Redcoats end championship drought
When the Governor Simcoe Redcoats and Thorold Golden Eagles met Oct. 10 in Niagara Region High School Athletic Tier 2 football regular season play, Simcoe’s Carter Small was knocked unconscious in the fourth quarter and the game was halted with the Redcoats leading 17-11.
The two teams met again in the championship game Friday night at Governor Simcoe and it was Small delivering the knockout blows. The Grade 12 student had three long kickoff returns in the first half to help Simcoe build a 31-6 lead. He added a TD run in each half to put the finishing touches on a dominating 38-12 victory by the Redcoats to conclude an undefeated season.
Simcoe head coach Jamie Brophy was impressed with how Small impacted the championship game.
“He does that in every aspect of the game. In the first half, it was the special teams where he flipped the field and gained 40 and 50 yards. They had the wind and his effort alone turned the tide for us which was huge,” he said. “On both sides of the ball for us he never comes off and he does everything right which is a testament to him. He practises hard, he plays hard and he is a great leader. Kids follow him.”
The 17-year-old suffered a concussion in the regular season game but was ready to go after missing the semifinal game against Eden.
“I was pushing to get back and once the symptoms went away I wanted to get back as quick as possible. I was 100 per cent ready and I am always ready to play.”
It’s a game he wouldn’t have missed for the world.
“In my Grade 9 year, we went to the final and lost by a point and the next year we lost in the semifinals. The next year we lost in the finals again and this means so much to us,” he said. “Last year we were undefeated and lost in the finals and this year we said we were going to do the exact same thing but this time we were going to change it and beat every single team. We worked harder and harder and our coaches pushed us play after play. I can’t believe we did it.”
It was important for him to play in the final but he knew his team had his back if he was unable to go.
“I think this team without me could easily win it any time. It is probably one of the most talented teams they have had here in years.”
Small is planning to return for his 12 B season at Simcoe.
“I am coming back because I want to get another one. We have a lot of guys who are still young and we only have two or three guys who are moving on to university.”
Brophy was overjoyed with Simcoe’s first championship in nearly a decade.
“It feels amazing because the kids have worked hard. For a number of years we have come so close and to come out and play a full game of football was great,” he said. “Full credit to Thorold. There was no give up in them and we had to push through right to the end because we knew at any given moment they could come back and make a true game of it at the end.”
Simcoe helped its cause by winning the line play.
“We had a lot of kids who worked super hard and they pushed each other. We have a number of individuals who played on both sides of the ball and normally we don’t have them do that,” he said. “We needed kids to step up and they did.”
Thorold head coach Duane Kemp tipped his hat to the Redcoats.
“To Simcoe’s credit, we got the lead on them which was nice but mental mishaps early killed us and our O line and D line just got dominated as the game went on. They were basically a bully to us all game. We got punched in the mouth and we just didn’t do enough to combat that,” he said. “We got behind by too much and we had to change tactics and then injuries kicked in and here we are.”
He agreed special teams play also derailed his team’s hopes.
“That was big obviously and we know they are a well-coached team. We missed some tackles throughout and that shifts momentum big time. It sucks but I wouldn’t trade it because we got a chance to be in a final and it’s a great memory for these guys. I hope they cherish it and remember it fondly.”
Kemp was sad to lose but happy for his former coach Carey Spiece, who coaches for Simcoe.
“I worked with him for so long and if this is his last game, I am happy for him but now I will have to hear about it forever so that is going to kinda suck. Coachs Brophy and Spiece do such a great job here and it was nice to have a true Division 2 final this year for the first time in a bunch of years,” he said. “Hopefully we can build and maybe next year give Simcoe a run or whoever else is in Division 2. We know it is a competitive division with a bunch of good teams and we will be better for it and better next year.”
STATS PACK
Redcoats 38 Golden Eagles 12
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Governor Simcoe’s Carter Small with several long returns on kickoffs and TD runs of 12 and four yards.
For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Small, two TDs; Noah Budgell, TD runs of five, nine and two yards; 36-yard field goal by Austin Wojciechowski; fumble recovery by Lucas Landry; fumble recovery and sack by Kimoy McLean.
For the Thorold Golden Eagles: 74-yard TD run by Tyrese Gibson; 64-yard TD pass from Kaleb Locatelli to Garet MacPherson.
Game stats: First downs: Simcoe 14, Thorold 10. Net offensive yards: Simcoe 266, Thorold 244. Turnovers: Simcoe 1, Thorold 5. Penalties: Simcoe 14 for 63 yards, Thorold 11 for 90 yards.
