Albion sweeps in youth football openers

Contributed Photo – Albion defenders Jai’Kaih Drisdom and Christopher Swan move in to tackle Holley’s Hudson Ashton during Saturday’s JV Division game at Albion.

Albion registered three victories to open the Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) season on Saturday.

Albion downed Holley in the Mini and JV Divisions and Barker/Roy-Hart in the Varsity Division.

Mini Division
Albion 47, Holley 6
The Albion Mini Eagles opened things up in a big way, defeating Holley 47-6 behind a balanced rushing attack.

Five different Eagles found the end zone as Albion piled up yards on the ground. Patrick Westlund led the way with 126 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Trey Ellis added 55 yards and two touchdowns, while Hudson Palmer rushed for 77 yards and a score. Xavier Weis added 32 yards and a touchdown, and Lexington Pridgen scored on the ground with 14 yards.

Albion also received strong contributions from Elijah Cornick with 46 rushing yards, Joshua Bennett with 32, Artavion Lewis with 28, Arlen Beecher with 24 and Gunner Jackson with five.

Defensively, Westlund led the Eagles with seven tackles. Beecher, Palmer, Chazz Monacelli and Carter Hall each recorded four tackles, while Drake Neri, Weis and Bennett finished with three apiece. Roman Pridgen, Jackson, Ellis, Colton Daggs, Jai’Heem Drisdom and KK Harper each added two tackles.

Xavier Richardson highlighted the defensive effort by coming away with an interception.

JV Division
Albion 50, Holley 19
The Albion JV Eagles put together a dominant performance on both sides of the ball, defeating Holley 50-19 behind a balanced rushing attack and two defensive touchdowns.

Jayce Torres led the Albion offense with a huge game, rushing for 150 yards, adding 27 receiving yards and scoring three total touchdowns. Cayden Farrell added 66 rushing yards and a touchdown while also throwing a touchdown pass. Jaidyn Harper also found the end zone with a rushing score.

Albion received contributions throughout the backfield, with Arkell Lewis rushing for 28 yards, Greyson Roberts 18, Jai’Kaih Drisdom 15, Moses Taylor 14 and Christopher Swan 10.

The Eagles’ defense also made its presence felt. Parker Gardner led the team with seven tackles, followed by Kairo Bennett and Kaydence Russaw with six each. Kyle Schomske and Harrison Froman recorded five tackles apiece, Conor Murphy had four, and Harper and Taylor each added three.

Lewis, Mason Cornick, Wyatt Purnell, Zeus Vallejo, Drisdom and Khrystopher Wilston-Jones each finished with two tackles. Farrell, Torres, Elijah Warren, Owen Marritt, Matthew Swan, Zion Richardson and Kaynon Reamer also contributed tackles.

Albion’s defense provided two of the biggest plays of the game. Russaw scooped up a fumble and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown, while Gardner intercepted a pass and took it 32 yards to the end zone for a pick-six.

Varsity Division
Albion 33, Barker/Roy-Hart 19
The Albion Varsity Eagles earned a 33-19 victory over Barker/Roy-Hart behind a strong rushing attack.

Jeramiah Hildreth led Albion with 147 rushing yards and three touchdowns. AJ Lewis added 101 yards and a touchdown, while Camden Holt rushed for 73 yards and a score. Damareon Shine added 20 yards.

Defensively, Holt led the Eagles with nine tackles, followed by Lewis with four and Brady Graham and Hildreth with three each. Hudson Armer, Cooper Traxler, Ryan Gardner, Roman Allport and Shine each recorded two tackles, while Jace Wright, Parker McDaniels, Matthew Colmenero and Liam Saporito also contributed.

Allport added an interception to help seal Albion’s 33-19 victory.