Redcoats top Cougars to advance to final
Peer pressure played a big part in Ryan Segato’s decision to give football a shot.
The 18-year-old, Grade 12B student didn’t play his first season of high school but when finally did suit up in Grade 10, Segato knew he was in for the long haul.
“I started playing football late and as soon I started I regretted not playing from year one,” Segato said Thursday, after scoring a pair of touchdowns to lead the Governor Simcoe Redcoats past the Centennial Cougars 22-15 in a Niagara Regional High School Athletic Association Tier 2 football semifinal playoff game at Simcoe.
“It feels amazing. Now that I’m here and helping bring this team to a championship, even though it’s consolation, it means a lot to us.”
Segato said he kept hearing from his buddies how much they were enjoying the sport.
“All my friends were on the team and they kept telling me to get out here,” he said. “The first year I was really scared to get hit or even play football and the contact but seeing my friends out here and seeing how much they love it really inspired me.”
Segato admitted missing last season hit him hard.
“Grade 12 was probably going to be our best year,” he said. “We had all the boys there and then COVID happened and kind of flushed everything down the drain. Ever since then I’ve just been training as much as I could and trying to enjoy the sport as much as I can.
“To be able to go out and practice and have these games just feels amazing.”
Segato scored his first major on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Danny Lewis, then added another on a three-yard plunge into the end zone. He also excelled on the other side of the ball as a defensive back.
“I thought it would be really hard at first (to play both ways) but on defence I like to think of it as a break because I’m not doing something every single play,” he said.
Segato has a big fan in Simcoe head coach Jamie Brophy.
“He was fantastic,” Brophy said. “We’ve had a number of those kids who have might feel a little intimidated in Grade 9 or 10 and then they come back. During the pandemic he worked on his game with (quarterback) Danny Lewis. The two of them have a bond and when we knew we had a season, he was ready to go with him.”
The Cougars built a 14-7 lead on a pair of touchdowns catches from Ethan Robertson to Robbie Pereira before the Redcoats scored on Segato’s second major.
Brophy then called for a two-point convert and Lewis hit Nathan Kowcun with a perfect pass to give the Redcoats a 15-14 lead.
“At that point we thought points were going to be at a premium,” Brophy said. “We’ve been working on those plays all year long, it wasn’t something we just threw together. We knew in the right scenario we would pull that out and that seemed liked the right scenario.”
Simon padded their lead when Jonathan Archer recovered a fumble for a late touchdown.
Centennial coach Brad Barter lamented his team’s errors down the stretch.
“We had a lot of miscues in the fourth quarter,” he said. “It came down to who wanted it more and Governor Simcoe showed they wanted it.
“That’s the game of football. You need to battle back and we didn’t.”
Barter loved being back on the gridiron.
“I think I was about as happy as some of the kids were,” he said. “I missed it. I didn’t realize how much I missed coaching until it was taken away.
“All these guys came out and gave me their everything. They stuck with it. We’re headed in the right direction as far as building a program here.”
Eagles 21 Gryphons 1
The Grimsby Eagles advanced to the Tier 2 final with a 21-1 win over the visiting Greater Fort Erie Gryphons.
Soloman Barning scored on a 32-yard fumble recovery in the first quarter for the Eagles. Sean Gaka then added a major on an 18-yard run in the fourth quarter before Tyler Soppet scored on a 40-yard interception. It was Soppet’s fifth interception and third pick-six of the season.
Daniel Myers and Connor Foster had quarterback sacks.
For Grimsby, John Pardoe had an interception and Steven Phillips had a fumble recovery.
“It was a tough and physical game that we expected,” GFESS head coach Dave Sauer said. “The fumble return for a TD on the third play of the game was an obvious tough start. We fought hard again and got into the red zone four times and came up empty.”
He credited Grimsby for its defensive play inside the red zone.
“Our defence was excellent today and defensive co-ordinator Nick Woehl did a great job,” Sauer said.
As has been the case all season with the Gryphons, the injury bug hit the team again and GFESS was working on its fourth running back in the game which limited its options on offence.
“This will be a memorable year for some of the wrong reasons. It seems every week and sometimes every day was two steps forward and one back,” Sauer said. “The good news is the team is young and our junior team is really talented.”
STATS PACK
Redcoats 22 Cougars 14
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Simcoe’s Ryan Segato with a pair of touchdowns and several tackles on defence.
For the Governor Simcoe Redcoats: Segato 16-yard TD catch from Danny Lewis; Segato three-yard TD run; Jonathan Archer fumble recovery TD; Lewis to Nathan Kowcun 2 pt. convert; Lewis 2 converts.
For the Centennial Cougars: Robbie Pereira 11-yard TD catch from Ethan Roberson; Pereira 50-yard TD catch from Robertson; Aiden McIntosh 2 converts.
Up next: The Redcoats travel to Grimsby next week to face the Eagles for the Tier 2 championship.
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 3,700 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.
