Myer advances to Metro Bowl semifinals
The A.N. Myer Marauders junior football team advanced to the Metro Bowl semifinals Tuesday with a 37-0 victory over host Brantford Collegiate Institute.
Last season, Branford defeated Myer 14-12.
Leading the way for the Marauders were: Brett Wall and Luis Ignacio Corredor Reyes who had monster games on offence and defence; Jack Buckland who anchored the defence from his middle linebacker position; Ezra Ivory who threw TD passes to MahKyi Goguen and Wall; Cole Stayzer with a QB sneak for a major; Corredor Reyes with a rushing major; Gabe Murray with two interceptions; Sean Lawson with a 30-yard field goal; and, a solid performance by a rotating defensive line.
We werent quite sure how good they were and they were obviously a pretty strong team in the area but their one player got hurt early and it was their running back who gets most of their scores. I do think we still would have done well, Myer head coach Dave Buchanan said.
The Marauders shut down Brantford Collegiates running game even before its running back was injured in the second quarter.
Myers offence struggled early before finding its stride.
We kept them in the game for awhile but overall we ran the ball pretty well early and passing wise, Ezra (Ivory) did a good job of managing the game. He made some good throws and we had some really nice catches that were chunk yardage plays, he said. Overall, I think we can run decently and we pass the ball decently for a junior team.
Next up for the Marauders is a game against Nelson at Saint Michaels College on Monday at 2 p.m.
We saw some film yesterday. I heard they were good and they are. Theyre athletic, they look like they pass the ball well and they have a lot of good things going for them, Buchanan said. It will definitely be a challenge but I think we are pretty unique in our skillset. It could be a very good game.
If Myer wins, they will advance to the Metro Bowl for the first time since 2013 when a team led by future CFLers Tre and Tyrell Ford won it all.
It is a pretty good achievement. It is very hard to get there, for sure.