By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
Feature photo: Senior Brody Lawson leads the way offensively for St. Paul’s 1.
First place in the Potter Conference is on the line, as Garden City and St. Paul’s 1 do battle in the feature game of the week.
Division 1: Garden City (5-1) at St. Paul’s 1 (5-1), Thursday at 6:45 p.m.
The Fighting Gophers and Crusaders will do battle under the lights tonight in a game that will decide who finishes as the top seed on the Gustafson side of division 1.
Much like last season, stout defensive play has been the key for the back-to-back ANAVETS Bowl champs. They’ve pitched a shutout in every game this season, minus their one loss to Vincent Massey in week three, where they gave up just 14 points.
The Crusaders linebacking corps of senior Tyler Grom, junior Nathan Carabatsakis and sophomore Nic Pereira have been the catalysts for the squad’s success. They are all hard-hitting and fly around the ball making plays, combining for 44 tackles, an interception, two sacks and a fumble recovery.
Senior Dylan Duha and sophomore Zach Lytle pace a stout defensive line, registering a combined 22.5 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery, while senior Vince DeRosa and sophomore Trae Tomlinson have been excellent in the secondary with three total interceptions and 14 tackles.
Offensively, senior Brody Lawson has thrown for 787 yards and nine scores, while fellow senior Tristen Hutter is second in the conference with 289 yards receiving. Juniors Te Jessie and Tanner Frobisher have provided a balanced ground attack, with 549 yards and five majors.
Garden City counters with an experienced lineup led by Manitoba Bison commit Jarrett Alcaraz, who has thrown for 677 yards and rushed for 331, along with registering 11 majors. He has a dangerous receiving corps to work with, in Everett Findley, Kaiden Bannon and Payton Yakimishyn. The trio has combined for 563 yards and three touchdowns.
The Fighting Gophers defence is led by an experienced secondary that includes Alcaraz, fellow Bison commit Elijah Rivera, Findley and Reese Francey. All four players have at least ten tackles and make life rather difficult to opposing receivers.
Perhaps the biggest storyline going into this contest however, is the play of Garden City’s special teams. Rivera has returned two kickoffs to the house this season, while Francey, Findley and fellow defensive back Jack Burton have all blocked kicks.
Division 2: Daniel McIntyre (3-2-1) at River East (5-1), Thursday at 4 p.m.
There’s plenty on the line for both of these teams in their final regular season contest. The Kodiaks can finish with the top seed in the Bramwell Conference with a win and a Murdoch loss, while the Maroons can finish as high as third and as low as fifth — and out of a playoff spot — with a loss.
Both squads will be dealing with key losses this week. The Maroons are still without starting pivot Kieran Benson, who went down two weeks ago with an upper body injury, while the Kodiaks will have to play the rest of 2018 without lead back Deion Nelson.
River East will live and die by the performance of Manitoba Bison commit Sammy Hezekiah at quarterback. He’s a threat as much with his legs as he is with his arm and will need to be contained by the Maroons defence. Despite losing Nelson, the Kodiaks still have depth at running back as well, in power back Rylan Griffiths and shifty speedster JoJo Funk-Clements.
The heart and soul of the Maroons team are quarterback/receiver/safety Ethan Schnerch and running back/halfback Nathaniel King-Wilson, who were both spectacular in last week’s come-from-behind tie against the 5-0-1 Clansmen. Schnerch’s playing style at pivot is similar to that of Hezekiah, as he is a multi-purpose threat. King-Wilson provides a solid balance with a shifty and hard-nosed running style.
River East’s well-rounded defence will need to play their best football to contain the duo. Hybrid linebacker/safety Ethan Topping is the general for the Kodiaks, while linebackers Spenser Pilon and Landon Colbourn as well as defensive backs Hezekiah, Funk-Clements and Simon Kosman are all key pieces who have each made key plays in 2018.
Division 3: Churchill (3-2) at Maples (2-3), Thursday at 4 p.m.
The Bulldogs can finish as high as third in the division with a win, while Maples is looking to jump over Churchill for fourth spot.
Running back/linebacker William Barnsdale is the difference-maker for the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball. The Defensive Player of the Year contender has registered 41.5 tackles, two interceptions, a sack, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries on the year, including tying the division 3 single-game record for tackles in a game, with 20 against Elmwood in early October. Offensively, he’s added 539 yards and seven scores, including rushing for over 200 yards in each of the past two contests.
The Marauders will counter with a solid defence that has given up just 17 points in the past two games. Defensive backs Denzel Hooke, Adamo Urciuoli and Tariq Samad have combined for four interceptions, while linebacker Danten Santos leads the team with three picks. Defensive lineman Tevonne Albert has been a stable force as well, with 16.5 tackles and a sack.