Golden Eagles go undefeated to take Tier 2 title
Thorold beats Governor Simcoe for the third time this season
Third time was still the charm when the Thorold Golden Eagles lined up against the Governor Simcoe Redcoats on a football field this season.
Just like it was for the Golden Eagles the first time, and the second time.
Thorold’s Tier 2 Division-leading 6-0 record included a 23-6 victory at home over the Redcoats in Week 2 of the playoffs as well as a 31-13 win on the turf field at Simcoe two weeks later.
Round 3 took place on a snowcovered turf field Thursday at Sir Winston Churchill, and this time there would be no rematch. No prospect for redemption.
It would either go big — and go home with the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Tier 2 senior football championship — or go home emptyhanded and begin the long wait until next year.
Golden Eagles quarterback Evan Ferguson and his fellow graduating seniors decided that going for it, leaving everything on the field with the snow, was their one — and only — option.
“Since this is our last year, we decided to go big or go home, and turns out we’re undefeated and we’re bringing the trophy home,” he said after rushing for touchdowns in the 44-7 victory.
Thorold also won a Tier 2 championship two years ago, but going undefeated this season, and topping Tier 1 Grimsby along the way in the playoffs, tops that accomplishment as far as the Grade 12B student is concerned.
Ferguson wasn’t worried that the Golden Eagles would be tempting fate by playing the Redcoats for a third time.
“I think our team was way more confident going into this, and I think we were more mentally prepared than any other game we’ve played this year.”
Playing for all the marbles on a neutral site — technically, it was a home game for the Golden Eagles — didn’t bother Ferguson.
“A field is a field, no matter where it is,” he said. “As long as we’re a team and we’re putting up points.”
Head coach Duane Kemp and his staff didn’t know what to expect when players started coming out for practice at the beginning of the school year in September.
“We knew we had some talent, we knew we had a lot of nice players, but we really didn’t know what we had,” he said. “As the season got going, we knew we had a lot of talent and a lot of kids who bought in.
“We just kept getting a little better every single week.”
Last year the Golden Eagles played in Division 1 and “we took our lumps.”
“Honestly, I didn’t realize we were going to be this solid this year, and this is a credit to all of those kids who came out, worked hard and did what they needed to do every single day at practice.”
Kemp said the thought of going undefeated never came up.
“We just wanted to keep talking
about getting better,” he said. “Our end goal was a championship, the undefeated season is just the cherry on top.”
The Golden Eagles knew playing Simcoe a third time was going to be tough.
“We knew their team was going to come to play, and in weather like this anything can potentially happen,” the head coach said.
Thorold coaches included a “few new wrinkles” in the game plan for the championship final.
“Simcoe has seen us twice, they have seen what we bring to the table, so we wanted to try to add a little variety.”
Expectations were downplayed heading into a game in which the Golden Eagles were regarded as the favourites.
“We tried to just focus on what we need to do, we didn’t want to make the opponent the big story of it.”
Rounding out the scoring for Thorold were Julian Race, two rushing touchdowns; Callum McNamara, rushing touchdown; and Tyler Broderick, 75-yard kickoff return.
Andrew Scott scored a six-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper for the Redcoats.
Simcoe went 4-2 in league play and placed second in Tier 2.
Both teams came into the final after defeating Tier 1 teams in the semifinal round. Thorold blanked the Grimsby Eagles 25-0, Simcoe upset the Welland Centennial Cougars 16-6.