By Bernie Puchalski - December 1, 2021
The final for the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association senior football championship was also a matchup of the league’s offensive and defensive MVPs.
In voting by the league’s five coaching staffs, Notre Dame had its quarterback Marshall McCray chosen as offensive MVP while Saint Paul linebacker Tyler Rankin was selected as the defensive MVP.
McCray expressed pleasure with winning the award when asked about it after his team won the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association Bowl last Wednesday with a 33-6 victory over the Westmount Wildcats.
“That sounds good but the OFSAA championship will sound even better next week,” the 17-year-old Welland resident said.
He ended up getting his wish Tuesday when the Irish thumped North Park Collegiate Trojans 50-7 in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ Central Bowl.
The six foot, 180-pound McCray felt he made great strides on the football field this season.
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By Bernie Puchalski - November 30, 2021
The third time was the charm for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish senior football team in Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations bowl play.
After losing 57-7 to St. Thomas More in the 2017 Golden Horseshoe Bowl and 47-6 to Chaminade College in the 2019 Metro Bowl, the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association champion Irish thumped North Park Collegiate Trojans 50-7 in the Central Bowl Tuesday afternoon on a snowy Bison Field in Brantford.
The Central Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association champion Trojans came into the game with an unbeaten 7-0 mark but were no match for the Irish who improved to 8-0 with the victory. Notre Dame led 36-0 at the half and 50-7 after three quarters.
Tal Ibrahim scored five touchdowns to lead the attack for Notre Dame, quarterback Marshall McCray added a one-yard TD run after setting it up with a 60-yard TD run and Dayshawn Johnson added a 62-yard pick six. It was Johnson’s third long interception return for a TD of the season.
Top performers for Notre Dame were: Ibrahim, 18 carries for 151 yards and a 38-yard reception; McCray, 8 of 11 passing for 111 yards and four carries for 97 yards, and TD and a two-point convert; Adrian D’Gyves, four catches 57 yards; Johnson, interception; Ezra Sylvester, fumble recovery; and, Jake Laewetz, six converts.
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By Bernie Puchalski - November 24, 2021
Over the past seven days, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish senior football team has rode the running of Tal Ibrahim and quarterback Marshall McCray to a pair of bowl victories.
Last Thursday, it was Ibrahim doing most of the leg work, contributing 18 carries for 149 yards and TD runs of six and 30 yards in 36-7 victory over the A.N. Myer Marauders in the Niagara Bowl. McCray added TD runs of one, 10 and 13 yards.
In Wednesday’s 33-6 victory over the Westmount Wildcats in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association Bowl, Ibrahim had 17 carries for 106 yards before leaving the game in the second half with an injury. McCray contributed 23-yard and 37-yard TD runs, the first coming on a fake field goal in the first quarter.
And while the pair’s running has been truly epic, it has been the play of Notre Dame’s defence which has really propelled the Irish to their best performances of the season. Notre Dame held Myer to five first downs and 138 yards of net offence and then stifled Westmount, giving up 217 net yards of offence and eight first downs, with a good chunk of that coming on the Wildcats’ last possession of the game.
“The film we had on them looked like they were running all over people and they got some big plays on us but for the most part we stuck with them and played hard,” Notre Dame head coach Tim Bisci said. “We gave up one touchdown when our offence wasn’t really working but the defence played tough all game.”
Leading the way for Notre Dame’s defence as he has done all season was defensive tackle Braydon Snider.
“He has been playing strong for us all year,” Bisci said. “He had a knee injury early but he has bounced back from that and he has been the anchor of our defensive line. Today was big for us when a team like that wants to pound the ball and they just couldn’t do it.”
Bisci likes everything about Snider.
“He is big and strong and his engine is running all the time. When you have a guy who can take on double teams, clog up the middle and beat them up, that is big for us.”
The 6-foot-1, 266-pounder has been playing football for the last 10 years.
“I love the intensity, I love the hitting and I love everything about it,” the 17-year-old said.
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By Bernie Puchalski - November 18, 2021
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish senior football team rode the powerful running of Tal Ibrahim and Marshall McCray to an impressive 36-7 victory over the A.N. Myer Marauders in the Niagara Bowl Thursday night at Kiwanis Field in St. Catharines.
Quarterback McCray, the most punishing runner in Niagara high school football, scored three touchdowns on the night but it was 12B running back Ibrahim who did most of the heavy lifting. The 18-year had 18 carries for 149 yards and scored two touchdowns as part of a most impressive performance.
Notre Dame’s plan all along was to put the game in Ibrahim’s hands and feet.
“I told him we were going to run the ball with him and he better be ready,” Notre Dame head coach Tim Bisci said. “I just thought we could be physical with them.”
Ibrahim was the perfect choice to lead that physicality.
“He is tough as nails,” Bisci said. “His yards after contact are unbelievable. You look at him and he is not the biggest of kids but he starts running the ball and he bounces and spins through and it’s like ‘Where did he come from?’ It is second and five and he gets 15.”
When Ibrahim was told early in the week he would be carrying the load against Myer, he was up for the challenge.
“I was just motivated this game” the former Team Ontario member said. “Myer is a powerhouse and they were ranked No. 2 (in Ontario) so I was ready and very excited.”
The 5-foot-8, 175-pounder comes by his powerful running honestly.
“It is working hard in the offseason and being a beast. I have a trainer, David Pow, and he helped me out a lot.”
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By Bernie Puchalski - November 18, 2021
The deciding points in the Niagara Junior Bowl came down to a 32-yard field goal by Dylan Correia early in the fourth quarter Thursday at Kiwanis Field.
The kick gave the unbeaten Niagara Catholic Athletic Association champion Notre Dame Fighting Irish a 17-15 victory over the previously unbeaten Niagara Region High School Athletic Association champion A.N. Myer Marauders.
“It was awesome. He could kick a 45-yard one if we needed it,” Notre Dame head coach Rob Moschella said. “He is great and that was the difference in the game.”
He had full confidence in Correia making the field goal.
“We practise that every day and we came early today to practise it as well. He didn’t have too many chances this year but I told him he would today.”
Moschella was thrilled with the performance on his squad.
“They are an awesome team,” he said. “They worked hard all year. We had a lot of injuries and we came back through it all and we came back from adversity like we did tonight. We never gave up and all the hard work and effort they put in this year made the difference.
“That (Myer) was a helluva team and this is a helluva team.”
Myer fought hard right to the last whistle. The Marauders had the ball on their own 34-yard line with 1:53 left in the game and managed to get all the way to the Notre Dame 35-yard line with 16 seconds in the game. Out of timeouts, a 42-yard field goal by Myer was blocked by Notre Dame’s Nolan Hemauer to preserve the victory.
“It was a great game,” Myer head coach Jamie French said. “I was looking forward to it and thought it would be that way.”
The defeat didn’t take away from a great season by Myer.
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