High school football: Blue Devils eliminate Thorold with 18-7 win By BRETT CLARKSON Niagara Falls Review Updated 5 hours ago
THOROLD — Forgive Ridgeway-Crystal Beach head coach Cal Nigh for being so excited about his team's quarterfinal A division football victory that he simply didn't have an answer for how he'd prepare his team for their next contest against undefeated South Lincoln.
Nigh was clearly elated by the Blue Devils dominant 18-7 victory over the Thorold Secondary School Golden Eagles on Friday.
"Oh, I don't know," he said, with a laugh, when asked how the boys would seek to continue that momentum going into Thursday's semifinal against South Lincoln. "We'll do that, we'll think about that when it comes."
Back on Sept. 23, after the Blue Devils' season-opening 34-7 loss to the defending champion West Park Warriors, Nigh said the Ridgeway-Crystal Beach football program was relatively inexperienced but full of heart.
On Friday, his team's gritty playoff performance proved to him that something had clicked with the team since then. The Blue Devils were solid from start to finish Friday, playing a disciplined game that managed to shut down the Golden Eagles in front of their home fans.
"I think that a lot of guys have learned football, but they've learned how to be a team," Nigh said.
On paper, Thorold came into the match with a slight edge, having defeated the Blue Devils 14-7 on Oct. 14. The Golden Eagles' 2-3 regular season record was also better than Ridgeway's 1-4 tally.
On the field, however, none of that mattered. A playoff win is a playoff win, and the Blue Devils were relishing that on Friday.
"(This) is a great win for us and a great win for the program," Nigh said, singling out running back Nick Bested, linebacker Brock Cameron, and defender Royce Gooder for their play. Bested scored a touchdown and a field goal for the Blue Devils, while Gooder also brought in a TD.
At the Thorold end of the field, some players were in tears after the loss.
Thorold head coach Duane Kemp put those emotions into perspective, saying that part of the importance of high school football is the life lessons it offers in victory and in defeat.
"For some of these guys, this is it for them," Kemp said. "They've put in their blood sweat and tears, whether it's four or five years. To see them walking off the field in tears, to know that they've put so much into this, it's tough, but they can all hold their heads up high. They played hard, they played clean. Sometimes you don't always come out on the winning end.
"For a lot of these guys, hopefully this will make them stronger," Kemp said. "Like I tried to tell them after the game, even though it was a loss, these are memories that they'll have for the rest of their lives."
Ridgeway-Crystal Beach's next game, the A division seminfinal, takes them to the West Lincoln Leisureplex, where they will face the 5-0 South Lincoln Bears on Thursday at 2 p.m.
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