CFCFPC Hamilton (RECAP): Minor Cleveland runs away with a convincing win over Minor West

The boys from Cleveland made a boisterous entrance at Tim Hortons Field to begin warmups, and with their eyes set on representing their city with pride, carried that confidence onto the field coming away with two convincing victories during their stay in Canada.

Before the game the Director of Football Ops for the Cleveland side, Keith Nicholas, explained how his team ended up in Hamilton, Ontario for the CFCFPC showcase,

“I run the Midwest Youth National Football Championship where about 100 teams come up to Canton, Ohio, and throughout the past ten years we have had some Canadian teams that come down and participate.” Nicholas explains.

“Lee Barette asked me if we would like to come up to your event this year since they always come down to our event, so we talked to our coaches and put it together to make it possible for these young guys to come here and have fun.”

The first game featured the best from Minor West who put up a valiant fight despite falling 50-0, and it was big plays that were their downfall in between spells of tough defensive play.

Cleveland used speed and size to their advantage with an opening touchdown by Arvelle Reese just two minutes into the game, which was followed up by a 32 yard run by Kyler Wiggins that extended their lead to 13-0. On the final play of the quarter, Cleveland scored on a 88 yard marathon run by Kai White which might have been the turning point in the game.

Team West had their best performance in the second frame holding Cleveland scoreless for nearly the entire quarter, but once again a long 66 yard run by Tanelle Rose would increase the gap to 25-0 heading into halftime.

Although his stats may not reflect it, running back Alistair McNair from Team West showed a ton of grit and determination as his team attempted to claw back into the game, and received the squad’s Offensive MVP award for his great efforts. He was listed as a linebacker, but pulled double duty for most of the game and impressed those in attendance with his running capabilities that led to a few broken tackles in the box.

It wasn’t enough unfortunately as Brian Sullivan added another touchdown midway through the third to extend Cleveland’s lead, and not long later the overall game MVP Jermaine Foster scored on a 70 yard jaunt that left many in the stands hooting and hollering.

Cleveland added two more touchdown runs by Bryce West and Hosea Steele in the final quarter to cap off their impressive shutout performance. Leading the way on defence for Cleveland was Davon Bradley who was named the Defensive MVP.