VANCOUVER — At the entry-level of B.C. high school football, the Notre Dame Jugglers are beginning to build a bit of a dynasty.
Powered by the dynamic play of running back Anthony Amenta and the solid generalship of towering quarterback Aiden Domino, East Vancouver’s Jugglers beat Surrey’s Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers 32-12 to win back-to-back Quadra Cup Grade 8 Subway Bowl titles for the first time since 1984, when it won the second of three straight titles.
“We started in July in shorts and t-shirts, so it’s been five months,” said Jugglers head coach Tony Howie, “and most of these kids had never played before. They are hard workers, we had five kids with experience but they all came along and just kept getting better. So that’s two years in a row now where we’ve had a good group really buy in.”
Amenta rushed for four touchdowns in the victory.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Domino was at his impressive best midway through the second quarter when he hit receiver Antonio Conte on the fly with a 30-yard pass in the end zone.
With a two-point convert, the Jugglers went ahead 14-12.
Then, with 5:09 remaining to the break, Amenta broke a short run and turned it into a 16-yd TD gallop for a 20-12 lead.
Amenta carried the two-point convert attempt over the goal line for a 22-12 half time, a score the Jugglers solidified when Jonathon Caldarella picked off a Tweedsmuir pass.
The Panthers had opened the scoring on a 15-yard run by Michael Ogbeiwi, but Amenta equalized with a 15-yard scoring run for Notre Dame.
Lord Tweedsmuir built it’s lead to 12-6 when Parker Lodewijkx completed a 55 yard pass-and-run with Lucas Debrugh.
Amenta’s third major, a five-yard run, came with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
Amenta added his fourth touchdown of the game from five yards out in the second half, a defensive struggled capped with a late Jugglers’ safety.
“Aiden Domino is a phenomenal young man,” said Howie, who verified that statement by adding “there’s not many defensive end-quarterback combos around. Anthony is just pure speed. He hadn’t played running back until this year, but he learned how to hit it through the tackles. It’s like John Madden says, you can’t teach speed.”
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