Raiders, Gators back on the gridiron
Two schools that did not field senior teams last year squared off Thursday in Niagara Catholic Athletic Association football action.
The play was sloppy and execution often poor, but that didn’t matter to the Holy Cross Raiders and Lakeshore Catholic Gators, who were thrilled be back on the gridiron.
The Raiders, who lost their season opener 34-0 versus Saint Michael last week, got into the win column with a 14-13 victory over the Gators at Lakeshore.
“It feels really good,” Holy Cross coach Gerry DiSanto said. “The kids have bought in and I want to keep going forward with this momentum.”
The Raiders trailed 13-7 heading into the second half before rallying with a touchdown pass from Jackson Stewart to Jack Wilson.
“First off, I liked we were able to moved the ball on offence and our defence stepped up which was very decimated last time,” DiSanto added. “The other thing that was really great was there was no quit in our kids. We were down and they could have given up, but they didn’t. That’s what I thought was great.”
Stewart is one of a dozen St. Francis students who are suiting up for the Raiders this season. The Phoenix are not fielding a senior squad, but do have a junior team.
“It’s not an easy situation but the kids from St. Francis have accepted to be part of our family and our kids have been very welcoming to them,” DiSanto said. “It’s not St. Francis and Holy Cross. It’s just one team now.”
Stewart is thrilled simply to be playing.
“I’m just really happy. It’s my senior year,” he said. “It feels great.”
The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student appreciates how the Raiders have welcomed the Phoenix with open arms.
“You have to be accepted and luckily Holy Cross have been really good with that,” he said. “They’ve accepted us.”
Stewart, who has been playing for six years and suited up for the Niagara Spears this summer, relishes being a veteran.
“Be a leader and be there for the guys,” he said when asked for his role.
Lucas Johnston also caught touchdown pass while Enrique Orozio was good on both converts.
The Gators, who were making their season debut, had a golden opportunity to with the game with a last-season field goal but the ball sailed wide to the right.
“I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with the outcome of the game, but what I am is very happy and proud of the guys for their effort to continue to work hard right to the last play,” Lakeshore coach Bernie Tessier said. “It looked kind of dire right at the end and we put ourselves in a position for a game-winning field goal and he kicked a fabulous field goal and it was just wide. That’s the way it goes but I’m pretty proud of the effort.”
Tessier said it’s been a lot of hard work to get the Gators back on the field.
“We had to go to a varsity team. We didn’t have a senior team last year and we’re trying to build up the culture and get the tradition back again. We haven’t played because of COVID and our senior team was non-existent last year so we’re kind of re-teaching everything over again.
“We have a good core of kids who are putting the effort in. Our coaches are fantastic and the kids are showing up every day.”
Max Annunziata and Gael Wilson scored majors for the Gators while Owen Embleton added a convert.
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 4,500 other stories found on our website, please consider hitting the Support Us button on the right-hand side of our home page and making a PayPal contribution to our website. Your support would be much appreciated. If you are a business owner, please consider advertising on our site. Our rates are reasonable and we provide plenty of exposure for your business. Contact bpotrecz@outlook.com for more information.
