Redcoats, Thunder, Spartans, Golden Eagles, Marauders prevail
Carter Small came up very large Friday afternoon for the Governor Simcoe Redcoats senior football team.
Small helped the Redcoats (3-0) remain unbeaten with a 44-6 victory over the visiting Eden Flyers (1-2) in Niagara Region High School Athletic Tier 2 action. Small had two TD runs, a 70-yard TD catch from Noah Budgell and an interception.
Also contributing to the win for the Redcoats were: Sawyer Cotton with a 22-yard TD run and an interception; Cordell Less on a 20-yard TD pass from Budgell; Cole Harpwood with a 20-yard TD run; and, Ed Palumbo on a three-yard TD run.
“Even with having a good score in the first half, we still made some mental mistakes which brought some plays back but we are rolling pretty well and the kids are playing well as a team which is the biggest thing,” Simcoe head coach Jamie Brophy said.
Simcoe was once again able to get a whole lot of players meaningful time on the field.
“We are deep this year which is very helpful. We don’t have to keep the same guys on offence and defence and we are able to roll 10 or 11 players in switching back and forth,” he said. “It saves them tons of energy and then they are ready to rep out.
For the Flyers, Colton Julian scored on a 15-yard pass from Graham Reid. The TD was set up on a long pass from Reid to Isaiah Benjamin. Jackson Denny had a fumble recovery for the Flyers.
“We are really a work in progress. Even though we have a lot of guys, we have a lot of guys who haven’t played football,” Eden head coach Bob Krzeczkowski said. “We have a good core group but it is the ability to get these other guys up to speed. We are working on it.”
He is playing as many players as possible but that might change to some of the team’s top athletes playing both ways.
“I don’t want to do it right now but maybe come playoff time we will look at something like that.”
Krzeczkowski feels his squad is making progress as the season moves along.
“We know what we can do and the certain players who can let us do what we want to do. It is just a matter of putting all the pieces together.”
THUNDER 22 PATRIOTS 21
The Blessed Trinity Thunder senior football team (2-1) emerged with a narrow 22-21 victory over the visiting Saint Paul Patriots in Niagara Catholic Athletic Association play Friday night under the lights.
Jack Zarko sealed the win with a blocked 35-yard field goal on the final play of the game.
Also contributing to the win for the Thunder were: Josh Fabina with touchdown runs of 45 and four yards; Jake Portolesi with a 35-yard TD pass to Nolan Jackson; Jackson with a two-point convert; Joel Villacorta, Joey McLaren and Portolesi with interceptions; Ethan Burt with two fumble recoveries; and, Zarko and Daniel deAlmeida with a big stop on a two-point convert attempt.
“It was a tough-fought game with big plays interspersed with sloppy play and mistakes on both sides,” BT head coach Sean Jones said. “Our kids fought hard through some injuries and miscommunications and demonstrated some resiliency despite some undisciplined penalties that really hurt us at times.”
For the Patriots, Julian Mangiacasale scored three majors and added a two-point conversion on a pass from Luke Berezowski
“It was a hard-fought battle between both teams, neither giving up until the final whistle. It was an extremely exciting game for both teams in front of a crowd of over 1,000 fans on a cool night and a great football atmosphere,” Saint Paul coach Rick Oreskovioch said. “I thought our team played as well as they could with the exception of six turnovers, which were a result of a hard-hitting Blessed Trinity defence. Hats off to both Saint Paul and Blessed Trinity for competing in a truly impressive duel that kept the big crowd enjoying every part of the night.”
SPARTANS 44 HORNETS 0
Jacob Ranger ran for 209 yards and scored three TDs to power the visiting Westlane Spartans (2-1) to a 44-0 victory over the Stamford Hornets (0-3) Friday in NRHSAA Tier 2 action.
Also contributing to the Westlane win were: Ethan Callender with two majors; Cam Parlee with a TD reception and a fumble recovery; Kian Gregory threw for two TDs; and, Gavin Baily, Owen Lemoine and Nem Nikolic recorded interceptions
“Westlane executed with few mistakes. A good week of practice reflects how well we played,” Westlane head coach Dean Mazzone said. “Stamford never quit. They have some good players who played their hearts out.”
No information was available from the Stamford Hornets.
GOLDEN EAGLES 54 SAINTS 0
The Thorold Golden Eagles (3-0) set the stage for a matchup of unbeaten NRHSAA Tier 2 football teams next Thursday at Governor Simcoe with a 54-0 victory over the visiting St. Catharines Collegiate Saints Friday night.
“Very happy with the result. It was seniors night and we were able to start all our seniors on O and D for their last regular season home game. The entire roster saw meaningful minutes and we escaped with no significant injuries,” Thorold head coach Duane Kemp said. “Very happy with our attitude and effort throughout the game. Both teams played with class and to Collegiate’s credit, they battled all four quarters and never gave up. We know next week will be a very tough challenge against Division 2 favourite Governor Simcoe.”
Helping Thorold record the win were: Braeden Genest with a five-yard TD run; Garet MacPherson with a 61-yard TD reception from Kaleb Locatelli; Will Sargeant with a 27-yard TD yard run; Dyami Maphar with a highlight reel, eight-yard TD reception from Kaidyn Fournier; Tyler Lampman with a 60-yard TD run; Tyrel Walters with a 50-yard TD run; Sougui Abakar with a 45-yard TD run; Simon Holtam and Aiden Smith with strong games on the O line; Jack Imerese with an interception and fumble recovery; Elijah Williams with a sack; and, Lucas Smith with an interception.
MARAUDERS 33 GRYPHONS 10
The A.N. Myer Marauders senior football juggernaut continued to roll along Thursday night recording a 33-10 road victory over the Greater Fort Erie Gryphons (2-1).
Helping the Marauders improve to 2-0 in NRHSAA Tier 2 action were: Marco Angelini with two TD runs; Deniz Duzgun with one TD run; touchdown passes from Noah Walters to Travis Boland and Luca Valvo; Thomas Somerville with an interception; solid play by the offensive line; Duzgun with a strong effort on both sides of the ball; Liam Armstrong, who made many tackles and solid returns; and, Walters who was outstanding.
“The defensive line had its hands full with tough Fort Erie line. Overall it was a tough-fought, physical game,” Myer head coach Dave Buchanan said. “Fort Erie came out strong and controlled the first part of the game. Myer weathered the storm and moved the ball well on offence. Slowly we built up a lead. We need to clean up some undisciplined play as a number of penalties hurt us.”
Scoring for the Gryphons were Josh Cuizon on a three-yard TD run and Mateo Ayala who booted a field goal and extra point.
“We really stood up and played with the champ today (Thursday). I don’t like moral victories but the game was a 10-point score late in the fourth quarter. Myer put the game away with a TD and scored another one to make it look like a blowout,” Greater Fort Erie head coach Dave Sauer said. “We moved the ball and the defence played well, but they made more big plays then we did. Overall the team played well and we have to move on to our next game.”
JR. MARAUDERS 57 GRYPHONS 7
Helping the Myer juniors record a 57-7 victory over GFESS Thursday were: Lemuel Sraku-Antwi with a Pick 6 and TD catch; Brett Wall with a TD run and a strip fumble return for a major; Gabe Diaz with a TD run; and, TD catches by Gabe Murray and Tyson Louis-Charles; Sean Lawson with a TD run; solid kicking by Sean Lawson; two fumble recoveries by Josiah Hinkson; many tackles by Jack Buckland, Luis Corredor and Logan Robinson; solid runs by Diaz and Corredor; and, consistent QB play by Cole Stayzer.
“Overall it was a slow start as GFESS came out ready to play. Once the boys got rolling, they played hard, rallied to tackles and executed on offence and special teams,” coach Buchanan said.
