MARKHAM — Tidehaven slammed the playoff door in Van Vleck’s face Friday night, closing out the season with a convincing 43-7 victory in a District 29-2A neighborhood rivalry.
The host Tigers (2-3, 4-6) spotted the Leopards an opening touchdown as Van Vleck took the opening kick and immediately marched 74 yards to paydirt, cashing in on a 1-yard run by quarterback Terrence Alliniece for a quick 7-0 lead. On that opening drive, the Leopards (1-4, 2-8) converted twice on fourth-down plays, including the scoring romp by Alliniece.
But Tidehaven came storming right back with a 59-yard scoring march of its own, including a conversion on fourth-and-22 from its own 47-yard line on a pass from junior quarterback Sean Dannels to 6-foot-7 receiver Colt Clontz.
The Tigers capped the scoring drive moments later when Dannels hit the tall wideout with a 6-yard lob into the end zone, knotting the score at 7 after the point-after kick.
In the second quarter, the Tigers tallied again as Dannels hit teammate Kole Mitchell with an 11-yard pass with 1:05 remaining, culminating a crisp 78-yard drive. Tidehaven then connected on a two-point conversion as Mitchell danced through the Leopard defense for a 15-7 lead.
Tidehaven continued its dominance in the second half, scoring the only touchdown of the third quarter on a Marcus Rocha 22-yard scamper.
The Tiger defense continued to stifle the Leopard offense, causing the Van Vleck bunch to fail on three fourth-down attempts in its own territory.
Tidehaven, which out-gained the Leopards by a staggering 315 yards to 122 yards for the contest, put Van Vleck out of its misery with touchdown runs by Mitchell (8 yards), Rocha (15 yards) and Ian Wade (4 yards) in the fourth quarter. The final touchdown came after Tiger Tyler Rush gobbled up a fumble and rumbled back to the Leopard 4 late in the contest.
The lethargic Leopard offense only managed to gain 70 total yards after the successful opening drive and completed only one pass on the night, good for minus-8 yards.
Van Vleck, which went into the finale with hopes of gaining the final playoff spot, was penalized 10 times on the night for 102 yards.
Sophomore Wayne Foston was a bright spot for the Leopards as he finished with a game-high 76 yards rushing on 18 carries.