Tiger-Cats earn their stripes
Two Welland Tiger-Cats teams earned the ultimate stripes on the gridiron when the Football Niagara playoffs wrapped up with title games in St. Catharines.
In all, six finals – three championship, three consolation – were played before a near-capacity crowd on Super Sunday at Kiwanis Field.
Welland teams swept two of the three age divisions in the 12-perside, four-down league with victories in the bantam and peewees finals.
The St. Catharines Seahawks ended the 2018 season first overall in the Niagara Regional Minor Football Association’s atom division.
Fort Erie Longhorns teams rebounded from losses in the semifinal round of the playoffs by winning consolation championships in the bantam and atom divisions.
St. Catharines prevailed in the peewee B final.
Bantam
Dayshawn Johnson was a oneman scoring machine in the final game of a double tripleheader on the turf at Kiwanis Field.
He scored four touchdowns and a two-point convert earning player of the game honours as the Welland Ticats defeated the St. Catharines Seahawks 34-14 in the bantam championship final.
Nicholas Longo and Brian Mauvais rounded out the scoring for Welland with a touchdown and two-point convert, respectively.
Quinn Johnston, with two touchdowns; and Deondre Forde, two-point convert; scored for St. Catharines.
The Fort Erie Longhorns won the Finbow Cup consolation title with a 50-14 v ictory over the West Niagara Falcons.
Fort Erie back Kaiden Craft, the game’s most valuable player, led the Longhorns in scoring with five touchdowns and a twopoint conversion.
Steven Phillips and Kody Macrae also made their way into the end zone with majors for Fort Erie. Dave Nettles add a twopoint convert in his team’s win.
Justin Maniaci, Nolan Banga, Eljay Thompson each had a touchdown for West Niagara. Nick Mark rounded out the Steelers scoring with a convert.
Peewee
Dylan Dellemonache scored two touchdowns and teammate Nick Jokic one, and the Welland Tiger-Cats doubled the West Niagara Steelers 24-12 in the Football Niagara peewee final.
Rounding out the Welland scoring was Thomas Alexander with three, two-point conversions.
Jokics was selected as player of the game for the Ticats.
Johnny Breen and Jayden Gurzi-MacDonald replied with touchdowns for West Niagara. Lucas Hazelton earned player of the game honours for the Steelers.
In the Finbow Cup peewee consolalation final, it was the St. Catharines Seahawks corralling the Fort Erie Longhorns 33-23.
Cameron Newbold, three touchdowns; Levi Moyer, Braiden Genest, one touchdown each; Noah Campbell, Sam Kramar, one convert apiece; but points on the scoreboard for St. Catharines.
Max Heron, Sean Bannon and Evan McCue scored touchdowns for Fort Erie. Grant Spada added five points – two, two-point converts, one-point convert – for the Longhorns.
Newbold and Heron were selected as top players for their respective teams.
Atom
The defence didn’t rest when the St. Catharines Seahawks played the Niagara Falls Lions for minor football’s atom championship Sunday.
Cameron Kotyk recovered a fumble as well as a kickoff, and Josh Savoie and Nathan Vandermeer also recovered fumbles as the Seahawks blanked the Lions 26-0.
Dahari Williams earned player of the game honours for St. Catharines with three touchdowns. Benjamin Kolodziejczack scored a touchdown and Ezekiel Langendoen a two-point convert for the ’Hawks.
Liam Herries recovered a fumble for the Lions. Jacob Ford was selected as player of the game for Niagara Falls.
In the atom consolation final. Jordan Payne scored three touchdowns and was selected as a game MVP as the Fort Erie Longhorns shut out the West Niagara Steelers 37-0.
Calem Smith, with two touchdowns; and Ryan General, one touchdown, one-point convert; also scored for Fort Erie.
Quinn Scott earned top player honours and Connor Proulx recovered a fumble for the Steelers.