It was another matchup that was closer in person than if you were to just look at the final score when all was said and done between Freshman Central and Halton-Peel, but still it was a well deserved 38-0 victory for Central who pulled away in the fourth quarter to claim the W.
It looked as though it wouldn’t be much of a contest with Overall Game MVP Brad Kemayou scoring on a 31 yard touchdown just three minutes into the game, then not long after he added another major to the scoreboard on a lengthy 75 yard race to the end zone that catapulted his team ahead 14-0. In between the two touchdowns, Defensive MVP Michael Rochon was able to make a major impact by getting his mitts on a loose ball which helped further swing the momentum in their favour.
Things would level out as both defences took turns disrupting one another’s rhythm for the next two quarters, with only a safety being scored in Central’s favour to give them a 16-0 lead heading into the halftime. Despite his team’s double digit lead, Central Head Coach, Ross Asaro, made sure his team didn’t rest on their laurels with just two quarters remaining to showcase their talent,
Team Central not looking to settle with a 16-0 lead at halftime #CFCFPC pic.twitter.com/oAShJg0ot9
— CanadaFootballChat (@chatfootball) April 29, 2017
“That team is not done playing.” he began his fiery speech. “I am telling you it will show in the second half, just like it did in the last 18 seconds that they’re going to keep on fighting. You guys need to keep on fighting, don’t be satisfied.”
Although it took another 15 minutes before his pleas would be answered, Rosaro’s group reacted accordingly in the fourth quarter by piling on another three touchdowns leading to their 38-0 blowout victory. Preston Howard got the ball rolling just a few minutes into the final frame with an 11 yard touchdown run that was capped off by Ryan Rodgers on the two point conversion, then the Overall MVP reentered the spotlight with 58 seconds remaining as Ethan Payne found Kemayou for a 23 yard touchdown pass that extended their lead to 32. And just when we thought it was over, Shadi Abdelmalek stepped in front of a wayward pass and took it to the house to put the final cherry on top of an all around team effort by Central.
It sadly wasn’t Halton-Peel’s day, but they still had some players who stood out amongst the rest, including Liam Keary who was named Offensive MVP for his team. Keary got his hands on the ball 11 times gaining 50 total yards, which accounted for over half of his team’s offensive production going up against a stout Central defence. Quarterback Owen Lacroix also added 18 yards on three carries, and James Preinster hauled in one reception for a first down.
After the game, Rochon explained his thoughts on being named Defensive MVP, and what it meant to him to be recognized on a defence that only allowed 85 yards as a whole,
“It feels pretty good, feels like an accomplishment to me. A lot of work went into this camp. I think I had some really good blocks on special teams, and on defence I contained my edge, so I think I did a pretty good job of doing that.”
This game was especially special for Kemayou who was able to cobble together an insane 189 yards and three touchdowns, making his presence well known in his first ever CFCFPC event,
“It’s a great honour, I’ve been training a lot since I was injured last year so I’m very happy to be named MVP. I’ve been training hard for this.” he explains. “I feel great, I always like trying new stuff…I just love anything with football all year round.”
When asked why everything seemed to click for his team out on the field, Kemayou had a simple answer,
“It was all chemistry, we all know each other outside of the CFCFPC. We’ve all been on the same team’s before or know each other from school, so it was just all chemistry.”
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