Irish open strong; Phoenix silence Thunder

The  rematch of last season’s Niagara Catholic Athletic Association senior football championship game between the visiting Saint Michael Mustangs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish produced the same result.

Notre Dame knocked off the Mustangs 45-7 last November and Thursday morning the Fighting Irish opened the season with a 38-0 victory.

Saint Michael hung tough for the first half, trailing 15-0 and limiting Notre Dame to four first downs and 79 yards of net offence. But a 14-play, 105-yard drive that took 10:19 off the clock to start the second half was a harbinger of what was to come for the rest of the game.

“It was injuries and tiredness. It is very hard to play a physical game with very little depth and understanding of football,” Saint Michael head coach Brian Carter said. “People go out and you have to replace them and it has a cascading effect unfortunately. We just have to build up our stamina and increase the knowledge of the younger players so they can fill in in the next man up idea. Early in the season, it is always hard, especially against the good teams.”

Notre Dame head coach Tim Bisci wasn’t happy with his team taking 16 penalties for 130 yards.

“We had too many penalties but we came through adversity with it and we had an 11-minute drive. In high school, that is pretty good especially after taking 45 yards of penalties in it,” he said. “I like that we executed plays but I didn’t like the physical and mental mistakes that we were making and we have to clean those up.”

He was pleased with the overall result.

“It was the same as last week when we had our exhibition game. We kind of started off slow and we worked our way into it and got going as the game went on. It shows the conditioning the kids have and that they are mentally strong enough to play in the heat and everything like that. We just have to be smarter when we are making plays.”

Bisci had no complaints with his defence which held the Mustangs to one first down and 21 yards of net offence.

Leading the defence was linebacker Breton Pearcey.

“He played field half last year and we moved him to SAM linebacker this year after Dylan Correa left but who is now actually coming back,” Bisci said. “Breton has been really good picking it up. He knows the defence, he’s a physical kid and he flies out there. He is just so good and he can do so many things. He is a next level linebacker.”

The 18-year-old 12B player was more than happy to take on a new position in 2024.

“Absolutely. I love everywhere on defence and I am cool to play any position but I especially like my role now,” the 6-foot-3, 170-pounder said. “I feel more involved in the play. At half, I was involved in coverage most of the time and run support but now I am involved in the play a lot more and I get to make hits.”

Pearcey has been in the gym every day since halfway through his Grade 11 season, working on getting bigger and stronger.

“I started out quite skinny and I put on some pounds and some muscle. I am very proud of my progress and I feel the coaches have seen that too.”

His motivation to work hard was simple.

“In my Grade 12 year, I felt I was too small and I was getting pushed around a little bit. I still made plays but I wanted to be bigger and I wanted to get myself involved more.”

His goal is to play at the post secondary level.

“I just love football and I have been playing it since I was 10. It has been a big part of my life and I want to keep that going.”

Pearcey loved how Notre Dame played defence Thursday.

“We are hard players. Everyone knows their assignments and they can get the job done. And from what I can tell, no one is scared to hit and that is a problem with most defences. They don’t have intensity but our guys are pretty good with that.” 

STATS PACK

Irish 38 Mustangs 0

Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Notre Dame linebacker Breton Pearcey who had a strong game, including recovering a blocked punt.

For the Notre Dame Fighting Irish: one-yard TD run by Seth Bisci; eight-yard TD run by Ben Tsanoff; three-yard TD run by Everett Hemauer; 29-yard TD pass from Tsanoff to Trent Groulx; 65-yard TD run by Jacob Iannizzi; Saint Mike’s defence conceded two safeties; punt block by Liam Herries; sack by Peyton Stregner and Cole Stewart.

For the Saint Michael Mustangs: convert block by Jacob Shannon; sacks by Thomas Dallman and Austin MacRae.

Games stats: First downs: ND 13, SM 1. Net offence: ND 302, SM 21.Turnovers: ND 1, SM 1. Penalties: ND 16 for 130 yards, SM 7 for 71 yards.

PHOENIX 38 THUNDER 0

The visiting Saint Francis Phoenix spoiled the opening of the Blessed Trinity’s new turf field Wednesday night recording a 38-0 victory in NCAA play.

“Corbin Wong had an interception but otherwise we got outplayed thoroughly in just about every aspect of the game,” Blessed Trinity head coach Sean Jones said.

Leading the way for the Phoenix were: Trent Dobson with three TDs, including a 50-yard run; Sadiekie Hayden with two majors, including a 50-yard run; Gavin Paxton with two interceptions; and, Jhovanny Orellana with one interception.