Rae stuns Spartans
Arik ‘Big Play’ Rae was too much for the visiting Westlane Spartans to handle Friday afternoon in Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 1 football action.
The Grade 12 student at Centennial caught a 97-yard TD pass from Nick Jokic and returned a kick 95 yards for another major helping the Cougars record a 27-3 victory over the Spartans.
According to Centennial head coach Brad Barter, the on-field success couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
“He is a gentleman off the field and he is an absolute beast on the field. He is a genuine, all-around good guy and I have always said if I have a son I would want him to be like Arik,” he said. “He is a stand-up dude for the people around him and he has everybody’s back.”
His teammates have recognized all those attributes in the receiver.
“He is a leader in the practices and on the field. This year we had three captains selected by the coaching staff and one by the team and the team selected Arik,” Barter said.
The 17-year-old got a little choked up when asked why his teammates chose him to be captain.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity and I am very grateful for the guys motivating me and helping me get better every day that I go out.”
He has been playing for Centennial since Grade 10 but he has never suited up for travel ball in the summer.
“I haven’t really shown as much as I could or shown my potential. It’s my last year and I want to show what I can do,” the Grade 12 student said.
He did plenty of preparation to make that a reality.
“It a lot of mindset, a lot of prayer and a lot of working out. I’ve been in the gym a lot (six days a week) and I ran track in the off-season.”
His motivation was as previously stated.
“It was my potential and I now know that I can have a future in this potentially and I don’t want to let the chance go.”
With the win, the Cougars clinched a berth in the Division 1 semifinals. Last season, the team missed the semifinals and went on to capture the Tier 2 championship.
“Our goal was to exceed what we did last year and they came this year to play,” Barter said. “We started training camp early and they have brought the same intensity all season long.”
The squad is much different than last season.
“There’s a lot of buy-in with the philosophy that we have in this program now and every single one of the players picks each other up and they have each other’s back,” he said. “It is very different than what we have had in years past and when they band together there is very little we can’t accomplish.”
Rae agrees with his coach’s sentiments.
“We have played together for years and there is a lot of chemistry that has been built. We all have a better attitude in practices. The first year I was playing we had 20 kids show up and last year was bad. We went into every game with the mindset that we were going to get smoked. This year we have a winning mindset.”
Westlane fell to 0-4 with the loss in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.
“We hung with them and I thought we controlled the play and three big plays took the air out of the balloon,” Westlane head coach Dean Mazzone said.
He has been happy with how his squad has progressed this season.
“We are getting there. The juniors had a bye week this week so we worked hard with them and they are getting better. And the seniors keep working hard, they keep trying and they don’t stop.”
The Spartans decided this season to move up to Tier 1 from Tier 2 but it hasn’t quite worked out as planned.
“The personnel we had going into the off-season and our expectations going into the season didn’t turn out the way we wanted. We had some people quitting and doing other things so we were left with a team that we did not expect,” Mazzone said. “It left us short-handed and therefore we struggled a bit. I tell everybody that we should be in Division 1 and a half. We’re not at 1 yet but we did well. We handled it today and we traded punches with them.”
STATS PACK
Cougars 27 Spartans 3
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Centennial’s Arik Rae with a 97-yard TD reception from Nick Jokic and a 95-yard kick return for a major.
For the Centennial Cougars: Rae, 2 TDs; Mason Saxton, 60-yard pick 6; two-yard TD run and field goal block by Jokic; on-side kick recovery by Braden Kroeker; fumble recoveries by Adam Dawson and Owen Major; interception by Brody Martin; strip and fumble recovery by Noah Wellard; and, sack by Brett Killins.
For the Westlane Spartans: 31-yard field goal by Strahinja Suzic; two sacks by Ryan Dionne; and, sack by Anthony Grimo
Game stats: First downs: Centennial 10, Westlane 7. Net offence: Centennial 210, Westlane 185. Turnovers: Centennial 4, Westlane 7. Penalties: Centennial 5 for 25 yards, Westlane 4 for 15 yards.
