Once again, thanks for your understanding.
Your faithful agent spent Friday broadcasting and writing on UBC’s 20-10 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies.
With the once-a-season conflict over, here is our look at the night that was in B.C. high school football. Please check back through the early part of the day as this post continues to update.
Thanks for your loyalty and your patience.
Howard Tsumura
FRIDAY
TRIPLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
SEAQUAM 7 at MT. DOUGLAS 34
VICTORIA — The Brothers Kremler enjoyed one of their most productive dual days Friday as the Rams (4-2, 4-2) came through with a decisive win over the visiting Seahawks (1-5, 1-4), thus registering its first win on the field since beating Handsworth back on Sept. 14.
Zairech Kremler rushed for 133 yards, including a three-yard touchdown run to open the game.
Meanwhile, brother Gideone Kremler passed for 174 yards, including scoring strikes of 25 yards to Sebastian Hansen and 21 yards to Dante Carbone, the latter finishing with four catches for 62 yards.
“Seaquam played a great game and their players put forth an outstanding effort,” said Rams’ head coach Mark Townsend. “This game was much closer than the score would indicate. They played with a limited number of players and competed hard right to the end.”
Sam Mosky scored on a two-yard rush, while Oshan Thomas played the best game of his high school career, registering five tackles and capping the scoring with a 90-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery.
On the defensive side of the ball for the winners, Hansen (two sacks) and Aidan Wold (one sack) led the stingy Rams defense with six tackles each. Aiden Bertuzzi, Zairech Kremler and Nelson Carnell all chipped in with four tackles each as the Rams built a 21-0 halftime lead.
For the Seahawks, Jay Mather was 14-of-28 for 185 yards including a touchdown pass to Brody Clark, who also rushed for 90 yards. Corbin Grant had eight catches for 76 yards.
On defence, Antonio Pamintuan had 12 tackles and an interception.
No. 5 NOTRE DAME 33 at CARSON GRAHAM 13
NORTH VANCOUVER — The Jugglers (6-1, 5-0) remained perfect in the West, but they had to work for their second-half breakthrough against the host Eagles (2-5, 2-4).
Teon Alexander-Amour, grinding hard behind an offensive line led by the likes Anthony Bolanos, Cameron Mah, Xavier Venkataya, Michael Briglio and Ian Marin, scored on runs of nine, seven and 35 yards as Notre Dame wore down a Carson Graham squad which hung tough, trailing just 13-7 at the half.
“Full credit to Carson Graham for a valiant effort this afternoon,” said Jugglers head coach Denis Kelly. “They battled hard and gave us all we could handle. This was a key win for us because Carson Graham has been gaining momentum and head-to-head match-ups are crucial in this league.”
Added Carson Graham head coach Brian Brady: “I though we had an opportunity to do something in the second half but we couldn’t seize the opportunity.”
Carson Graham answered Notre Dame’s opening touchdown drive of the game with one of their own as quarterback Charlie McMillan found Aamir Rajwani with a nine-yard strike.
The Jugglers mounted a touchdown drive of their own late in the first quarter, capped by a one-yard sneak by quarterback Will Clarke.
In the second quarter, Alexander-Amour again positioned the Jugglers for a major but the Eagles stopped the drive on their own one-yard line on the last play of the half.
Alexander-Amour dominated the third quarter for Notre Dame, making several key plays on the ground and scoring a touchdown from five yards out. An unsuccessful conversion attempt left the score at 19-6.
Wide receiver Jerrell Cummings then hauled in a 20-yard scoring pass from Clarke. Tristan Torresan’s conversion made it 26-7.
Quickly the Eagles answered with a 55-yard scoring pass from McMillan to Logan Weidner to make it 26-13.
The Juggler defense came to life after a tough first half to put considerable pressure on McMillan in the second half. They got key sacks from defensive end Caleb Hoey and linebackers Mah and Vinny Nardulli to stop Carson twice on fourth down.
Alexander-Amour’s last touchdown of the afternoon came as he broke the line of scrimmage midway through the fourth quarter for a 35-yard score.
“We need to be more physical on the defence and offensive line,” said Brady. “The good teams in our conference search for contact and force their own breaks.”
McMillan went 16-of-35 for 176 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Weidner had three catches for 59 yards and a score. Parker Henderson had 10 tackles and Austin James five to lead the defence. Each also registered a sack.
SOUTH DELTA 33 at HANDSWORTH 0
NORTH VANCOUVER — Ben McDonald got his Sun Devils out of a losing funk.
The South Delta quarterback went 16-of-30 for 289 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing five times for 55 yards and a score as the Sun Devils (2-3, 2-3) snapped a two-game conference slide with a shutout win over the host Royals (1-5, 1-4).
“We started out flat but we picked it up in the second quarter,” said South Delta head coach Ray Moon, whose team had three touchdowns called back by penalties including a defensive score.
After a scoreless opening frame, South Delta got things going in the second quarter on a swing pass from McDonald to Andrew Kraft that turned into a 25-yard scoring run.
McDonald would go on to hit Caleb Van Til with a 12-yard TD pass, then found Evan Paterson and later Ethan Troniak on scoring passes of 12 and 22 yards respectively.
The pivot capped the day by calling his own number from 40 yards out on fourth-and-short.
Paterson finished with 96 yards in catches, and Troniak with 71 yards.
Short-handed Handsworth battled the best it could without its top two receivers — Keelan White and Steele Young — and starting quarterback Ryan Jensen who were all out with injuries.
In his first start at quarterback, Brett Birch Jones went 10-of-17 for 132 yards in the loss.
Robert Lutman rushed for 62 yards and Darren Colpitts had six tackles for the Royals.
No. 3 VANCOUVER COLLEGE 42 at No. 5 NEW WESTMINSTER 0
NEW WESTMINSTER — Powerful and pretty near perfect, the Fighting Irish (7-0, 6-0) pitched a shutout against one of its top rivals, while unleashing a ground attack that very nearly produced three 100-yard-plus rushers Friday as part of a convincing win over the defending B.C. champion Hyacks (4-3, 3-2).
Daesaun Johnson carried 15 times for 126 yards, including a two-yard TD run which put the Irish on top 35-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
Basil Schincariol rushed 13 times for 111 yards, including a two-yard TD run to open the scoring, as well as a 45-yard end-zone scamper just ahead of Johnson’s major.
Aiden Perry carried seven times for 97 yards as Vancouver College rushed 43 times on the night for 368 yards (8.6 ypc/avg).
“Offensively we played a clean game tonight,” said Irish head coach Todd Bernett. “That opening drive (14 plays) gave us a great spark.
“Getting a turnover on our first defensive series was another shot of energy that gave us confidence,” added Bernett, whose defence was led by the seven tackles of Ayadh Badurdeen, six from Jevon Chahaland five more from Matt Hoag. “I felt we had a competitive spirit that was infectious. It kept getting reignited by big play after big play.”
New Westminster head coach Farhan Lalji, whose team now enters a bye week, didn’t attempt to sugar-coat the loss, and pinpointed the key area of concern.
“That was an accurate reflection of how both teams played,” admitted Lalji, whose team had lost just once at home (to U.S. foe Scappoose) the past four seasons. “VC was by far the more physical team and you have to give them credit for their preparation and execution on both sides of the ball.
“That said, that might have been the worst tackling performance we have had in our program in six years,” he added. “We had so many opportunities to make plays in their backfield and we put on a clinic on how not to tackle. The bye couldn’t come at a better time for us next week. We need to go back to basics and decide what team we want to be.”
Vancouver College’s three others touchdowns came via a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Eric Zychlinski to Owen Ker, and respective rushes of 15 and three yards by Zychlinski and Colin Dolynski. Connor Louis hit on all six PATs.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
MT. BOUCHERIE 0 at No. 2 TERRY FOX 54
COQUITLAM — An already-short-staffed team of Bears (1-5, 0-4) ran into more injuries after the opening kick-off Friday, and thus the host Ravens (6-1, 3-1) won convincingly in a game that was called at half time.
The Terry Fox defence produced six interceptions, one a pick-six by Ethan Shuen. Jaden Severy had a pair of thefts while Kaiden Parks, Kyle Huish and Alec Malci had one apiece.
Shuen also rushed for 28 yards and two touchdowns as Terry Fox took full advantage of the short fields its defence provided.
Matt Lew-Henrickson had two carries for 31 yards and two touchdowns and also threw a scoring strike to Severy.
“This was a good performance by us for sure,” said Ravens’ defensive coordinator Tom Kudaba. “I can’t recall ever coaching a group that had six picks in one half. Pretty impressive. Also our offence was able to get the ball moving and ran it well. We know next week will be a great test for us and we will have to play a great game in all phases against STM.”
No. 1 LORD TWEEDSMUIR 21 at KELOWNA 20
KELOWNA — Yes, the Kelowna Owls (2-4, 1-3) made a statement.
The top-ranked Panthers (5-1, 4-0) scored all of their points in the fourth quarter, then needed to hunker down and ride out the storm as the Apple Bowl hosts took a quantum step forward in their growth.
“Full credit to Kelowna,” said Tweedsmuir head coach Kurt Thornton. “They were well prepared, brought some real tough blitz packages and had some big plays. I’m really impressed with Kelowna and their effort tonight. We feel lucky to get the win.”
Panthers’ pivot Trey Jones went 12-of-22 for 210 yards, throwing scoring strikes of five and seven yards respectively to Yosef Drysdale and Kaiden Lilley, while calling his own number from one yard out.
Drysdale carried three times for 51 yards and also made six catches for 105 yards and a score.
“Holy smokes, that was a great high school football game,” said Owls’ boss Chris Cartwright. “I am so proud of our boys for fighting to the end. It’s not the way we wanted it to end, but this game speaks to what we are building here at KSS. So excited to build off this night. We are building something very special up here.This is part of the process.”
Taylor Loffler set a standard at quarterback that may never be equalled at Kelowna, but Isaac Athans is bringing his own kind of dynamic flair to the Owls’ offence.
Athans, who threw for 165 yards and a pair of scores, tossed an early 59-yard TD strike to Nolan Ulm, and also converted a fourth-down, fourth-quarter snap with a 52 yard TD pass to Ulm.
Athans also rushed for 56 yards.
“Isaac is doing what he does,” said Cartwright. “He is showing more confidence and making better decisions. I’m happy with how our offence came out today. We are continuing to build off our system and today showed more progress.”
Kyle Dodd and Colton Cameron with five tackles each led the Lord Tweedsmuir defence. Tyler Klotzbach had 19 tackles for the Owls, while Storm Buck had five tackles.
MISSION 42 at CENTENNIAL 7
COQUITLAM — The ground game is a fun game for the Roadrunners.
“It is really great to see the guys up front buying in with what we are doing,” said Mission head coach Danny Jakobs after his hogs helped clear the way for a 143-yard rushing performance by RB-1 Keegan Royal. “They are excited when we grind it out on the ground and nothing makes a coach happier when the big guys are loving what we are doing.”
Mission (3-3, 3-1) scored 36 points by halftime en route to its win over the host Centaurs (0-5, 0-4).
Royal’s 143 yards came off just 12 carries and he scored three touchdowns, all in the first half. Alec Bolland had six carries for 87 yards and a score.
Defensively the Roadrunners were led by free safety Andrew Armstrong who had two interceptions, including one for a 20-yard touchdown return.
“Andrew is a student of the game,” said Jakobs. “He watches a lot of film and that showed today on his two interceptions.”
Cody McMahon had six tackles and a sack while Taylor Fleming had seven tackles. Sai Weeks has continued to impress at middle linebacker.
No. 4 ST. THOMAS MORE 21 at ABBOTSFORD 14
ABBOTSFORD — On a day when both defences brought their best, it was the Knights’ special teams which made the biggest impression.
St. Thomas More opened scoring in the second quarter on a dynamic 60-yard punt return by receiver Michael Simone.
Then, late in the second quarter, Kaishaun Carter blocked a punt which STM recovered on the Abbotsford 10-yard line. Quarterback Dario Ciccone later capped the short drive with a two-yard keeper and a 14-0 halftime lead.
After the Panthers pulled to within a score in the third quarter, Ciccone connected with Vasco Repole for a 50-yard gain, paving the way for Marc Abboud’s six-yard scoring run and a 21-7 lead.
For the Panthers (2-4, 2-2), it was tough to overcome some early errors and that put them into the unenviable position of having to play catch-up against a talented Knights (5-1, 3-1) team.
Nonetheless, the emerging Panthers’ defence stopped STM three times on a key fourth-and-short opportunities.
Running back Jalem Catlin once again came up big, this time rushing for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
Catlin’s 55-yard run in the third quarter pulled Abby to within 14-7, and he later capped a late drive with a four-yard scoring run to make the final score complete.
“Jalem Catlin showed that he is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the backfield and their defense made us work for every inch in this game,” said STM head coach Steve De Lazzari. “For the second straight week, we were missing a number of starters on both sides of the ball, so I was extremely proud of our effort today and our “next man up” mentality as many players stepped up big for us in this game.”
Rickey Parsons led all STM tacklers with seven, while Aaron Laguerta, Marc Abboud and Matthew Lemp had six tackles each. Carter, whose blocked punt was a pivotal point of the game, also contributed with four tackles.
Luke Szmutko led the Abbotsford defence with nine tackles.
PACIFIC CONFERENCE
W.J. MOUAT 19 at RUTLAND 12
KELOWNA — Even when they aren’t at full strength, the Rutland Voodoos (4-2, 4-2) still know how to play physical football, and that’s a credit to the culture they’ve created.
In fact it took Abbotsford’s visiting Hawks (5-1, 5-1) a full half just to gain their bearings in the biggest contest of the Pacific Conference season thus far.
“It was a tough battle this afternoon and we knew it was going to be physical,” said Mouat head coach Travis Bell. “It took a half for us to adjust to the physicality defensively.”
Yet when you’re able to march out a pair of 100-yard backs the way Mouat can, many ills can be cured.
Ebiye Okoko-Chomseng carried 16 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns while Nathan Hausermann had 21 rushes for 106 yards and a score as Mouat, after a scoreless opening quarter, took a 19-12 lead into halftime.
Hawks’ quarterback Tyran Duval scored on a one-yard sneak.
Defensively, Zak Badke’s six tackles paced the winners with Pavi Deol adding five tackles.
“They were banged up a bit and (star Rutland quarterback Jhavoun (Blake) wasn’t 100 per cent,” added Bell. “But he’s one tough kid and gave us a challenge still. We got the job done and we put ourselves in a good spot heading into the last couple weeks of the regular season.”
Rutland’s Chase Schumacher carried 18 times for 164 yards and a score while also adding five tackles.
Austin Yuros and Kryon Konkin each added six tackles with Yuros also making an interception. Prince Manongdo led the Voodoss’ defence with eight tackles.
NANAIMO DISTRICT 42 at SARDIS 13
CHILLIWACK — Finn Bradbrooke gave his arm a rest and his legs a workout on Friday.
The Islanders quarterback completed just one of three passes, but carried 21 times for 155 yards and five touchdowns as Nanaimo District (5-1, 4-1) kept pace with first-place W.J. Mouat (5-1 league) in the race for the conference crown.
NDSS, in fact, holds the vital tiebreaker should the two teams finish in a deadlock by virtue of its 7-0 win over the Hawks on Sept. 21.
“This was a very hard and contested, physical affair,” admitted Isles’ head coach Nate Stevenson whose team carried 56 times for 362 yards and six touchdowns. “Sardis kept making plays through the air and we kept answering with a grinding rushing attack. Both defenses made a point of making their tackles count. Bradbrooke played an outstanding game tonight. He was working hard and making the right decisions and capitalizing on each of them. Very proud of the Islanders tonight.”
Sardis received the second-half kick-off and though pinned deep managed to put up a great drive only to be stopped by cornerback Clayton Hennessy’s interception. The turnover led to a clock-eating 99-yard drive capped by Bradbrooke’s fourth major of the day.
Shortly after while playing linebacker, Bradbrooke forced a fumble and recovered it at about the Sardis 10-yard line. Soon after, he punched home his fifth major.
Halfback Sal Raap-Kopoyka rushed 15 times for 78 yards, whil halfback Kyle Lindsay carried 21-129 yards and a score.
Defensive end Spencer Broz had three tackles and a sack while linebacker Ethan Anderson had three tackles.
WEST VANCOUVER 34 at SULLIVAN HEIGHTS 6
SURREY — Ben Welsh threw a pair of touchdown passes to Matt Lane, and running back Connor Chapman seemed to run through the entire defence on his way to a 40-yard touchdown as the visiting Highlanders (3-3, 3-2) moved over the .500 mark in conference play with a win over the first-year Stars (0-7, 0-6).
“Our focus this week was not sleeping through the first half again, and the team did that perfectly on defence,” said West Vancouver head coach Pooya Dourandish. “This was a good game for our team but we’re going to have to cut down on the penalties if we want to have continued success. Having unnecessary flags on two scoring plays, and on successive gains of 40-plus-yards is not how you win football games. But our team did a good job continuing to execute and focusing on making the next play.”
The Stars, with over 10 players injured and unable to play, continued to lose the battle of attrition on the field Friday.
“We battled extremely hard, and I’m really proud of the kids who were able to play,” said head coach Gord Randall. “Our patchwork offence actually moved the ball fairly well in the first half, particularly on the ground. Our biggest goal this week is to get healthy ahead of Seniors Night against Rutland next Friday.”
DOUBLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
HOWE SOUND 6 at WINDSOR 42
NORTH VANCOUVER — Defending Subway Bowl champ Windsor has played just three games over the first seven slots of the campaign, yet they seem to be where they need to as the West’s three toughest challenges all come back-to-back-to-back beginning next Saturday in Parksville,
The Dukes (3-0, 3-0) turned 24 carries into 410 rushing yards and six scores, getting three majors from Daniel Cruz, two more from Ryan Werbowski and one from Jacob Groves in a convincing home field win over a short-staffed but tough group of How Sound Sounders.
“Full credit to the Howe Sound for showing up and playing a spirited game despite fielding a limited roster as well as suffering a handful of injuries in the game,” explained Windsor head coach Jim Schuman, who got great play from veteran two-way linemen MitchTownsend, Jeremy Sinclair, Colby LaLonde and Darren Baker.
“Plus, our young and first-year players are continuing to improve,” added Schuman of players like Malcolm Ouchi (WR/DB) and Grade 9 Jacob Groves (WR/DB), both of whom have taken great strides over the last few weeks. “As a team we are excited about the opportunity to challenge ourselves against some top quality opponents such as Ballenas and Barsby over the next few weeks.”
EASTERN CONFERENCE
ROBERT BATEMAN 28 at G.W. GRAHAM 27
CHILLIWACK — They gave up a safety on an errant snap deep in their own end, and later a tension-creating touchdown that set the scene for a potential hometown victory.
Phoenix Moller, however, stepped up huge and stuffed the potential game-winning two-point convert run as Abbotsford’s Robert Bateman Timberwolves (3-2, 1-0) claimed a dramatic win over the Grizzlies (3-4, 1-1).
“I’m so proud of our guys for making a play when they needed to,” said Bateman head coach David Mills. “This was a big win for our guys and puts us in a good spot as far as playoffs are concerned. We’ve had some good battles with GW over the years but this one has to rank at the top. Massive effort by both squads, everyone left it all in the field.”
A pair of Bateman majors in the third quarter put them ahead 28-13, but the Grizz pulled to within 28-19 and later pinned the Wolves deep in their own end.
Moller’s defensive heroics — he was able to stop Grizzlies’ quarterback Colby Bessette on the pivotal two-point convert sneak — were just part of his line score for the winners.
He carried seven times for 72 yards and two touchdowns and made a game-high 13 tackles.
“The boys fought hard tonight and came up short against a very talented and well coached Bateman team” noted Grizzlies head coach Laurie Smith. “David Mills has done a nice job rebuilding that Bateman program and they are really fast and aggressive. We really felt good about the play call on the two-point convert but the Bateman D-line came up huge when it counted.”
Ryan Sztuhar had five catches for 61 yards, as well as seven tackles and a sack for the Wolves.
For the Grizzlies, Bessette went 19-of-25 passing for 196 yards and added 76 yards rushing and a touchdown.
Receivers Jett Thomas and Ashton Young made seven receptions each, while running back Jaiden Claassen had 17 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Claassen was also the Grizzlies leading tackler with seven. Defensive end Cooper Middleton had three tackles, a sack and a safety.
INTERIOR CONFERENCE
VALLEYVIEW 6 at No. 1 VERNON 55
VERNON — The Vernon Panthers (3-1, 1-0) aired it out en route to a convincing win over the visiting Valleyview Vikings.
Senior pivot Thomas Hyett went 14-of-18 for 175 yards, tossing touchdowns to four different receivers.
Caden Danbrook led the scoring barrage with seven receptions for 88 yards and two scores.
Fellow Grade 11 receiver Zack Smith chipped in with three catches for 35 yards and a touchdown and also went 2-for-2 passing for 64 yards.
Trent Charlton registered his first touchdown of the season on a toe-tapping 30 yard strike at the back of the end zone.
Vernon’s 35-point second-quarter outburst made it 48-0 at halftime.
“I liked the way we moved the ball and got everyone involved in the offense,” said Panthers head coach Sean Smith. “We had six different players catch a ball and six different players score a touchdown. Our offensive line gave us great protection all night and Tommy was able to find the open man.”
Defensively, the Panthers held the Vikings deep in their own territory most of the night. With strong winds swirling in the Greater Vernon Athletics Park, the Vikings chose to gamble on occasion which shortened the field.
Tackle Trey Defoor led all tacklers with six while Drew Mackenzie chipped in with four to go along with a sack and interception. Kael Black recorded a pair of sacks.
NON-CONFERENCE
SALMON ARM 0 at SOUTH KAMLOOPS 12
KAMLOOPS — Grade 11 quarterback Eric Crawford ran for a major and spread the ball well among receivers Ryan Zamudio, Callum Gorman and Hayden Fidanza as the host Titans (3-2, 1-0) blanked visiting Salmon Arm (0-3).
“Offensively we showed some growth tonight,” said South Kam coach J.P. Lancaster. “We had struggled maintaining drives and making the right reads in the pass game but tonight was encouraging. We will have our work cut out for us next week against Vernon and need to get going on offence if we’re going to hang around.”
SATURDAY
TRIPLE A
PACIFIC CONFERENCE
1 p.m. — Eric Hamber at Earl Marriott
DOUBLE A
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1:30 p.m. — John Barsby at Holy Cross
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