THUNDER BAY – The Westgate Tigers were firing on all cylinders.
The rushing game was on point from start to finish, the passing game had its moments and the defence came up big time and time again, leading the junior Tigers to a 45-12 win over the Superior Collegiate Gryphons at Fort William Stadium, their first win of the 2024 campaign.
Aiden Sheppard pace the offensive attack, scoring three times on the ground, including a 52-yard scamper early in the third quarter, the Tigers reinserting their starters briefly, after jumping out to a 31-6 halftime lead.
“It was an outside zone left. I just started booking it down the field, stiff-armed one guy and I was gone,” said the 14-year-old Sheppard, who rushed the ball six times for 79 yards, also scoring on a one-yard plunge from the doorstep of the Gryphons goal line and again from 20 yards out, both touchdowns coming in the opening half.
Coming off a 7-7 tie last Thursday against the Hammarskjold Vikings, it was huge to get into the win column in Week 2.
“It means a lot to us,” Sheppard said.
“Tying with Hammarskjold last week, it was pretty wild, a pretty fun game.”
For Westgate coach Tyler Height, it was a chance to showcase the entire team and get a great feel for what the squad has to offer.
Sheppard was a bit of a surprise, he said.
“Aiden’s fantastic. He’s a little diamond in the rough,” Height said. “We had him last year, but I don’t think we realized his potential on the offensive side. When we discovered it this season, we are definitely going to take advantage of it.”
All told, the Tigers ran the ball for 242 yards and five scores, the fourth coming on a four-yard run by Ethan Chiapetta, who finished with four carries for 64 yards on the day, the fifth on a 54-yard run by Clark Matson.
Quarterback Nathan Miller, who completed four of six passes for 60 yards, hooked up with Gerry Anderson for a 31-yard touchdown strike, the first-quarter major giving the Tigers a 14-0 lead at the time.
The defence, in particular the pass rush, made things tough on Superior’s Leland Lesperance, who completed six of 12 passes for 46 yards, but was intercepted three times. The first proved costly, the Gryphons turning the ball over on their own 20.
One play later Sheppard was in the end zone and the rout was one.
Lesperance did run one in from three yards out midway through the fourth, cutting the Tigers lead to 45-12 at the time.
The Tigers also appeared to score late in the third after Miller stripped the ball from the Superior kickoff returner and ran it to the end zone, but the on-field officials negated the play, telling the Westgate Tigers coaching staff an inadvertent whistle had blown.
Hammarskjold 19, St. Ignatius 18: Vikings running back Kolt Crocker scored from 40 yards out at the buzzer to hand Hammarskjold a one-point triumph. Punter Henry Thornburg also recovered a fumble on a punt and took it to the house late in the second quarter, giving the Vikings a 10-2 lead at the half.
