Spears go 2-1 at home to kick off season
Opening week of the Ontario Provincial Football League schedule featured plenty of action – a tripleheader and then some – for Niagara Spears fan.
It nearly featured a sweep for the home teams as well with only a 35-28 loss to the Essex Ravens from Windsor in the senior varsity game spoiling Saturday’s kickoff to the season at Kiwanis Park in St. Catharines.
Niagara clipped the Ravens 15-14 in overtime in the bantam game, and the Spears junior varsity edged Essex 57-50.
Justin Succar, Dante McNamara, Dallas Bone and Josh Ferguson each scored a touchdown for the Niagara senior varsity, while placekicker Cole MacKinnon finished the marquee match 4-for-4 in convert attempts.
Next action for the seniority
varsity is 7 p.m. Saturday at University of Ottawa Stadium versus the Cumberland Panthers, 0-0.
Spears 15, Ravens 14 OT
At St. Catharines, Adrian D’Gyves and Marshall McCray scored a touchdown each as the Niagara bantams edged visiting
Essex in overtime.
The Spears added a two-point safety and kicked a single to start the season on a winning note.
They can improve to 2-0 with a road victory Saturday against the Cumberland Panthers, 0-0. Kickoff at Millenium Sports Park in Ottawa is set for 2 p.m.
Spears 57, Ravens 50
Niagara was on top when the final whistle sounded following an afternoon of back-and-forth junior varsity football on the turf at Kiwanis Field.
Kicker Chris Banco topped the Spears in scoring with two field goals and seven converts.
Jacob Succar and Jared Tessier paced Niagara in touchdowns with two apiece.
Ethan Carmichael, Devon Clevand and John Serrano also found the end zone with a touchdown each as the Spears downed their visitors from Windsor in the high-scoring affair.
The junior varsity opens the road half of the 2018 regularseason schedule Saturday in Ottawa, also against the Cumberland Panthers. Game time at Millenium Sports Park is 4:30 p.m.