Ravens dominate Spears
Ethan Krick is getting a crash course in football this summer.
The 16-year-old E.L. Crossley student had only one season of high school football under his belt when he joined the Niagara Spears this season.
“I played one season when I was younger and then never did it again. I played other sports and then wanted to play in high school but didn’t really get to because of COVID,” Krick said.
Krick suited up for the Centennial Cougars last season — Crossley doesn’t have a football program — and enjoyed the experience enough to want to continue to pursue the sport and hooked on with the Spears.
Spears head coach Brian Duguay loves Krick’s attitude and willingness to learn.
“There was a lot of commitment and a lot of drive,” Duguay said. “He did really well and was a defensive player. You look at skill but you also look at heart and that’s what he has. He has a lot of heart. He wants to learn. He wants to get better and every week he starts to get better.
“There are a lot of guys — we have three players who never played football before — and you want to help these guys progress. You want to help them learn and they’re getting the opportunity and they’re progressing and doing well.”
The Spears have used Krick at tight end.
“We noticed he had really good hands and we wanted to see how far we could take those hands,” Duguay said. “As he showed, he caught the ball down the middle and did really well.”
Duguay was on the receiving end of a perfect pass from Spears quarterback Marshall McRay to set up Niagara’s lone major in a 41-7 loss to the Essex Ravens in Ontario Summer Football League U18 action Saturday night at Kiwanis Field.
Krick admitted there is a steep learning curve picking up the sport so late.
“We have a great coaching staff. I learned a lot because I came in fresh,” he said. “When I came to high school I had really no clue about anything about it so I’ve learned a lot.”
Krick said learning plays has been the biggest challenge.
“You have to make sure you remember so you don’t mess up. If you mess up, the whole play can be messed up,” he said. “Just do you job and stick to what you’re expected to do on the field. Make sure you run your routes right, make sure you know where you have to block.”
The Spears dropped to 2-3 on the season with the lopsided defeat.
“Essex are a very good team. They have always been our nemesis and I’ve got a lot of respect for them,” Duguay said. “We have a lot of young kids and they need to understand not to look at what they’re playing across from and play our game and everything will take care of itself.
“We established some good drives on offence. It doesn’t show on the scoreboard but we were driving the ball and then on their first play on offence they score a touchdown.”
Duguay said it’s imperative his players realize ups and downs are normal during the course of the season.
“They need to understand the concept of a roller coaster. Everyone enjoys the roller coaster on the way down but they don’t like getting to the top. We’ve got to understand those roller coaster rides. We need to keep our heads up and we’ll do well.”
STATS PACK
Ravens 41 Spears 7
Essex Ravens: Nicholas Dimovski 2 TDs, Cole Thompson TD; Colby Ginn TD; Jessie Wilkins-Flaricee TD; Matteo Trifon TD, 5 converts.
Niagara Spears: Marshall McRay TD; Danny Lewis convert.
By the quarter: The Ravens led 14-0 after one quarter, 35-0 at the half and 41-0 after three.
Up next: The Spears wrap up regular season action Saturday, July 9 versus the Cambridge Lions at 8 p.m.
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