The Sacred Heart High School Saints football team opened up their 2016 season with a 25-6 home victory over the Melville Cobras Thursday, Sept. 8.
Saints quarterback Zach Goulden-Maddin led the offensive attack by throwing for three touchdowns – two to Nathan Cochrane and one to Michael Dobrowolsky. Austin Walkington led the Saints ground attack and punched in a rushing touchdown and added a convert to round out the Saints’ scoring.
Defensively, the Saints were led in tackles by Nathan Pidperyhora. Michael Pearson added two sacks, while Bodie Fischer added another. Austin Leis chipped in with an interception.
“Defensively, guys are still learning the system and positioning,” said Saints defensive coach Dwayne Todas. “We have some good athletes with some speed and who can really close to the ball. I thought we did a good job of flowing to the ball and gang tackling. We were pretty disciplined in our position and play, but we certainly have some things to work on.”
“We want to be a balanced team on offence – able to move the ball through the air but also eat up yards on the ground” said head coach Scott Musqua. “With Zach at quarterback, and with the Cochranes (Nathan and Matthew) as wideouts, we want to stretch the field and attack through the air. Our ends are big, tall, athletic guys who match up well with most linebackers. We lost Ethan Danchyla in an exhibition game, but Austin Walkington is a big, strong running back who can push the line of scrimmage.”
Prior to the game, Nissan Canada, represented by Greg Haas from Haas Nissan, presented Sacred Heart with a cheque for $3,000 as part of the Nissan Kickoff. Sacred Heart was one of 26 schools in Canada to be recognized with this funding.
“These funds will help teams offset the cost of equipment and travel expenses, and hopefully help keep the game affordable for players and families” said Greg Haas. “We are very grateful to Nissan Canada for providing these funds to Sacred Heart.”
The next game action for the Saints will be on Friday, Sept. 16 in Broadview.
