’Horns hook ’em
Fort Erie Longhorns end minor football playoffs as bantam, atom champions
Fort Erie was the biggest winner on the weekend when the Niagara Regional Minor Football Association crowned overall and consolation championships.
Fort Erie’s bantam entry in the 12-per-side, four-down league, the KLIK Sports Photography Longhorns, defeated the Niagara Falls Branch 51 Legion Argonauts 34-20 for the title, and the J& A Athletics Longhorns doubled the West Niagara R. Bailey Transport Steelers 48-24 to win the atom championship.
The West Niagara Pneu Hyde Falcons defeated the St. Catharines Paul’s Kids Seahawks 50-20 in the peewee final.
Both the Fort Erie bantams and the West Niagara peewees wrapped up the year undefeated with 11-0 and 10-0 records in league and playoff play, respectively.
In all six championship games – three overall, three consolation – were played on the turf at Kiwanis Field in St. Catharines.
A day-long, activity-filled celebration played under sunny skies and billed as Super Sunday was well-attended, breaking previous records for the season-ending tradition.
Biggest upset of the day happened in the peewee championship final. Despite finishing last in a five-team division with a 1-7 record and losing 42-0 to West Niagara in the semifinals, the Welland Port Colborne Optimist Club Tiger-Cats defeated the Niagara Falls Condotta Merritt Insurance Argonauts 38-14 to go home with the Finbow Cup.
Niagara Falls went 4-4 during the regular season and was relegated to the B side of the championship bracket after dropping a 50-34 decision to St. Catharines in the semifinals.
Consolation championships in atom were won by the Niagara Falls E- Quip Rentals Lions, 33-13 victors over the Welland Super Mario’s Pizza Ticats, and in bantam by the Niagara Barron Roofing Titans, 50-20 over the St. Catharines Seahawks.
Championship finals Longhorns 34, Argonauts 20
Mason Arbic scored three touchdowns, two two-point conversions and earned most valuable player honours as the Fort Erie bantams defeated Niagara Falls to go undefeated.
Jackson Louws rounded out the scoring for the Wally Barrow Trophy winners with a touchdown.
Joshua Tropea, with two touchdowns; Aidan Maxim, touchdown; and Damien Bawlby, two two-point conversions;scoredfortheArgonauts and Marshall McCray was hailed as the team’s player of the game.
Falcons 50, Seahawks 20
West Niagara defeated host St. Catharines for Football Niagara’s peewee championship, thanks to three touchdowns and four converts from player of the game Nolan Banga and three touchdowns from Lucas Hazelton.
Ryan Lapcevich, touchdown; and Ryan Broome, two two-point conversions; also contributed on offence for the Falcons, while Jayce MacArthur, seven tackles, kickoff recovery; Cole Haan, seven tackes; and Ben Marois, four tackles, three sacks; were standouts on the West Niagara defence.
Quinn Johnston, two touchdowns; Joshua Kaufman, touchdown; and Thomas Alexander, two-point convert; scored for St. Catharines. Johnston was the Seahawks’ player of the game.
Longhorns 48, Steelers 24
Grant Spada scored four touchdowns, kicked three field goals and recovered a kickoff as Fort Erie ended the atom season undefeated by doubling West Niagara.
Jack Lunn and Gavyn Vazquez also scored touchdowns for the Longhorns, with Andre Payne Jr. earning player of the game honours for Fort Erie.
Steelers player of the game Jake Portolesi accounted for all of his team’s scoring with four touchdowns.
Consolation finals Titans 28, Steelers 22
A team stocked with players from St. Catharines and Welland edged West Niagara to win the bantam consolation championship.
Adam Nichlik, with two touchdowns, two-point conversion; Rayden Gouthro, two touchdowns; and Shawn Web, two-point convert; scored for the Titans who lost the season series to the Steelers two games to one.
Scoring for West Niagara were Holden Aariaht, three touchdowns, two-point convert; and Ryan McIntyre, two-point convert.
Michlik, Titans; and Justin Dawe, Steelers; were selected as most valuable players.
Tiger-Cats 38, Argonauts 14
Five touchdowns from Nick Longo and four, two-point conversions from Thomas Williamson were more than enough to carry Welland past Niagara Falls in the 2017 peewee consolation championship final.
Longo earned MVP honours for the Ticats who won the rubber match after the regional rivals split the season series with one win apiece.
Tyrell Kerman, player of the game for the Argos; and Alessandro DiMaurizo scored for Niagara Falls with two touchdowns and a two-point conversion, respectively.
Lions 33, Tiger-Cats 13
Austin MacRae’s two touchdowns and field goal helped Welland defeat Niagara Falls in Super Sunday’s atom B final at Kiwanis Field.
MacRae also recovered a kickoff and earned MVP honours for the Lions.
Blake McKinnon, Shaheen Shizardi and Eston Thomas each scored touchdowns for Niagara Falls.
Ticats MVP Evert Hemauer, Brandon Krutz and Alex McQuillian, with one touchdown each; and Brandon Kutz, convert; scored for Welland.
Ben Tsanoff recovered a kickoff for the Ticats.