When it comes to football, there may be no such thing as a perfect game. Well the Hamilton Ironmen came pretty darn close Sunday night. The Ironmen breezed to a 56-0 victory over the Halton Cowboys in front of a very happy crowd at Ron Joyce Stadium.
Head coach Rob Underhill was very pleased with his teamās effort as a whole, but he was especially impressed with the second and third stringers.
āI was pleased with our number twos and number threes. Especially on defense holding the Cowboys off the scoreboard,ā said Underhill, āanytime our backups can step up and play the way they did, it gives us a lot of confidence that they can reach that next level.ā
One player who is all too familiar with that level is quarterback Alex Hill. Hill played a near perfect game, throwing for three scores while adding 50 yards in rushing. He gives Underhill reason to believe that his team can compete with the best with Hill under centre.
āAlex has done a great job. The Cowboys have a great defensive line and he took a lot of big hits today, but he stayed poised and made all the throws,ā praised Underhill, āthis is his second year in our program and he really has taken on a big leadership role. Not only that, but heās been a great mentor for [backup quarterback] Kyle VanWynsberghe. Heās experienced, makes good decisions and heās been a big part of our success.ā
Under fire. Ironmen quarterback Alex Hill avoids the rush to find the open man.
Hill certainly isnāt the only player whoās been a part of that success. Running back Jake Reddick had a strong game contributing with two rushing scores, while receiver Daniel Petermann caught two touchdown passes. Receivers Jordan Brucculeri and Adam Felinczak also got in on the action, chipping in with two touchdown catches of their own.
While the offense was putting the game out of reach, the defense made sure they didnāt give the Cowboys a chance to get back in. Star linebacker Domenic Bellardini had a monster of a game, hitting everything in a white jersey and forcing two fumbles. Hulking defensive end Matt Jackson forced and recovered another fumble while defensive backs Danny McNichol and Julian Quaglia each had one interception for the Ironmen.
Danny McNichol makes it look easy as he makes an interception against the Cowboys Sunday night.
And letās not forget about the special teams. When he wasnāt busy tormenting the Cowboysā receivers and running backs, Bellardini was kicking field goals. The Ottawa Gee Gees prospect went a perfect 4/4 in the victory, including a long boot from 44 yards out. This guy does everything but the teamās laundry.
Although the Ironmen played well in all three facets of the game, Coach Underhill knows that there is still some work that needs to be done if the team expects to beat the Essex Ravens next week.
āWe made our fair share of errors. Fortunately we didnāt get burned for them, but we need to be more sound fundamentally,ā he offered, āEssex is one of the best, if not the best team in the program. We canāt afford to make mistakes if we expect to beat them.ā
Beating Essex is something that has not come easy for the Ironmen. Hamilton is 2-2 against the Ravens during Coach Underhillās tenure, including a loss in the conference finals two years ago. Their recent history is something that is not lost on Underhill.
āWeāve got our work cut out for us.ā He bluntly stated, āthey have a pair of 1,000 yard rushers in their backfield, so we need to stop the run if we want to win. We also canāt be one-dimensional. We have to disguise some things on offense if we want to be successful.ā
With Hamilton and Essex both coming off big wins in week one, the stage has been set for what should be an exciting tilt between two of the best teams in the OVFL. The Hamilton Ironmen and the Essex County Ravens will meet at Essex District High School next Saturday June 2[SUP]nd[/SUP]. Game time is scheduled for 7:00pm.
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.