Two out of three ain’t bad for Generals
The Niagara Generals had another strong weekend in Ontario Fall Football League play with the bantam and peewee Generals recording big wins and the atoms losing.
BANTAM GENERALS
The Niagara Generals bantam team improved to 3-0 on the season with 47-6 corralling of the Brantford Bisons.
The top-ranked offence in the under-14 division produced more than 500 yards in total offence as offensive coordinator Matt Macrae used a balanced passing and running attack and spread the ball around his weapons.
Leading the attack were: Ezekial Langendoen, with 175 yards rushing and three majors: Brett Wall, Luis Corredor-Reyes, Cole Stayzer and Carter Smith with single TDs; Tyson Louis-Charles had a two-point convert; and, Corredor-Reyes kicked three converts.
The No. 1 defence limited the Bisons to 150 yards total yards as defensive coach Jeff Adams knew the defence needed to stymie the Bison’s run game. He did so effectively, including a huge second-quarter goal-line stand.
Niagara forced the Bisons to turn the ball over on downs several times and the Generals recorded eight sacks. Cam Kotyk had an interception.
In its previous game, the Generals thumped the Waterloo Warhawks 50-6.
Leading the attack were: Corredor-Reyes with two TDs; Wall, Lox Raducanu, Benji Kolodziejczak and Luke Harker with single majors; Jak Buckland with a pick six; Luke Gruszewski with two two-point converts; Carter Smith and Cole Stayzer with two-point converts; and, Corredor-Reyes with three two-point converts.
PEEWEE GENERALS
The peewee Generals (3-0) remained unbeaten with a 22-8 victory against the Peel Region Panthers.
“It was a hard-fought game from both teams. We had a lot of stops by our defence and a lot of pressure was added by blitzes by Bently Furguson and Jake Brewster,” coach Cliff Miller said. “As a coach, I am very proud of how all the boys are playing. Each week I see a lot of improvement. We are starting to find our stride and the team is starting to gel and come together as one.”
After losing their starting quarterback, Jaxson Smith led the way for the Generals with three rushing touchdowns. Kicker Owen Crowthers added four points with two converted kicks. On defence, Karson Stevens had an interception and Rhys Edwards had four sacks.
“I am looking forward to a tough matchup against our next opponent so it’s back to the drawing board for us,” Miller said.
In an earlier game, Niagara blanked the Cambridge Lions 32-0.
“The boys have a few goals they have set and they are working hard to try and achieve these goals,” Miller said. “We respect all our opponents so each week we take our time to prepare for facing a tough opponent regardless of the opponents record or rank. I am happy with the progress so far and we are just starting to scratch the surface of the potential on both sides of the ball.”
Performing well for Niagara were: Sawyer Grant with three rushing TDs; Jaxson Smith with one rushing TD; Brewster with two fumble recoveries; Ronin Weins with a forced fumble; and, Bentley Furguson and Rhys Edwards with sacks.
ATOM GENERALS
The atom Generals trailed the Brantford Bisons 22-0 at the half and ended up on the losing end of a 28-0 decision.
“Throughout the majority of the second half, the Generals defence played well containing Brantford’s inside and outside runs,” coach Andrew Lewis said. “We were able to hold their offence to one touchdown.”
Niagara’s offence struggled against Brantford.
“We were able to drive the ball downfield but were unable to convert our drives into touchdowns. The main issue for us on offence was the lack of ability to block, which makes it difficult to have successful drives,” Lewis said. “There were positives today to takeaway on both sides of the ball and things for us to review and continue to learn from.
In order to be successful everyone has to execute at their jobs. We’ll continue to work on the fundamentals with our guys at practice and grow as a team.”
In an earlier game, the Generals dropped a 32-18 decision to the Guelph Gryphons.
“This is one we can all learn from,” Lewis said. “We need to work on all aspects of our game this week at practice
Christian Lewis had a big day on the ground for the Generals, rushing for more than 100 yards, and Eli McLean finished off all our drives recording three majors.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Generals struggled to contain the outside edges which led to Guelph scoring three majors in the first half and following that up with two more in the second half.
“We had a lot of missed tackles today, especially in the backfield, which could have ultimately changed the outcome of the game,” Lewis said.
