as exciting as the first game.”
For Eden, Jett Lewis scored a TD on the opening kickoff and Braden Van Slageraan and Emmett Cosby played well defensively.
BULLDOGS 43 COUGARS 0
The Sir Winston Bulldogs senior football squad (3-2) roared out to a 36-0 halftime lead over the Centennial Cougars (1-4) on the way to a 43-0 victory in NRHSAA Tier 1 play.
Churchill’s offence chalked up 21 first downs and 483 total yards, including 273 on the ground.
“We played a good, clean game with Centennial which hopefully directs us in a positive direction going into playoffs this week,” Churchill head coach Peter Perron said. “We now have a short week to prepare for GFESS in the semifinals who we know will be a highly competitive team.”
Brady Pupek led the offence for Churchill with TD runs of 80 and 50 yards and two 40-yard TD catches from quarterback Quinn Johnston.
Also scoring were: Johnston on a two-yard run; De’Ondre Forde with an 85-yard TD run as part of 110 rushing yards; and, Ryan Midany with six converts and a rouge.
Chico Oliveira had a fumble recovery for the Bulldogs.
TIER 2
GOLDEN EAGLES 49 SAINTS 27
The Thorold Golden Eagles (4-0) completed an unbeaten NRHSAA Tier 2 regular season with a 49-27 victory over the St. Catharines Collegiate Saints (0-3).
“I am happy with the result. The offence moved the ball well throughout the game,” Thorold head coach Duane Kemp said. “We were able to get significant playing time for all players in a variety of positions. I am proud of this group for a solid bounce-back season. It was a great regular season but now we must regroup and prepare for a big playoff game with Eden this week.”
Contributing to the win were: Tron Locke and Nathan Miller with two touchdown receptions each; Lucas Friesen with a TD grab; Tyrese Gibson with a rushing major; Mark Suntz with five TD passes, 170 passing yards and 70 rushing yards; backup QB Kaleb Locatelli with a rushing TD; Jesse Hodgins with two fumble recoveries; Devon Kaal with a fumble recovery; and, Carson DeRoos and Owen Haywood with tackles for losses.
For Collegiate: Colton Joyce had eight carries for 67 yards and two majors; Dalton Heus had nine carries for 102 yards and two TDs;.Connor Hammond had eight carries for 52 yards; Cole Adshead had two carries for 15 yards; and, Austyn Wojciechowski booted three converts
“The run game was hitting on all cylinders for St. Catharines Collegiate. Colton Joyce moved from offensive line to running back and was physically dominant,” Collegiate head coach Nathan Greene said. “Defensively we had moments where we played terrific but could not stop the big plays. Thorold has a nice quarterback and receiving corps and coach Kemp has their pass game working well.”
Greene credited Collegiate’s improved running game to the play of Grade 11 offensive lineman Lucas Hamilton.
“He is the tip of the spear on all big runs. The six-foot, 240 pound tackle is in his first season playing high school football but it does not show,” he said. “He is the leader on the O line and is an absolute joy to coach. Unfortunately he sustained a season-ending injury late in the game.”
Hamilton’s presence will be missed.
“I am certain he will come back from his injury bigger, stronger, smarter and faster,” Greene said. “The sky is the limit for this young man and I look forward to seeing him develop.”
REDCOATS 32 HORNETS 0
The Governor Simcoe Redcoats senior football team improved to 3-1 in NRHSAA Tier 2 action with a 32-0 shutout of the Stamford Hornets (1-3).
“The team played a complete game on both sides of the ball. The defence did a great job limiting a good running attack from Stamford and we stayed disciplined and executed the game plan on offence,” Simcoe head coach Jamie Brophy said. “This young team has committed itself daily to building on our successes and we are looking forward to the playoffs this week.”
Leading the way for the Redcoats were: Sam Wilson with TD runs of 60 and six yards: Carter Small with TD runs of 10 and six yards; Rahiem McLean with a 12-yard TD catch from Noah Budgell; and, Small with two converts.
